Is It Bad to Leave My Laptop Plugged In All the Time?

The fear is that overcharging will shorten battery life. The answer is more complicated

Edward C. Baig,

AARP

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Published April 08, 2026

a gif of a charger plugging into a laptop

AARP (Getty Images, 2)

Key takeaways

Modern laptops stop charging at full power, reducing risks once more common with older batteries.
Keeping a device plugged in constantly can contribute to gradual wear over time.
Built-in tools and occasional unplugging can help extend how long a battery lasts.

AARP members and readers are invited to submit pressing technology questions they’d like me to tackle in my Tech Guru column, including issues around devices, security, social media and how all the puzzle pieces fit together. This week’s reader question is one many people have: whether plugging in a computer to reach a full charge has a negative impact on its battery.

Is it bad to leave my laptop/tablet plugged in most of the time? I worry that it could shorten battery life. —Shiz H.

As someone using a laptop whose own battery appears to be on borrowed time, I certainly appreciate the question, Shiz. Laptops and tablets are meant to be used wherever and whenever we need them. Alas, oftentimes a location is frustratingly beyond the reach of an outlet.

Our hope, of course, is that the machine retains enough power to sustain itself between charges, which may indeed motivate you to leave it plugged in whenever you’re home or at work. You are certainly not the first person to ask about plugging it in all the time and its impact on a battery’s lifespan.

For the most part, we’ve come a long way since the days when keeping a machine plugged in even after it was fully juiced could lead to overheating and other potentially dangerous issues, especially in poorly ventilated areas, says Hamza Ali, an advanced trainer at UBreakiFix by Aurion in Orlando, Florida. When stressed, the nickel-cadmium batteries that were mainly used in the mid- to-late 1990s could cause gas leaks and increase fire risks, he says.

Those batteries also tended to be heavier and less efficient than the lithium-ion and lithium polymer batteries standard in today’s laptops, not that lithium batteries are by any means fire- or hazard-proof, either.

To be sure, all rechargeable batteries have a finite number of life cycles, including lithium-ion and lithium polymer batteries. Such batteries chemically age due to a variety of factors, including exposure to extreme temperatures and charging patterns. Over the long haul, keeping a laptop plugged in all the time can lead to gradual wear, Ali says. Through something called “trickle charging,” slow amounts of electricity are released, whether a computer is fully charged or not.

But modern laptops have built-in cutoff systems that stop power flow to the battery once it reaches 100 percent, and sometimes before.

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“Older nickel-cadmium batteries would ‘forget’ their full capacity if not completely discharged, but modern lithium-ion batteries deliver consistent charge cycles,” laptop maker HP wrote on its website.

These battery management systems (BMS), as they are known, are like a “specialized controller” that monitors voltage, temperature and charging state, HP added.                                                         

According to HP, keeping lithium-ion batteries charged between 20 percent and 80 percent is ideal, since below that level can cause chemical instability, and above it could stress the battery’s structure.

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It is generally a good idea to unplug your computer periodically to prevent it from exceeding such levels. The reality, however, is that many people may not be so great at paying close attention.

Built-in tools can help

The Optimized Battery Charging feature on Apple’s Macs from around 2020 onward employs machine learning to learn a user’s charging routines and delay charging past 80 percent in certain situations, including when it predicts the laptop will be connected to a charger for an extended period.

To toggle the feature on or off, click the Apple menu in the upper left of the screen, then System Settings | Battery. Next, click the circled “i” next to Battery Health | Optimized Battery Charging | Done.

Windows 11 device makers also incorporate Smart charging capabilities in their laptops, which may limit charging to 80 percent. But methods vary, so dig into your battery settings and check the manufacturer’s website for support documentation.

Ali of UBreakiFix likens charging to watering a plant. “Allowing it to dry out a little between waterings helps maintain balance,” he says. “In the same way, while leaving your device plugged in won’t harm it or you, giving the battery a break now and then can help it last longer.”

Other strategies for slowing an aging battery

There are other things you can do.

Do not cheap out on the charger. Use the one that came with the computer or, if you’ve misplaced it, another high-quality charger.

Turn off a warm computer. Especially around the area where the battery sits.

Don’t leave it completely dead or fully charged. If you plan to put your laptop aside for a prolonged period, turn it off when the charge level is around 50 percent

Bonus tip: Let AI help you generate playlists

Apple has just added a feature for Apple Music subscribers that uses artificial intelligence to generate playlists to match your given mood or scenario. It is similar to a feature Spotify has had for a while.

It’s called Playlist Playground and is still technically in a beta testing phase. The idea is that you describe what you want to hear in your own words and have Apple Music spit out a tailored selection of songs based on your prompt. While the feature leverages Apple’s version of AI, called Apple Intelligence, an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone is not required. In fact, Playlist Playground works within the Apple Music app on Android as well.

You might ask Apple Music to generate a jazzy playlist for evening cocktails, or come up with high-energy songs to motivate your family to start their work and school days.

Playlist Playground is not unlike the AI Playlist feature, also in beta, that has been offered since 2024 to premium mobile subscribers on Spotify. Try prompts such as “upbeat music for my upcoming European summer vacation” or “nostalgic songs to accompany my 40th high school reunion.” Spotify says the more specific you can be, the better, with the most successful playlists being those that mix genres, moods, artists and decades.

Don’t confuse AI Playlist with another premium Spotify feature, AI DJ, which dates back to 2023. The premise is that an AI guide knows you and your musical preferences so well it can deliver curated playlists based on what it thinks you will want to hear. The AI scans new releases and delves deep into your music history, in some cases to play selections you may not have heard in eons. An English-speaking AI host, modeled after Spotify’s Xavier “X” Jernigan, comments on some of the tunes, just like a radio DJ.

If you’re not feeling the vibe, you can hit the DJ button to refresh the stream and change the mood. The AI DJ has even started taking requests made with your own voice.

The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

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Edward C. Baig covers technology and other consumer topics. He previously worked for USA Today, BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report and Fortune, and is author of Macs for Dummies and coauthor of iPhone for Dummies and iPad for Dummies. Follow him on LinkedIn; Threads; and X, formerly known as Twitter.