9 Best Tools to Analyze Laptop Battery Health

Laptop batteries are essential hardware, but users often have very little information about their health. Windows laptops also do not provide enough information to users. It only displays a small battery indicator with the remaining time and battery percentage.

Over time, laptop batteries will encounter some problems such as: Battery not charging, battery charge level indicator fluctuates, etc. But there are solutions to these problems.

In today's article, TipsMake.com will introduce to readers some third-party diagnostic tools that allow users to check battery health in Windows.

Why should you monitor your laptop battery health?

A battery is a portable chemical device with a limited energy source. Due to the nature of the battery, it has a complex voltage response to load, temperature, and its own life. The health of the battery affects both device performance and operating time. Users should monitor the health of the battery for the following reasons:

Create a starting point for power management under different workloads and environments.

The maximum capacity of the battery changes over time. As a result, the charge level indicator may show inconsistent values ​​to the user. When this happens, the user will know when to calibrate the battery.

Improper use of batteries can reduce their lifespan. Monitoring battery health allows users to take corrective steps to increase their lifespan.

Laptop battery health analysis tools

1. View battery history report with Powercfg

The powercfg command is a hidden tool on Windows. Users can use it to generate an accurate report of battery history.

It includes information about battery performance and allows users to observe the battery capacity degradation that inevitably occurs over time.

To generate a battery report, open Command Prompt and type:

powercfg /batteryreport

This command saves the battery report in HTML format to C:UsersYour_Usernamebattery-report.html . Double-click the file to open it in your browser. Check the following details:

1. Difference between Design Capacity and Full Charge Capacity : As the battery wears out over time, the full charge capacity will be less than the design capacity.
2. See how much battery capacity has been depleted over the past few days at different power states. Also check the battery usage graph.
3. Observe how the full charge capacity gradually decreases compared to the design capacity. Note any differences.
4. Compare battery life at full charge vs. design capacity since laptop purchase.
5. Check battery usage and life, as well as how long the computer has been running on battery or plugged into an electrical outlet.

With this laptop battery life test, users can identify issues that affect battery life. If the report shows a large difference, users can consider replacing the battery.

2. BatteryInfoView

BatteryInfoView is a free application that contains a wealth of information about your laptop battery. The tool has two main components.

The first screen provides the user with complete information about the design capacity, full charge capacity, battery health, number of charge/discharge cycles, etc.

The second screen analyzes a detailed log of power status, charge/discharge values, and more. A new log line is added whenever the user pauses or resumes using the computer.

In this way, users can find out the battery discharge rate. The battery information can also be exported to TXT or CSV files for reference.

Advantage

1. View detailed battery information in one place.
2. Users can check the log to observe changes in battery capacity.
3. This tool allows users to place windows on top of other applications to monitor battery.

Disadvantages

1. Cannot filter battery log by date.
2. Does not show the user any graph to predict battery wear over time.

Download BatteryInfoView (Free).

3. BatteryMon

BatteryMon is an easy-to-use application that monitors your laptop's battery charge level by presenting a graph of what it detects in real-time.

The Y axis shows the charge level in percent (0 - 100%) and the X axis shows the sampling time. The user can change the sampling interval in the configuration screen.

The black line shows the current charge level. The blue line shows the trend based on extrapolated data samples.

And the red line shows the user the comparison with the battery life. For short-term comparison, the red line will deviate more than usual. The user also gets detailed information about the discharge rate.

As the app continues to be used, the discharge rate becomes more accurate and the user will understand how the battery degrades with different workloads.

Advantage

1. This tool analyzes battery health with a real-time graph.
2. Users can set up notifications for battery level, voltage and temperature.
3. Data on charge/discharge rate, remaining battery time, total time, etc.
4. Keep a log of battery performance for future reference.
5. Compare and measure current capacity with data collected in the past.

Disadvantages

1. This application is very complicated for new users.
2. The graph part can be 'overwhelming' (Tweak the sample time in the configuration screen to make it simpler).

Download BatteryMon (Free).

4. Save Battery

A simple battery health check app designed to work with Surface tablets and laptops. The main screen shows you a beautiful, animated charge/discharge status. It shows you battery information such as Design Capacity, Full Charge Capacity, last plugged in/unplugged, and remaining charge/discharge time.

You can switch from a dark to a light theme and enable Tiles to display your battery percentage on the Start screen. Depending on the size of the live tile, the app can display different information about your battery status.

Advantage

1. Set notifications when battery is full, low, and charging/discharging at a specific level. This can be a SMS message, reminder, or a recurring email.
2. Click History to view Charging and On Battery history in a graph. You can export the list for reference.

Disadvantages

1. You cannot customize the sampling interval. The data reference points are quite small, making it difficult to see the battery trend.
2. The app can only contain battery data for 30 days.

Download Save Battery (Free, in-app purchases available)

5. Microsys Smarter Battery

This is a diagnostic toolkit to monitor laptop battery health, perform calibration and export battery related data for reference.

The Info page provides you with data on Full Battery Capacity vs. Design Capacity , discharge time, number of cycles, wear level, and power status in battery or AC power mode.

