This guide will make you aware of various methods to fix the Windows 11 battery drain issues. The eleventh iteration of Windows OS has bought in a plentitude of new features. Along the same lines, there has been a major UI revamp, with the likes of Taskbar, Settings, and Start Menu all being part of this change.
However, it seems that these tweaks are proving to be way too much for some users. Numerous complaints have lined up across various forums where users have reported irregular and unexpected amounts of battery being drained in a short time frame. According to them, the issue only started happening after upgrading their PC to the latest OS.
If you are also on the same page and are facing quick battery discharge issues, then this guide is here to help you out. Today we will make you aware of various methods that shall help you fix the Windows 11 battery drain issues. Follow along.
Fix Windows 11 Battery Quickly Discharging Issue
Do note that there’s no universal fix as such. You will have to try out each of the below-mentioned workarounds and then see which one spells out success. So with that in mind, let’s get started.
Here are the Best Methods to Fix Windows 11 Computer Battery Power Discharging Fast After Updating
Fix 1: Kill Resource Hogging Apps/Services
First and foremost, have a look at all the background running apps and services and then stop the ones that are consuming an enormous amount of CPU and Memory.
This is because the apps hogging unnecessary system resources also consume much of the battery juice. So it’s better to suspend them, which could be done as follows:
- Launch the Task Manager via Ctrl+Shfit+Esc shortcut keys.
- Then scroll to the Background Processes section.
- Select that app from the list that is taking up much of the CPU and Memory resources and click on the End Task button to end its process.
- Do so for all the apps that are consuming high resources (make sure these processes aren’t part of the system apps).
- Once done, verify if it ends up fixing the Windows 11 battery drain issues.
Fix 2: Optimize Background Apps Performance
Background apps are known to be among the most common culprits when it comes to quick battery drainage issues. Therefore, it’s recommended to set their behavior to Power optimized so that they maintain a balance between performance and battery consumption.
- Bring up the Settings menu via Windows+I shortcut keys
- Then select Apps from the left menu bar and go to the Apps and Features section.
- Next up, click on the overflow icon next to the app that is currently running in the background and select Advanced options.
- Now select Power Optimized under the Background App Permissions section.
- If you plan to take a more restrictive measure, consider taking away its privilege to run in the background. For that, select Never from the drop-down menu.
- Check if optimizing the app’s background performance managed to fix the Windows 11 battery drain issues.
Fix 3: Optimize Video Playback Settings
If your PC is used for streaming videos or movies regularly, you should instruct the video playback settings to give more weightage to the battery life. Here’s how:
- Head over to the Settings menu from the Start menu.
- Then go to Apps from the left menu bar and select Video Playback.
- Now go to the Battery Options section and select Optimize for Battery life.
- Likewise, also enable Play video at a lower resolution when on battery.
Moreover, if you are ready to sacrifice the video quality to preserve your data and, in turn, save a small percentage of the battery life as well, then enable ‘Save network bandwidth by playing video at a lower resolution’. Once done, check if it manages to fix the Windows 11 battery drain issues.
Fix 4: Configure Power Plan
Another approach that you could take to save the battery from discharging quickly is to tweak your PC’s power plans. This involves modifying its settings so that it gives more weightage to the power-saving mode, especially when dealing with multimedia files.
- Head over to the Start Menu, search Power Plan and click on Choose a Power Plan.
- Then click on Change plan settings next to your recommended plan.
- After that, click Change advanced power settings.
- Then expand the Multimedia Settings section and click on Video playback quality bias.
- Now change the On Battery and Plugged in settings to Video playback power-saving bias.
- After that, expand the When playing video section.
- Change the On Battery and Plugged in settings to Optimize Power Saving and click OK to save the changes.
- Now verify if the Windows 11 battery drain issue has been fixed or not.
Fix 5: Tweak Display Settings
It’s no hidden secret that your display’s setting has a major role to play in determining the battery consumption rate. So to make sure that it isn’t consuming unnecessary battery, you should optimize your PC display for battery saving. Here’s how:
- Right-click on the Windows icon present on your Taskbar and select Settings.
- Then select System from the left menu bar and go to the Display section.
- Next up, go to HDR and head over to Battery Options.
