51% original battery capacity with mbp little over 1 year old

I have a mbp a little over a year old with 60 battery cycles and I see in the "about this mac" that is says, "Check battery" and while running on battery it seems to go down sort of fast. I got coconut battery and it says I have 51% original battery capacity. I thought it took 3 years to get that bad. Did I get stuck with a whacky battery or something?

Have you calibrated it at all? The battery should be calibrated once a month or so, and I find that after it's done it gives a more accurate reading.

I have an 11 month old MBP and the battery has 236 cycles and 97% health. It sounds like you have left it connected to the charger and rarely used the battery. Try calibrating and let the battery completely discharge every other week on a regular basis. The damage may have been done but it's worth a try to recover it.

I calibrated it, but it still says check battery, and "51% original battery capacity". And yes, I usually have it plugged into the charged. I don't use it on battery power very much. But I thought the more you used the battery, the lower the health goes down.

No, you need to use the battery regularly.

As an example, my mom has an iBook that was new in 2004. It is still on it's original battery and has 96% capacity still. She uses it almost entirely on battery power and just plugs it in when she isn't using it. Amazingly, this five year old computer's battery still lasts three and a half to four hours.

yarjarrarr said:

I calibrated it, but it still says check battery, and "51% original battery capacity". And yes, I usually have it plugged into the charged. I don't use it on battery power very much. But I thought the more you used the battery, the lower the health goes down.

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Nope. I have used my battery very often, (discharge completely about 1-2 times a week, maybe more) and I've had it for over 2 years with 482 cycles put through it and it's at 70% health.

You have to take care of your battery if you expect it to last long. And that means taking it off the charger and discharging it AT LEAST twice a month. That will ensure you get the most out of your battery.

It still sounds like it should be a LITTLE more than 51% after a year. It's supposed to be around 80%, right?

Oneironaut said:

It still sounds like it should be a LITTLE more than 51% after a year. It's supposed to be around 80%, right?

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I've had friends' laptops' batteries last about 10 minutes when it's less then a year old. It doesn't matter about the brand or anything... It matters how well you take care of your battery, and in order to take care of it, you have to use your laptop as it was desined and drain the battery every so often.

tcphoto said:

Try calibrating and let the battery completely discharge every other week on a regular basis.

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More like once a month.

Apple - Batteries - Notebooks