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Some computers (e.g. Dell, Vaio) come with software that prevents a battery from charging. This functionality allows me to use my laptop with battery (protected from power outage) and keep my battery from charging until it's down to, at most, 50% battery/charge remaining.

I want do write some code to automate this task.

I searched Dell Support Center for a solution, and I searched Google, too - no luck with either.

I thought about downloading the program and debugging it, but I couldn't find it.

Has anyone ever seen something like this?

Thanks

PS: I want to do this on a Dell Inspiron, and the code can be in C++/C# (or something)

jimmym715
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Rafael
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2 Answers2

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Some laptops come with battery charge limiting functionality - it is not via software though, but via firmware plus dedicated internal hardware I guess. Some Lenovo and Acer have such capability. The logic is not in software as the charge limiter kicks in even when the laptop is off.

The reason is that battery degrade when kept at 100% - as it is the case with laptops that are always plugged in. The new Acer Swift would limit at 80%, some Lenovo let one input a particular value.

If interested I can provide you with the software side - it works on Windows and Linux but can easily be available on MacOS. It works in conjunction with external hardware - i.e. a homeplug.

The code works but it's by no means production ready. It would need a bit of tweaking for a particular operating system and homeplug. Let know if interested.

Available on github: Charge Limiter

Adrian Rosoga
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I've never heard of a program that disables battery charging. (Why on earth would you want this?) If such programs exist, I imagine that they interact with the firmware or hardware at a very primitive level.

One thing you can try is a busy loop (burning power like mad) that checks the battery level and sleeps for a bit once it gets down to the target level. This won't do good things to the cpu temperature, however.

Ted Hopp
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  • It's simple, some of us have unstable electricity, and battery works as UPS. But, constant ~10% charging ruins it pretty quickly, so charging only when it hits 50% makes sense – Bojan Kogoj Sep 25 '11 at 21:25
  • @Bojan - That makes sense. The way OP's question was worded, I was imagining software that worked to _lower_ the charge to 50%. My solution makes no sense for what you're describing, though. – Ted Hopp Sep 25 '11 at 21:30
  • What Rafael is talking about is a charge limiter so that a laptop that is almost always plugged in doesn't stay charged at 100%. The battery life decreases if kept at such level. Some laptops let you set a max charge. Of course, when travelling one would disable the functionality and leave home with the laptop fully charged. One can easily buy a new laptop if the battery degrades. The charge limiter is important for batteries on Mars rovers or on satellites. Changing batteries would be so expensive... so I guess all such systems would have charge limiters. – Adrian Rosoga Jun 14 '20 at 17:09
  • @AdrianRosoga - Yes, that makes sense. My understanding is that many devices these days do that sort of charge management with circuitry, rather than with software. – Ted Hopp Jun 14 '20 at 21:16