The advice on this has evolved significantly as lithium-ion battery technology has matured. Here's the current, accurate picture.
Modern laptops manage this for you
Most laptops made in the last 3–4 years have battery management systems that stop charging at 100% and prevent overcharging. Leaving these plugged in constantly is generally fine. Many recent models (Dell, Lenovo, ASUS, Apple) let you set a charge limit of 80% in their settings specifically to extend battery longevity.
What does degrade batteries
Heat — the primary enemy of battery lifespan. A laptop running hot while plugged in (gaming, video rendering) degrades the battery faster than one running cool. Deep discharges — regularly draining to 0% and then charging to 100% causes more cycle stress than keeping it in the 20–80% range. Age — lithium batteries degrade over time regardless of how well you treat them. After 3–4 years, some degradation is normal and expected.
Practical advice
For a desktop replacement (rarely unplugged): enable the battery charge limit feature in your laptop's settings if available, and keep it well-ventilated. For a laptop you use on the go: try to keep it between 20–80% where practical, but don't stress about it obsessively — modern batteries are more resilient than older ones.
Battery degrading?
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