The Graph page shows you the evolution of battery capacity over time. The Y-axis is the percentage of capacity and the X-axis shows the data plotted over that time period. For a healthy battery, the red line should be parallel to the orange line.

The Calibrate page displays statistical information related to laptop battery wear level, usage time, discharge cycles, cycles since calibration, etc. You can save battery data for each page at any time.

You can enable the widget to view information such as battery capacity and remaining time or monitor CPU usage. Additionally, you can view a detailed log file of battery discharge rate and calibration data.

Advantage

1. At a time, you can monitor up to 4 batteries, including the battery pack.
2. You can zoom in/out to modify the time interval and use the arrow buttons to move forward/backward in time.
3. Simulate the discharge mechanism to speed up the calibration process.
4. You can set alerts when your battery is low or about to run out and force your computer to go into standby or hibernation when the battery is low.

Disadvantages

1. Options are scattered all over the page.
2. It can sometimes be confusing and conflicting with the built-in power management settings.

Download Microsys Smarter Battery (Free Trial, $14)

6. Pure Battery Analytics

This is a well-designed app for checking/monitoring your laptop's battery health. The Quick Glance screen displays the current battery status, launches settings that frequently affect battery life, full charge capacity, and design.

The Analytics screen shows you battery percentage changes over time in 4 different graph views - bar chart, column chart, line chart, and bubble view. Install the add-on from GitHub to get notifications and real-time battery percentage.

The app allows you to set up notifications when the battery is charged/discharged to a specific level. You can even trigger a theft alarm in case someone tries to steal your laptop.

Advantage

1. Generate heat maps to show average battery maintenance trends per hour over the selected time period.
2. The graph compares battery readings against battery percentage change (charge-discharge) and your battery capacity distribution over time.
3. Detailed and beautiful graph reports on power, sleep diagnostics and more configurations from powercfg.

Disadvantages

1. Too many metrics are displayed on one page, making it a bit difficult to analyze battery data.
2. You cannot export battery data for reference.

Download Pure Battery Analytics (Free; In-app purchases available)

7. Battery Cat

The app has a very simple design and can check the battery charge cycles and capacity. All information about the current state of the battery compared to the initial capacity is accessible through the tool. You can save all the records along with the date by clicking on File and opening the History window. All your history will be saved in:

C:UserYour_Usernamebatterycatbatterycat.csv

Advantage

1. All information at your fingertips
2. Easy to use and great for beginners

Disadvantages

1. The application does not have a filtering option to list records based on date or workload.
2. Fonts may be small and blurry because the application uses the GTK runtime

Download BatteryCat (Free)

8. Smarter Battery

With Smarter Battery, you can access all of your battery health monitoring, calibration, and performance data records for future reference. You can access three pages: Battery Information, Capacity, and Calibration. Each of these pages provides valuable information you need to monitor your battery health.

Advantage

1. Can test 4 batteries at the same time, including battery pack
2. Can adjust the time interval and move back and forth over time
3. The calibration process can be enhanced by stimulating the discharge mechanism.
4. There is an option for battery saver mode
5. When the battery is too low, an alarm can be set to notify you and force the battery to go into standby mode.

Disadvantages

1. Many options to use.
2. It's hard to get used to.

Download Smarter Battery (Free Trial, $14)

9. BatteryCare

BatteryCare is a software created to optimize the usage and performance of modern laptop batteries. This software monitors battery discharge cycles and helps increase autonomy and improve battery life.

BatteryCare's outstanding features include:

1. Battery Discharge Cycle Tracking : Advanced algorithm accurately records when a complete discharge cycle is performed. When the configured number of discharge cycles is reached, a notification bubble will appear to remind that a complete discharge is required.
2. Full Battery Info : This software calculates the remaining time statistically in laptops that do not support battery remaining time information and only lists the charge percentage. Displays all detailed information about the battery, such as wear level, capacity, consumption, manufacturer, etc.
3. Read CPU and HDD temperature : BatteryCare continuously monitors your CPU and hard drive temperature, in degrees Celsius or degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Automatically switch power mode : Depending on your computer's power source, BatteryCare can automatically select the power mode you prefer.
5. Control Windows Aero and demanding services : Automatically disables the graphics acceleration theme in Windows Vista and/or demanding services that reduce battery life.
   When the laptop stops running on battery, the theme will be re-enabled and stopped services will be restored.
6. Notification Area Information : It has a compact pop-up window with the necessary information that you need to monitor quickly. Temperature, charging status, remaining time and power mode
7. Automatic update : No need to bother downloading new installers, when there is a new version, the program will update itself.
8. Light on the system : Due to the concern of battery optimization, BatteryCare does not affect the system performance. It only requires 0.1% of processor and memory resources.

Advantage

1. Low or critical battery status notification
2. Easily switch power modes
3. Power mode synchronized with Windows power events

Disadvantages

1. You only have access to a summary of the information.
2. Not enough information about log, cycle, data, etc.

Monitoring the health of a device's battery is not a simple task. There are too many variables and factors to consider. With these tools, users can at least monitor the health and take corrective measures to extend the life of their laptop battery.

Hope you find the right tool!

Marvin Fry

Update 20 December 2024