Stop your Windows 11 battery from dying so quickly.
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.
Watch this:
Windows 11 won’t let a low battery catch you by surprise
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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.
If your battery falls under a certain percentage, the battery saver feature automatically turns on.
CNET
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:
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