Is it possible that Arch destroys build-in batteries?

kaesehoch · 2023-06-18 07:34:30

I observed something strange:
Soon after I installed Arch on my XMG Schenker, the battery duration sank until it died. Before it worked perfectly fine, but after the installation, it died within weeks. This was ca. in april 2021.
Now I installed Arch on a Surface Pro 7, and after some time I recognize a decreasing battery-life on the still existing Windows. The installation was ca a month ago.
(Just to avoid missunderstandings: I am talking about that the battery duration decreases first over a span of some weeks, until a point where it is unusable.)

I currently don't have exact data to back the claim up, but I couldn't make a connection why it can be like that. Do you guys have an idea? Or is it maybe just bad luck?

twobooks · 2023-06-18 14:38:46

first of all, please make sure the power receptacle or power outlet extension is good.

Trilby · 2023-06-18 15:00:06

Answer to title question: not really, no. This is either bad luck, and / or hardware issues unrelated to the distro/OS used.

The software / distro used could have notable effects on how long an individual charge lasts, but not a sudden / drastic impact on the actual lifespan of the battery (if individual charges are used up faster it would go through more charge cycles, which - incrementally over a long period of time - could shorten it's life).

Any such differences in how long a charge lasts, though, is really just due to configuration of power management. Many OSs / distros come preconfigured with power management software and settings that some packager thought would be good for you (or in may cases, different templates for different "modes" including for laptops vs desktops, etc). But a base install of arch linux gives you none of this: you need to install and configure any power management yourself. But again, this would not be related to such sudden and drastic impacts on battery health.

seth · 2023-06-18 15:20:29

"battery duration" is thus a rather volatile metric - compare the charge against the design charge on whether there's a decrease in capacity.
If not, something's just drawing more energy out of the battery and we'd have to look there.

ewaller · 2023-06-18 15:22:20

I agree with everything Trilby says, including that one may incur more battery cycles if the system is not configured to reduce power. I believe that to be the primary effect.

I will add one thing. There is a growing assertion that battery life of Lithium chemistry batteries can be extended by stopping charge cycles once you get north of about 90% unless you are going to really need the full charge.
There are some solutions already in the arch infrastructure that provide this. For example, I believe Plasma has such a setting.

But, as Trilby points out, it could also be luck. I tend to buy brand new systems and immediately wipe them of the intrinsic malware and install Linux fresh. Then I use them until the wheels fall off. My experience has been the batteries live a normal, happy life -- about half as long as the laptop. Other's tend to acquire perfectly good laptops that have been in service and are being replaced for the next new gadget. It is great because they are inexpensive and fully capable -- but they are likely to be at a point in their life cycle where the batteries are past their prime.

Last edited by ewaller (2023-06-18 15:23:38)

kaesehoch · 2023-07-01 15:41:30

Thanks for the answers so far! Thinking back, I don't think that I had a shutdown-mechanism for low-battery situations. Is this a possible reason that the battery died back then? As Trilby has mentioned, Arch doesn't come with a power management package.

seth · 2023-07-01 18:53:26

still existing Windows … soon after I installed Arch on my XMG Schenker, the battery duration sank until it died

While flat charging cycles (try to keep the battery between about 20% and 80%) are beneficial, a dozen deep charging cycles (which pretty much will happen w/ windows by default as well) won't kill the battery - it would have been in a bad state before.

I'll again point out that "battery duration" is a volatile ("shit") metric, inspec the actual capacity estimations - and if you still have a parallel windows, see the 3rd link below. Mandatory.
Disable it (it's NOT the BIOS setting!) and reboot windows and linux twice for voodo reasons.

Arch Linux

#1 2023-06-18 07:34:30

Is it possible that Arch destroys build-in batteries?

#2 2023-06-18 14:38:46

Re: Is it possible that Arch destroys build-in batteries?

#3 2023-06-18 15:00:06

Re: Is it possible that Arch destroys build-in batteries?

#4 2023-06-18 15:20:29

Re: Is it possible that Arch destroys build-in batteries?

#5 2023-06-18 15:22:20

Re: Is it possible that Arch destroys build-in batteries?

#6 2023-07-01 15:41:30

Re: Is it possible that Arch destroys build-in batteries?

#7 2023-07-01 18:53:26

Re: Is it possible that Arch destroys build-in batteries?

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