Anyone know how to recalibrate a laptop battery?

It's for a 2013 HP Pavillion G6, battery life is getting annoyingly short again now, and can suddenly drop which isn't ideal.  It had a brand new genuine battery in May 2016 at the cost of £75! 😮

The HP Support assistant battery check tells me the battery is functioning correctly but needs calibrating.  The instructions for this are  - charge to 100% and leave plugged in for 2.5 hours afterwards.  I do this pretty much every day though, it gets plugged in about 1pm and the mains tower isn't then switched off until I go to bed about 11pm, so well over 2.5 hours after full charge...  Or do I need to leave the laptop switched on during that time for it to calibrate?  

I use the laptop on battery power for an hour or two everyday so could really do with a solution to this, other than buying another battery lol.

On my laptop when it would do that I'd just change the battery which resolves the problem. I did also have to change the charger. 

New genuine batteries are so expensive though.   Tried a non-gen battery last time and the battery life was worse than the knackered genuine one lol.  I'll have to just put up with it if there's no way to recalibrate this one.

I think the slim laptop batteries are the worst. I've changed the battery twice now on mine after 4 years owning it. I think once or twice I had to change the charger as it would not charge properly or I'd get a notification saying plugged in not charging. 

Turn on then charge to full and leave connected for the requisite time, unplug and allow to discharge until about to shut down then repeat charge / discharge cycle a couple more times.

Sent from my SM-G965F (S9+)

Surprisingly the charger is still original, well over 5 years old and gets plugged and unplugged a few times every day...  Shame they don't make phone chargers lol.

Thanks for the advice Stoney, have tried that but it hasn't made any difference unfortunately, I reckon the battery has had it tbh.

I don't think chargers are built to be carried around a lot. My charger I'd notice would sometimes not charge the laptop when it's been transported in a bag etc. Just get a message on the laptop saying plugged in not charging. The reason why I charge my laptop the night before I take it uni. I don't think the wires are designed to be bent a lot. 

Ah that's a fair point, I don't move my charger at all.  It stays plugged into a mains tower constantly and I only move the laptop end ~50mm to plug in and unplug lol.  

Bumping this thread to save starting a new one... 

Has anyone used a CoolGo brand battery?  I've bought a cheap battery before which was no good so once bitten twice shy lol...but for a tenner this might be worth a go...just wondered if anyone else had used one?  I don't believe the 3 year warranty for a moment btw!  

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Pavilion-G72-G4-G6-G7-Series-Laptop-Spare-Battery-MU06-MU09-593553-001-CQ42/273574726733?hash=item3fb2530c4d:g:PFwAAOSwuDFcZljU:rk:5:pf:0

"CoolGo" wont be the battery brand, If you look up the part number 593553-001 on Ebay you will find multiple sellers with the same picture selling the same battery..

Normally there will be no brand on them as they are made in bulk in China.

Personally i wouldn't buy Chinese batteries but others will have different option. I've found a genuine on eBay £32.50

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Genuine-HP-593553-001-6-cell-4200mAh-laptop-battery-MU06-CQ42-UK-STOCK/254134753811?epid=1475439293&hash=item3b2b9c9a13:g:~g4AAOSwEARbC8fW:rk:1:pf:0  

9 minutes ago, Anthonybanni said:

"CoolGo" wont be the battery brand, If you look up the part number 593553-001 on Ebay you will find multiple sellers with the same picture selling the same battery..

Normally there will be no brand on them as they are made in bulk in China.

Personally i wouldn't buy Chinese batteries but others will have different option. I've found a genuine on eBay £32.50

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Genuine-HP-593553-001-6-cell-4200mAh-laptop-battery-MU06-CQ42-UK-STOCK/254134753811?epid=1475439293&hash=item3b2b9c9a13:g:~g4AAOSwEARbC8fW:rk:1:pf:0  

That one is already saved in my watch list.  I can't afford it atm though, could've pushed to a tenner.  I'm very sceptical about it actually being genuine and brand new given the price and lack of packaging.  It's almost the same description as the one I bought a couple of years ago claiming to be genuine & new...but it only lasted half an hour and the HP battery check said it was a weak battery so I returned it...and forked out about £70 for one directly from HP lol.  

Is there a rough timespan that you'd expect a genuine battery to last?  I do use it on battery power for at least 2 or 3 hours pretty much every day.  But it always gets a full charge afterwards.

HP and weird just like MACS, the batteries aren't given an time it will take for them to degrade. They are given cycle counts roughly around 300. anywhere between 3-5 years depending on usage.

Like i said earlier its personal preference, buying the £10 wont cause any harm, but i wouldn't expect it to last the same amount of time as a genuine HP one.

Also these batteries are Li-Ion i wouldn't suggest to fully discharge them if possible, can cause damage to the batteries

 

Ah I see.  So assuming I use about 50% charge every day, 300 cycle counts would only be around 2 years which is what it seems to be.  When I'm in a position to buy a new laptop, are there any reasonably priced ones with better batteries nowadays or is the battery tech still pretty much the same without moving to top end machines?  

I don't often fully discharge the battery when it's good.  Only now that it doesn't hold more than about an hours charge and can often suddenly fail without the warning or battery saver cutting in.  It's already knackered so I'm not fussed about doing any more damage to it now lol.  

My laptop is getting on for 2 1/2 years and battery life is noticeably shorter.

I wouldn't expect over 2 years of use to be kind to this kind of battery and how they're constructed have a real effect on them (they have cells in series/parallel arrangement with little to no balancing between cells - if one cell dies it'll put more strain on the others and then kaput).

