Guide to Dell Power Manager

Dell Power Manager provides detailed information about your Dell laptops battery, including:

• Whether your computer is plugged in or using battery power
• Percentage of your computer’s total battery power remaining
• Peak Shift and Battery Extender status, if applicable
• Battery Health
• Battery Charge Status
• Battery Settings
• Battery type (Standard, Extended Warranty, or Enhanced)
• Connection (Primary, Battery Slice, or Modular Bay)
• Manufacturer
• Dell battery (Yes or No)
• Serial number
• PPID (Piece Part ID)
  NOTE: The PPID of the battery may not always display in the Dell Power Manager app.

Figure 1: Battery information in the Dell Power Manager app (The image is in English only).

Battery health

Battery health indicates the amount of charge that is available to a computer. In general, a battery’s health decreases over time at a rate that depends on how often the battery is used and the conditions under which it is used.

Battery Health is indicated using the heart icon followed by a set of four circular icons. The number of circular icons that are filled indicates battery health.

Figure 2: Battery health indicator (The image is in English).

Table 1: Battery health indicator codes

Code	Description
	Excellent - The battery is operating at maximum capacity.
	Good - The battery can charge normally; however, you may notice reduced operating time because long-term battery life is decreasing.
	Fair - The battery can charge normally; however, it is near the end of its usable life. It is recommended that you purchase a new battery soon.
	Poor - Battery no longer provides sufficient power. It is recommended that you replace this battery.
	The battery no longer operates, or the battery status cannot be determined. It is recommended that you replace the battery.

Battery charge status

You can view a battery’s charge status quickly by seeing the battery charge status indicator code displayed beside the battery number on the Battery Information screen.

Table 2: Battery charge status indicator

Code	Power Remaining
	80-100 percent
	60-79 percent
	40-59 percent
	20-39 percent
	0-19 percent

Battery Settings

Dell Power Manager allows you to select a Battery Setting that is optimized for specific computer usage patterns. For example, some settings focus on extending battery life, while others provide fast charge times. Available settings may be limited, depending on the battery. Possible battery settings include:

• Standard - Fully charges the battery at a moderate rate. This setting provides a balanced approach to extending battery life while still providing a reasonably fast charging time. Recommended for users who frequently switch between battery and external power sources.
• ExpressCharge™ - Quickly charges the battery using Dell fast-charge technology. Recommended for users who need the battery to charge quickly. If the computer is powered off, then the battery typically charges to 80 percent within one hour and 100 percent in two hours. Charge time may be longer if the computer is turned on.
• Primarily AC Use - Extends battery life by lowering the charge threshold so that the battery never charges to 100 percent capacity. Recommended for users who primarily operate the computer while plugged into an external power source.
• Adaptive - Automatically optimizes battery settings based on the user's typical patterns. Recommended for users who want to "set it and forget it."
• Custom - The user selects when the battery starts and stops charging. Recommended for advanced users.

Figure 3: Battery charge settings in the Dell Power Manager app (The image is in English).

Advanced Charge is an optional feature that prolongs the usable life of a computer’s batteries by charging them to full capacity only once per day, prior to the Start of the day you establish when you Enable Advanced Charge. For the remainder of the day, Advanced Charge keeps batteries in a lower charge state that is better for storage, even when the computer is plugged into a direct power source.

Enabling Advanced Charge

Advanced Charge is not enabled by default. When Advanced Charge is enabled, the feature applies to all batteries in the computer, and individual battery configuration is disabled.

1. Click the Advanced Charge tab in the left pane.
2. To enable Advanced Charge, click the Toggle at the top of the page to the On position.
   
   Figure 4: Enable Advanced charge in the Dell Power Manager app. (The image is in English)
3. Click the toggle for each day of the week to enable or disable Advanced Charge for each day.
4. To set the time of day when Advanced Charge is active and inactive, click Settings.
5. In the Time Settings screen, click a day of the week. In the main portion of the page, you can use either the circular slider or the drop-down menus to set the time.
   
   Figure 5: Advanced charge scheduling in the Dell Power Manager app (The image is in English)
6. Select the 'Copy the same settings to multiple days' check box. In the left pane, select the days to which these settings apply.
7. Click OK to save your settings, or click CANCEL to discard them.

Peak Shift is an optional feature that reduces power consumption by automatically switching the computer to battery power during certain times of the day, even if the computer is plugged into a direct power source. After Peak Shift begins, the computer will run on battery power until the combined charge level of all batteries reaches a minimum threshold. See Enabling Peak Shift for instructions on how to change these settings. Then, if the computer is plugged in, it is powered by the direct power source; however, the battery is not charged until the Peak Shift ends.

Enabling Peak Shift

1. Click the Peak Shift tab in the left pane.
2. To enable Peak Shift, click the Toggle at the top of the page to the On position.
3. To select the percentage at which the computer will Restore AC power if the available computer charge falls below, move the slider. For example, selecting 15 percent causes the computer to switch from battery to AC power during Peak Shift if the power remaining falls below 15 percent.
4. To enable or disable Peak Shift for a specific day, click the toggle next to each day of the week.
5. To set the time of day when Peak Shift is active, click Settings.
6. On the Time Settings screen, click a day of the week. Using either the circular slider or the drop-down menus:
   1. To save your changes, click OK, or to discard them, click CANCEL.
   2. Set a time at which the computer begins to operate only on AC power without charging the battery: Select the Operate on AC power without charging battery check box, then select the time that you want the computer to start operating on AC power without charging the battery.
   3. End Peak Shift: Select the time that you want Peak Shift to end.
7. Select 'Copy the same settings to multiple days.' Then, in the left pane, select the days to which these settings apply.
8. To save your changes, click OK, or to discard them, click CANCEL.

Dell Power Manager allows you to manage your computer’s processor and cooling fan settings so that you can manage performance, computer surface temperature, and fan noise. Each option represents a different balance of these three elements. Choose the configuration that best suits the way that you use your computer.

Changing Thermal Management Settings

To change the Thermal Management setting:

1. Click the Thermal Management tab in the left pane.
2. Click the radio button beside the Thermal Management setting that you want to select.

Figure 6: Thermal management settings in the Dell Power Manager app (The image is in English).

Dell Power Manager's Battery Extender feature allows you to conserve battery charge.

• Reduce CPU power level
• Screen brightness level
• Keyboard illumination level
• Mute audio

Extending Battery Charge

Dell Power Manager's Battery Extender feature allows you to change the settings of some computer functions that affect your computer's battery consumption. To access Battery Extender:

1. Click the Battery Extender tab in the left pane.
2. Click the Settings button.
3. Click in the box beside the feature that you want to affect, and where available, slide the slider or enter a percentage number to adjust the level of change you want to apply.
4. Click OK to apply your changes, or click CANCEL to discard your changes.
5. Click the toggle to the On position.

To restore any settings that you have changed using Battery Extender, click Restore Defaults.

The Alert Settings feature in Dell Power Manager allows you to restore the default alert settings. Dell Power Manager supports the following types of alerts:

• Adapter Alerts
• Battery Alerts
• Docking Station Alerts
• Other Alerts
• Thermal Alerts

Restoring Alert Defaults

1. Click the Alerts Settings tab in the left pane.
2. Click the Restore Alert Settings button. This feature restores the display of an alert if you previously clicked the Do not display this message again.

   
   Figure 7: Restore alert settings in the Dell Power Manager app. (The image is in English)

3. A confirmation dialog window appears, displaying the message Are you sure you want to restore all alert settings?
4. Click Yes to continue or Cancel to cancel.

   
   Figure 8: Confirm to restore alert settings in the Dell Power Manager app. (The image is in English)