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Q. Dear Umbra,
I work all day on a laptop (a MacBook Air). I’d like to prolong the life of my computer and battery so I don’t have the expense and waste of having to replace the laptop earlier than necessary. So what’s the best approach to plugging the laptop in vs. running it off the battery? When it’s 100-percent charged, should I unplug it and let the battery charge drop down low before plugging it in again? Or should I keep it plugged in all day long while I work?
Jamal J.
Princeton, New Jersey
A. Dearest Jamal,
Most people understand that repurposing or recycling something is better than throwing it away. But you know what’s even better than that? Not recycling that thing, because it still works perfectly — or, at least, postponing that inevitable moment of mortality as long as possible. In our culture of planned obsolescence and gimme-that-hot-new-tech upgrades, this is a somewhat radical idea. I tip my hat to you, my status quo–shaking friend.
“Maintain it, don’t […]
I’ve recently heard you don’t need to discharge them but all my devices seem to last longer if I take them down to 25% or so before recharging. Also on YouTube you can see videos about reviving dead LI batteries by using some small load to discharge them to 0. Apparently there is some circuit inside that gets reset.