Gateway LT2104u Battery Life

RGFox29

Distinguished
Jun 3, 2008
2
0
18,510
Only getting around 4-6 hours but it is advertised to be 8 hours. It uses the Intel Atom N450 so I was expecting at least 10 hours, many other people said they have gotten over 8 and up to 10 as well. When I first got it I charged it while I was using it, I'm not sure I ruined it that quickly but I just wanted to mention that in case. Maybe it is the wireless that is sucking my battery life, but I'm not entirely sure. Also, I lowered my brightness all the way.

I'm fine with the 4-6 hours since it's great, but I'm curious as to why I am not getting at least 8 when it is advertised as such. It's similar to the ASUS EEE PC 1005PE which supposedly gets up to 11 hours with a 6 cell battery. My battery is also 6 cell (4400mAh).

So basically, why am I only getting about 4.5 hours on average?
 

lotri

Distinguished
Feb 9, 2010
266
0
18,960
Usually, when you get a new battery, you should charge it full, and discharge it fully a few times before you get into the normal grind of using it.

People who get 10 hours of battery life are usually special cases. That's why the website specs say "UP TO X HOURS", so they can't be sued for false advertising. Ways to save battery life include minimizing running processes, disabling wireless, lowering brightness, and turning off sound.