Your laptop has been charging for two hours. It hit 100% an hour ago. You had no idea.
Windows will warn you when your battery is dying. But it will never tell you when it's done charging. That's a problem — because sitting at 100% for hours is one of the fastest ways to wear out a lithium-ion battery.
The simple fix
Battery Notifier is a free app that sits in your system tray and pings you when your battery hits any percentage you choose.
Set it to 80%. Plug in. When it dings, unplug. That's it.
You can pick from 14+ sounds (or bring your own), and it won't bug you during meetings — it respects Focus Mode automatically.
Why 80%?
Short version: lithium-ion batteries wear out faster at peak voltage. Here's our full breakdown if you're curious.
The DIY alternative
If you'd rather not install anything, you can write a PowerShell script:
while ($true) {
$b = Get-WmiObject Win32_Battery
if ($b.EstimatedChargeRemaining -ge 80 -and $b.BatteryStatus -eq 2) {
[System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox]::Show("Battery at $($b.EstimatedChargeRemaining)%")
}
Start-Sleep -Seconds 120
}
It works, but you get a plain message box with no sound, no tray icon, and no way to snooze it. For most people, Battery Notifier is easier.
Start today
The best time to protect your battery was day one. The second best is now.