4 Windows 11 tips and tricks to help maximize your computer’s battery life

If you’ve ever left your computer charger behind, you know the feeling of despair that washes over you as you watch its battery drain away. Internet browsing might be OK for a while, but if you’re watching a movie or even using an app that requires significant processing power, your battery may not last long.

A dead computer is bad, but it’s even worse if you’re in the middle of work and haven’t had a chance to save. There are many reasons why a battery might drain quickly, but if you’re on Windows 11, Microsoft’s new operating system has several settings you can configure to help conserve battery life.

Here are a few tips and tricks — like stopping applications from constantly refreshing in the background — to help improve battery life on your Windows 11 computer.

Are you still on Windows 10 and want to update? Here’s what you need to do before you can download Windows 11. And if you’re already running Windows 11, we can explain how to help minimize distractions and stay focused on Windows 11, as well as how to free up disk space when your storage is getting full on Windows 11.

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Stop apps from refreshing in the background

Applications on your computer run in the background, which allows them to continue working even if you’re not actively using them. For example, they can send you notifications when you receive a text message, email or comment on social media. However, you don’t always need your apps refreshing, especially when you’re low on battery, which is why you can stop them from doing so:

1. Open the Settings app and go into System.

2. Click Power & battery.

3. Under Battery click Turn on now (you must be unplugged from a power source).

Once enabled, certain notifications and background activity will be paused to help extend your battery life. 

You can also mess with a couple of settings to improve the battery saver feature: you can change the battery percentage for when battery saver is enabled and lower your screen brightness when using battery saver.

Lower the refresh rate for your display

The refresh rate is how often the image on your screen refreshes every second: the higher the rate, the smoother the motion on your screen appears. For example, if you’re playing a video game, you want the highest refresh rate possible. Unfortunately for your battery, a higher refresh rate also means more power. If you don’t need a high refresh rate, you can lower it to help conserve battery:

1. Open the Settings app and click System.

2. Next, go into Display and then Advanced display.

3. Finally, change the number displayed next to Choose a refresh rate.

Depending on your laptop or desktop, you may see a different refresh rate number as your default. If you only have one refresh rate option, unfortunately there is no way for you to lower it. 

Also, it’s important to be aware that if you lower the refresh rate, it will affect your computer’s performance. In certain instances, this may make it more difficult to do regular tasks.

Use a dark background or theme

If your Windows 11 computer has an OLED display, then it can take advantage of a dark background or theme to help improve battery life. Unlike older LCD/LED displays, each pixel is individually illuminated on an OLED display, which means that if the background is black, those pixels won’t light up and use the battery.

1. Open the Settings app and click Personalization.

2. At the top of the page, choose one of the dark themes.

There are a few dark themes to choose from. Each of them will darken your background, as well as all the windows and certain apps you can use in Windows 11. 

If you already have a personalized dark background, you can go to Settings > Personalization > Colors > Choose your mode and select Dark from the options that appear.

Decrease time for lock screen timeout

The longer your screen is on the more energy it eats up, which is why you might want your screen to quickly turn off when you step away from your computer, whether it’s for just a few minutes or an hour.

1. Open Settings and go to System. 

2. Next, click Power & battery.

Underneath Power you’ll find several settings for turning your display off after a certain amount of inactivity. You can change the number of minutes from whatever default you have to a lower number like 1 or 2 minutes. However, you should only change the time for the settings that are for battery power (and not when it’s plugged in to power), which is when you most need to conserve battery.