Toshiba laptop only charges when turned off

You rely on your laptops battery to provide you with power when the computer is not plugged in. However, many people are frustrated with the short length of time that some Toshiba laptop batteries last!

There are a few reasons why your Toshiba laptop battery may be draining so fast, including bad charging habits, certain power-draining settings, and even things as simple as extreme temperature changes. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid this and increase your battery life.

Keep reading to learn more about why your Toshiba laptop battery may be draining quickly, as well as a few ways to fix the problem.

A Few Reasons Why You May Have Poor Battery Life

In most cases, a fast-draining battery is not simply due to a defective product. You, as the user, could be doing many things to cause your battery to work harder, draining it prematurely as a result.

A few of these common user errors are explained in detail below. Well discuss each of these problems and the steps you can take to remedy them.

Bad Charging Habits

If youre like many people, you probably plug your laptop in at the end of each day to allow it to fully charge by the following day. Or, you may leave it plugged in continuously, only letting it run on battery power when youre away from home or dont have an available charging outlet.

Most people do not realize that this practice can actually harm your battery life! When you do not let your Toshiba battery drain fully before charging it up, you reduce the amount of time it can function on battery power alone.

To extend the length of time your battery lasts, let it run unplugged for as long as possible. Do not plug it in at least until you see the low battery warning pop up, and for best results, let the battery run out completely before you charge it again.

This is especially important if youve just purchased a new Toshiba laptop or replaced the battery on your current one. When you let the battery run out entirely, you train your laptop to last as long as possible without the chargers support.

Using Power-Draining Settings

Things such as high brightness, leaving USB drives plugged in, and having too many programs open at once can all reduce your battery life. Lets go over a few of the things you can do to prevent this.

Most Toshiba laptops will have a default Power Saver setting that you can turn on to help improve your battery life. To access these settings, right-click on the battery tray icon in the lower right corner of your screen and choose Power Options. You can also get here by going to your laptops Control Panel and pressing Power Options.

Select Power Saver to automatically adjust the brightness to 40%, turn your display off after three minutes of inactivity, and begin sleep mode after 15 minutes. Turn off any backlighting, such as keyboard backlighting, as well. If you have anything plugged into the USB port that you are not using, remove it. Finally, open Task Manager and close any unnecessary programs.

Exposing the Battery to Extreme Temperatures

Laptop batteries do not typically do well in extreme heat or cold. If you leave your laptop in your car often, you may notice poor battery life for this reason.

Always keep your laptop in a temperature-controlled area, especially during the winter and summer seasons. Excessive temperatures can cause batteries to lose their charge quickly, and some Toshiba laptop batteries will not even charge when theyre too hot!

What if My Battery Still isnt Charging?

If youve ruled out all the above causes, try cleaning out your battery compartment and battery contacts with a dry, clean cloth. If the battery compartment has any debris inside, or if the battery itself is dirty, it may not hold a charge as long as it should.

If it still doesnt hold a charge well after this, you may need to replace your battery. In general, Toshiba laptop batteries will only last between 2-3 years. If your battery is more than three years old, purchase a new, high-quality battery and charging cable.

Final Thoughts

Having a laptop battery that does not last as long as you need it to can be very inconvenient, especially if youre frequently on the go! However, before you go out and purchase a brand new Toshiba laptop battery and charger, try adjusting the things mentioned above to see if it helps and makes the battery last longer.

If you dont have any luck, it may be time to replace your battery altogether. Make sure to use only a high-quality, manufacturer-approved product to ensure your new battery does not cause you any problems.

If you own another laptop, click here for Samsung and here for Lenovo.