How to Check Laptop Battery Health: Windows 11, 10, Mac and Chromebook (2026)

To check laptop battery health on Windows 11 or 10, open Command Prompt, type powercfg /batteryreport, press Enter and open the battery-report.html file it saves. Then divide the Full Charge Capacity by the Design Capacity. The answer, as a percentage, is your battery health, and you do not need to download anything.

On a MacBook, the reading is in System Settings, and a Chromebook shows it in the Diagnostics app. Lenovo, HP, Dell and ASUS have their own tools, which give a plain rating such as Good or Poor. On an Acer, use the Windows report.

Steps checked on 13 October 2026 against Microsoft, Apple, Google and laptop makers' support pages.

How to check laptop battery health on Windows 11 and 10

Windows 11 and 10 can create a battery report that lists the battery's design capacity, its full charge capacity today and its cycle count. You make it with one command in Command Prompt (cmd), and it opens in your web browser.

1. Select Start, type Command Prompt and open it. On Windows 11, you can also right-click Start and choose Terminal.
2. Type powercfg /batteryreport and press Enter. Leave a space before the slash.
3. Windows replies with Battery life report saved to file path and the file's location. From a normal Command Prompt window, that is C:\Users\your name\battery-report.html.
4. Open File Explorer, go to that folder and double-click battery-report.html. It opens in your browser.

Microsoft's own steps use Run as administrator, which saves the report to a different folder, so note the path the window shows.

What does the battery report show?

The key part is Installed batteries, near the top. It lists the Design Capacity (what the battery could store when new), the Full Charge Capacity (what it stores now) and the Cycle Count. Capacities are in mWh (milliwatt-hours). Further down, two sections show how capacity has changed and how long a charge lasts.

• Battery capacity history: the full charge capacity over time, so you can see how fast the battery is wearing.
• Battery life estimates: how long a full charge lasts now, against how long it would last at design capacity. Use it to check battery life in hours.

How to work out your battery health percentage

Divide the Full Charge Capacity by the Design Capacity and multiply by 100. That is your battery health. Subtract it from 100 to get the wear, the share of the original capacity the battery has lost. Both capacities are listed under Installed batteries.

These are real numbers from a Lenovo laptop's battery report, run on 13 October 2026.

Line in the report	Value
Design capacity	45,000 mWh
Full charge capacity	36,180 mWh
Cycle count	1,323
Battery health: 36,180 ÷ 45,000 × 100	80.4%
Wear: 100 minus 80.4	19.6%

After 1,323 charge cycles, this battery stores about four-fifths of the energy it was designed for. The Battery life estimates section shows the same drop: 1 hour 57 minutes of active use from a full charge, against 2 hours 26 minutes at design capacity.

Do not judge a battery on one reading. Over the past year, this laptop's recorded full charge capacity moved between 36,081 and 39,308 mWh, or 80% to 87% health. Dell notes that the figure changes with conditions such as heat, so look at the trend in Battery capacity history.

What is a good battery health percentage?

Battery health of 80% or more means normal wear, so keep using the battery. Between 50% and 79%, the runtime is shorter, so watch it and plan a replacement. Below 50%, or when a maker's tool says Poor or Replace, replace the battery soon.

Battery health	What it means	What to do
90% or more (even over 100%)	New or nearly new. HP says a new battery can show up to 10% above or below its design capacity.	Keep using. Check every few months, as Dell suggests.
80% to 89%	Normal wear. Apple designs MacBook batteries to keep up to 80% at their maximum cycle count.	Keep using. Turn on a charge limit if it is always plugged in.
50% to 79%	Below Apple's 80% mark, where an AppleCare plan replaces a Mac battery free. Runtime is shorter.	Watch it. Lenovo advises a new battery once the runtime no longer meets your needs.
Below 50%	Dell lists less than 50% of the original capacity as a sign to replace the battery.	Replace soon.
Any reading, with swelling or sudden shutdowns	A bulging case, or a laptop that dies while it still shows charge left.	Stop using it if swollen, and get it serviced.

Check the warranty first. HP and ASUS do not cover capacity lost through normal use. Lenovo's standard battery warranty is one year, and Dell's is one year (three years on Long Cycle Life batteries). Acer India covers the battery only in the first year, and an AppleCare plan covers a Mac battery below 80%.

How many charge cycles does a laptop battery last?

A charge cycle means using 100% of the battery, in one charge or over several. Apple rates its MacBooks from the last 15 years at 1,000 cycles, and ASUS says a typical laptop battery lasts 300 to 500 cycles. Your count is in the battery report.

Maker	What the maker publishes
Apple	1,000 cycles for every MacBook Air from late 2010 and every MacBook Pro from 2009, including all Apple silicon models, keeping up to 80% of capacity at that count
ASUS	300 to 500 cycles. About 80% of capacity after around 300 cycles, or a year, at 25°C
HP	A battery usually lasts three to five years
Dell	Runtime starts to drop after 18 to 24 months, sooner for heavy users
Lenovo	A noticeable drop in runtime after 12 to 18 months of regular use
Acer	No cycle figure. Acer's blog says most laptop batteries give hundreds of cycles before a noticeable loss

Treat these figures as a guide: the Lenovo battery above reads 80% after 1,323 cycles. Find your Mac on Apple's cycle count page.

