X1Extreme's battery life - help please

[fatymid]

Here is my battery life with:

1) power save on

2) chrome with 2 tabs

3) screen at 40%

Screenshot from Window's settings: https://imgur.com/NgXtaeB 

Here is another one during  normal use - 2 chrome windows with Youtube stream and some tabs (text only): https://imgur.com/xJyiiZ1

I think that it's too little battery life considering how few apps I am running (I have nothing in the background)

 

It is X1 Extreme FHD I bought 2 days ago. I immidiately made all upgades using Lenovo's software - that means I am on BIOS 1.24 now. 

 

I've seen some tips to disable and enable graphics card - that does not work for me. 

 

What is the solution to this problem in 2019?

[5x5]

Chrome is power hungry and bad with batteries. Use FF or Edge

[5x5]

Also turn off keyboard backlight. That's a major power hog

[fatymid]

Just now, 5x5 said:

Also turn off keyboard backlight. That's a major power hog

I do not use it.

 

1 minute ago, 5x5 said:

Chrome is power hungry and bad with batteries. Use FF or Edge

Do you really believe Chrome is the issue? Especially after I mentioned to you in another topic that this laptop has battery issues and you replied that I would just update and it would be ok.

[5x5]

6 minutes ago, fatymid said:

I do not use it.

 

Do you really believe Chrome is the issue? Especially after I mentioned to you in another topic that this laptop has battery issues and you replied that I would just update and it would be ok.

Chrome eats away at mine as well. With edge I get 7 hours. On chrome 4

[5x5]

13 minutes ago, fatymid said:

I do not use it.

 

Do you really believe Chrome is the issue? Especially after I mentioned to you in another topic that this laptop has battery issues and you replied that I would just update and it would be ok.

Update the iGPU and NVidia drivers from their websites as well. And optimize the intel control panel since it tends to bug and run at a high power state.

[panzersharkcat]

Opera also has a battery saver feature.

[fatymid]

I know it is not Chrome's fault because the battery drain is high even when I do offline work. Besides, I used Chrome on my previous laptop that has smaller battery and wear level of 48% after 3 years of use - I was able to get better battery life from that device 

[fatymid]

17 hours ago, 5x5 said:

And optimize the intel control panel since it tends to bug and run at a high power state.

Right now Intel control panel app does not even work, it just doesn't run lol

What should I do?

[5x5]

12 minutes ago, fatymid said:

Right now Intel control panel app does not even work, it just doesn't run lol

What should I do?

DDU and install it again from the intel site

[fatymid]

7 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

DDU and install it again from the intel site

How do I use this software exactly? Should I "clean&restart" the Intel's card drivers?

[5x5]

8 minutes ago, fatymid said:

How do I use this software exactly? Should I "clean&restart" the Intel's card drivers?

Clean and restart both the intel and Nvidia driver then install the latest WHQL certified drivers

[fatymid]

9 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

the latest WHQL certified drivers

Where do I find those?

I tried to update intel's drivers but the installer gave me an error: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005469/graphics-drivers.html

[5x5]

3 minutes ago, fatymid said:

Where do I find those?

I tried to update intel's drivers but the installer gave me an error: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005469/graphics-drivers.html

Nvidias website for them

 

As for the broken intel drivers, try going with the older .exe after you remove both the intel and Nvidia drivers with DDU

[fatymid]

48 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Nvidias website for them

 

As for the broken intel drivers, try going with the older .exe after you remove both the intel and Nvidia drivers with DDU

I am done with the drvers. I set everything I could to better battery in Intel Graphics Panel.  I fully charged my laptop and I still have 4:37 estimate of battery life 

Should i return the device?

[5x5]

1 minute ago, fatymid said:

I am done with the drvers. I set everything I could to better battery in Intel Graphics Panel.  I fully charged my laptop and I still have 4:37 estimate of battery life 

Should i return the device?

Worth a shot. You should be getting at least 7-8 while doing light browsing or watching H.264 video

 

[fatymid]

Update:

Windows settings now display 7:23 estimate at 94% (without me running any apps!). Is that reasonable? 

I will continue to test it before returning the device to the shop. 

