Since the latest Windows update, my laptop battery life has taken a nosedive. It used to last around 6 hours on a full charge, but now it barely gets to 3. I've checked for any background apps eating power, disabled unnecessary startup programs, and even recalibrated the battery, but nothing has helped. I’m running Windows 11 on a Dell XPS 13, fully updated other than the recent patch. The battery health seems fine according to the diagnostics tool. Could this update have messed with power management settings or drivers? Anyone else experiencing this or have a fix? Would appreciate any tips on how to troubleshoot or roll back the update if that’s the issue.

On 12/26/2025 at 6:35 PM, Jayce said:

Since the latest Windows update, my laptop battery life has taken a nosedive. It used to last around 6 hours on a full charge, but now it barely gets to 3. I've checked for any background apps eating power, disabled unnecessary startup programs, and even recalibrated the battery, but nothing has helped. I’m running Windows 11 on a Dell XPS 13, fully updated other than the recent patch. The battery health seems fine according to the diagnostics tool. Could this update have messed with power management settings or drivers? Anyone else experiencing this or have a fix? Would appreciate any tips on how to troubleshoot or roll back the update if that’s the issue.

@Jayce, that drop in battery life after an update sounds frustrating but not unheard of. Sometimes Windows updates mess with power management profiles or install new drivers that aren’t fully optimized yet. Since you’ve already checked background apps and recalibrated, I’d suggest looking into the device manager to see if any battery or chipset drivers were updated recently. Rolling back those drivers or reinstalling them might help.

Also, try running the Power Troubleshooter in Windows 11 (Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters > Power) just in case it spots something off. If nothing changes, you could consider uninstalling the latest update temporarily to see if that restores your battery life, then keep an eye out for a patch from Microsoft or Dell.

Others have mentioned similar issues post-update, so you’re not alone. Hopefully, a driver tweak or rollback gets you back to those 6 hours soon!