How Do I Know if My Dell Laptop Battery Needs Replacing?

Is your Dell laptop battery acting up? Knowing when to replace it can be tricky but not impossible. 

To make things easy for you, we have written a comprehensive guide on how to know if your Dell laptop battery needs replacing in several step-by-step ways. We’ll also discuss a few ways to improve your Dell laptop battery life. 

Knowing if Your Dell Laptop Battery Needs Replacing

If you’re struggling with knowing if your Dell laptop battery needs replacing, our following 3 step-by-step methods will help you go through the process quickly.

Method #1: Using BIOS

Follow these steps to know if your laptop battery needs replacing through BIOS.

1. Click the Windows icon on the dashboard, select “Shut down or sign out”, and click “Restart”.
2. Press the F2 key on the keyboard to enter the Dell BIOS menu.
3. Under “Settings”, click “General” and select “Battery Information” to check your battery’s health.
4. Your battery will need replacing if it says your battery’s health is poor.

Method #2: Using SupportAssist

If you want to check your Dell laptop battery health through SupportAssist, do the following steps.

1. Click the Windows icon on the dashboard, search for “SupportAssist”, and launch the program.
2. Click “Battery” under “System devices” to check the battery’s health. 
3. Replace your battery if the battery analysis fails.

Method #3: Using Dell’s Online Diagnostics

Follow these steps to know if your laptop battery needs replacing through Dell’s Online Diagnostics.

1. Open a web browser on your Dell laptop and open the Dell support website.
2. Let the website recognize your system, and click “Diagnostics”.
3. Scroll down, click “Select individual component” under “Custom component test”, and click “Battery”.
4. If the battery analysis result is negative, replace your battery.

Method #4: Checking Battery Consumption

Unusual battery consumption by the Dell system is a common sign of replacement, and you can figure this out with these steps.

1. Connect the supplied charger to the laptop and the primary power source.
2. Unplug the charger once the battery reaches 100%.
3. If your laptop’s battery runs out within an hour, the time has come to replace it! 

The Dell laptop battery is supposed to last 2 hours after a full charge, although the time can vary with different models. 

Method #5: Checking Battery Charge Time

Dell laptop charging time is a strong indicator of battery issues. To figure this out, plug the charger into your laptop and observe how long it takes to charge. If your battery takes hours to charge and minutes to drain, you should not think twice about replacing it!

Improving Your Dell Laptop’s Battery Health

Try these 3 step-by-step methods to improve your Dell laptop battery health and keep it working for a long time.

Method #1: Using Battery Saver

With these steps, you can improve your laptop battery’s health and performance by enabling Power Saving mode.

1. Click the Windows icon on your Dell laptop dashboard. 
2. Open Settings.
3. Click “System”.
4. Click “Power & battery”.
5. Select the level at which you want to turn on the “Battery Saver” mode to induce less exertion on the battery.

Method #2: Decreasing the Brightness and Turning Networks Off

To maximize your Dell laptop battery life and consumption, decrease the brightness level in the following way.

1. Click the Windows icon on your Dell laptop dashboard.
2. Open Settings.
3. Click “System”.
4. Click “Display”, adjust the slider to decrease the brightness, and you’re done.

Method #3: Closing Applications

Another way to boost your laptop battery’s health is to close the open applications you are not using with these steps.

1. Right-click on the Windows dashboard taskbar and select “Start Task Manager”.
2. Alternatively, simultaneously press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys on the Dell keyboard to head straight to the Task Manager.
3. Under “Apps”, right-click on the tasks you’re not working on and select “End task”.

Summary

In this guide, we’ve discussed how to know if your Dell laptop battery needs replacing by using different settings and looking out for various signs. We have also discussed ways to improve your laptop battery consumption and increase its life. 

Hopefully, your query has been answered in this article, and now you can replace your laptop’s battery at the right time without hesitation.

Frequently Asked Questions