Laptop batteries: the trackpad tells you first
The short answer
On most laptops the battery sits directly under the trackpad, so a swelling cell stops the trackpad clicking properly before anything else goes wrong. That, a lid that no longer closes flush, or a machine that only runs on mains, are the three signs it is finished.
The three signs
The first is the one people misread. A trackpad that has gone stiff or stopped clicking is almost never a trackpad fault; it is a battery pushing it up from below. If that is what your machine is doing, stop charging it and bring it in.
A laptop left in a drawer for a year or two at full charge is the most common source of a swollen cell we see. Storage at a full charge, warm, is the worst combination for lithium.
- The trackpad has stopped clicking, or sits proud of the case. On most designs the cell is directly underneath it
- The lid no longer closes flush, or the machine rocks on a flat desk
- It runs only with the charger connected, and dies the instant it is unplugged
Cycle counts on a laptop
A laptop cell is rated the same way a phone cell is: a number of cycles to a percentage of original capacity, typically 1,000 cycles to 80 per cent on recent machines.
Laptops accumulate cycles more slowly than phones for most people, because a machine that lives on mains barely discharges. That cuts both ways, since a cell held at 100 per cent and warm for years degrades even without cycling.
macOS reports cycle count under System Information, Power. Windows will produce a battery report with powercfg, and most manufacturers ship a utility that shows it. We read it as part of the free diagnostic either way.
What a replacement involves
On the machines where the manufacturer supplies the cell on its own, we replace just the cell. On several, notably some MacBooks, the battery is bonded into the top case and the part is the whole top case assembly, which is why the price varies so much between models that look similar.
Adhesive removal is the slow part. Levering a glued cell out without deforming it is the step that takes the care, and it is the reason a swollen battery is not a while-you-wait job.
The machine is ordered against the number on its own label rather than its name, because manufacturers reuse model names across very different hardware.
Whether it is worth doing
On a machine that is otherwise healthy and still getting security updates, almost always. A battery is a fraction of a replacement laptop and it restores portability completely.
Where it stops being worth it is a machine where the battery, the keyboard and the fans are all finished at once, or one that has stopped receiving updates. We will tell you which of those you have.
And if the machine only ever sits on a desk, a laptop that runs on mains with a dead battery is a usable computer. That is a legitimate answer and we will say so rather than sell you a cell you do not need.
Common questions.
Almost certainly not. On most laptops the battery sits directly under the trackpad, and a swelling cell pushes it up so it can no longer click. Stop charging it and bring it in; that one is genuinely urgent.
Most recent machines are rated to hold about 80 per cent of capacity after roughly 1,000 cycles. In practice that is three to five years, less if the machine lives hot or is stored at full charge.
It is not ideal. A cell held at 100 per cent and warm degrades even without being cycled. Most machines now have a setting to cap charging around 80 per cent for exactly this, and it is worth switching on.
Usually yes, on mains. If the machine never leaves a desk that is a perfectly reasonable answer and we will say so rather than sell you a battery.
Because on some machines the cell is supplied on its own and on others it is bonded into the whole top case, which is the part you have to buy. We tell you which yours is before you commit.
Where this leads.
Next in batteries and charging.
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