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I have a fresh installation of the lastest Ubuntu 16.04 MATE on my new Laptop with all the latest Firmware / BIOS installed. For some reason the battery gets drained while the machine is powered off (shutdown). ~ 5% / day.

  • How can I troubleshoot this?
  • Is there any way to conduct a software check on the battery health? (although new laptop)
  • I tried the tool "powertop", but it only works when the machine is running I think.
user3200534
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  • It's probable that the laptop uses that battery to boot. – TheWanderer Jul 02 '16 at 14:42
  • No. I forgot to mention that I had the laptop powered off for a week and ended up with 15% battery status. – user3200534 Jul 02 '16 at 15:46
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    If you can schedule a day or 2 without using your laptop on battery power [using it only on AC power] remove a fully charged battery for 24 or 48 hours. Conduct the test after the time has elapsed. – pfeiffep Jul 02 '16 at 15:46
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – terdon Jul 02 '16 at 23:58
  • I have the same issue as you, did you manage to resolve it? – Wboy Jul 10 '17 at 02:09
  • @Wboy Unfortunatelly Not. Though I think there is something wrong with the Laptop's software (BIOS, UEFI, PowerMangement). It cant be the OS, if e.g. boot and while booting Cut the Power, so the OS is impossible to run. – user3200534 Jul 10 '17 at 10:57

1 Answers1

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  1. make sure you shutdown and do not suspend or hibernate
  2. if the battery drains when the system is shutdown this is a -hardware- related problem. Not of the operating system
  3. powertop and any software will need the operating system to be running yes.
  4. 5% could be what it costs you to boot your system.
  5. check if it is actually draining: is it 10% after you did not use the system for a week for instance? If it is always 5% ... I do not call that "draining when powered off".

How can I troubleshoot this?

Not from inside the operating system.

edit: check that USB is turned off. Maybe your BIOS is keeping an USB 3.0 port active (one that can be used to charge something while the system is down). Maybe go through your BIOS?

Is there any way to conduct a software check on the battery health? (although new laptop)

Example: How to check battery status using terminal?

Community
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Rinzwind
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  • (1)I always use proper "shutdown" from Ubuntu menu. (2) i read from a different issue on a tech forum, that disabling the hwclock fixed his same problem (5) I had the laptop powered off for ~ 1 week and it drained from 100% -> 15% – user3200534 Jul 02 '16 at 15:42
  • Ill try to find more stuff to check. We'll find it somehow ;) – Rinzwind Jul 02 '16 at 19:25