Laptop Next

As anyone with an older laptop model can tell you, old batteries are scarce! Batteries are very model-specific, and even differing models from the same company cannot share batteries. So you can understand how difficult and costly it can be to find the right battery. Thankfully, there is a cheaper solution! Try using an external battery. This will supply a low voltage to your laptop.

External batteries work by plugging into your notebook’s DC input socket, similarly to the notebook’s own power supply. Your laptop will believe that it is gaining power from the normal DC power supply, not realizing that it’s really a battery. Because the battery doesn’t know it’s using its battery mode, it will not go into power saving mode. If you would like for it to, you should modify your notebook’s settings.

Just one external battery can power a variety of notebook models, regardless of manufacturers, just as long as the voltage levels match. In order to supply to different models, the voltage output as well as the plug are changeable. The battery can be recharged simply by plugging it into the AC wall socket. Usually external batteries also come with a 5 volt USB socket to also charge cell phones and even MP3 players!

Your average battery packs will put out 110 to 230 volts of AC power. While this does reduce compatibility problems, it drastically increases weight. (Obviously, you’ll need to carry it around, otherwise what good is it when your laptop dies)? It also diminishes the available battery space. This is due to the fact that some power is lost during the DC-AC, AC-DC changes.

External batteries are quite simple to use. Simply remove your internal battery and plug in the new one. You must remove the old, dead battery so that energy is not wasted on trying to recharge it. Happily, an external battery can be used with a live internal battery. It will help to extend its running time. Once you disconnect your external battery, your internal battery will take over.

There really is no set way to choose your external battery. Trial and error is the best way to go. Play around and find for yourself what works best for your laptop. Due to the fact that external batteries are not all that different from internal batteries, the cost, capacity, size, recharge time, and overall lifespan will be about the same.

These are meant to be a temporary solution or quick fix. If you have a true problem, you will still need to either fix it, or have someone else fix it.