Tag: battery

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Tips and Guidelines

How to Get Your Windows 11 Battery Report

This article explains how to use Windows 11 battery report. The Windows 11 battery report is an HTML document that users can generate with a single command.

How to Get a Windows 11 Battery Report From the Command Prompt
The method to get a Windows 11 battery report hasn’t changed from the Windows 10 battery report. You can use the Command Prompt, PowerShell, or third-party utilities. The Command Prompt is the simplest and quickest way.

1.Open the Command Prompt. In the taskbar, search for Command Prompt, or right-click Start (the Window icons) and select Terminal.

2.In the Command Prompt window, type powercfg /batteryreport

3.The battery report automatically generates and saves as an HTML file in a user folder on the C Drive. Browse to the default path from File Explorer: C:\Users[YOUR USERNAME]\battery-report.html

4.Select the file and open it in the default browser.

5.Scroll through the report. Go to the Installed batteries section and examine Design Capacity and Full Charge Capacity.

6.The breakdown of information is the same as Windows 10 battery report. Compare Design Capacity to Full Charge Capacity and see how much the battery can hold now. A lower Full Charge Capacity indicates a drop in battery health.

7.Read the Cycle Count. The number shows the charging and recharging cycles the laptop battery has gone through. A high cycle count will decrease the battery’s health more rapidly over time.

Does Windows 11 Consume More Battery?
No. Your Windows 11 laptop should be more battery-efficient than a Windows 10 laptop.

Microsoft designed Windows 11 to draw less power from the battery. Performance optimizations include sleeping tabs on Microsoft Edge which should use 37% less CPU on average than an active tab. Windows also prioritizes the active app in the foreground, giving it a greater share of the memory and CPU resources. Under the hood, apps and the OS itself exert a lighter load on the disk.

Windows 11 has specific hardware requirements that require more power-efficient Intel (8th-gen or later) and AMD (Ryzen 2000 series or later) chips.

Categories
Smart Watch

How Smart Watches Work

There’s no doubt that with the popularity of smartphones that can manage virtually every aspect of our lives, the trend in technology is to get more and more “connectivity” into smaller and smaller packages.

Simultaneously, wrist watches have become a lesson in technological redundancy for many people. Ask a friend for the time of day and they’re just as likely to glance at their smartphone as they are to look at an actual wrist-bound timepiece. The newest wave of smart watches aims to change all that

Smart watches are digital watches that do more – a lot more – that your old analog time tracking device. We’re not talking about that once-amazing calculator watch that you had in elementary school. These are full-fledged digital tools.

Watches on the Rise
Smart watches haven’t exploded in popularity for various reasons. The technological hurdles are high. And the fashion faux pas are, well, unforgivable.

Let’s start with the tech side. Because human wrists are only so big, wrist watches must be extremely compact. In turn, this means the display must be small. That means a populace accustomed to ridiculously oversized smartphone screens must learn to use a substantially smaller interface on a smart watch.

t also means that software developers must find intuitive graphical interfaces that fit a watch’s limited display area. As programmers who create smartphone apps can attest, this challenge can make or break a product.

Battery life is another notable design challenge. Current battery technology will only power a glowing smart watch with myriad functions for a few hours. After that, it’s back to the charger.

And then, of course, there’s the fashion aspect of smart watches. Like it or not, a watch is a fashion item, and it reflects directly on your ability to dress yourself properly in the morning. Most manufacturers are still struggling to combine features and fashion in ways that don’t shriek “geek.” The designs tend to be clunky, obnoxiously large and likely to clash with any wardrobe that rises above casual.

Product to Watch
So far, no smart watch has captured the imagination and devotion of consumers. With so many companies dumping so much time and money into these products, it seems likely that at some point, a smart watch will strike industry gold.

It may be that the rumored products from Apple and Google could be the ones to succeed. Apple is known for its ability to combine usefulness with aesthetics, and Google’s deep pockets and sprawling Android user base could help put a smart watch over the top.

