Why does my macbook shut itself down?

Hi-


I've been having this problem with my mac for about a month. Whenever my battery gets to somewhere around 40 minutes of power left and below, it shuts itself down. It used to do go into that "power saving mode" thing, where it would give me about a 9 minute warning, then when it shut down, all I had to do was plug it in, and everything was still on my screen. So it was basically just like it went to sleep.

But NOW, my computer will shut itself down whenever it gets anywhere NEAR being low-ISH on power. I think it usually shuts down when it has about a half hour left, but it could be a little more or a little less. Probably not much more than 40 minutes, like I mentioned earlier...

Luckily I've mainly been using my computer at home lately. So, now that I figured out that I can't use it when it has under 40 minutes of battery left, I just plug it in. BUT soon I'm going to start studying at coffee shops, and the local university's library, again. I'm not going to have enough battery life to write my essays away from home if I have 40 minutes battery life less than usual!

Why is it doing this?!?!?! I checked and it doesn't look like any of my settings have been changed...

1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. Disconnect the AC Adapter and remove the computer's battery.
3. Press and hold down the power button for 5 seconds and then release the button.
4. Reconnect the battery and AC Adapter.
5. Press the Power button to restart the computer.

try this?

DigitalN. said:

1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. Disconnect the AC Adapter and remove the computer's battery.
3. Press and hold down the power button for 5 seconds and then release the button.
4. Reconnect the battery and AC Adapter.
5. Press the Power button to restart the computer.

try this?

Click to expand...

OK! Thanks. I'll try that right now, then let my battery run down towards below 30 minutes, and see what happens. It might take a while for me to get back to you on if it works or not, cuz right now my computer is fully charged!

DigitalN. said:

1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. Disconnect the AC Adapter and remove the computer's battery.
3. Press and hold down the power button for 5 seconds and then release the button.
4. Reconnect the battery and AC Adapter.
5. Press the Power button to restart the computer.

try this?

Click to expand...

that didn't help.
i'm guessing my battery is bad.
i've had it for a year.
luckily i have apple care so i should be able to get it replaced for free...

I'm having the exact same issue.
My macbook will shut itself off instead of doing what it did before, which was just to kinda go into sleep mode until i plug it in.
I'm wondering if it's a system setting I changed accidentally? Or whether an update caused this to happen?

siavash said:

I'm having the exact same issue.
My macbook will shut itself off instead of doing what it did before, which was just to kinda go into sleep mode until i plug it in.
I'm wondering if it's a system setting I changed accidentally? Or whether an update caused this to happen?

Click to expand...

How long have you had your battery for? I've had mine for a year, so I'm thinking it needs to be replaced probably??????? I guess I'll call Apple today and see what they say...

i having the SAME issue and its pissing me off. I'm consantly on the go and can't always charge the battery up. that little 40 minutes is what sometimes makes the difference for me.

I read somewhere an issue about a recall for the batteries, anyone know about this ?

I've had my macbook for just over a year now, is it really just "time" related ??

Battery random shutdown

I'm also having the same problem with a one year old MBP.

It used to give a warning when battery was running low, now it just cuts out without warning or ability to restart (until plugged in) while on battery power.

This sucks, I can't watch a full DVD on a plane anymore. It started about two or three months ago.

If anyone learns more about this, I'd love to hear about it. It smells like a software problem to me, like a update screwed things up.

Steve

I talked to the Apple guy and he talked me through all this trouble-shooting stuff. He told me to call back if after the battery went down it still shut itself off. I haven't been able to call back because I have strep throat and barely have a voice, but the trouble-shooting didn't work. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who has had this problem. That makes me think it's more likely to be covered under warranty? What do you guys think?

I'd be really angry if I have to spend $120 on a new battery! The guy said I overcharged my battery or something like that, because I told him I left it plugged in a lot. But I was never told that it's bad to leave it plugged in a lot?!?!?!? I think it's ridiculous if this isn't covered under warranty! I'm really anxious to see what they're gonna say. As soon as I get my voice back I'm calling AppleCare ASAP!

Here's what the site says, though: "However, the AppleCare Protection Plan for notebook computers does not cover batteries that have failed or are exhibiting diminished capacity except when the failure or diminished capacity is the result of a manufacturing defect."