Can You Use A Laptop Without A Battery?


can a laptop work without battery

Laptops are popular because they are flexible. Because they have a battery, you can use them in places that do not have a power source. But what happens when you take the battery out?

Can You Use A Laptop Without Battery?

You can use a laptop without a battery because modern laptops are designed to use two different power sources, namely: The Battery and the AC Adapter.

In fact, when you plug an AC adapter into a laptop with a battery, the adapter will charge the battery. But once the battery is full, the adapter will start transmitting the current directly to the components of the laptop, completely bypassing the battery.

The laptop will only start drawing power from the battery once the AC adapter is disconnected. In other words, laptops with full batteries use the power coming directly from the AC adapter to run their operations.

They will continue to do so once you remove the battery. So long as the AC adapter is genuine and well-maintained, without any breaks and signs of wear and tear, it will run the functions of the laptop in the absence of a battery.

Of course, in most cases, it is better to keep the battery inside the laptop. The battery provides a backup power source. If your home or office suffers an electrical outage, you can keep working if the laptop has a full battery.

Many batteries are only designed to last for an hour or two. But some high-end machines have powerful batteries that can last six hours or more. While you can use a laptop without a battery, it is better to keep the battery inside the laptop.

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How To Run A Laptop Without A Battery?

The method for running a laptop without a battery is simple and straightforward:

plugged in laptop charger

1). I expect you to start by shutting the laptop down. That means opening your power options and clicking the ‘Shutdown’ button.

2). Once the laptop is off, you are supposed to turn the laptop upside down to access the battery. Remove the casing, retrieve the battery and then put the casing back.

3). Place the battery in a clean, cool, dry location. Get the charger and push the plug into a wall outlet.

4). Push the pin of the charger into the charging port of the laptop.

5). Press the ‘Power’ button to start the computer. At this point, the laptop will draw power directly from the charger to run its operations.

As was noted above, the method outlined above seems straightforward. However, you cannot rely on it to work every single time. This is because removing the battery from a modern laptop isn’t always easy.

For some models, it is a simple matter of flipping the laptop upside down, pushing a latch or lever to open the casing, and then removing the battery. However, you are more likely to find such conveniently positioned batteries in older laptops.

The batteries of modern laptops are out of reach. You have to remove multiple screws to reach the battery. And even then, there is no guarantee that the battery will come out. Some laptops have batteries that are permanently attached to the computer.

To remove them, you have to take the laptop back to the manufacturer. Their technicians can disassemble the laptop to access the battery. Simply put, the most difficult part of running a laptop without the battery is removing the battery.

Many people do not have the technical skill required to open their laptops to reach the battery. And even if they could, some batteries are very difficult to access. Therefore, some people do not have any choice but to keep the battery inside the laptop.

What Will Be Its Performance With Or Without A Battery?

Removing the battery will not affect the performance of the laptop. A laptop’s charger is designed to transmit enough power to charge the battery whilst also running the operations of the laptop.

By taking the battery out, you are giving the charger one less burden to carry. The performance of your laptop will not change regardless of whether or not it has a battery. In the absence of a battery, the laptop is no different from a desktop.

If a desktop can operate optimally without a battery, a laptop can do the same. If your laptop’s performance has suffered because you removed the battery, you should check the power settings.

You might be surprised to learn that your laptop’s settings always switch to ‘Power Saver‘ mode whenever the battery is removed. But you are free to change those settings to fit your situation.

Is It Safe To Use A Laptop Without A Battery?

Using a laptop without a battery will not harm the laptop. The laptop can use both the battery and the power from the AC adapter to run its functions. You don’t have to worry about harming the laptop simply because you removed the battery.

That being said, the battery provides backup power. If you remove the battery, the laptop no longer has access to that backup power. So what happens a power outage occurs in your area?

Better yet, what if someone accidentally removes the power cord from the laptop because they did not realize that the battery had been removed? These scenarios will cause the laptop to forcefully shut down.

A sudden and forceful shutdown can harm the laptop by either destroying some of the sensitive electronic components or causing errors in the operating system. If that wasn’t enough, depending on the model of the laptop, removing the battery could expose the battery terminals.

Touching the battery terminals is a bad idea. It could result in a serious shock. As such, while it is technically safe to use a laptop without a battery, doing so exposes the laptop and the user to various risks.

It’s Pros and Cons

Pros

1). Extend The Battery Lifespan

Have you ever wondered why anyone would use a laptop without a battery? It sounds like insanity but it has a purpose. Removing a battery from a laptop will extend the life of that battery.

Batteries have limited lifespans. Every time they are discharged and charged, their lifespan drops. At some point, they will stop working. You can prolong the lifespan of the battery by taking it out of the laptop and storing it separately.

You should only do this if your laptop is always connected to a wall outlet, which means that you rarely rely on the battery. Make sure you charge the battery before you store it. Otherwise, you could harm it by allowing the battery to discharge completely.

2). Reduces Heat

Whenever you connect your laptop to a charger, the charger will start by charging the battery. The process of charging a battery generates heat. By removing the battery, you can reduce the amount of heat generated by the laptop. The removal of the battery also creates more room for heat to escape

3). Diagnosis

This practice is an effective tool for diagnosis. If your laptop has a power issue, the easiest way to identify the problem is to use the laptop without a battery. If the laptop can run efficiently without a battery, you may conclude that the battery is at fault.

As you have probably noticed, these are not great advantages. Yes, it would be nice to prolong your battery’s life. But a decent battery will survive for quite a while even if you haven’t bothered to take it out while using the laptop.

Cons

1). Shutdown

If a power blackout occurs, a laptop without a battery will forcefully shut down. A forceful shutdown can harm the laptop by damaging sensitive electronic components and introducing software errors.

This is why laptop owners are encouraged to use safe shut down procedures as opposed to holding the power button down. You could crash your system.

2). Data Loss

A sudden and forceful shutdown could lead to data loss. A battery gives you the time to save your work. It also allows you to safely shut the computer down. Without the backup power provided by a battery, a forceful shutdown could corrupt your data.

3). Surge

Removing the battery leaves your laptop vulnerable to these high-intensity electrical loads, the kind that can damage your laptop.

4). Mobility Problem

This practice takes your mobility away. If your laptop doesn’t have a battery, you cannot carry the laptop from one room to another without shutting it down. There is a limit to the reach of the average power cord. By taking the battery out, you are forced to work from a single location.

5). Battery Cells Might Get Damaged

Keeping a battery in storage for long periods is dangerous. You could damage the cells. You may find that a battery in storage that has been allowed to reach 0 percent can never be recharged again. This is why it is better to keep the battery inside the laptop. If you’re determined to use a laptop without battery despite the risks, buy a UPS. It will protect the laptop.

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