How to maintain your laptop battery

Keep your laptop battery in good condition, replace it if required, and dispose of it safely

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  1. Turn your laptop off and unplug the charger overnight
  2. Keep the battery at normal room temperature and in dry conditions. Avoid leaving it places that get particularly hot or cold, or where condensation can build up, such as a car or unheated out-building

Visual inspection

Visually inspect your laptop for any signs of swelling or deformation before each use. Problems are normally most obvious around the rear casing, keyboard area or battery compartment. Report any issues immediately to whoever supports your laptop.

Battery health check (Dell laptops)

  1. Ensure that your device is fully shutdown and powered off (from Windows select Start  > Power  > Shutdown)
  2. Start your device and press F2 when the Dell logo appears; Your laptop will display a message confirming that it is entering setup
  3. Older BIOS versions: Select General > Battery information. New BIOS versions: Overview > Battery Health. Battery health values of Excellent and Good are OK, anything else indicates that you may need to replace your battery to maintain reliable performance

Request this via support for your laptop

Guidance for departments on the safe disposal of laptop batteries that are damaged or have reached end-of-life is provided by the Safety Office.

Individuals with damaged or end-of-life laptop batteries should contact whoever supports your laptop.

Alert: Damaged batteries

Damaged batteries should be reported immediately. Disconnect your device from the charger, and do not attempt to remove the battery. If your laptop is supported by IT Services then we will ask for you to bring it to our offices as soon as possible so that we can make it safe for you to use, and arrange disposal of the damaged battery.

 

Laptops provided through our managed PC service

Please contact our service desk for all battery-related support. You will need to provide the asset number of your laptop.

Please report a damaged or suspected-damaged battery by telephone so that we can help you immediately.

Laptops in IT Services

Please contact our service desk for all battery-related support. You will need to provide the asset number of your laptop.

Please report a damaged or suspected-damaged battery by telephone so that we can help you immediately.

Laptops in other departments and colleges

Please follow local procedures. This will normally be to contact local IT support or your departmental administrator / head of administration and finance.

Personal / private laptops

Contact the retailer that you purchased your laptop from for general support. If they cannot help then contact your laptop manufacturer.

Check with your local recycling centre for information on disposal of laptop batteries. Information may also be published on district council websites.

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