 

Update2:

now it dropped to 3:14, even though I do not use Chrome right now. BatteryBar Pro estimates 4:26 runtime on fully charged battery. 

 

Update3:

Window's settings show 08:06, while BatteryBar Pro shows 04:01. What is happening?

[5x5]

1 minute ago, fatymid said:

Update:

Windows settings now display 7:23 estimate at 94% (without me running any apps!). Is that reasonable? 

I will continue to test it before returning the device to the shop. 

 

Update2:

now it dropped to 3:14, even though I do not use Chrome right now. BatteryBar Pro estimates 4:26 runtime on fully charged battery. 

 

Update3:

Window's settings show 08:06, what is happening?

Wait, are you basing everything off the windows timer? That's horribly inaccurate. Time it yourself since the Windows tool will constantly change its prediction based on power draw.

[fatymid]

2 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Wait, are you basing everything off the windows timer? That's horribly inaccurate. Time it yourself since the Windows tool will constantly change its prediction based on power draw.

That's why I am using Batterybar, as recommended in some topic on Lenovo Forums. Its values did not change after I did things with the drivers. Should I continue to use the laptop and see if the changes I made actually did something?

[5x5]

23 minutes ago, fatymid said:

That's why I am using Batterybar, as recommended in some topic on Lenovo Forums. Its values did not change after I did things with the drivers. Should I continue to use the laptop and see if the changes I made actually did something?

Try to time it - video playback is the most consistent and see if your real time matches with what NBC and other outlets are reporting - if yes, you're fine and can ignore battery calculators

[fatymid]

5 hours ago, 5x5 said:

Try to time it - video playback is the most consistent and see if your real time matches with what NBC and other outlets are reporting - if yes, you're fine and can ignore battery calculators

After some testing using Edge I can confirm that 4:20 estimate is accurate. 

 

Do you think I sshould get this one replaced or should I look for a completely different laptop (like Hp Elitebook)?

[5x5]

2 minutes ago, fatymid said:

After some testing using Edge I can confirm that 4:20 estimate is accurate. 

 

Do you think I sshould get this one replaced or should I look for a completely different laptop (like Hp Elitebook)?

Well, I'd probably return and try my luck with a ZBook or Precision

[fatymid]

45 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Well, I'd probably return and try my luck with a ZBook or Precision

Please stop recommending X1E to other people, they will not be fine after updating BIOS (as you told me in other topic). Especially now, with your response, you admit you know this issue cannot be solved and is frequent. Otherwise you would advise to get this one replaced. 

 

 

 

[5x5]

5 minutes ago, fatymid said:

Please stop recommending X1E to other people, they will not be fine after updating BIOS (as you told me in other topic). Especially now, with your response, you admit you know this issue cannot be solved and is frequent. Otherwise you would advise to get this one replaced. 

 

 

 

Thing is, I've personally tested multiple X1E FHD models and they get 8 hours on average

 I have no idea what your issue is but am pretty sure it's a software problem seeing as it's brand new but I'm not going to act as if mine and reviewer experiences don't exist.

[Super Spartan]

Click Start > Settings > Privacy > then from the left pane, scroll down to Background Apps

 

Now uncheck all the apps that you don't need to be running in the background constantly, for example, you don't need Mail, Calculator, etc, running in the background, the only ones I keep in the background are system apps that specific hardware needs like nVIDIA Control Panel, Realtek Audio Console, you get the picture

 

 

Also, in Google Chrome, go to Settings, then scroll down to the bottom and expand Advanced Settings, then uncheck the box which says allow Chrome to run in the background

 

Also, as brother @5x5 mentioned, do not rely on the Windows Estimation of the battery time, see:

 

 

Why Did Microsoft Hide the Battery Life Estimate?

This information was removed because it’s just an estimate. It can change dramatically depending on what processes are running, how bright your screen is, and whether you’re connected to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Your computer is making an informed guess and displaying an estimated battery life in real-time. It can fluctuate wildly, and Microsoft seems to think it’s no longer useful.

Apple recently made the same decision on macOS, too. By default, both macOS and Windows just show the percent of your laptop’s battery you have left with no guess about how long it will last.

 

How to Enable Remaining Battery Time in Windows 10