Until the first home-run product arrives, it’s anyone’s guess as to where watches will go from here. Perhaps they’ll always be considered smartphone accessories, permanently tethered to a more powerful handheld device. Or maybe an innovative user interface and better battery life will result in watches that cast off master gadgets as unnecessary, and perhaps … unfashionable.

It might be that the limited real estate of a watch is simply too difficult of a hurdle for contemporary technologies to overcome. At the moment, each manufacturer is basically going fishing – throwing out their lines of products in the hopes that at least one of them will snag a following. So far, Pebble (perhaps the biggest underdog in the entire lineup) has done best, selling more than 250,000 units in its initial offering.

If such a small company can find a niche with its digital contraptions, you can bet that bigger corporations are working to do the same.

Categories
Tips and Guidelines

How to Fix ‘No Battery Is Detected’ on Your Laptop

The battery is one of the most-vital parts of the computer, as it allows us to take our tech on the road and work anywhere we like. If you get a “no battery is detected” error, don’t panic. There are a number of potential solutions to this laptop issue and getting one of these error notifications doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll need to buy a replacement battery or buy a new laptop.

How No Battery Present Errors Appear
Depending on your version of Windows, battery error messages can appear as warning notifications in the center of the screen or small text alerts along the taskbar at the bottom of the screen near the battery icon.

Cause of No Battery Detected Error Messages
Laptop battery not detected error messages are usually triggered by physical damage to the battery or laptop hardware, out-of-date drivers or other software, or overheating.

Cause of No Battery Detected Error Messages
Laptop battery not detected error messages are usually triggered by physical damage to the battery or laptop hardware, out-of-date drivers or other software, or overheating.

How to Fix Battery Not Detected Errors
While the cause of laptop battery errors can be rather mysterious, there are a number of ways to work out what the problem is and how to fix it.

1.Plug your laptop in. It’s possible your laptop’s battery is just flat, so before you begin panicking, try plugging the laptop in and connecting it to a power source. Wait for at least 15 minutes, then try turning it on.

2.Restart your laptop. This should be one of the first things you try when encountering almost any problem with your Windows laptop or desktop computer, as restarting it can fix a lot of issues such as a battery not detected error.

3.Give your laptop room to cool. If your laptop has been left in the sun or you’ve been using it while in bed, the battery could be overheating. Let it cool down and then try using it on a hard surface to allow the underside to air out.You may also want to clean any vents that could be blocked with dust or dirt to improve the cooling function.

4.Update Windows. Whether you’re running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10, it’s always important to keep the operating system up-to-date to keep not just the software running smoothly but the hardware as well. A Windows update can also scan your laptop for any issues, like the no battery detected one, and fix them.

5.Run the Power troubleshooter. Select Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot > Power > Run the troubleshooter to scan your Windows laptop for issues directly related to a laptop battery not detected.

6.Check the battery status. Open the Device Manager, select Batteries, then right-click your laptop’s battery and select Properties. If you see text stating your device is working properly, then your battery is fine and the no battery detected bug is likely caused by something else. If you don’t see this message, your battery may be damaged and you may need to replace it.

7.Update the battery’s device drivers. Open Device Manager, then select Batteries > your laptop’s battery name > Driver > Update Driver > Search automatically for updated driver software.

8.Power cycle your laptop and remove the battery. If your laptop thinks there’s no battery present, perform a full shutdown, unplug all cables and power sources, physically remove the battery, press the power button for at least 15 seconds, place the battery back in, reconnect the charging cable, and then power on your laptop as per usual. If given a startup prompt, select Start Windows Normally.

9.Uninstall the battery and power cycle. Go to Device Manager, select Batteries, right-click your battery name and the Microsoft AC Adapter, then select Uninstall device for each. Once this is done, power cycle your laptop.

10.Reset the BIOS defaults. Turn on your Windows laptop and access the BIOS Setup. Select Restore Defaults, then save, exit, and start your laptop as usual.

11.Use HP Support Assistant. If you own a laptop made by HP, you should have a program called HP Support Assistant pre-installed. Open HP Support Assistant and select Troubleshoot to perform a battery test. This test may detect why exactly your battery is not being detected and can provide you with specific solutions.

