Improving Chromebook battery life can be done in several different ways. Chromebooks are known to having much better battery life straight out of the box than many other portable PCs. This is mainly due to running a much less resource-intensive operating system than Windows- or Mac-based computers. It is not surprising to have a Chromebook that could run 10 hours on one charge right out of the box.

Tricks to Make Chromebook Battery Run Longer

There are several tricks that make your Chromebook’s battery run longer. Below is a list of the of the best Chromebook battery tips users can make changes for. If your Chromebook is managed, not all of these options may be allowed by the Administrator. Double check with whoever is in charge of your Chromebook to make sure the battery is properly optimized.

How to Improve Chromebook Battery Life

Here are some easy ways for most users  to enable long life from your Chromebook battery:

1. Turn down screen brightness.  A bright screen on your Chromebook may be shortening better life.  Screen brightness can be adjusted by using the two keys on the top row of the keyboard.  Since the display is one of the biggest users of battery power, you can save big on battery life by turning the brightness level down to the lowest you are comfortable with. This is a big thing that will save you battery power on a Chromebook.
2. Avoid updates while running on battery. While Chrome will update on its own in the background (very hard to control this), avoid other software updates while running on battery to save battery life and CPU resources. You can usually adjust this within App settings. Again, this will make your Chromebook run longer on a single charge.
3. Remove Unnecessary Chrome Browser Extensions. Just like browser tabs, extensions could stress your CPU too. Use the task manager to see how many resources your extensions are using and try to get rid of some you may not need. There are a lot of extensions that use CPU in the background. If these are not optimized, they will suck battery life.
4. Unplug unneeded devices To save battery life, remove other devices like phones that are charging or headphones. Conversely, when not using the Chromebook but a power source is needed, you can charge other devices from the Chromebook as long as it is powered on and unlocked.
5. Turn off Bluetooth. Bluetooth is a powerful technology but it takes power to enable it. If your Chromebook has been setup for Bluetooth but it is not in use, turn it off by clicking on the status area on the taskbar, selecting “Bluetooth Disabled” from the Settings window. Bluetooth will drain a Chromebook’s battery and turning it off is an easy to maximize Chromebook battery life.
6. When inactive, lock your screen. Chrome OS is designed to maximize battery life. As a result, there is no native setting available in Chrome OS to change the length of inactivity before the Chromebook enters sleep mode and screensavers are unsupported since they impact available battery life. This is another big way to improve a Chromebook’s battery life.
7. Close out unneeded webpages or apps. Most webpages and apps refresh frequently to provide updated information. To see what is currently open, press the Windows Switcher key , then close out all unneeded apps. Chrome OS supports a feature that tells you which web pages or apps have used the most battery. To find this, click on the status area on the taskbar, then Settings. This will open the Settings Window. Under Device, click on “Battery”. A list of websites and apps will show in the new window, along with the percentage of battery consumed.

Extending Chromebook Battery Life

One of the most important things you can do to extend a Chromebook’s battery life is to turn off Chromebook when not in use for long time. To power off your Chromebook press the power button for about a second to lock your screen. Keep pressing the power button to completely shut down your Chromebook. If your’re on the main sign-in screen, you can click the Shut down button in the lower-right corner of the page or simply close the lid to shut down. This is one simple step that will surely improve the Chromebook’s battery life.

Is it safe to keep my Chromebook plugged-in?

Yes. When plugged in, the laptop receives its power from the wall outlet and the battery in effect serves as a “Battery Backup Device”. Once modern laptop batteries reach their maximum charge level, they stop receiving “juice” from the charger.