Microsoft and HP are sending out a collaborative update for Windows 10 users that will allow them to take advantage of better battery life. Specifically, for owners of HP laptops and PCs, the feature boosts battery efficiency without needing to tweak the system BIOS.
Rolling out as Windows 10 KB4583263, the update will not work for all HP products. In fact, the companies say it is compatible with only select notebooks. For those devices, the KB delivers a new algorithm for battery charging.
This is a non-essential update so it will not install automatically. Instead, users will need to find it through “Optional Updates” in the Windows Settings app.
It is worth noting that while this update will boost battery life, it is designed to solve an issue. That also explains why it is only available for select laptops.
Some HP enterprise laptops were having problems with the HP Battery Health Manager, affecting battery life. A new algorithm has been created for the manager tool, providing a BIOS-grade setting that is available directly within Windows 10.
In other words, you won't need to dig into the BIOS to enable it. With this change, the laptops will be able to optimize battery charge based on charging patterns and usage patterns.
Update
If you're worried about accidentally updating to an incompatible laptop, you can rest easy. Microsoft says even if you download to an unsupported device, no changes will be made.
It is also worth noting users of the affected laptops don't need to download this update if they don't want. Indeed, the same results can be achieved by heading into the manual configuration on the BIOS.