Categories
Tips and Guidelines

Laptop Battery Conditioning and Maintenance

If you always work while connected to AC power, the battery doesn’t discharge: its electrons stagnate, and the battery’s life span is reduced. Make a habit of working on battery power at least once a month. It is a good idea to occasionally drain the battery all the way, then fully charge it before using battery power again. Putting your iBook or Powerbook to sleep for transport is another way to reduce battery life. It is better to shut down the laptop when it will not be used for several hours.

If you do use your laptop on battery power a lot, you may want to consider purchasing a spare battery. One thing to remember, though: batteries like to be used, not tucked away for months at a time. They will develop a diminished capacity if they are just sitting in your bag. Rotate your spare battery with your original one on a regular basis.

Features and activities you should be aware of that drain a battery faster:
•Bright screen (use the brightness controls to dim the backlight)
•Hard drive access
•CD/DVD drive access (remove CD’s and DVD’s when you are not using them, and preferably use them only on AC power)
•Peripherals (printer, digital camera, external drive, etc. Disconnect when not using.)
•Wireless network access (Turn off when not in use. Click on the Airport icon, or right click on the wireless icon on a PC to turn off or disable.)

Use Power Management
Windows 2000/XP:
•Right click on Desktop and select “Properties” from the menu.
•Select Screensaver tab.
•Click on “Power” button on the bottom right of the window.
•Choose among the following Power Schemes: Home/Office Desk, Portable/Laptop, Presentation, Always On, Minimal Power Management, and Max Battery. Each Power Scheme will display the length of idle time before your monitor and hard disks will be shut down, and the system will go into Standby or Hibernation modes.

Mac OSX:
•Click on the Blue Apple menu icon and select “System Preferences”.
•Select “Energy Saver”
•Choose from Normal, Better Battery Life, or Better Performance options.

Calibrate the Battery
Most manufacturers recommend that you calibrate your battery every few months. This involves draining the battery until the laptop goes to sleep, then recharging it to 100%.

Categories
Tips and Guidelines

5 ways to squeeze more battery life out of your wireless earbuds

Wireless earbuds are an essential EDC (everyday carry) item for most of us. We use them daily when commuting to work or travelling. They keep us entertained and help block out unwanted distractions. Some even enhance our listening experience by delivering hi-fi, theater-like sound in the smallest design possible. As much as we love them, we also have that one complaint: not enough battery life.

Not all the best wireless earbuds come with lengthy playtimes. In fact, the industry standard for battery life on true wireless models is about 5 to 6 hours per charge and 24 hours for the charging case. Talk about small numbers compared to what the best wireless headphones get you, which is anywhere between 25 to 70 hours, depending how you use them.

As frustrating as it is to recharge your buds almost every other day, there are solutions to optimize battery life for longer listening and talk times. Best of all, none of them require carrying around a power cord or portable charger.

Here are 5 simple tips to get more battery life out of your wireless earbuds.

Partially charge your buds
It feels liberating to walk around with fully charged buds. At the same time, you could wind up doing more damage to the battery in the long run by fully charging it every time. Wireless earbuds have a much smaller battery cell than wireless headphones, smartphones, and portable gaming consoles, which would explain their short lifespan.

On top of that, the longer your buds charge, the more heat they’re exposed to. This degrades the battery faster and reduces maximum charge capacity. Anyone with a high-powered Windows laptop or MacBook certainly knows this struggle.

Partial charging is the key. What does that even mean? Simple: power up the buds to about 80 percent, then discharge. Also, monitor the temperature on your charging case because it can often overheat when charging for long periods of time, especially on wireless chargers.

Turn off all high-end features
Active noise cancellation (ANC) sucks up the most power and models with hybrid ANC suck up even more since they utilize multiple microphones and two circuits for feedback and feedforward cancellation. Adjustable noise cancellation affects power too – setting your buds to the highest intensity drops battery levels quickly. Another detail worth knowing is that ANC works harder (20% – 30% more usage) in loud environments, so monitor the noise levels in your vicinity before turning on the feature.

