Battery useless in under 2 years-acceptable?

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Hello from Chiangmai

MacBook
2ghz Intel Core Duo
bought Jun 30th 2006

I usually use my Macbook plugged in. For some months I've noticed, as in the previous thread, that sometimes it shows as not fully charged. Today I left my charger at home when I went for coffee and work in a cafe. The first thing I noticed on opening from 10 minutes sleep (previously fully charged I believe) was only 61% battery. I thought what the heck, I'll just do an hour. The battery charge went down at an astonishing rate. Within minutes it was in the 42% area and the panel saying you are going to reserve power came on. Within another couple of minutes it closed down.
I just drove and got my charger. In a while it was back up to 74%. I decided to unplug as an experiment. It is now exactly 10 minutes later. The reserve power thing already appeared and I am now at 22%.
I expect to upgrade my laptop every three years. I consider under two years battery unacceptable in a notebook that cost me something over $2000 in Thai currency.
I know Apple makes huge markups on their hardware so it doesn't affect their bottom line to do an occasional replacement to keep their name.
The question is will Apple replace it do you think??

thanx John

(ps just closed down and replugged in.......from 74% to 8% in the time it took me to write this post)
 
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Hi from Muang, Chiang Mai ;).
Looks like it may be a case of the battery constantly being charged and discharged a bit at a time until you've maxed out the recharge cycle or possibly the battery is out of calibration. Drain the battery to 0% or until it shut itself off and recharge until the battery is full with your mac turned off for a few cycles and see if that helps with your charge time.

You may want to visit the MacZone shop just off Huay Kaew Rd or at Airport Plaza and see what they suggest. Luckily the folks there don't charge for talking and just having a quick look.

But if the battery is swollen, then its most likely a dead battery by now.
 

dtravis7


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Your battery is dying. Apple has their batteries made by the same manufactures that make most PC notebook batteries. It's really not their fault after 2 years.

Do you have Apple Care? If so they might give you one for free. It can not hurt to ask.

My iBook battery started to go downhill after 2.5 years of use.
 
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Mine's dead after just under 2 years, and I think that's OK - I didn't especially look after it, and these things don't last for ever.
 
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Well fancy that Jesadac a Chiangmai-ian!

Well I went into MacZone today. It turns out there's a battery replacement program because of battery issues which covers Macbook and Macbook Pro for the period mine was bought. Section3 covers low battery life. Trouble is it's only valid at under 300 cycles and I'm 356. I just had a look at the battery though and there is a little bit of warping or swelling at the edge. This comes under Section 4 battery visibly deformed, so I'll have a try on the hotline tomorrow.

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/04/27/apple-acknowledges-macbook-battery-problems

I'm not being mean I don't think. This MacBook never had a good battery life never more than a couple of hours but I accepted it as normal.(My iBook battery still working usably after 5 years I used it in the same pattern for 3 years). Macbook started having glitches a couple or more months ago.
It would be different but it's over $200 for a replacement here. As we know it's many times cost price with Apple and who's to say it'll be any better?

cheers John

ps: anyone know how the cycles thing works can it be it runs on partial cycles I've been using the charger for ages rather than using battery though obviously battery may have gone down a bit whilst asleep.
 
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Your battery may not be dying. The "fuel guage" might by way off and may need to be recalibrated. Check this out: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

If you run your notebook from the charger most of the time, the calibration can be affected. BTW, the newer lithium batteries don't have "memory" problems like the old nickel batteries, so lithium batteries don't have to be fully discharged periodically. In other words, leaving the charger on won't hurt the battery.
 
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i'd say that 2 years if pretty good, i mean its not that much for a new one
 
OP
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i'd say that 2 years if pretty good, i mean its not that much for a new one

It hurts if you live in Thailand.....$200 has the spending power of $800!!

I'll keep posters informed of how I get on trying No4 of the possible reasons for free replacemnt. There;s a definite warping at an edge.
 
OP
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Well MacZone just accepted my battery and sent it to Bangkok for replacement. The girl said it would be OK sure.....however she's not the official approver. It will take One month!.....This is Thailand!.....i think they're sending it by lame camel train.
However I live in hope. I will post a photo
 
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Glad to see that there is some recognition from them. Good luck with your endeavor. BTW, the reason it takes so slow is because they need to teach the battery the local lingo before they ship it up or it may lose its way en route ;).
 
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thanx for the note.

As a side issue...
I have a photo of 1.8 megs in iPhoto.
If I want to post it here or put it in an email how do I reduce the quality?
thanx
 
OP
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Testing testing.....with 250 kbs

and why's it only thumbnail sized?

ahhhh it can be clicked on

battery bulge 3.jpg
 

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