Does your laptop battery die really fast?
Yeah, I’ve been there and I know exactly what you mean. It’s super frustrating.
I’m going to show you six simple ways to extend your laptop’s battery life when you’re traveling and running ONLY on battery power.
If you follow these tips, you could double your usable battery time.
Tip #1 – Unplug Everything
The first battery killer is the external devices.
Unplug anything connected to your USB ports including an external mouse, external keyboard, or external hard drive. Unplug it all. These pull more power than you think.
Tip #2 – Drop Your Screen Brightness Level
Your laptop screen is another major power hog.
To fix that, lower your screen brightness to about 50%.
In Windows it’s pretty easy to do.
Click the Start menu or search bar, type in “brightness,” then click Change Brightness Level. A slider will pop up, bring it down to 50%.
That’s the sweet spot. You could go lower, but under 50% you’re not really saving much more power.
Tip #3 – Kill the Keyboard Backlight
Backlit keyboards look cool, but they drain your battery fast.
To turn it down or off:
Look for the Function Key (FN key). On the bottom left corner of your keyboard and hold it down, and then press the corresponding function key at the top row of your laptop that adjusts keyboard lighting.
On our EZ laptops, it’s F4 to dim, F5 to brighten.
If it’s different on your laptop, just Google your model plus “keyboard backlight shortcut.”
Turning off the backlight can give you a noticeable boost in your battery life.
Tip #4 – Shut Down Background Apps
There is tons of stuff running in the background.
Cut out the background noise.
Close every program you’re not actively using. Especially anything that streams data.
Trading platforms stream data, YouTube, Netflix, and these apps hammer your battery.
If you're trading on battery, consider logging in for just a few minutes. Maybe you want to check prices, set some new stop orders and then you want to log off.
If you want to watch a movie on the plane, download it ahead of time before you get on the plane so you're not streaming in real time.
Also, close extra browser tabs. Close anything that’s just sitting there eating power.
Want to know which apps are draining your power?
Simple click the ‘Start’ menu and type “battery” in the windows search box. Click Battery Saver Settings, then look for which apps are affecting your battery life.
You’ll get a list. Shut down the biggest offenders.
Tip #5 – Turn On Battery Saver Mode
This one’s easy.
Click the battery icon at the bottom right of your screen.
Slide the performance bar all the way to the left to Best Battery Life.
This limits background activity and it tones down your processor to save juice.
Tip #6 – Set Your Laptop to Sleep Faster
If you’re stepping away from your laptop for even just a few minutes, don’t let the screen stay on the whole time.
Go to Power & Sleep Settings.
Set your screen to turn off after 2–5 minutes of inactivity while on battery.
That way, it powers down fast when you’re not using it—and you’re not wasting battery while grabbing a coffee or stretching your legs.
Quick Recap: The 6 Hacks to Double Your Laptop Battery Life
- Unplug all external devices: mouse, hard drives, everything.
- Drop screen brightness to 50%.
- Turn off keyboard backlighting.
- Close all unused apps, especially anything streaming data or background apps.
- Switch on Battery Saver Mode.
- Set the screen to turn off after just a few minutes of inactivity.
And remember, once you’re plugged back into the wall, you can reverse all of these settings and go back to full power mode.
If you haven’t already, download our Complete Guide to Trading Computers. It’s packed with insider tips to help you fully optimize your trading setup.
Article Updated June 11, 2025.
