Stay energetic

Use the information in this section to achieve the best balance between performance and power efficiency.

Rechargeable battery pack

Your computer includes a built-in, rechargeable battery pack that makes mobile computing a reality. When the computer is plugged into an electrical outlet, the battery charges. If you use the computer when you don't have access to an electrical outlet, the battery discharges to supply electricity that the computer system requires for operation.

You can charge the battery any time you want. The battery packs of Lenovo computers support multiple charging modes that are suitable for different power usage habits. You can switch the battery’s active charging mode in Lenovo Vantage, Lenovo PC Manager, or Lenovo Smart Engine.

Battery charging is also affected by its temperature. The recommended temperature range for charging the battery is between 10°C (50°F) and 35°C (95°F).

  • You can check the battery temperature in Lenovo Vantage.
  • To maximize the life of the battery, once the battery is fully charged, it must discharge to 94% or lower before it will be allowed to recharge again.
Normal mode

Normal mode is the most basic charging mode. In normal mode, it typically takes 2 to 4 hours for the battery to charge from 0% to 100%.

Rapid charge mode

If you want the battery to be charged faster than in normal mode, switch the battery charging to rapid charge mode. The following table lists the estimated time needed for batteries in rapid charge mode to be charged to 80% and 100% respectively.

Table: Estimated charge time for batteries in rapid charge mode

Mode Time needed to charge from 0% to 80% Time needed to charge from 0% to 100%
Rapid charge Less than 1 hour Less than 2 hours

The estimated charge time assumes that the battery is charged while the PC is in sleep, hibernation, or powered-off state.

Conservation mode

If your computer is constantly plugged into an electrical outlet, consider switching the battery charging to conservation mode. In conservation mode, the battery will not be fully charged. Instead, the battery’s charge will be kept within 75%–80%. This is beneficial to the long-term health of the battery.

If you want the battery to be fully charged before bringing the computer to work, disable conservation mode by switching the battery charging to normal or rapid charge mode.

Recover full battery capacity

If your computer is constantly plugged in to an electrical outlet and the battery rarely discharges, the battery may not be charged to its full capacity even if the battery meter reports 100% charge. You can recover the battery’s full charging potential simply by discharging and re-charging the battery.

Step 1.
Unplug the computer and use it until the battery charge drops below 20%.
Step 2.
Plug in the computer and charge the battery to 100%.

Set power button behavior

By default, pressing the power button puts the computer to sleep mode. However, you can change the power button behavior in Windows Control Panel.

Step 1.
Type Control Panel in the Windows search box and then press Enter. Open the control panel and view by large or small icons.
Step 2.
Select the power options and then click choose what the power button does.

A power plan

A power plan is a collection of power-saving settings made available by an operating system. With a power plan, you can set idle time-outs for different hardware components to enter a low-power state. The default power plan and some of its idle time-out settings are listed below for computer models pre-installed with Windows.

The listed settings are active when the computer is connected to an electrical outlet. If your computer include a built-in battery pack, a different collection of time-out settings is set to take effect when the computer is operating on battery power.

  • Default power plan: Balanced
  • Turn off the display: after 5 minutes
  • Put the computer to sleep: after 5 minutes

To wake the computer from the sleep state, press the power button or any key on the keyboard.

Change or customize a power plan

This operation is applicable to computers with pre-installed Windows.

Step 1.
Type power plan in the Windows search box and then press Enter.
Step 2.
Customize a power plan of your preference.

System operation modes

Lenovo has preset several modes in which your computer can operate. The maximum attainable performance, power consumption, and speed limit for the heat sink fan vary between the operation modes. Consider the following conditions when you want to switch operation modes.

  • The environment where you use your computer, and
  • The tasks running on your computer

You can switch the operation mode in the pre-installed app Lenovo Vantage or Lenovo Smart Engine. As a shortcut, you can also use the key combination Fn + Q. Three modes are usually available for most Lenovo computers. The following table lists the operation modes and the recommended conditions for each mode.

The operation modes listed in the table are descriptive and may not be the same as those displayed by the app.

Table: Operation modes and their recommended usage conditions

Operation mode Recommended conditions
High Performance
  • Your computer is plugged into an electrical outlet.
  • You want the best performance, and
  • You don't care if the fan makes a little noise.
Auto (Balance) You plan to frequently switch between different computer tasks over a period time.
Power Saving (Quiet)
  • Your computer is operating on battery power, or
  • You want the computer to be as quiet as possible.

In Auto (Balanced) mode, the computer dynamically switches between High Performance mode and Power Saving (Quiet) mode depending on the tasks running on the computer.