Windows 10 has often been blamed for consuming more power than its predecessors, including Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1. Microsoft, however, has rolled out a number of updates over the years to mitigate some of the power-drainage issues in Windows 10. That said, a lot more still needs to be done. So today, we’re bringing a detailed guide on how to improve battery life of your Windows 10 laptops, two-in-ones and ultra-books.
This article will show you how to check for applications that are drawing the most amount of power on your Windows 10 laptop. It will also take you through the process of disabling them to enhance the power efficiency of your computer, thereby improving battery life. We will also discuss a number of other ways you can improve battery life on your Windows 10 computer. So without any further delay, here are the top tips to improve battery life in your Windows 10 computer:
- Change the Power Mode
- Reduce Screen Brightness
- Turn on ‘Battery Saver’
- Detect and Disable Battery-draining Apps
- Disable Background Apps to Improve Battery Life
- Change Power and Sleep Settings
- Disable UI Animations and Shadows
- Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
- Disable Startup Apps
- Disable CPU Cores
- Check Power Configuration
- Sync Data Less Often
- Prevent Overheating
- Disable Keyboard Back-Lights
- Replace Your Battery
Note: Make sure your laptop is unplugged and running on battery. If it’s plugged into a power source, you won’t be able to access some of the battery settings described below.
First off, change the Power Mode in your computer. It is one of the easiest ways to improve power efficiency of your laptop.
- Click on the battery icon in the notification area of your Windows 10 taskbar. Then drag the slider to select the power mode you want. You’ll get four options when running on battery and three when plugged-in. Mine is tuned for ‘better performance’, but you can opt for ‘Better battery life’ or Best battery life’.
Another easy way of improving battery efficiency is reducing the screen brightness. Windows 10 offers an easy way to do that.
Another step you can take to improve the battery life of your laptop is to enable the Battery Saver mode, which will limit notifications and background activity when battery is running low.
- Make sure your PC is running on battery power, and then go over to Settings (Windows key +I) > System.
On the same page as above, you can check for battery-draining apps on your laptop. You can disable them from running in the background if they’re consuming too much power. Follow the method described below to do that:
- Finally, use the drop-down menu to disable the app from running in the background. The default option is ‘Let Windows decide’. Select ‘Never’ if you don’t the app to ever run in the background.
Alongside the apps listed under Battery Settings above, you can also turn off dozens of other apps from running in the background. However, you’ll have to do that from the ‘privacy’ settings. Here’s how you do it:
Do note that some apps need to run in the background for notifications, alarms, etc. If that’s important to you, keep the main toggle ‘On’ and turn off background access for select apps by using the toggles next to each app. If, however, you don’t want to deal with random notification popups at all, check out our detailed guide on how to disable notifications on Windows 10.
One of the easiest ways to get a little bit more out of your laptop battery is to optimize its ‘Power and Sleep’ settings to reduce the display and sleep timeout. Here’s how you do that:
7. Disable UI Animations and Shadows
Another way to improve battery life in your windows PC is by disabling all UI animations and shadows. Here’s how it’s done:
8. Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to Improve Battery Life
Wireless signals such as WiFi or Bluetooth eat a lot of battery power as they require dedicated hardware components to run continuously. Make sure to switch off Bluetooth every time you take off your headset. You can also switch to wired Ethernet whenever possible, as well as used wired input devices, like USB keyboard and mouse. This will help conserve power and improve battery life.
You should also disable startup apps to improve battery life in your Windows 10 computer. To do that, follow the process described below:
Just about all laptops ship with multi-core processors these days. However, you can disable some of the CPU cores to save power and improve battery life. Here’s how to do it:
- Open the ‘Run’ dialog box (Windows key + R) as described in Step 5. Type in “msconfig” (without quotes) and hit Enter. This will open the System Configuration settings.
11. Check Power Configuration
You can use the Windows Command Prompt to see information about apps and processes that are using too much power on your computer. Here’s how you do it:
You can sync email, calendars and contacts less often to improve battery life on your Windows 10 laptop. The process to change the settings will differ from one email client to another, but on the default app, you can go to ‘Settings > Accounts > Email & app accounts’ to get started. Thereafter, select the account that you want to change the settings for, and select ‘Manage > Change mailbox sync settings’. Finally, choose a longer syncing interval for ‘Download new email’.
- You can even turn off auto-sync entirely for most Microsoft apps and services. For that, go to Settings > Accounts.
Heat is one of the biggest enemies of any computation device, including desktops, laptops and smartphones. It induces thermal throttling, which slows down your PC to reduce operating temperatures. If left unchecked, overheating can even reduce the lifespan of your computer. It is also one of the leading causes for faster battery drain and progressive degradation in battery life. Keeping temperatures under check is one of the best ways to improve battery life in your Windows 10 machine. For more details, check out our detailed guide on how to prevent your PC from overheating.
Some laptops also come with keyboard back-lighting, which also drains the battery. In that case, the device likely has a ‘Function’ key that lets you toggle the keyboard back-lighting on and off. You will likely also find a control for it in the Windows Mobility Center. Some manufacturers also offer custom software to tune RGB lighting on their peripherals. You can use that to tone down or turn off the lighting on gaming mice in some cases.
Finally, here’s the nuclear option if all else fails. If you’re using a relatively old laptop, the problem with low battery-life may have more to do with the age of the battery than the power settings. The older the battery, the less charge it will be able to hold. Once your laptop battery starts discharging quicker, it would be for the best that you replace it with a new one to improve the battery life of your computer. For best results, make sure that you buy the new battery either from the laptop manufacturer or one that’s recommended by the OEM.
Optimize Battery Life on Your Windows 10 Laptop
A power-hungry laptop can be a major headache, but there are ways to mitigate at least some of the problems. Using the methods described above, you can improve the battery life of your Windows 10 computer. While it will ensure that you can extend the screen-on time of your laptop just that bit longer, there are limits to how far that can work.
