Source: Windows Central
On laptops and tablets, battery life is essential since it'll determine how long you would be running Windows 11 along with your applications. As a result, understanding the health of the battery can be helpful to find out any energy problems or whether the battery needs replacement.
Whatever the reason might be, Windows 11 includes a command-line tool that analyzes the usage over time to generate a battery health report to review the battery specifications, energy usage, estimated battery life, and details to determine whether the device needs a battery replacement.
In this Windows 11 guide, we will walk you through the steps to create and understand the battery health report of your laptop or tablet.
How to check battery health on Windows 11
To create a report of the battery health on Windows 11, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to create a battery report on Windows 11 and press Enter:
powercfg /batteryreport /output "C:\battery_report.html"
Source: Windows Central
Once you complete the steps, the report will be saved automatically in the main installation drive.
Reading battery report
- Open File Explorer.
- Click on This PC from the left pane.
- Under the "Devices and drives" section, double-click the "C" drive.
Double-click to open the "battery_report.html" file with the default web browser.
Source: Windows Central
The report is made up of several sections with self-explanatory information. The section with the most information you want is perhaps the "Installed Batteries" section that gives you a general overview of the battery installed on your computer, including name, manufacturer, serial number, chemistry, design capacity, and cycle count.
If you want to know whether the battery needs replacement, you need to look at the "design capacity" and "full charge capacity." In the example, you can see that the battery was designed to hold 44,156mWh, and the full charge capacity is 44,156mWh, indicating that the battery can still hold 100% of the charge. However, if the full charge capacity drops significantly (around less than 50%), it could indicate that it's time to replace the battery.
Source: Windows Central
The "Recent Usage" section shows when the computer was active, suspended, or in connected standby. This information may come in handy to determine whether the device is waking up automatically at random times when it should not.
Source: Windows Central
The "Battery usage" section shows a graph with valuable information about the battery drain over the last three days.
Source: Windows Central
The "Usage history" tracks how long the computer was using battery power and when it was plugged into an electrical outlet.
Source: Windows Central
The "Battery capacity history" tracks the charge capacity history of the battery.
Source: Windows Central
Finally, the "Battery life estimates" section shows the battery life based on observed drains. In other words, this section shows a prediction of the battery life for common usage.
Source: Windows Central
The tool works best as it collects more data over time. This means that if you generate a battery report on a new device or new installation, you are not likely to find many useful details. If you encounter problems with the battery, it's recommended to go through several cycles to find patterns that could help determine the problem.
More Windows resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources:
- Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
- Windows 11 help, tips, and tricks
- Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

The must-play Xbox games releasing in 2022 and beyond
What's coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One in the future? Here are the biggest and brightest games we're looking forward to.

Here's everything you need to know about the new Dell XPS 13 Plus (9320)
Dell's new XPS 13 Plus 9320 is finally here, and it brings some big changes to one of the best 13-inch Ultrabooks on the market. We break down the details and answer some big questions.

Xbox head Phil Spencer responds to the Starfield, Redfall delays
Starfield and Redfall essentially formed the basis of Xbox's 2022 lineup, and both have been delayed to 2023. Here's what Xbox head Phil Spencer had to say on the matter.

Should your next computer be a mini PC? These are your best options.
Windows PCs come in all shapes and sizes, and whatever your needs, there's a computer out there to suit you. Here are the best to choose from if you're looking for a new mini PC.