How to Check Your Laptop's Battery Health in Windows 11 With the Built-In Battery Report

Quick summary: Is your laptop dying faster than it used to? Windows has a built-in tool that tells you exactly how healthy your battery is, and most people have no idea it exists. It’s a command called powercfg /batteryreport, and Engadget highlighted it today. One command, and you get a full report comparing what your battery holds now to what it held new. Here’s how to run it and read it, step by step.

Before you start

• This works on Windows 11 and Windows 10 laptops. Desktops without a battery won’t have much to show.
• You don’t need to download anything. powercfg is built into Windows, and Microsoft’s documentation lists /batteryreport as the option that “generates a report of battery usage characteristics over the lifetime of the system.”
• The report is a simple HTML file that opens in your web browser.

Step 1: Open Terminal

1. Press Windows key + X (or right-click the Start button).
2. Click Terminal. On Windows 10, this may say Windows PowerShell.

You can also press Windows key + R, type cmd, and press Enter to use Command Prompt instead. Engadget and HP’s support community both use an admin window (Terminal (Admin) or Run as administrator), which also works.

What you should see: A text window with a blinking cursor.

Step 2: Run the battery report

1. Type this exactly and press Enter:

powercfg /batteryreport

2. Windows creates the report and tells you where it saved the file. Per Microsoft, the report is saved in the current folder the window is pointed at (usually your user folder in a normal Terminal window).

Want it saved somewhere specific? Microsoft documents an /output option, like this:

powercfg /batteryreport /output "battery-report.html"

What you should see: A confirmation line with the file path to battery-report.html.

Step 3: Open the report

1. Copy the file path Windows showed you.
2. Paste it into File Explorer’s address bar (or your browser’s address bar) and press Enter.

Or, in the same window, type battery-report.html and press Enter, which is the shortcut HP’s support community guide uses.

What you should see: A “Battery report” page in your browser with your computer name at the top.

Step 4: Compare Design Capacity to Full Charge Capacity

Scroll to Installed batteries. This is the part that matters most:

• Design capacity is how much energy your battery was built to hold when new (in mWh).
• Full charge capacity is how much it actually holds now.
• Cycle count shows how many full charge cycles it’s been through (some laptops show a dash here instead of a number).

To get your battery health as a percentage, divide Full charge capacity by Design capacity and multiply by 100. For example, a battery with a design capacity of 50,000 mWh and a full charge capacity of 40,000 mWh is at 80%.

What you should see: Two numbers you can compare. The closer they are, the healthier your battery.

Step 5: Check the history

Keep scrolling:

• Battery capacity history shows full charge capacity vs. design capacity over time, so you can see how fast your battery is wearing down, as TechRepublic explains.
• Recent usage and Battery usage show when your laptop was active, asleep or charging over the last few days. If it’s waking up when it shouldn’t, Windows Central notes you’ll see it here.
• Battery life estimates show how long a charge has been lasting.

What you should see: A table where full charge capacity slowly drops over the months. That’s normal for lithium-ion batteries.

When is it time for a new battery?

There isn’t one official cutoff, but here’s what the experts say:

• HP’s support community guide says if full charge capacity is 75% or lower than design capacity, the battery is likely behind charging problems.
• Windows Central says that around 50% or less, it’s time to consider replacing it.
• Engadget cites Dell saying anything below 40% needs to be replaced.

Also watch for warning signs Engadget lists: slower charging, random shutdowns, or a laptop case that starts to bulge. A swollen battery is a safety issue. Stop using the laptop and get it serviced.

Bonus: Find out what’s draining your battery

Engadget also recommends powercfg /energy. Microsoft says it analyzes your system for common energy-efficiency and battery-life problems, watches for 60 seconds by default, and saves an HTML report. Run it from Terminal (Admin) while the laptop is idle with no apps open:

powercfg /energy

The report flags apps and devices that may be draining power.

Tips

• Run it twice a year. Saving a report every few months lets you see the trend yourself.
• Battery’s fine but you still need more time? A laptop power bank is cheaper than a new laptop. The Anker 25,000mAh 165W pack in the shop box can charge a laptop over USB-C.
• Time for an upgrade? If your battery is under 50% and the laptop is several years old, Black Friday is a smart time to shop. I reviewed the HP OmniBook 5 14, and it and the OmniBook 5 Flip 14 are in the shop box.

Recap checklist

• Press Windows + X, open Terminal
• Run powercfg /batteryreport
• Open battery-report.html from the path Windows shows
• Compare Full charge capacity to Design capacity under Installed batteries
• Check Battery capacity history for the trend
• Optional: run powercfg /energy from an admin Terminal to find battery drains

Sources: Engadget (November 14, 2026); Microsoft Learn: Powercfg command-line options; HP Support Community; TechRepublic; Windows Central.