// LAPTOP BATTERY HEALTH
How to check your laptop battery’s health
Windows already measures how much charge your battery holds compared with when it was new. One command turns that into a report: divide the full charge capacity by the design capacity and you have the battery’s health. Here’s how, what the numbers mean, and when a new battery is worth it. Rated 4.9 on Google.
- ● Windows’ own figures
- ● Free battery check app
- ● Windows specialists since 1995
/01 — THE QUICK WAY
Check battery health with Windows’ battery report
Windows has a battery report built in. It takes about a minute and needs nothing installed.
- Right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (on Windows 10, Windows PowerShell).
- Type powercfg /batteryreport and press Enter.
- Windows replies with where it saved battery-report.html — usually your own user folder, such as C:\Users\YourName.
- Open that file (it opens in your web browser) and scroll to Installed batteries.
If Windows says it can’t write the report, right-click Start, choose Terminal (Admin) and try again. The command comes from Microsoft’s own powercfg documentation.
// FIX IT WITH ME · STEP BY STEP
Check your battery, step by step
The steps from this guide, one at a time, in the order that fixes the most cases fastest. Tell it what happened and it shows the next step. Nothing here leaves your device.Last reviewed 17 October 2026
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01Open Terminal
Right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (on Windows 10, Windows PowerShell).
Is that step done? -
02Make the battery report
Type powercfg /batteryreport and press Enter. Windows saves battery-report.html, usually in your user folder.
Is that step done? -
03Open the report
Open battery-report.html and scroll to Installed batteries.
Is that step done? -
04Work out the health
Divide the full charge capacity by the design capacity and multiply by 100. That is how much of its original charge the battery still holds.
Is that step done?
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Run the report with the laptop plugged in or on battery: the capacity figures are the same.
Battery worn, or the laptop keeps switching off? That is a job for us.
With your permission we connect to your screen and sort it in one session. Usually the same day, remote help from £20, and no fix, no fee.
How to check your laptop battery’s health - the fix order (365techies.co.uk/how-to-check-laptop-battery-health/) 1. Open Terminal: Right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (on Windows 10, Windows PowerShell). 2. Make the battery report: Type powercfg /batteryreport and press Enter. Windows saves battery-report.html, usually in your user folder. 3. Open the report: Open battery-report.html and scroll to Installed batteries. 4. Work out the health: Divide the full charge capacity by the design capacity and multiply by 100. That is how much of its original charge the battery still holds. Still stuck? 365 Techies fix it remotely: 01202 775566 - https://365techies.co.uk/remote-support/At a glance
| The quick way | Right-click Start, open Terminal, type powercfg /batteryreport and press Enter, then open the battery-report.html file it saves. |
|---|---|
| The two numbers | Design capacity is what the battery held when new. Full charge capacity is what it holds today. |
| Battery health | Full charge capacity divided by design capacity. 39,000 out of 52,000 mWh is 75%. |
| Cycle count | How many charge cycles it has been through, on laptops that report it. |
| A new battery? | When it no longer lasts long enough for you, or the laptop shuts off with charge still showing. |
| Free check | Our free 365 PC Manager app shows the battery’s health and charge cycles on its This PC page. |
/02 — READ THE NUMBERS
What design capacity and full charge capacity mean
- Design capacity is how much energy the battery held when it was new, in milliwatt-hours (mWh).
- Full charge capacity is how much it holds now, when Windows says it’s at 100%.
- Cycle count, where your laptop reports it, is how many full charge cycles the battery has done. Some laptops leave it blank.
Battery health = full charge capacity ÷ design capacity × 100. A battery designed for 52,000 mWh that now holds 39,000 mWh is at 75%: it runs for roughly three-quarters as long as it did new.
Further down, Battery capacity history shows how the full charge capacity has fallen over the months, and Battery life estimates compares how long it lasted when new with how long it lasts now.
/03 — WHAT IT MEANS
Is your battery’s health good enough?
Every battery wears a little with each charge, so a laptop a few years old won’t show 100%. There’s no official pass mark: what matters is whether it still lasts long enough for you.
Two signs a new battery is worth it:
- It no longer gets you through what you need it for — a morning, a train journey, a meeting.
- The laptop switches off with charge still showing, at 20 or 30%, when you move it, or the moment you unplug it. A worn battery can’t deliver what the laptop asks of it. See laptop shuts down at 30% and laptop turns off when unplugged.
Stop straight away if the case is bulging, the trackpad lifts or the keyboard rises: that’s a swollen battery. Don’t charge it; ring us (what a swollen battery looks like).
/04 — THE MAKER’S CHECK
Your laptop maker’s own battery check
Most makers have their own app that shows the battery’s condition: Lenovo Vantage, HP Support Assistant and Dell’s power app, and many laptops have a battery test in the BIOS start-up screen too. They read the same chip as Windows’ report.
To slow the wear down on a laptop that lives plugged in, many can stop charging at about 80%: Lenovo calls it Conservation Mode, and Dell and HP put the setting in the BIOS or their power apps. More in how to make your laptop battery last longer.
/05 — THE QUICK WAY
Let our free app read it for you
FREE · WINDOWS 10 & 11 · NO SIGN-UP
Battery health: let your laptop tell you
On a laptop, our free app reads Windows’ own measurement of the battery and shows its health — how much of its original charge it still holds — and how many charge cycles it has done, on its This PC page, with no command to type. A desktop never sees it, and nothing is estimated. It also explains how many laptops can stop charging at about 80% to slow the wear down.
In the app: My PC, then This PC.
Download 365 PC Manager free ↓What else it checks
Made by us, a family IT firm in Bournemouth since 1995, and digitally signed by 365 Techies Ltd.
/06 — WHEN TO CALL US
When to call us
If the battery no longer lasts or the laptop keeps switching itself off, we can check it with you and fit a new one. The price depends on your model and the battery it takes, and you get a clear price before we start. Ring 01202 775566 or text 07520 615332, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. With your permission we connect to your Windows PC and sort it while you watch: usually the same day, remote help from £20, and no fix, no fee.
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// GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
How do I check my laptop battery health on Windows?
Right-click Start, open Terminal, type powercfg /batteryreport and press Enter, then open the battery-report.html file it saves. Divide the full charge capacity by the design capacity to get the health as a percentage.
What is a good battery health percentage?
There’s no official pass mark. The figure is simply how much of its original charge the battery still holds, so at 70% it runs for roughly 70% as long as it did new. If that still gets you through your day, it’s fine. If it doesn’t, or the laptop shuts off with charge left, a new battery is worth it.
Where is the battery report saved?
In the folder Terminal was in when you ran the command, which is usually your own user folder (C:\Users\YourName). Windows tells you the exact path when it finishes.
What does design capacity mean?
How much energy the battery held when it was new, in milliwatt-hours. Full charge capacity is how much it holds today.
Why does my laptop shut off when the battery says 30%?
A worn battery can’t deliver the power the laptop needs, so the voltage drops and the laptop switches off even though the gauge shows charge left. Check the battery’s health first; see laptop shuts down at 30%.
Can you replace my laptop battery?
Yes. We check the battery and fit the right replacement for your model, with a clear price before we start. Call 01202 775566 or text 07520 615332.
// Still stuck?
Battery not lasting, or shutting off?
We check the battery with you, tell you straight whether a new one is worth it, and fit it. Call 01202 775566 or text 07520 615332.
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