12-27-2010, 11:07 AM

Hello,

Can anyone give me some advice, so I've got myself a stand for my MacBook Pro and I am going to be leaving it perm on my desk, I'm worried about destroying the battery to be honest because I understand if you constantly leave laptops on charge the battery begins to break.

Can anyone give me any advice what I should do to prevent it breaking, anything I should do weekly like drain it down or what?

Thanks in advanced, I will appreciate anyones help.

12-27-2010, 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by Macs

Can anyone give me some advice, so I've got myself a stand for my MacBook Pro and I am going to be leaving it perm on my desk, I'm worried about destroying the battery to be honest because I understand if you constantly leave laptops on charge the battery begins to break.

First...I have no idea what you mean by a battery "begins to break".

As far as leaving it plugged in all the time...not really a problem in the long run (if you're leaving your computer plugged in all the time). I basically have my MacBook Pro plugged in 100% of the time (99.98% would probably be more accurate )...and I have not had any problems with my battery "breaking" (whatever that is).

My battery is about 2 years old...my notebook is plugged in 99.98% of the time...and I still get between 4.5 & 5.0 hours of runtime on a full battery (just what it's supposed to get).

Basically I wouldn't worry about it too much.

- Nick

12-27-2010, 01:26 PM

Hello nick,

Thanks for your reply, I remember people saying that if you leave your MacBook or any laptop for this instance, then it can decrease your battery time.

Do you not have to drain it once a month or something? But, thanks for your advice mate, Appreciate it.

- Sam.

12-27-2010, 03:12 PM

Originally Posted by Macs

Hello nick,

Thanks for your reply, I remember people saying that if you leave your MacBook or any laptop for this instance, then it can decrease your battery time.

Do you not have to drain it once a month or something? But, thanks for your advice mate, Appreciate it.

- Sam.

Well...I was mostly looking at your situation this way. If you're ALWAYS going to have your MacBook Pro permanently on your desk...and ALWAYS plugged in...then who really cares about the notebooks battery life...or condition of the battery...right?

My next question would be...why buy an expensive laptop computer...if you're simply going to use it like a desktop (permanently on your desk & always plugged in)?

I only mention this because that's what you wrote in your initial post. Sure you may occasionally use your laptop off the battery...and in that case...sure, you may want to drain the battery once in a while to maintain the battery in better condition.

I personally run my laptop on battery power for like 1 hour each month...that's why I said that my laptop is plugged in 99.98% of the time. Because that's approximately what 1 hour out of 30 days each month works out to be.

Other folks will swear by other methods...but the method I described works great for me as a person who keeps their laptop plugged in 99.98% of the time.

Here's what Apple recommends:

Apple - Batteries - Notebooks

HTH,

- Nick

12-27-2010, 05:22 PM

I don't see a problem really with keeping it plugged in constantly, however I would recommend calibrating your battery every month to keep it at its peak of performance.

Apple Portables: Calibrating your computer's battery for best performance

Check there to get the information on how to do that.

12-27-2010, 07:47 PM

I'm with Nick on this one all the way, as I have used all my Mac portables this way, and in the odd occasion that I take it off power, I still get the suggested life out of my batteries for the device I'm using.
Adding a twist to it, calibrating the batteries has if anything shortened the life, rather than just letting the juices run a bit every now and then.

iBook G4:
Never calibrated, and got 4-5hrs for a couple of years without calibrating.

Late 2007 Macbook:
After 2.5 yrs with no calibrating, 4-5 hours and 100% capacity under normal use.
Tried calibrating a few times and capacity dropped to 96%, with 3-4 hours under the same conditions.

New i5 MBP:
Calibrated a few times and 97% capacity left.

Everyone has different experience, methods, and advice, as does Apple have their recommendations.

The general consensus though, is that you should let the juices run every now and then, and this goes for all batteries, not only the lithium ion batteries.

Also, you cannot overcharge the batteries in these Mac portables as they are designed to run off mains once they are fully charged.