5 Signs of Laptop Battery Failure | Dead Battery Symptoms

Lithium ion technology is the advancement that is used in Laptop batteries just like in other gadgets
such as the Mobile phones, Car locks, Mp3 players and Calculators. 

Most of the laptop batteries comes under the manufacturer's warranties of 2 years maximum. Despite improvements in Lithium ion technology manufacturers are facing difficulty improving its lifespan. Therefore no matter how well you treat your laptop battery overtime the capacity of the battery will be reducing and ultimately make it dead. The battery capacity will not be similar as when you bought the brand new laptop. As a result it is advisable to replace your battery every 2 - 3 years. 

Imagine a situation where you are doing an important work so you are in a need to carry your laptop, in this case the laptop has to be plugged in with a AC Adapter all the time. The moment you remove the AC Adapter off the laptop, it will get shutdown. So you won't be able to get a time to save up your documents.Under normal circumstances Windows will warn you about this as Plugged in not charging, consider replacing your battery. At this stage it is recommended to replace the battery as soon as possible. Other than this the computer may be showing many signs and symptoms that it needs a battery replacement.

In my earlier article I have discussed the topic on how to increase your laptop battery life. You can check it out if you find that your laptop battery may be still alive. In this article I will be demonstrating you on the 5 Signs of Laptop Battery Failure. At the end of the article you will be able to identify whether your battery has a problem of becoming dead. 

Let's get into the topic,

1. Warning from Windows

Windows and other Operating systems may not provide much details about the battery it has been using. But certainly it will be showing the warning signs that it needs a battery replacement for it to avoid shutdowns. 

Generally the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) uses its signals to try to determine whether it needs a battery replacement, this is shown as an output message to the user. For some reasons the signals may get disrupted as a result the Windows may be showing false messages that it needs a replacements. 

Microsoft Windows 7 team has confirmed that there is a bug which causes the OS to show this message and they will fix this with their next updates. This has been avoided in the latest OS versions of the Windows.

To know about this message,

         1. Click on the small battery icon on the System tray.
         2. Check if there is a message as Plugged in not charging, 
             consider replacing your battery.

If you are able to find Plugged in not charging, consider replacing your battery, it is a clear sign of a dead laptop battery.

2. Constant Shutdown

Most of the computers nowadays have a mechanism to auto shutdown the system to avoid any damages to the components. Despite improvements in the interface most of the Windows 10 users are facing this issue more than the Windows 7 and 10 users. 

 Apart from Software failures, Hardware failures can also cause frequent shutdowns. Along with the Hardware failures there can be other reasons for a shutdown such as Overheating, Malware, Driver issue, Sleep mode settings etc.... While it can be hard for a user to figure out what exactly causes the frequent shutdown. 

The most common reason for a computer shutdown is the Overheating, apart from overheating a failing battery can also cause the system to shutdown. When this happens it won't be shutting down as the normal process when a user shutdown from the Start menu, it will be as if someone pulled off the AC Adapter from the Power source.

3. Overheating Laptop

While it can be normal for a laptop to get hot during heavy tasks, it is a abnormal for a laptop to get hot during small tasks. If you experience that your fans are spinning louder and hot air is blowing out, then the fault might be in the battery. A laptop battery which has a lesser capacity will tend to get heat more than a laptop battery which has a higher capacity. 

There are other major factors that can cause a laptop to overheat other than a faulty battery those are the damaged fans and the blocked Air vents. Therefore before coming into the conclusion that a faulty battery is the reason behind overheating, try cleaning out the Air vents and replace the fans. If you still notice Overheating then it is a clear sign of a dead battery. 

4. Charging Issues

A healthy laptop battery will be taking around 45 minutes to 1 hour for it to be fully charged. Even though many modern generation laptops are capable to stop charging once it reaches 100%, Mid and Old generation laptops face an issue with the full discharge. 

Charging the laptop beyond 100% or fully discharging may cause its lifespan to significantly reduce. This makes the charging process of the laptop to become extremely slower or no charging may happen at all. So the user has to carry an AC Adapter and search for a Power outlet all the time. Once the user disconnects the AC Adapter from the Power outlet the laptop will simply turn off. There are other possibilities that the charging may happen at a slower rate to reach 100% but it will provide only 10 - 15 minutes of Battery backup.

5. Battery Age

No device in the world is designed to last longer. Just like other devices a battery may fail overtime due to the long usage. The charging capacity of the battery may be reducing when every time the user charges the laptop. In general many laptop batteries comes under the manufacturer's warranties of 2 years maximum. After this period the manufacturers are recommending the users to replace the battery for a better experience. No matter how well you treat your laptop battery it simply needs a replacement once its time is over.