14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft and HP have worked together to release a new update that is specifically aimed to address a configuration settings issue on devices launched by PC the maker.
The new update is KB4583263 and what it does is check the BIOS settings to determine if the HP Battery Health Manager is disabled.
Specifically aimed at business PCs, this update then enables the feature with the recommended setting of Let HP Manage My Battery Charging, which according to the parent company, should help optimize the battery charging based on your usage patterns, essentially being able to increase the life of your battery health and life.
What’s important to know is that on devices where the feature isn’t available in the BIOS, no change is being made. HP recommends users to update their BIOS to get the battery optimization system, and only then the new update will do its job. Windows update KB4583263 does not update the BIOS.
“When the feature was first introduced, customers had to manually enable HP Battery Health Manager to the recommended setting of Let HP Manage My Battery Health. As usage patterns for business notebooks have changed over time, HP has updated HP Battery Health Manager with new and improved charging algorithms. This makes it more effective at mitigating those factors that can accelerate battery swelling and chemical aging. HP is working with Microsoft to deliver an HP solution to enable this setting on select HP business notebooks so you do not have to enable it manually,” HP explains in a tech support document.
As BornCity notes, the new update is available for the following Windows 10 versions:
- Windows 10 version 1809
- Windows 10 version 1903
- Windows 10 version 1909
- Windows 10 version 2004
According to HP, the aforementioned profile for the battery charging optimization software helps prevent damages like battery swelling. If the BIOS is protected with a password, Windows Update is unable to install the update, in which case you need to disable this security feature before being able to deploy KB4583263.
“Let HP Manage My Battery Charging is the minimum recommended setting for HP Battery Health Manager on all HP business notebooks. This setting helps optimize battery health over time. Disabling HP Battery Health Manager results in accelerated battery swelling and chemical aging of the notebook battery and is not recommended. To disable HP Battery Health Manager, select Maximize My Battery Duration as the default setting,” HP says in the advisory.
Not all HP laptops are getting this update, and you can check out the full list in the box embedded at the end of the article. Keep in mind that the BIOS must support the battery management software to receive the update and the device must be running one of the aforementioned Windows 10 versions.
On the other hand, it’s worth knowing that Windows 10 version 2004 isn’t yet available on all HP computers. Microsoft started the rollout of Windows 10 version 2004, or May 2020 Update, in May this year, and the whole thing happened in stages, but the general availability is yet to be reached.
In the meantime, Microsoft has finalized the work on another Windows 10 version. Windows 10 October 2020 Update, or version 20H2, is projected to be released to the first wave of production devices as soon as this month, as the company has already shipped the final build to users enrolled in the Windows Insider program.
This new version, however, comes with fewer changes, as the focus has been mostly on under the hood improvements and optimizations.