A Windows update can coincide with higher battery drain, but the supported guidance is to check power usage, power settings, battery health, and battery-related drivers first.
- Review power settings in Settings > System > Power & battery.
- Windows 11 includes power mode, energy saver, screen and sleep timers, and display optimizations specifically to improve energy efficiency and extend battery life.
- Shorter screen-off and sleep times reduce battery use when the laptop is idle.
- Check which apps are using the most battery.
- In Settings > System > Power & battery, review battery usage by app and close or remove apps using unusually high power.
- Restart the laptop after the update.
- This can clear stuck background activity after an update.
- Reinstall the battery drivers.
- Open Device Manager.
- Expand Batteries.
- Right-click each battery-related device and select Uninstall device.
- Restart the laptop so Windows reinstalls the drivers automatically.
- Run the built-in power troubleshooter.
- Press Windows key + R.
- Run:
msdt.exe /id PowerDiagnostic - Complete the prompts.
- Check battery health.
- Open PowerShell and run:
powercfg /batteryreport - Open the generated battery report and compare Full Charge Capacity with Design Capacity.
- If full-charge capacity is much lower, the battery may have aged and the update may only have made the issue more noticeable.
- Open PowerShell and run:
- Update HP firmware and drivers.
- Install the latest BIOS and device drivers from HP for the laptop model, especially power-management and chipset-related drivers.
- If Smart charging is enabled, confirm whether the lower charge level is intentional.
- Some devices limit charging below 100% to protect long-term battery health.
- In Windows, a heart on the battery icon and the text Fully Smart charged indicate this behavior.
If the battery started draining immediately after the update, the most likely supported checks are battery usage by app, Power & battery settings, battery driver reinstall, and battery health reporting. If those checks show normal battery health but the drain continues, the next step is HP-specific driver or firmware updates.
References: