Can I Use My Acer Laptop While It’s Charging?

You just purchased a new Acer laptop and are ready to start. It’s plugged in and ready to go, but is it okay to use the Acer while it is charging?

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It is perfectly all right to use an Acer laptop even when it is plugged into a charging cord. The battery inside the laptop cannot be overcharged due to an internal circuit that prevents the battery from accepting additional charge until there is a drop in necessary voltage. 

More and more Americans are turning to laptops for their personal computing needs than ever before. 

Nearly 69% of Americans own laptops or desktop computers, and nearly 50% of us own tablets. 

The global laptop industry has grown to nearly $134 billion industry in 2021 and is only expected to grow even bigger in the years ahead. 

So, it is natural that as more and more of us join the ranks, there are lots of questions concerning the effective operation of these useful devices. 

Can I Use My Laptop While It is Plugged into the Charger?

The answer to this question is yes. Every laptop has a lithium-ion battery (the same kind of battery that is your smartphone or an electric car). 

One of the great things about this type of battery is that it is rechargeable. 

The lithium-ion uses the reverse reduction of ion particles to store energy in a cell. Then circuits in the apparatus (smartphone or laptop) have the power to draw from to perform the required task. 

Without getting too technical, the laptop that you are using (whether it is an Acer or not) contains circuits that regulate the flow, and the amount of the charge is directed from the battery to the various functions of the laptop and vice-versa. Think of these circuits like little stoplights. 

They open when power is needed and close off when it is not or the battery has had enough. These circuits work very quickly, deciding where to send the power your computer needs. 

When your battery needs to recharge, it sends a signal to one of these circuits, giving the go-ahead for the little warning message on your screen to light up. 

All of these things work together. The battery contains the energy that is needed, and the circuits give certain functions permission to draw from that reserve.

When there is no need for any energy to be used, the circuits can tell various functions to go to sleep or power down, which is how your laptop or smartphone knows how to go into sleep mode. When the battery gets drained or tired, it can signal for more energy so that it can recharge. 

Do Laptop Batteries Have an Expiration Date?

Over time and with use, a lithium-ion battery will degrade and deteriorate just a tiny bit. Like all batteries, lithium-ion ones have a shelf life and will deteriorate with age and use. 

Many computer wizards who have studied such things believe that you should keep your battery charged between 20 – 80% to extend the life of the battery.

Charging it to full all the time means that the battery is operating at full capacity every moment, which means that it is working harder to maintain that charge.

Think of it this way.

As humans, we should eat, but if we stuff as much as our stomachs can hold, that’s okay, but probably not the best thing to do over time because our stomach and intestines have to work harder to digest all that food. (You get the picture). 

Does My Laptop Tell Me if My Battery Runs Low?

Yes, you should get a warning message when you need to plug your power cord into the laptop. Usually, there is the first message and then subsequent messages when the power level is reaching a critical stage. 

The same applies if the battery feels like it has more charge than it needs to operate normally. You might receive a message similar to the one you receive on your smartphone that tells you that the phone is 100% charged and can be unplugged from the charging device. 

Where is the Battery Icon on My Laptop?

Usually, there is a battery icon on the lower right hand corner of your bottom toolbar. Just click on the little icon and the drop menu will tell you what percentage of charge is left on your battery. 

How Can I Maximize the Battery Life of My Laptop?

There are a couple of things that will help to extend the life of your laptop’s battery.

It Matters Where You Use It

One of the things that you should do is not use or charge your laptop in extreme environments, like excessive heat. 

The outside temperature makes the battery work harder (the power recharge produces heat, which is why lithium-ion batteries can overheat in electric vehicles or other devices). 

Let Your Laptop Fall Below 50% Every Now and Then

While it might seem to be a better idea to keep your new Acer fully charged, it is much better to give those little circuits and the battery a bit of a break every now and then. 

Let the laptop rest when it needs to, and don’t be paranoid about how much charge it has. 

If your laptop has a battery icon, click on it every now and then and recharge when you feel it is time to do so. 

Key Takeaways

• It is perfectly all right to keep working on your laptop while the computer is charging. 
• All laptops operate from lithium-ion battery cells.
• It is always best to let your computer fall below 50% every now and then to extend battery life.
• All lithium batteries will eventually degrade and deteriorate.