Some of the latest wireless earbuds boast high-bitrate Bluetooth codecs (LDAC, LHDC, aptX Lossless), which enhance wireless audio greatly, but reduce playtimes since more data is being encoded and decoded simultaneously. Most buds run the most advanced codec by default, so if you’re trying to preserve power, you can change this on the backend of your mobile device (Android only). Enter the Settings, tap on System, select Developer options (make sure it is turned on), and choose your preferred option. We suggest switching to a low-bitrate codec like SBC.

Do the same with spatial audio. iPhone users can disable Apple’s 3D audio platform in iOS, while most Android users can toggle the feature in their buds’ companion app, which has several other battery drainers. These include an equalizer, Find My Buds function, Soundscapes mode, and voice activation; the latter means your buds are always listening for the wake word phrase before turning on.

Lower the volume
Blasting music at max volume won’t just deteriorate your hearing, but also your battery. The more audio being output, the more power that’s required to sustain higher volume levels. This applies to most portable audio products and not just wireless earbuds.

Experts believe that setting volume between 50% to 70% will increase your battery’s life span. If you need more convincing, investigate how some wireless earbuds makers rate battery life on their models. Apple indicates on their website that playtimes for the AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro 2 are determined based on volume being set to 50% and having ANC on. Some brands will even disclose that high volume affects battery life in a footnote on their model’s product page or spec sheet. That’s all the proof you need.

Sidenote: Doctors at Harvard Medical School state that listening to media at 70 decibels is unlikely to cause any significant damage to the ears.

Utilize mono mode
This is one of the more underrated features found on most wireless earbuds. Mobile users who spend lots of time on the phone likely know about mono mode, which lets you use either bud independently. Doing this will preserve talk/listening time on the secondary bud that isn’t being used. You can also have it recharging in the charging case when disabled.

Mono mode is clutch for when you don’t have access to a power source and need to squeeze every minute out of the battery. Keep in mind that mono mode automatically disables certain features to save battery life, specifically ANC, which is engineered for use with both buds.

Limit pairing to one device
We’re seeing more wireless earbuds support Bluetooth multipoint, a feature that allows users to pair their models with two devices at the same time. It makes switching between audio sources a breeze, but also drains the battery more quickly since it requires more power to maintain dual connectivity.

Here’s the best solution: turn it off when both connected devices aren’t being used. It sounds silly to say, but just remember how often you leave the Bluetooth setting enabled on your iPhone. Then remind yourself of the disappointment that follows when seeing your battery levels drop to 10 percent all because you forgot to turn off Bluetooth.

Categories
Smart Watch

Apple watchOS 9.2 Update Released, Brings Improved Battery Life On Apple Watch Ultra

Apple has released a bunch of updates today to all its devices, including smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, media streaming devices, and computers. Alongside iOS 16.2 for iPhones and iPadOS 16.2 for iPads, the company also released the watchOS 9.2 update for Apple Watches. The new update brings improved battery life for some Apple Watches in certain conditions, improvements to automatic workout detection, and the ability for family members to control HomePod and other smart home devices, and more.

Let us check out all watchOS 9.2 features that are coming to Apple Watches.

Apple watchOS 9.2 Update: New Features
With the watchOS 9.2 update, Apple Watches can automatically start Outdoor Run workout when you arrive on a known running track and offer additional track-specific metrics. You can compete against your previous workout records in Outdoor Cycle, Outdoor Run, and Outdoor Wheelchair using the Race Route feature. The update also brings the improved Kickboxing workout algorithm for more accurate tracking metrics.

Apple Watches running watchOS 9.2 can display environmental noise levels using the Noise app while wearing AirPods Pro (1st Gen) and AirPods Max when ANC is turned on. The Family Setup feature lets members in the family to control HomePods and other smart home devices using the Home app. They can also unlock compatible smart door locks using the Wallet app.

The new software also brings improved accessibility features, including the support for visualise when Siren is in use on the Apple Watch Ultra and improved response time and accuracy of hand gesture controls for Assistive Touch and Quick Actions.

The Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen), Apple Watch Series 8, and the Apple Watch Ultra also gets improved crash detection performance. There were a few bugs that caused interruptions in the Mindfulness app during sessions and caused incorrect time to be displayed just after dismissing an alarm. Those bugs have been fixed with the watchOS 9.2 update. The update also improves battery life during multiworkouts on the Apple Watch Ultra in power saving mode.

Categories
Tips and Guidelines

Your phone won’t charge? Try these fixes

Don’t freak out just yet! Let’s see if we can get your battery charging again.

It has been a long and busy day. You get home with a nearly dead smartphone battery and finally plug it in, only to find out the thing isn’t charging anymore! It’s normal to freak out for a bit, but don’t lose hope just yet. Here are some quick solutions you can try when you’re having issues with your phone not charging.

Check out the Ampere app
Ampere is an excellent app for checking if your phone is charging and how much it’s charging. It essentially identifies how much current is being drawn in from your device when it charges. Because of this, the app is great for seeing if your phone is charging at all and for seeing which charging method is the best.

Give it a go and see the status of your phone battery while plugged in. If the number in the app shows up green, the device is charging, but if it’s a negative orange number, your device is using power.

Is your cable in good condition?
A phone not charging could be due to many reasons, but the cable is one of the first things to check. Especially if it’s an accessory you’ve had for a long time, possibly since the phone was purchased. Our cables go through plenty of torture. They go with you to many places, not to mention we can often step or trip on them, they often get tangled up, we throw them in bags carelessly, and so on.

Inspect your charging cable thoroughly and see if there are any evident signs of damage. Any rips, bends, cuts, or general damage will be a good reason cables malfunction. Also, try to charge another device with it and see if it works. If it does, the issue might be the device. You can also try using another cable to see if it will charge your smartphone battery.

How about the adapter?
Of course, the wall charger is just as important as the cable. Go ahead and put it through the paces. Inspect it for any damage. Cracks or bent outlets are obvious red flags. Likewise, try using it with other devices and switching it with another brick to see if this is the problem.

Check your charging port
If your cable and charger work with other devices, it’s time to start looking at your phone. A common culprit is the charging port. For starters, go ahead and check if there is any dirt or debris in the port. Something as simple as a dirty port will mess up your charging. You can try cleaning the charging port with a brush or compressed air.

If you need some recommendations, any compressed air disposable can should work. If you often need compressed air, it might be a good idea to invest in an electric compressed air machine. There are many on Amazon, but I’ve personally used the XPOWER A-2S and have no complaints so far.

Have you noticed the port feeling loose lately? Ports can get worn out with excessive usage. You could also find signs of corrosion in there. Sadly, there isn’t much you can do about this, other than replacing the phone or trying to have the port replaced.

Test a wireless charger
Given that your phone supports wireless charging, and you have a wireless charger, this is an easy way to test if the problem is related to the phone’s port or accessories. Just try to charge your phone with a wireless charger. This could also be a temporary solution to keep your phone working until you figure out the problem and get it fixed. You might have a bigger battery-related issue if your phone isn’t charging.

Try a different power source
Plug something else into the same outlet you’re trying to charge your phone with and see if it works. Sometimes outlets go bad, or a section of your home might have electric problems. Additionally, some power sources can be weak. If you find issues with your outlet, try other outlets in the house.

Those trying to charge using a USB port in a computer or power strip might not be getting the juice the smartphone needs to charge correctly. Move to a regular outlet and see if this gets rid of your charging woes.

Turn your phone off or restart
his is a magical fix for all things tech, and it works most of the time. Sometimes a simple restart will get all your phone’s gears in place and have it working correctly. Turning off your phone completely might also help your smartphone battery charge better. Any heavy usage or background processes can affect charging performance. Turning your phone off will leave all resources clear so your device can focus solely on charging. Simultaneously press the Power and Volume Up buttons, then tap on Restart. Alternatively, you can select Power off and manually turn the phone back on.

Can you replace the battery?
Smartphones with a removable battery are rare these days, but if you still have one of these gems, you could try a few fixes. For starters, trying something like removing the battery and putting it back in place might get everything working again. Aside from that, you could try getting a brand-new battery and replacing the old one.