Power

Battery state of charge

The Librem 11 is designed to maintain the battery state of charge between 90% and 100% when plugged in. It does not always charge to 100% in order to maximize battery longevity. If it is plugged in when already above 90% charge, it does not start charging the battery, since short charge cycles tend to wear out batteries quickly.

The battery state of charge may decrease slightly after reaching 100%, but it should remain above 90% while still plugged in. The Librem 11 charge estimation is mainly based on battery voltage, unlike the Librem 5 and 14, which measure the battery current over time. All batteries show a slight decrease in voltage after charging stops as the internal chemistry equalizes throughout the battery. The Librem 11 charge estimation may decrease as a result, even though the battery’s state of charge has not actually changed.

Battery recalibration

Certain conditions may cause an error in the battery state of charge estimate. If the battery does not seem to last very long, or the state of charge decreases too quickly, recalibrate the battery charge counter.

1. Turn on the device.

2. Temporarily disable automatic suspend on battery power.

3. Leave the device idle until it discharges to 5%. A slow discharge rate is preferred so the battery voltage will not decrease prematurely, which improves recalibration.

4. PureOS will shut down automatically when the battery reaches 5%.

5. Plug in the charger and confirm the red charge LED turns on.

6. Turn on the device again.

7. Let the device charge to 100%. The state of charge estimate may decrease after reaching 100% but should remain above 90%.