Knowing your device’s battery health can be crucial for gauging battery life and longevity. From the Task Manager you can disable any service that you wish—but keep in mind, this can cause things to go a little wonky. Lock your screen when you’re not using your Chromebook. Join 350,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, geek trivia, and our feature articles. The next tip may sound like crazy talk, but if you’re in a pinch and need every last ounce of battery you can always shut off Wi-Fi. First off, Chrome's Task Manager offers a wealth of helpful information. 9. Then scroll down to the Bluetooth section and uncheck the box. That's not a bad round of battery life for a relatively inexpensive laptop! To take a closer look at any of the options, click their corresponding “Show” button. You'll then see another menu with a breakdown of all the apps and services running on your Chromebook. Just keep in mind that the value has to be entered in seconds when appended to the command. When the battery does not seem to be charging: Try another A/C Adapter if one is available. Finally, there’s the “Frequency State Data” display, which I couldn’t get to do anything during my testing. The Chrome task manager can identify those battery-sucking culprits. Some apps can really put a dent in your battery; especially when you are … It's easy to fall into the trap of just cranking it up and basking in the beauty, but dimming the screen can noticeably extend your juice. If you disable the Save to Drive or Pocket extensions, for example, you won't be able to perform those actions. By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can get a speculative battery life estimate (based on whatever action you're doing on the Chromebook) with that result. Check Battery Stats with Crosh The video can go for days, so it's a solid test method for checking out your Chromebook's battery life. Idle state data doesn’t directly show the battery output, but rather the processor cores and what each one is doing. If you’re looking for a simple way to get more information about your battery, using the Chrome Shell—or CROSH—is the easiest way to do it. PCWorld helps you navigate the PC ecosystem to find the products you want and the advice you need to get the job done. All Rights Reserved. For more information refer to Dell Knowledge base article Battery Health Check. Cameron Summerson is the Editor in Chief of. Read our, Learn more about PCWorld's Digital Editions. Proceed with caution if this is new territory for you. Anything on your Chromebook that's tapping into the memory resources is going to eat up battery life. Back on the main power menu, you’ll also find the “Idle State Data” menu. Chromebooks have great battery life. The above article may contain affiliate links, which help support How-To Geek. Disabling this feature always helps if you aren't actively using it. Also, don't get lazy about closing your Chrome tabs. And it may sound obvious, but turn down the screen brightness. With the standard settings, my Toshiba Chromebook 2 managed just four hours and 18 minutes before giving up the ghost. But I’ll be honest with you: there is a lot of data here, and probably more than you care to pay attention to. There's another option if you're really looking to dial back battery life: Sign in to your Chromebook in Guest Mode. He is the author of Learning MIT App Inventor, a hands-on guide to building your own Android apps. Any web apps or extensions you install may also run in the background. First up, you’ll see the current battery state (charging/discharging) along with the remaining percentage of battery life. The Asus Chromebook Flip C434 is the best Chromebook overall for multiple reasons. Bluetooth was turned off, brightness was set to 50 percent, and the video was played in an Incognito tab in Guest Mode. Just type in the box for the feature you’re trying to find, and Chrome will find it for you automatically. But Chromecast and web chat can quickly gobble up the memory, too. September 8, 2014 at 8:57 am . Want to clear the deck? By Maren Estrada. You’ll find the … Like so many things in Chrome OS, many of the most powerful tools are hidden behind the scenes. We'll show you where to dig into Chrome's settings and use workarounds if you're in desperate straits—or if you just want to optimize your Chromebook's battery life. Two finger-press your trackpad (or right-click if you're using a mouse) on a tab, and select Close other tabs to quickly shut down the other ones that are open. What Does “ITT” Mean, and How Do You Use It? July 19th, 2019 at … I tested all these tips in a mostly-scientific method using a Toshiba Chromebook 2. Be sure to share them in the comments! Knowing that all Chromebook battery life numbers are collected at these dim settings across the board helps ground the claims of 8-12 hours on battery most Chromebooks proudly display these days. Don't feel like fiddling in submenus? An awesome Acer Chromebook with 12-hour battery life is on sale for $186. The health represents the overall usable portion of the entire battery and shouldn’t dramatically change over time. What are your go-to tips for saving on battery?