about Calibrating the battery

it's a silly question. should I empty the battery at one time or I can shut the machine off and on once or twice ?
because I won't be sitting there all the time.

kkk said:

it's a silly question. should I empty the battery at one time or I can shut the machine off and on once or twice ?
because I won't be sitting there all the time.

Click to expand...

Give this a read:

Apple - Batteries - Notebooks

- Nick

As my first battery only went 90 odd cycles and 12 months i now have a iCal event set to remind me every 45 days to do a calibration

yeah, I didn't find any apple page that answers the question. is it ok to (while using your mac while the battery is emptying) to shut it down, then turn it on after some time, work, turn off,on, etc, until the battery is empty eventually. or should I use it until it's empty without turning the machine off once. ?


one session, or multiple sessions?
silly?

Yes, as most people are not going to sit down and use their computer for the 3-7 hours straight it's going to take to discharge it fully.

kkk said:

yeah, I didn't find any apple page that answers the question. is it ok to (while using your mac while the battery is emptying) to shut it down, then turn it on after some time, work, turn off,on, etc, until the battery is empty eventually. or should I use it until it's empty without turning the machine off once. ?


one session, or multiple sessions?
silly?

Click to expand...

According to Apple, you don't have to drain the battery in one session to empty it. Just use it until it's emptied, and then re charge.

My 2007 13" MacBook is 28 months old according to coconutBattery, and although Apple recommends *NOT* leaving it plugged in all the time, I do!
Every now and then I unplug it and run the battery down (18 times in over 2 years), but maybe mine isn't Lithium?

Standard Maintenance
For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time.

Click to expand...

coconutBattery shows this:

My wife's MB, also 28 months old and stays constantly connected to power. Th battery has 21 load cycles and current capacity of 5234 mAh. I am also confident that it has never been calibrated as she wouldn't have a clue as what that even means.

The only time her battery gets used is when I pick it up on occasion. Have been on it for about 45 minutes now and it's still indicating 4:08 time remaining. Wish my MBP was that good.

Meanwhile, my 34 month old MBP which stays plugged in over 90-95% of the time, is used probably 30-40 hours a week more than my wife's MB, does get calibrated approx once a month and is on it's 2nd battery. It's max capacity is already down more than a third with 56 load cycles.

This is an example of why I keep saying, use your computer the way you want/need to use it realizing the battery is a consumable. If it goes bad while still under warranty, give Apple a call. They seem to replace a lot more of them than I would.