Windows 11 Update Killing Your Battery? Here’s What You Need to Do
Your laptop won’t go through an entire day of use without connecting it to a power source at least once. That’s the price you pay for the convenience of having a laptop, but there are ways to extend your battery life a bit so you can maybe survive a full day without recharging.
If you are sure Windows 11There are several tips and tricks, like stopping apps from constantly refreshing in the background or reducing your lock screen timeout, that can help you preserve your PC’s battery life. Here’s what you need to know.
Learn more: This tip will allow “incompatible” Windows 10 PCs to upgrade to Windows 11
Are you still on Windows 10 and want to update? Here’s what you need to do before you can download Windows 11. And if you’re already using Windows 11, we can explain how to help minimize distractions and stay focusedas well as how to free up disk space when your storage is full.
Stop apps from refreshing in the background
Applications on your computer run in the background, allowing them to continue working even if you are not actively using them. For example, they may send you notifications when you receive a text message, email, or comment on social media. However, you don’t always need to refresh your apps, especially when your battery is low, so you can prevent them from doing so:
1. Open it Settings application and go to System.
2. Click Power and battery.
3. Under Battery, click To light up NOW (you must be unplugged from a power source).
Once enabled, some notifications and background activities will be suspended to extend your battery life.
If your battery drops below a certain percentage, the battery saver feature will automatically activate.
You can also change a few settings to improve the battery saver feature: You can change battery percentage when battery saver is enabled And reduce the brightness of your screen when using battery saver.
Reduce your screen refresh rate
The refresh rate is how often the image on your screen is refreshed every second: the higher the rate, the smoother the movement on your screen appears. For example, if you’re playing a video game, you want the highest refresh rate possible. Unfortunately for your battery, a higher refresh rate also means more power. If you don’t need a high refresh rate, you can lower it to save battery:
1. Open it Settings application and click System.
2. Then enter Display and then Advanced display.
3. Finally, change the number displayed next to Choose a refresh rate.
Depending on your laptop or desktop, you may see a different refresh rate number by default. If you only have one refresh rate option, there’s no way to lower it.
Choose a lower refresh rate to conserve battery life.
Additionally, it is important to know that if you reduce the refresh rate, it will affect the performance of your computer. In some cases, this can make it more difficult to perform regular tasks.
Use a dark background or theme
If your Windows 11 computer has an OLED display, it can benefit from a dark background or theme to improve battery life. Unlike older LCD/LED displays, each pixel is individually illuminated on an OLED display, meaning that if the background is black, those pixels won’t light up and use battery power.
1. Open it Settings application and click Personalization.
2. At the top of the page, choose one of the dark themes.
There are a few dark themes to choose from. Each of them darkens your background, as well as all windows and some apps you can use in Windows 11.
Dark themes help conserve battery on OLED displays.
If you already have a custom dark background, you can go to Settings > Personalization > Colors > Choose your mode and select Dark from the options that appear.
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Reduce lock screen timeout
The longer your screen is on, the more power it uses, so you may want your screen to turn off quickly when you step away from your computer, whether for a few minutes or just an hour.
1. Open Settings and go to System.
2. Then click Power and battery.
Below Power You will find several settings to turn off your screen after a certain period of inactivity. You can change the default number of minutes to a lower number like 1 or 2 minutes. However, you should only change the time for settings relating to battery power (and not when it is plugged into AC power), which is when you need to save battery power the most.
You can automatically turn off your screen after 1 minute of inactivity.
