Battery Life

I have read about calibrating the battery at least once a month but what other ways do you care for your battery?? Is it good to keep the MacBook plugged in at your desk even when not using it?? OR just plug it in when you need to charge the batttery????

didjaever,

I leave my Macbook plugged in whenever I'm not using it in a mobile mode. I use it 2-4 hours a day unplugged and then plug it in to recharge for the night. In the morning it's all charged up ready to take wherever I need it.

I wouldn't just plug it in to charge it - if it's convenient, leave it plugged in except when you want to use it on the battery.

Then do the calibration, as you said, about once a month.

Noel

Calibration??

Don't know anything about that??

Calibration is when you fully charge the battery... then fully discharge the battery with use... then fully charge it back up... it is recommended to do this once a month...

I was surprised that when I fully charged my battery up it only took about 3 hours...

I heard that this actually damages the MacBook's battery (its some different type)...i heard it on these forums ill try to find a link and edit this post...anyone have any truth to that?

Check apples support pages. They recommend calibrating your battery monthly. Or you can believe the forums.

Dysfunction said:

Check apples support pages. They recommend calibrating your battery monthly. Or you can believe the forums.

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ok guess they were wrong thanks for correcting this for me!

this is from wikipedia...

Unlike Ni-Cd batteries, lithium-ion batteries should be charged early and often. However, if they are not used for a long time, they should be brought to a charge level of around 40% - 60%. Lithium-ion batteries should not be frequently fully discharged and recharged ("deep-cycled") like Ni-Cd batteries, but this is necessary after about every 30th recharge to recalibrate any external electronic "fuel gauge" (e.g. State Of Charge meter). This prevents the fuel gauge from showing an incorrect battery charge

Not True??

I heard that this actually damages the MacBook's battery (its some different type)...i heard it on these forums ill try to find a link and edit this post...anyone have any truth to that?

Click to expand...

calibrating your battery too often can damage it, but once a month is OK

ok thanks

i heard its recommend to calibrate your battery monthly

Here's the word from Apple Support on battery calibration: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

Noels said:

Here's the word from Apple Support on battery calibration: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

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thanks for the link

Bman, You're welcome.