Here is a clean, markdown-formatted guide ready to copy and paste directly onto your blog. It uses the 70% to 90% thresholds you requested as the example.
How to Limit Battery Charging on Ubuntu Linux (Step-by-Step)
Keeping your laptop plugged into a charger at 100% capacity constantly can degrade the battery over time. By setting charge thresholds, you can command your system to stop charging once it hits a healthy maximum limit (e.g., 90%) and only resume charging when the battery drops below a minimum threshold (e.g., 70%).
Here is how to set this up using TLP, the ultimate Linux power-management tool.
Step 1: Install TLP
Open your terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and run the following command to update your package list and install the core TLP service:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y tlp
Step 2: Configure Your Charge Limits
Next, you need to edit TLP's main configuration file to set your custom thresholds. Open it using the terminal's text editor:
sudo nano /etc/tlp.conf
Use your arrow keys to scroll down, or press Ctrl + W to search for THRESH.
Locate the following lines, remove the # symbol from the beginning of each line to uncomment them, and set your desired values:
START_CHARGE_THRESH_BAT0=70
STOP_CHARGE_THRESH_BAT0=90
Use code with caution.
(Note: BAT0 is the default battery name for most laptops. If you have a dual-battery laptop like a Lenovo ThinkPad, repeat this step for START_CHARGE_THRESH_BAT1 and STOP_CHARGE_THRESH_BAT1).
- Save and exit the file by pressing Ctrl + S and then Ctrl + X.
Step 3: Start and Enable the TLP Service
To activate the new limits and make sure they apply every time your laptop boots up, run these three commands:
sudo tlp start
sudo systemctl enable tlp.service
sudo systemctl start tlp.service
Use code with caution.
Step 4: Verify Your Configuration
To ensure everything was configured correctly and to verify that your laptop hardware supports software-level thresholds, run the battery status command:
sudo tlp-stat -b
Use code with caution.
Look at the end of the output. It should show your new limits active:
• Charging start threshold: 70%
• Charging stop threshold: 90%
⚠️ Important Hardware Limitation
Battery thresholds rely heavily on your laptop's physical charging controller and Linux kernel support.
• This feature works flawlessly out-of-the-box on most Lenovo ThinkPads, ASUS, and Dell laptops.
• If sudo tlp-stat -b displays a message stating that charging thresholds are not supported or unsupported, your specific laptop manufacturer may require a dedicated BIOS configuration instead of software intervention.
Check my other post on How to check your Linux PC battery capacity
Follow for more content like this!
Top comments (1)
Handy guide, and 70/90 is a sensible pair. One small fix: the "Use code with caution." lines look like copy leftovers, and one sits inside the systemctl code block, so a reader who pastes it gets an error. Also worth a line that thresholds only work when the laptop firmware supports them; tlp-stat -b tells you if yours does.