@John_Lombardo a compromise of compromises lol. I think eventually I’ll figure out how much I actually use in a normal day and set it like 10% higher. Realistically I probably only use around 40% in the evenings (2 hrs max) so maybe 50 will be good. This max charge setting is new to me, so I’m learning and I will pay more attention.
Thanks all, I’ll set mine too 80% and see how it goes. Like you say @John_Lombardo a compromise there’s no right number here but for my use case 80% will be fine. Now I need a fix for the headphone noise issue… But that’s a different thread
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The main factor to determine what threshold you set it to is the probability that you will unplug it and use it away from the charger.
If it’s going to stay plugged into a docking station almost all of the time, then it can be kept close to 50%. If you think it might be unplugged and used portably, then keeping it at a higher level is more convenient.
While it’s plugged in, how much you use it is not a factor since the charging system will keep it very close to the set level automatically.
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Does the new firmware expose the battery charge limit to the OS, perhaps allowing a user/developer to make an application to control it on the fly, or at least upon reboot, not needing to go into the BIOS to change it?
I would be intrigued to setup an “automated” script that on weekdays, when I need mine for classes and school, set the charge limit higher (80%), then on weekends when I use it plugged in more often for convenience, it could set the limit considerably lower (60%).
I didn’t set up a system like this on my previous system, but it did have the ability to do that, theoretically. I had an old Asus that allowed me to change the charge limit without reboot through a systemd service. Perhaps this could be an option in the future, assuming it isn’t currently?
EDIT: After looking through my /sys/class/power_supply/BAT1/ files I don’t see anything relating directly to a maximum battery level, seemingly that data is restricted to the BIOS, if I’m understanding that correctly.
We are going to change the blinking amber behavior in a future update to just be white when the charge limit is reached.
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That’s good. It is a clearer indicator than flashing.
I have a question about 3.07 firmware.
While the laptop is on, it appears that the 50% charge capacity I set in the BIOS is honored. However, when I shutdown my computer or put it into hibernation, if the device is plugged into the wall, it charges to 100%.
Is this expected behavior or a bug?
Anecdotally, my charge limit is set to 80%, system off, the light will be solid orange while charging, then start flashing when it stops.
Turning the system on, it shows 80%.
That’s actually the opposite of my camera battery chargers that flash while charging, and go solid when finished.
to all posters and readers,
I have written this with extreme care.
I might be the only poster here without some formal tech education.
I and very-probably others like me would appreciate any comments on any of the following:
I plan to use the pc on-premises 99.9% of the time; it would travel exceedingly-rarely.
I plan to leave the pc On always, because i recall that a number of years ago i decided that hibernation and Sleep were too unreliable, and the energy waste of being continually On would be small. (Every night i turn down the screen lights and keyboard lights.)
I plan to set the charge-limit at 50%, to extend battery life, based on this thread of posts, which i have medium-skimmed.
I previously wondered if i should buy a spare battery with the pc, just in case Framework goes out of business. But i decided No, for each following reason:
- the statement in this thread of postings, ‘If the battery is removed to protect it [or, i guess, bought without an enveloping pc or other charge-maintaining device], you would still have to store it at 60-75% charge anyway.’
- the probable ability to buy a battery from some other seller someday
Thank you in advance for any comments.
Hi @Doug_H a few thoughts
There is no good answer to this.
Batteries only last a few years so you will always need a new one in time.
It is a compromise between battery wear and component wear really - if you leave it on and plugged in all the time then the components will all be fired up - which decreases their lifespan - some things like the fan will spin up occasionally as the OS does its housekeeping and so on and the processor will be constantly warm. In short you are better off buying a new battery every few years than a laptop (unless you need the fastest machine possible, and that will come with a new battery anyway).
tldr
If you have to wear something out - better the battery than the rest of the hardware IMHO. Hope this is helpful
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I plan to leave the pc On always, because i recall that a number of years ago i decided that hibernation and Sleep were too unreliable, and the energy waste of being continually On would be small. (Every night i turn down the screen lights and keyboard lights.)
Software gets improved over time. Years is a very long time in software.
Although there have been reports of minor problems with Suspend states on the framework, those have primarily been for excess power draw which is clearly less of a concern to you.
Linux suspend still has some issues apparently, but Windows 10/11 suspend shouldn’t cause you any functional problems.
Just from a purely environmental perspective suspending or better yet hibernating will save a notable amount of power over a year. And across an entire neighborhood not-suspending would add significant power draw which could go to other uses.
Thank you Anubis. Based on what you wrote, i will again do a test-use of daily hibernation, when i get a new pc working.
Thank you Random User, for the creative idea: you’re saying that i could keep the battery in the pc, but disconnect it.
To Random User or anyone:
Am i correct in inferring that thus keeping the battery in the pc but disconnected would keep the battery in good condition for years longer than otherwise?
(Yes, i could easily take the risk of loss of recent-unbackedup-data due to the tiny risk of power failure at the premises.)
I am not a battery chemistry expert, but I think this:
A disconnected (stored) battery at 50% charge will have a long life.
A connected battery with a 50% threshold charging system setting is hardly being used because when the battery drops a little, the charger kicks in and is essentially providing the current to run the circuitry at the same time it’s charging the battery. So the battery level fluctuates very little and looses almost no charge to run the computer. This is about the same scenario as an unconnected battery in storage.
With other systems (like Lenovo), two thresholds can be set: the upper and lower, so the fluctuation in charge and battery drain can be set by the user. I don’t what Framework uses for the lower threshold for a given setting. That determines what the fluctuation would be.
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Just want to be sure: does the scenario you described amount to setting both the upper and lower limit around 50 (with the upper slightly higher than the lower, like 51 and 49)?
The thresholds are user controllable, but I’ve never set them that close and can’t confirm that the Lenovo system allows it. I’ll try it and report back. But that’s the general idea, set them close and the battery never charges or discharges much.
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@John_Lombardo great idea, hopefully something that works and we can get the framework people to build into the bios
@James_C It looks like Framework has the lower threshold already set very close to the charge limit (upper) threshold. When using the computer, the battery charge level does not vary, which means as soon as it drops slightly below the threshold set in the bios, charge is added to the battery to keep it at the correct level.
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That’s what I noticed, too. Using ectool fwchargelimit 60 at full battery state, it will start discharing the battery (ignores the connected wall plug) until it reaches 60% and keep it there as near as possible. But I found out that you can use ectool chargecontrol idle afterwards to avoid this discharging and just keep the battery at full state. I’m not sure why we need this step, but with this all used energy will be sourced from your wall plug and the battery will be ignored as far as I can say.
You can check the battery/charging state using ectool battery, “Present current” should be “0 mAh”.
Maybe DHowett got an idea what’s happing behind the scenes? It’s quite hard to get some information about the supported (and undocumented?) commands sometimes 