A very quick initial post due to time constraints.

Just had my daughter chatting via internet. She is at university and on Boxing Day 2013 bought a HP laptop in the sales

While at home during the Christmas period this year (2014) she was having problems with the battery dropping charge very quickly, and a month later having returned to uni says that the battery will now only hold 23% charge. (She ran the laptop's maintenance check after getting an error message)

She can still use it at home on the mains but it has become useless for her to take to uni for her studies

From what I have seen of laptop batteries they normally last between 4-6 years. As she did not have an extended warranty should she make a complaint to PC World, or to HP ?

And does she have any legal rights on this one ?

Many thanks

where did you get the info that batteries last 4-6 years?

i would seriously suggest looking at a new battery, while 13 months is a short length of time i would recommend that most laptop batteries need replacing around every 18 months or so.

if its a hp then the batteries are fairly cheap - but again dont expect much life, im using a HP G62 - its 4 years old and currently on its third battery - which again needs to be replaced as its showing less than 25% capacity

you can try asking hp but i know they stick to a firm 12 months warrenties on batteries and i beleave pcworld do the same - just be glad its not a sony, last i heard they only gave battries a 3/6 month warrenty

^^^^^

gotta agree.

though 13mts is a bit of a short life

usage, or more importantly, the lack of, on the battery pack ultimately causes the issues.

a laptop battery, or indeed ANY rechargeable battery, ideally should by 'cycled'.

that meaning, its not a good idea to leave a laptop 'on-charge' for more thn about a week - 10days

during that period, it should be removed from the mains and run on the battery until the point

you get the advise from the machine, be it via the operating system, windows, or the laptop management

to plug the unit back in.

cycling a battery pack from full charge to exhausted, will extend its life no end

leaving a lappy on charge for weeks on end, or even if you unplug it-

without fully exhaust the battery pack, will kill it dead in less than 12mts.

dx

13 months might sound short, but it all depends as there are many ways to shorten the life of a laptop battery. If you leave the battery inserted, and leave the mains plugged in all the time, that can (sometimes significantly if your laptop produces a relatively decent amount of heat) shorten the lifespan of the battery for example. Also, the battery can only handle so many discharge/recharge cycles before it dies.

The best way to maximise the lifespan of your laptop battery is to not quite fully charge it (only take it to about 80% or so) and not allow it to charge further. Many manufacturers will include software that stops the battery charging at around the 80% (or let you set a custom level) mark. If you don't have this, remove the battery once it reaches about the 80% charge level and then run from the mains with the battery removed whenever possible.

most hp laptops in the last few years use a mu06 or mu09 battery

unless its some of the envys or new pavs they have an internal only battery

dx100uk, Li-Ion batteries don't have quite the "memory" effect of NiCD/Ni-MH batteries - however they do have a limited number of charge cycles. Due to defects in individual cells within the battery pack, once cell can malfunction and cause the whole pack to be defunct.

I would not expect a battery (used in university, so off charge a lot?) to last longer than 12-18mo - none of my own have.

Hi guys

Sorry for not replying sooner, I am having a very busy spell

Should have got her to post this herself initially

Latest news is that the battery seems to have improved somehow.

It's showing as accepting more charge but is still very erratic.

I've suggested she re-calibrate the battery and see if we can get a better picture,

but in any case she says she can get a replacement for £20 so that'll probably be the route to go anyway

Thanks for your input

dx100uk, Li-Ion batteries don't have quite the "memory" effect of NiCD/Ni-MH batteries - however they do have a limited number of charge cycles. Due to defects in individual cells within the battery pack, once cell can malfunction and cause the whole pack to be defunct.

 

I would not expect a battery (used in university, so off charge a lot?) to last longer than 12-18mo - none of my own have.

electronic engineer for 35yrs well aware.

Just a tip,

Use your laptop with your charger always plugged in. As soon as the battery goes to 100%, the charger trips and your laptop goes to AC mode. I have been using my laptop (HP Pavilion 15) for 18 months and the battery time is still 3 hours. It's a regular 6 cell battery.

Just a tip,

Use your laptop with your charger always plugged in. As soon as the battery goes to 100%, the charger trips and your laptop goes to AC mode. I have been using my laptop (HP Pavilion 15) for 18 months and the battery time is still 3 hours. It's a regular 6 cell battery.

Fad, you seem to be replying to posts that are several months old.

Fad, you seem to be replying to posts that are several months old.

ALmost a year old in this case

Still relevant....

If were posting off ancient posts with relevent information then i'll add one more

HP laptops have a built in testing system

turn it on and keep tapping F2

select battery - it will test it then offer you the option to calibrate it

If were posting off ancient posts with relevent information then i'll add one more

 

HP laptops have a built in testing system

turn it on and keep tapping F2

select battery - it will test it then offer you the option to calibrate it

And there you go we wouldn't have known that either:-)