How to check battery health on a Lenovo laptop

Open Lenovo Vantage, then Device and Power. Vantage rates battery health Good (green) or Poor (red), and selecting See Battery Details shows more data. Lenovo suggests a new battery when Vantage reports Poor, or when the runtime no longer meets your needs.

1. Type Lenovo Vantage in the Windows search box and open it. If it is missing, get it from the Microsoft Store.
2. Select Device (or Device Settings), then Power. Older versions call it My Device Settings.
3. Read the battery health, then select See Battery Details.

If the reading looks wrong, run Battery Gauge Reset in the same section and follow the on-screen steps. It drains and recharges the battery so the laptop re-learns its capacity. It fixes the reading, not the runtime.

To reset the gauge yourself, first turn off Conservation Mode, or Smart Charge or the charge threshold on a ThinkPad, so the battery can reach 100%. Then charge to 100%, wait an hour plugged in, and run it down to 5% or lower.

How to check battery health on an HP laptop

Open HP Support Assistant, click Battery, then Run battery check. The result reads Passed, Calibrate, Weak or Very Weak, or Replace. HP says a Weak or Very Weak battery has aged normally and should be replaced to get the most working time.

1. Open HP Support Assistant, or download it from HP's support site.
2. Click Battery, then Run battery check.
3. Open the details for the cycle count, design capacity and full charge capacity.

If the result says Calibrate, follow the message on screen. HP prefers its auto calibration option when the app offers it.

To test before Windows starts, use HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI. Charge the battery fully first, as HP recommends.

On a business laptop, set Battery Health Manager to its default, Let HP manage my battery charging, which HP says is needed for a full charge. Newer BIOS versions call it Let HP Manage My Battery Health.

1. Unplug the charger. Keep the power button pressed for five seconds to switch off.
2. Switch on and press Esc about once a second, then press F2 at the startup menu.
3. Click Component Tests, Power, Battery and Run once. It takes about two minutes.
4. If the battery needs calibration, click Calibrate Battery, then Start Calibration. This takes 12 to 14 hours, so run it overnight and reconnect the charger when the screen tells you.

On HP business laptops, the default Battery Health Manager setting lowers usable capacity over time to slow ageing, so run HP's check before you judge the Windows report.

How to check battery health on a Dell laptop

Restart the laptop and press F2 repeatedly to open the BIOS, the settings screen that opens before Windows. Find Battery Health under Overview or General. Dell rates batteries Excellent, Good, Fair or Poor, and suggests a replacement at Fair or Poor. Its apps and built-in diagnostics show the same rating.

• In Dell Optimizer (Latitude and Precision), open Power, then About my battery. Older laptops with Dell Power Manager show it under Battery Information.
• If it is missing, get Dell Optimizer (or MyDell on XPS, Inspiron and Vostro) from Dell's Drivers and Downloads page, under Application.
• For the built-in test, press F12 at start-up, choose Diagnostics and let the test finish. Then open Advanced Test, System Info and Health. Error 2000-0132 means the battery is near the end of its life.

How to check battery health on an ASUS laptop

Open MyASUS and select System Diagnosis. Under Customized diagnosis, tick Battery, click Checkup and open the Result. ASUS reports Good/Normal or Poor. Poor means an error, or a capacity below what ASUS expects for the battery's age and cycle count. For a percentage, use the Windows battery report.

MyASUS comes pre-installed on supported ASUS laptops. If it is missing, install the ASUS System Control Interface driver from ASUS's support site, then get MyASUS from the Microsoft Store.

How to check battery health on an Acer laptop

Use the Windows battery report from the first section. Acer's own apps focus on charging. On supported models, Acer Care Center has Battery Charge Limit and Battery Calibration in its Checkup menu, and newer models use AcerSense for the 80% limit.

How to check battery health on a MacBook

Battery Health shows Normal or Service Recommended. On macOS Ventura and later, the Info button next to Battery Health can also show Maximum Capacity, the battery's capacity compared with when it was new. Apple says a Mac showing Service Recommended is safe to use.

• On macOS Ventura (13) or later, choose the Apple menu, then System Settings, and click Battery in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down. Then click the Info button next to Battery Health.
• On macOS Big Sur (11) or Monterey (12), choose the Apple menu, then System Preferences. Click Battery, then Battery again, and click Battery Health in the lower right.
• On macOS Catalina (10.15) or earlier, hold Option and click the battery icon in the menu bar. Catalina shows Normal or Service Recommended. Mojave (10.14) and earlier show Normal, Replace Soon, Replace Now or Service Battery.

For the cycle count, hold Option, click the Apple menu and choose System Information, then Power under Hardware. Apple advises a new battery at your model's maximum count, and warns that third-party battery apps may be wrong.

How to check battery health on a Chromebook

Use the Diagnostics app, which needs ChromeOS version 90 or later. Its Battery section shows battery health, cycle count and current. Google's help page does not say what health figure counts as good, so use the 80% guide in the table above.

1. Select the time at the bottom right, then Settings.
2. Select About ChromeOS, then Diagnostics. You can also press the launcher key and type Diagnostics.
3. Read the Battery section. Its discharge test measures how fast the battery charges and drains.

How to slow battery wear: charge limits by brand

Lenovo says a battery kept at or near 100% wears faster, and recommends a limit of 80% or less for laptops that are always on the charger. Microsoft only says to turn on Smart charging where a device supports it, so the limit is usually in the maker's app or BIOS.

Brand	Setting	Charges to	Where to find it
Lenovo IdeaPad, Yoga, Legion, ThinkBook	Conservation Mode	75% to 80% (55% to 60% on older IdeaPads)	Lenovo Vantage, Device Settings, Power
Lenovo ThinkPad	Battery Charge Threshold	Your choice (Lenovo suggests 80% or less)	Lenovo Vantage, Device, Power
ASUS	Battery Care Mode	80% (older models also 60%)	MyASUS, Device Settings, Power & Performance
HP business	Maximize Battery Health Management (older BIOS: Maximize my battery health)	80% of design capacity	BIOS (F10), Advanced, Power Management Options
HP consumer	Adaptive Battery Optimizer	Automatic	BIOS (F10), Configuration
Dell	Primarily AC Use, or Custom	50% to 80%, or your own limits	Dell Optimizer, Dell Power Manager or BIOS
Acer	Battery Charge Limit, or Optimized Battery Charging	80%	Acer Care Center (Checkup) or AcerSense (Personal Settings)
Mac with Apple silicon, macOS Tahoe 26.4 or later	Charge Limit	80% to 100%	System Settings, Battery, Info button next to Charging
Mac, macOS Big Sur 11 or later	Optimized Battery Charging	Waits at 80% until needed	Same place, or System Preferences, Battery on older macOS

A lower limit means less backup in a power cut, so where cuts are long, pick 80% over 60%. Before a long cut or a trip, switch the limit off to charge to full. ASUS also has a one-time Instant Full-Charge Mode, and a Mac has Charge to Full Now.

Heat matters too. Lenovo warns that charging a laptop hotter than 35°C causes permanent capacity loss, and a laptop can go above that on a hot Indian summer day. Charge it in the coolest room with the vents clear, and never on a bed or in a parked car.

If your laptop charges over USB-C, a power bank adds hours away from a socket. Our best power bank guide has a 100W pick for laptops.

Not working? Try these

Most battery report problems come from a typing error, a gauge that needs recalibrating or a battery driver that needs reinstalling, so work through them in that order. A swollen battery is the one problem to act on at once.

• "Invalid Parameters" message: check the spelling, with one space before the slash.
• No battery listed, or blank capacities: check the charger and socket, then restart. If that fails, unplug the charger, hold the power button for about 15 seconds and restart on the charger. Then update the battery driver and BIOS, as Lenovo advises for a battery that is not recognised.
• Readings jump around: turn off any charge limit, then recalibrate with Lenovo's Battery Gauge Reset, HP's Calibrate option, or a full charge followed by a full run-down.
• Always plugged in, and capacity keeps falling: turn off the charge limit, run the battery down to about 20% and recharge it fully. Lenovo says full capacity may not show until you do.
• Battery charges slowly: open Device Manager, expand Batteries, right-click Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery, choose Uninstall device and restart. HP suggests this before you replace a battery.
• Swollen battery: stop using the laptop and unplug it. A bulging keyboard or touchpad can be a sign, as our guide to a laptop keyboard not working explains. Do not press or puncture the battery, and take the laptop to an authorised repair shop.

Should you replace the battery or the laptop?

Replace the battery if the rest of the laptop still suits you. HP says a battery usually lasts three to five years. Buy an original battery through the brand, because Lenovo says it cannot verify the safety of third-party packs, and HP warns about counterfeits.

If the laptop is also slow or out of warranty, compare the cost with our list of the best laptops under ₹50,000.

If you buy a second-hand laptop, ask the seller to run the battery report in front of you. Then test the screen, keyboard and webcam with our free hardware test tools. Once it is yours, reset the laptop to remove the previous owner's accounts and files.

What to remember

• On Windows 11 or 10, run powercfg /batteryreport and open battery-report.html.
• Battery health is Full Charge Capacity ÷ Design Capacity × 100.
• On a Mac, open System Settings, Battery, Battery Health. On a Chromebook, open Settings, About ChromeOS, Diagnostics.
• Battery health of 80% or more means normal wear. Below 50%, plan a new battery.
• Use your maker's charge limit if the laptop is always plugged in, and stop using a swollen battery at once.