2013 Archives

[rebelx]

I have a V5-572P-6858 Touchscreen Laptop. It has an integrated battery.

I'm looking for a method to disable the power supply from constantly overcharging the battery when I am using it while it's plugged into a power source. My old Dell laptop had this feature, so I would leave the battery at approximately 70% charge but disable the charge when plugged in. This maintains the health of the battery over a long period of time. Since the battery in this unit is not easily replaceable, I'd like to do the same thing.

Does anyone know how to disable battery charging? I am using Windows 8.1.

[jozefrockz]

I have the same exact situation as with you but unfortunately Acer is not listening. I have posted a thread over this link, might help or MIGHT NOT (lol):

http://community.acer.com/t5/Ultra-Thin/Li-polymer-Battery-Charging-Tips/td-p/136225/jump-to/first-u...

[rebelx]

Eek, looks like it's a clearly known issue. I'm just surprised that other manufactureres from years ago have offered this feature, but Acer does not (or one that we do not know about).

[ScottyC]

This is because Acer relies on hardware solutions rather than software based. You're also dealing in newer lithium technology, which can be charged and recharged over and over again with virutally no degradation of the battery itself. While all batteries will eventually die out you're not running the risk of killing your battery any sooner by charging it to it's full capacity. The charging switch will kick off at an ideal level, so even if the battery reports a full 100% charge it will still be within a safe level for prolonged life. As technology progresses we've begun eliminating unnecessary software and hardware as we improve more reliable solutions. I would go as far as to say that the improvements in the newer lithium batteries versus the old ones is comparable to the imporovement from nickel-cadmium batteries to those same old batteries.

If you're dead set on shutting off the battery you can try disabling the battery controllers in the device manager when the charge reaches a level you're comfortable with. I've also heard of freeware available online that will do this for you so it may just be worth a Google search.

Take care,
ScottyC