Do you know how to charge a laptop battery manually? If you don’t, we will show you exactly how to do this here in this guide. No matter how careful you are, there will be times when you need to charge the battery in your laptop and do not have your charger with you.
You may think that the easiest solution is to keep a couple of batteries for your laptop with you wherever you go. This sounds like a good idea until you realize how expensive replacement laptop batteries tend to be. If you have a spare battery but do not keep it charged, then it will probably be almost flat anyway when you try to use it.
So, here we will show you a few different ways to charge your battery manually. You will likely be pleasantly surprised at the number of different options that you have to charge your laptop battery manually.
Table of Contents
How to Charge Laptop Battery Manually
1. Charge Laptop With a USB
Your laptop likely has a few USB ports. You need to understand that there are different USB ports, and you cannot use all of them to charge up your laptop. For example, if you have type A USB ports on your laptop, you will not be able to use these for charging. The reason is that they can only output power and not receive it from another device.
A lot of modern laptops have type B and type C USB ports. This is really good news, as you can use these ports to send power to your laptop. Check to see what type of USB ports your laptop has. If it has type B or C, you can connect these to another device and charge your laptop because they accept power.
Most smartphones and tablet devices these days have type C USB ports. So, if the battery in your mobile device has enough charge, you can connect the appropriate cable between it and your laptop, and it will provide some power for you to continue using your laptop.
2. Use a Universal Power Adapter
If you don’t have your original laptop charger with you, using a universal power adapter is probably something you can use temporarily. But you need to be aware that it is not ideal because a universal power adapter has not been designed explicitly for laptop charging.
We don’t recommend that you use a universal adapter unless you have to because it could cause damage to your laptop. Instead, an original laptop charger that was supplied with your laptop is specifically designed for the job. It will provide a charge at a completely safe rate.
Although universal power adapters are available in many stores, you will not find one that is an exact replacement for your original charger. Instead, you need to find out the specifications of your original laptop charger and then find a universal power adapter that is the closest to it. Don’t just buy any universal power adapter and plug this into your laptop.
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3. Using an External Battery Charger
Using an external battery charger safe for your laptop battery is smarter than going for a universal power adapter. You will not be plugging an external battery charger directly into your laptop, though.
What you will do instead is to remove the battery from your laptop and then connect it to the external charger. Next, plug the external battery charger into a mains outlet and wait until your laptop battery is fully charged. You can then put your battery back into your laptop and use it normally.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
4. Use a Power Bank to Charge Your Laptop
These days there are many different power bank options available. A power bank is a device that has its own batteries, and you can use it to charge laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other devices that have a rechargeable battery.
To use a power bank, you will need a type C USB port on your laptop which will accept the power in. It is a good idea to fully charge your power bank in your home or office before going out with your laptop.
5. Use a Solar Charging Kit
There are charging kits available now that use solar power. This is a great option if you are going to be outdoors and far away from a mains outlet. They consist of solar panels that usually fold out and use the energy from the sun to provide power to your laptop.
Having a solar-based power bank is a very eco-friendly thing to do. There are no batteries to dispose of, and if you can position the solar panels under direct sunlight, they will work very well. In addition, solar charging kits are coming down in price now as more and more people are choosing them. So now is a good time to get one.
Factors that affect Laptop Battery Life
Light use of a laptop, such as browsing the Internet, watching movies, and creating documents, will ensure that the temperature of your laptop battery remains between 40º to 50º. This will help your laptop battery last for long as the temperature level is low.
When you engage in heavy use of your laptop, such as playing high-intensity games, you are likely to push up the temperature of your laptop battery to around 60º. Unfortunately, at this temperature, your battery is really “running hot” and will result in your battery’s life decreasing significantly.
We are not saying that you should never play games on your laptop or use intense applications on battery power. But we do recommend that you balance this out so that your laptop battery has a chance to cool down. You will be able to use your battery for longer when you do this.
Essential Guidelines for Manual Laptop Battery Charging
When you want to charge your laptop battery manually, we urge you to consider these essential guidelines:
Cover Up Your Lithium Battery While Charging Manually
You do not want your battery to heat up too much when you are charging it. Modern laptop batteries use lithium cells, which can be a hazard if you charge up your battery outside. Be sure always to cover your laptop battery properly when you are manually charging it.
Avoid Direct Exposure to Sunlight
Never manually charge your laptop battery in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight can be hazardous with a lithium battery. If you use a solar charging kit to manually charge your laptop battery, use the kit in direct sunlight but keep your battery in the shade. Laptop batteries have been known to explode when in direct sunlight – you have been warned.
Don’t Get Your Wires Crossed
Whenever you are manually charging a laptop battery, you must ensure that you connect any wires correctly. Positive goes to positive, and negative goes to negative. If you mess up the connections and attach the wrong wires, you run the risk of your laptop battery exploding and someone getting hurt from this.
Conclusion
Our aim with this guide was to answer the question “how to charge a laptop battery manually?”. We have shown you some ways that you can do this. Your laptop will need type B or C USB ports to benefit from USB charging with another device. A type-A USB port will not allow any power to come into your laptop.
Use a universal power adapter as a last resort. They are not designed to charge laptops and may provide a charge at too high a rate. If you are not careful, you can damage your laptop with a universal power adapter. Always check the specifications of your original charger and look for a universal power adapter that is close to this spec.
If you have an external battery charger, this should be a safe method to charge your laptop battery manually. But, again, you need to check that the charger will not harm your battery. Some laptops have a port where you can plug in an AC adapter.
A lot of people use power banks these days to charge their laptop batteries effectively. You can do this, but make sure that you fully charge the power bank before leaving home. Solar charging kits are a good idea and very eco-friendly. Use the natural power of the sun to charge your laptop battery.
Please take care when you are manually charging your laptop battery. Keep your lithium battery covered up when it is charging. Never expose your laptop battery to direct sunlight, as this can cause it to explode. When you are making connections to charge your battery, please ensure that you get this right as this can cause an explosion too, if you get it wrong.
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