Lithiums chemistry is finicity and some technology abuses it more than it should.

8 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Ah I see.  So assuming I use about 50% charge every day, 300 cycle counts would only be around 2 years which is what it seems to be.  When I'm in a position to buy a new laptop, are there any reasonably priced ones with better batteries nowadays or is the battery tech still pretty much the same without moving to top end machines?  

I don't often fully discharge the battery when it's good.  Only now that it doesn't hold more than about an hours charge and can often suddenly fail without the warning or battery saver cutting in.  It's already knackered so I'm not fussed about doing any more damage to it now lol.  

Battery tech hasn't changed much, there getting slimmer and also harder to replace as most are internal. Most of the Lenovo laptop I work have 2 batteries.

But the tech inside the laptop have change. meaning they use less energy so the battery life improves. most laptop these days should have at least 4.5 - 6 hours battery life (depending on what your doing on the laptop). Think my Mac has around 6 hours life and charges very quick.

It sounds exactly as Micro said above, I think ur battery as 3 cells and 1 or maybe 2 of them have died, so basically your battery can no longer handle the power requirement your laptop needs.

On ‎3‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 9:10 PM, Anthonybanni said:

Battery tech hasn't changed much, there getting slimmer and also harder to replace as most are internal. Most of the Lenovo laptop I work have 2 batteries.

But the tech inside the laptop have change. meaning they use less energy so the battery life improves. most laptop these days should have at least 4.5 - 6 hours battery life (depending on what your doing on the laptop). Think my Mac has around 6 hours life and charges very quick.

It sounds exactly as Micro said above, I think ur battery as 3 cells and 1 or maybe 2 of them have died, so basically your battery can no longer handle the power requirement your laptop needs.

Hi Anthony,

I've finally ordered another battery.  Waited for a 15% off deal on Ebay and ordered that 'genuine' one earlier in the thread for just under £30...still sceptical about it actually being genuine but we'll see lol!

Anyway, just wanted to ask if I'm supposed to charge it before use, and for how long?  I've seen some people online recommending a 24hr charge to set the memory and others saying that Li-Ion batteries don't have a memory like the conventional type so no need for any charging before first use.   

On 3/23/2019 at 12:52 PM, TomsFocus said:

Hi Anthony,

I've finally ordered another battery.  Waited for a 15% off deal on Ebay and ordered that 'genuine' one earlier in the thread for just under £30...still sceptical about it actually being genuine but we'll see lol!

Anyway, just wanted to ask if I'm supposed to charge it before use, and for how long?  I've seen some people online recommending a 24hr charge to set the memory and others saying that Li-Ion batteries don't have a memory like the conventional type so no need for any charging before first use.   

Hi, 

My general practice for laptop batteries is charge till 100% .. Use it till around 5-10% and then full charge again. 

Pop a picture of it when you get it 🙂 

3 minutes ago, Anthonybanni said:

Hi, 

My general practice for laptop batteries is charge till 100% .. Use it till around 5-10% and then full charge again. 

Pop a picture of it when you get it 🙂 

I fitted it yesterday and left it plugged in for around 8 hours to be on the safe side just in case there is any sort of memory.  I've just started using it on battery power and it's suggesting 6 hours left so a vast improvement on the old one!  Will obviously have to wait and see how long it actually lasts.

I'm pretty sure it's fake, came in a plain box with no HP logos anywhere.  And it's noticeably grey against my black laptop casing.  However I can't find any spelling mistakes on the battery itself and it does fit well so it's a good copy if it isn't genuine.

Just now, TomsFocus said:

I fitted it yesterday and left it plugged in for around 8 hours to be on the safe side just in case there is any sort of memory.  I've just started using it on battery power and it's suggesting 6 hours left so a vast improvement on the old one!  Will obviously have to wait and see how long it actually lasts.

I'm pretty sure it's fake, came in a plain box with no HP logos anywhere.  And it's noticeably grey against my black laptop casing.  However I can't find any spelling mistakes on the battery itself and it does fit well so it's a good copy if it isn't genuine.

does it seem like it is holding charge ?

3 minutes ago, Anthonybanni said:

does it seem like it is holding charge ?

Well after 15 minutes use it's still saying 6 hours left lol...  As I say, will just have to wait and see how long it actually lasts.

On ‎3‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 11:42 AM, Anthonybanni said:

does it seem like it is holding charge ?

Well, it became critically low today after just 2.5 hours.   Battery saver did cut in around 10 minutes before.  Definitely not up to original spec but at least it's more useable than the previous battery for now.

At least you now can use it without the charger connected

I've found a crack in the battery casing today.  Don't think it was there originally but I was more focussed on the other side when I received it.  Should I be concerned about it or is it just cosmetic?

Here are a couple if pics of old vs new, can you see anything there to confirm that the new one is a fake?

Old (genuine HP)

New (sold as genuine, believed to be fake)

If it's on the battery itself then it isn't worth the risk. We all know about Li-On batteries exploding with just the slightest of knocks (it sets off a chain reaction in the inner cells). 

On 3/26/2019 at 2:08 PM, TomsFocus said:

Well, it became critically low today after just 2.5 hours.   Battery saver did cut in around 10 minutes before.  Definitely not up to original spec but at least it's more useable than the previous battery for now.

My laptop will warn about it being low, then die about 10 seconds later haha!

Maybe it is a genuine, but used battery - maybe from a job lot of faulty notebooks?