Guide
Laptop battery dying or not charging? Mac and Windows battery health
Batteries wear out — it is the one part of a laptop guaranteed to. But "the battery is dead" is often the charger, the cable or the port instead, and a genuinely worn battery on an otherwise healthy machine is one of the best-value repairs there is. Here is how to tell what you actually have.
Battery, charger or port? Tell them apart first
Before assuming the battery, rule out the cheaper causes. Try a known-good charger and cable, a different outlet, and check the charging port is clean and firm. If it charges with a different charger, the battery was never the problem. If nothing charges it at all, note whether any charge light comes on — no light points at the charger or port rather than the battery.
Check the battery's real health
You do not have to guess — both systems can tell you the battery's true condition, including how much capacity it has lost and how many charge cycles it has been through. A healthy battery is around 80% or more of its original capacity; well below that is why yours does not last.
On Windows
- Generate a battery report — open Command Prompt and run "powercfg /batteryreport" — it saves an HTML file
- Read design vs full charge — in that report, compare "Design Capacity" with "Full Charge Capacity"; the gap is how much your battery has worn
- Check the cycle count — the same report lists cycles — most laptop batteries are rated for a few hundred to around a thousand
- Smart charging — many Windows laptops have a "smart" or "80% limit" charging setting in the maker's app that slows wear
On a Mac
- Battery Health — System Settings > Battery > Battery Health shows "Normal" or "Service Recommended" at a glance
- Cycle count — hold Option and choose > System Information > Power to see the exact cycle count and condition
- The cycle limit — modern MacBook batteries are rated to around 1,000 cycles before they are considered worn
- Optimised Battery Charging — leave this on (in Battery settings) — it holds at 80% until you need a full charge, which slows ageing
What wears a battery out — and what helps
Two things age a battery fastest: heat, and sitting at 100% while plugged in all day. You do not need to fully drain it — in fact deep discharges are worse than shallow ones. Keep it cool, use the optimised or 80%-limit charging your machine offers, and do not worry about old advice to "calibrate" it regularly; modern batteries do not need it.
A swollen battery is a stop-now situation
If the trackpad or keyboard is lifting, the case is bulging, or the laptop no longer sits flat, the battery is swelling — and that is a safety issue, not just a wear one. Stop using and charging it, do not press on or puncture it, and get it replaced promptly. This is genuinely the one battery symptom you should not put off.
Replace, or live with it?
A worn battery in a machine that is otherwise sound is an easy call — a replacement restores hours of life for a fraction of a new computer. On MacBooks the battery is bonded into the case, so it is a bench job rather than a click-in swap, but it is routine work across the Air and Pro range. If the machine has other significant problems, we will tell you before you spend on a battery for it.
Worked through these and still stuck? Read us the symptoms and we will tell you what is likely wrong — free, any hour.
Call 0478 953 755Common questions
How long should a laptop battery last?
Roughly two to four years of normal use, or a few hundred to around a thousand charge cycles. After that most batteries hold noticeably less than they did, which is when you notice the run-time dropping. It is wear, not a fault.
My MacBook says "Service Recommended" — is that bad?
It means the battery has worn to the point Apple suggests replacing it. It is not dangerous in itself and the Mac still works on power, but you will get much shorter run-time. A replacement on an otherwise healthy MacBook is well worth it.
Is it bad to leave my laptop plugged in all the time?
It will not instantly harm it, but heat plus sitting at 100% is what ages a battery fastest. Using the optimised or 80%-limit charging feature your laptop offers noticeably slows that wear if you are usually on power.
My laptop battery looks swollen — is it dangerous?
Treat it as a stop-now situation. A swelling battery lifts the trackpad or case and should not be used, charged, pressed or punctured. Power it down and arrange a replacement promptly — this is the one battery symptom worth acting on straight away.
Still not sure?
Describe what the machine is doing and we will tell you what is likely wrong and whether it is worth fixing — before you spend anything. Diagnosis over the phone is free, 24 hours a day.
Call 0478 953 755