How do I maximize the life of my battery?

Many factors influence how much use time you get out of a battery charge. Here are some of the variables you can change:

• The display is one of the highest consumers of battery charge. If you turn down the brightness of your screen, you will see significant improvements in battery life.
  • On Windows 8 
    • Activate the Charm Bar (to the right)
    • Select “Screen”
    • Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth® functionality.
  • On Windows 8.1 
    • Activate Charm Bar (right)
    • Select “Settings”
    • Select “Change PC Settings” 
    • Then “Wireless” to change power settings to use less battery 
    • Select “Control Panel” from the “Apps” view (swipe up from bottom and select “All Apps”) 
    • Find “Control Panel” and select “Hardware and Sound” 
    • Select “Power Options”
  • Note that the lower power setting may result in pen lag in some applications. Shut down programs running in the background that you don’t need.
  • Disconnect external devices
  • Use Hibernate instead of Standby. Hibernate uses less power.
  • Take care of your battery: Do not leave a charged battery dormant for too long. Once charged use it every two to three weeks. It needs use to maintain its performance. Unlike older battery technologies, you do not need to wait until it is completely discharged before recharging. Feel free to top it up even if you have only used it a little bit. Exercise those electrons!
  • Do not let the Li-ion battery completely discharge. When you get the battery low warning, plug-in the charger. If you do not charge the battery when at 10% or below, there is a danger that it will fall into deep-discharge. Deep discharge damages the battery and it may no longer hold a charge. Our battery technology shuts down your device before it reaches deep discharge, but if it is not then charged, it will eventually fall into deep discharge.
  • If you won’t be using the device for a long period of time (more than six months), store the device with battery of around 50% of its charge: this is enough charge for it not to fall into deep-discharge.
  • On the other hand, if you store the battery fully charged for an extended period of time, the battery may lose capacity and have a shorter life.
  • Be sure to store your device (and battery) within normal temperature parameters.