Got a laptop plugged in 24/7? You could be ruining your battery life, so prepare to do the charger dance

A charging cable plugged into an Asus Zephyrus G16 gaming laptop
(Image credit: Andy Edser)

There are few things more nerve-wracking than a dying battery. Ok, there are quite a few things more nerve-wracking than a dying battery, like getting chased by a bear or receiving a missed phone call from your bank. Still, those of you who like to keep your laptops plugged in all the time to avert such anxiety—and I count myself among you—are in for a nasty shock, as it might be the worst thing you could do for your battery life.

That's according to Kent Griffith, an assistant professor at the University of California, whose research on battery degradation has led him to the conclusion that leaving your laptop sitting at 100% charge for weeks or months at a time can leave you with potentially half of your initial capacity (via Gizmodo). As someone who's been in the habit for years myself, I have to say that tracks rather perfectly with my own battery life experiences. Gulp.

So what to do instead? Well, according to Griffith the optimal state for your battery is roughly between 20% and 80% charge, meaning that the best course of action would be to charge your laptop fully before letting it discharge throughout the rest of the day, plugging it back in again when you reach the magic 20% mark.

Terrible news for battery anxiety sufferers such as myself then, who reach for the charging cable at around 60% at best, and mostly leave it plugged in when possible to be extra sure.

To be fair, as a fan of high-powered gaming laptops I hardly expect my battery life to go much beyond a few hours, but it does make me wonder exactly how many laptop batteries I've ruined simply by connecting the charger and leaving it plugged in whenever I'm near a convenient plug socket.

Your next machine

Gaming PC group shot

(Image credit: Future)

Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines.
Best gaming laptop: Great devices for mobile gaming.

There are steps you can take to make sure your laptop lasts as long as possible once it's unplugged, including dimming the screen brightness, culling power-draining background apps, and keeping your laptop away from excessive heat, all of which should help you stay away from the pesky power outlet for a bit longer.

Still, there seems to be no getting away from the fact that leaving your laptop plugged in is essentially ruining one of the core functions of the device, and this is troubling news indeed.

However, maybe I'm acting like a spoiled brat here, but the idea of plugging and unplugging my laptop from the wall several times a day while keeping the charge percentage in the ideal range is the sort of thing that sets my teeth on edge. Nevertheless, for the good of my devices, and indeed yours, I suppose we should all learn to be a bit more careful about how long we charge our laptops.

Prepare to do the charger dance with me, my friends, as it seems our batteries may well thank us for it.

Andy Edser
Hardware Writer

Andy built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 12, when IDE cables were a thing and high resolution wasn't—and he hasn't stopped since. Now working as a hardware writer for PC Gamer, Andy's been jumping around the world attending product launches and trade shows, all the while reviewing every bit of PC hardware he can get his hands on. You name it, if it's interesting hardware he'll write words about it, with opinions and everything.

Read more
Four gaming laptops on a white plinth with a blue background.
We've tested the battery life of over 30 gaming laptops and here's how they stack up
The Steam Deck playing Cyberpunk 2077, outside in a much-too-small back garden
The latest Steam Deck beta update can improve battery life with the frame limiter active by *checks notes* a whole six percent
A close-up view of the battery life indicator in Windows 11
Color-coded battery icon update for Windows 11 should've been super simple, proves to be anything but
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2024
2024 felt like the year gaming laptops finally started to grow up, so roll on 2025 and the mega-smart lappys to come
Lenovo Yoga Solar PC
Lenovo's clever solar-powered laptop can turn 20 minutes of sunlight into an hour of video playback but sun-powered mobile gaming still isn't a goer
A PS5 in the bin
It's taken 30 years, but my PC has finally made it impossible for me to enjoy console gaming
Latest in Gaming Laptops
Lenovo Yoga Solar PC
Lenovo's clever solar-powered laptop can turn 20 minutes of sunlight into an hour of video playback but sun-powered mobile gaming still isn't a goer
The Razer Blade 16 (2025) on a glass table in a hotel suite at CES 2025.
Razer has seen sense and slightly lowered the Razer Tax with its latest Blade 16 gaming laptops
Four gaming laptops on a white plinth with a blue background.
We've tested the battery life of over 30 gaming laptops and here's how they stack up
Framework 12 convertible notebook
Framework takes aim at 'janky, locked-down, disposable, underpowered, and frankly, boring' entry-level laptops with its new 12-inch touchscreen
The Lenovo Legion 5i gaming laptop on a teal deals background
I still can't beat the sheer value for money this 240 Hz Lenovo RTX 4070 gaming laptop provides for $1,399 and it's starting to bug me
Lenovo's leaked OLED foldable laptop design
Lenovo's leaked new foldable OLED AI laptop looks like someone has slipped with their mouse in Photoshop
Latest in News
A World of Warcraft dwarf and human character standing in front of the entrance to a delve dungeon
WoW's nerfed its poor Delve companion into a dwarf-shaped crater after his tank spec made them too easy, and people aren't happy
One of Repo's player characters, resembling a yellow pedal bin with googly eyes, encounters a skeletal, open mouthed face with glowing yellow eyes.
After REPO 'kinda blew up', its developer asks the community for advice on how to make matchmaking lobbies
Microsoft Windows 11
The latest Windows 11 dev build gives you the ability to snap together commonly paired apps for access in a single click, and I'm already sold
Monster Hunter Wilds - a player yells in despair with their arms out, kneeling on the ground.
Some Monster Hunter Wilds players are skipping the endgame weapon grind because they just freaking hate how they look
Inside
Limbo and Inside studio demands compensation from co-founder Dino Patti for alleged 'unauthorized use of Playdead's trademarks and copyrighted works'
Key art of Kent Paul in Grand Theft Auto Vice City.
'My own voice was driving me f***ing insane': GTA Vice City actor admits even he couldn't get past his own, notoriously difficult mission