How long should a laptop battery actually last before it needs replacing?

[CrimsonNova71]

My laptop battery seems to drain faster than it used to, is that normal wear or a sign something's actually wrong?

[Falcon]

Most laptop batteries are rated for somewhere between 300 and 500 full charge cycles before noticeably degrading, which for typical daily use works out to roughly two to four years

If your battery health reads below about 80 percent capacity in your system settings, that drop in daily battery life is completely normal wear rather than a sign of a fault

A few habits do slow the degradation, avoiding letting it sit at 0 percent or 100 percent for long stretches, and keeping it out of extreme heat, both meaningfully extend a battery's useful lifespan over time