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[Solved] Battery protector mode?

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user2635
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[Solved] Battery protector mode?

#1 Post by user2635 »

Hi Debian friends!

I don't know if this falls under 'Beginners Questions' so please do move it if it relates better to other topics.

Basically on Lenovo, it ships with a piece of software called Lenovo Companion/Settings.

On Lenovo Companion, there's a battery protector mode thing I can turn on and it caps my charging to 60% on my laptop (if I wish to leave my laptop plugged into AC most of the time, which I do)

Is there a similar package on Linux which I can use? Am I stressing too much about overcharging my battery?

Model: Lenovo Ideapad 700

P.S. Having read wikipedia, apparently the founder of Debian died by suicide, that's sad!
Last edited by user2635 on 2017-08-27 22:15, edited 1 time in total.
phil the linux newbie
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deborah-and-ian
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Re: Battery protector mode?

#2 Post by deborah-and-ian »

You're looking for tpacpi-bat - ThinkPad ACPI Battery Util
https://github.com/teleshoes/tpacpi-bat

EDIT: But it seems like Ideapads are not supported:

Not working

IdeaPads, etc (ThinkPads only!)
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Re: Battery protector mode?

#3 Post by user2635 »

Thanks for the tip, I will note that one down.

That is a real shame ideapad is not supported, I'll leave this open anyway in case someone finds something else!
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Re: Battery protector mode?

#4 Post by stevepusser »

All laptop batteries have circuitry that cut off the charger when the battery reaches 100% charge. Some defective ones would blow up anyway. The only reason I can think of for the 60% charge would be if you feared yours was defective.
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Re: Battery protector mode?

#5 Post by user2635 »

stevepusser wrote:All laptop batteries have circuitry that cut off the charger when the battery reaches 100% charge. Some defective ones would blow up anyway. The only reason I can think of for the 60% charge would be if you feared yours was defective.
Really...? Shall I let it go then?

I think I may just be overstressing it... just wanted to make sure I was taking care of my new laptop!
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Re: Battery protector mode?

#6 Post by stevepusser »

Most other laptops, including mine, seem to be happy with charging to 100% and staying there. It could be that the Lenovo "feature" solves a problem that doesn't really exist...you know, like Panera Bread ads boasting about removing that nasty sodium benzoate preservative from their foods, when that chemical already exists naturally in many other foods anyway.
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Re: Battery protector mode?

#7 Post by deborah-and-ian »

stevepusser wrote:Most other laptops, including mine, seem to be happy with charging to 100% and staying there. It could be that the Lenovo "feature" solves a problem that doesn't really exist...you know, like Panera Bread ads boasting about removing that nasty sodium benzoate preservative from their foods, when that chemical already exists naturally in many other foods anyway.
Can you point to a source to validate your criticism or is it just conjecture? Not trying to antagonise you, I'm just curious as I might be keen on acquiring a Lenovo Thinkpad device in the future and want to know if that's really just marketing bs.
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Re: [Solved] Battery protector mode?

#8 Post by stevepusser »

Since Lenovo seems to be making a claim that cutting off charging at 60% offers some advantage, I think they have the burden of providing some evidence of that, not I. I'm willing to accept some kind of independent study showing that. I'm willing to accept evidence...maybe I'm just cynical because of Lenovo's past bad behavior, or because of stuff like big "GLUTEN-FREE!!!" labels on products like bottled water.
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Re: [Solved] Battery protector mode?

#9 Post by deborah-and-ian »

Yes, there's a difference between cynicism and fact. Thanks for clarifying.
Debian GNU/Linux 9 Stretch w/Openbox

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AMD A8-6410 APU
4 GB RAM
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dedicated AMD Hainan Radeon R5 M240 2 GB
240 GB Toshiba Q300 SSD
Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 ethernet
Qualcomm Atheros QCA9565 wireless

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