- Now select Optimize battery life from the drop-down menu.
Moreover, since we are discussing the display, keeping the brightness at a decent level is recommended. This is because high display brightness has a direct impact on your battery life. So try out these display tweaks and then check if it fixes Windows 11 battery drain issue.
Fix 6: Enable Battery Saver
While not exactly a fix, this is among the best restrictive measures you could implement to put a brake on the battery’s quick discharge issue.
Do note that you might have to trade-off in the performance domain by enabling this mode, though it wouldn’t be anything drastic as such. So with that in mind, here’s how you could enable Battery Saver on your Windows 11 PC:
- Use the Windows+X shortcut keys and select Settings from the menu that appears.
- Then select System and go to the Power and Battery section.
- Now expand the Battery Saver section and click on Turn on now.
- With battery saving enabled, there shouldn’t be any drastic battery drain issues as such.
Fix 7: Diagnose Issues via Battery Report
This is perhaps the best way to find out the reason why your PC’s battery is draining at an alarming rate. You just need to execute a command, and it shall bring up an HTML report listing out all the errors and warnings.
You could then refer to the report and act accordingly to rectify those issues. So follow along for the steps to generate your PC’s battery report.
- Head over to the Start Menu, search Command Prompt, and launch it as an admin.
- Now copy-paste the below command in the CMD window and hit Enter:
powercfg/energy
- It will now observe the battery performance for a minute and then make you aware of the Energy efficiency problems that it got hold of.
- The results will be documented in the energy-report.html file, which you could access from the below location:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\
- So open the energy-report.html file in the browser, have a look at all the errors and warnings, and then rectify them accordingly.
Fix 8: Disable Auto Startup Apps
Windows 11 comes with a lot of pre-installed applications that run on startup by default. This is to provide you with maximum comfort in order to access applications on your PC. However, more applications can lead to quick battery discharge.
Startup items are those programs that run while you start your PC or laptop. It can be beneficial in many cases if you need software to be actively available after starting your PC. However, this makes the whole boot-up process slower, and with more apps, the CPU faces more stress.
As ideal, you should only keep those apps in the startup that are of utmost importance and crucial to have. This includes an antivirus program or any software firewall. Basically, only urgent, always active, and important software must be in the startup items list.
Disable Auto Startup Apps to Boost Speed
When you boot your computer, many apps mark themselves as a priority and add themselves to the startup menu. And hence they run on startup and make your PC slow. Windows 11 do have a startup manager where you can crosscheck what apps are running while startup. If you are not sure what apps you must keep on the list, here is a guide.
Fix 9. Check for Power Issues
It may be that a few of the comments of the PC are running that are hogging up the battery. It is best to run a Power troubleshoot. If the troubleshooter detects any issues it will provide you with a solution to fix the battery eating issue.
- Go to the Settings page.
- Click on the System from the options on the left side and click on Troubleshoot.
- Then choose other troubleshooters.
- Now look down the list for the troubleshooter called Power and click on Run next to it.
- Allow Windows to look for and suggest any possible solutions that might help.
Conclusion
So with this, we round off the guide on how you could fix Windows 11 battery drain issues. We have listed seven different methods for the same. Do let us know in the comments section which one worked out in your favor. Likewise, all your queries are welcomed in the comments below.
This post was last modified on %s = human-readable time difference 4:02 pm
View Comments (3)
Shouldn't need to do all these power reducing changes to get the same battery life i get on windows 10 with everything balanced and video at highest resolution. Microsoft needs to fix this abttery drain issue. I get 8-10 hours of use on my dell xps 15 now. When i had windows 11 on it i was lucky to see 4 hours.
Hi Sadique,
Installed Windows-11 3 weeks ago in HP Laptop 15-da0xxx, Power Problems started
When Laptop is ON battery drains completely after couple of hours
When Laptop is OFF battery re-charges 100% - No Problem recharging it
When Run Power Test with HP Assistant - Power test FAIL - does not see power source
There seems to be a fallacy somewhere - Is it possible a W-11 Problem?
Thanks for your help in this matter and regards,
BTW, I have not ran your suggestions yet,
Luis
It looks! The battery is aged! How old is the PC?