Battery Health

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Hello everyone, this is my very first post here.

I bought my macbook pro less than two months ago (been a pc user all my life), and had it plugged into the power most of the time.

But last week, I was on the phone with an apple agent and he told me to calibrate the battery at least every two weeks if I want to use my macbook pro that way.

So I went ahead and calibrated my battery (followed all instructions on apple) and the battery health shown on coconut battery became 6380 (originally around 6500).

And a couple of days ago, I calibrated my battery again to make sure that wasn't a mistake, and now it is down to 6292 (96%!).

On coconut battery, it shows that my macbook pro is 5 weeks old and had 16 cycles, but it is now at 96% of its original capacity which I found very shocking. At this pace, my macbook pro's battery won't even last a year!

I constantly monitored the battery health the last few days to see if it would go up, but it didn't change at all (tried both having it plugged in and on battery power).

I would love to go to an apple store and talk to one of the 'geniuses', but I have no transportation to get there. (living on college residence)

So basically, my questions are:

1. Isn't calibrating the battery supposed to improve battery health?
2. Is my battery defective? (I have the extended 3-year warranty)
3. What are your advice on how to maintain/improve battery health/life?

Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
 
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Hi,

from my dealings with laptops calibrating the battery will not increase the
Battery's percentage of charge .. so if you started with a 96% capacity
after a calibration it will not increase .. in fact would expect it to decrease if
anything.

Battery's are disposable and loose the capability to charge to the full
capacity every time you use it ..

Apple suggests to calibrate so that you exercise the battery and so that the
system really knows what the battery is capable of like a benchmark.

as far as being only 5 week old and having lost 4% I don't know if that
is a lot .. Have never had a brand new battery ..

hope this helps.
 
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This is interesting.

I bought my 13" Macbook Pro 3 weeks ago. I have ran through 23 cycles and my current battery health is still 100%. All information coming from iStat Pro.

My buddy here at school bought his 13" MBP 1 week after I got mine. He has ran though 17 cycles and his battery health is checking in at 96%.


No idea how that happens. But apparently, it's not really a big deal.

I wouldn't be too worried, OP.
 
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Same here, I don't see it as a problem though.
You can worry about, but it's not going to help.
Apple will not replace a battery that doesn't show any factory-faults.

They'll just call it user related, that you've been treating your battery wrongly.
I just (if I must) buy a new battery every year, rather than watching it degrade every day and worry about it.

Look at mine...

Schermafbeelding2009-10-06om224701.png


PS... I am working on battery power, so ignore the 'charging: no' sign.
 
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Thanks everyone for the responses.

I'm just concerned if there's anything wrong with my battery and if I should do something about it.

And I still feel like 96% in 5 weeks is a little too extreme (compared to the one posted above).

And it looks like this number won't change no matter what I do.

Does that mean I should stay away from calibrating my battery?
 
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You should only calibrate your battery once a month or so. And don't let the battery run down so low. If you can keep it at 100% about 1/3rd of the time and keep it above 40% the other 2/3rds of the time, you will have a great battery.

Calibrating it doesn't give you better battery life, just better readings, which is important for you but not for the battery.

That being said, I am at 49 cycles and my battery health is 100% according to iStat Pro. My battery charge is 38% and charging (I've been at school all day and only started charging back up right now).

If I was you I'd be upset about my battery life, too, but I wouldn't take it to Apple because they would not be willing to help you. Forget about the 4% battery life you lost and focus on taking care of the 96% you have. Follow my suggestions and you will have a good battery!
 
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Wow a battery expert.
 
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work at home - question re leaving it plugged in

I have been on my new MacBook Pro about one week and have been trying to read all of the discussions about draining the battery vs leaving plugged in. I have tried to search the Apple site for a definitive answer but couldn't find anything. So I apologize for the being redundant, but appreciate your advice. Since I work at home, my laptop is on my desk. With my old macbook I pretty much left it plugged in any time it was in use. Is that okay or not a good idea?
Thank you!
 
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My MBP battery is all but dead. It probably only lasts a good 35 minutes on low luminosity. I have done the strategy of working on it until it runs down to 10% and then plugging it in to charge. I don't really know what is the best way to keep your battery, but after about 2.5 years, mine has finally reached the point of death. That's pretty long though, right? right??? :[
 

bobtomay

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$100 / 30 months = $3.33/mth for your battery. Not bad considering the battery is running a computer.
 
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Hmm I guess I am doing something right! I bought my MBP on July 28th, and My battery is holding up very well!

Screenshot2009-10-13at85604PM.png
 
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You should only calibrate your battery once a month or so. And don't let the battery run down so low. If you can keep it at 100% about 1/3rd of the time and keep it above 40% the other 2/3rds of the time, you will have a great battery.

Calibrating it doesn't give you better battery life, just better readings, which is important for you but not for the battery.

That being said, I am at 49 cycles and my battery health is 100% according to iStat Pro. My battery charge is 38% and charging (I've been at school all day and only started charging back up right now).

If I was you I'd be upset about my battery life, too, but I wouldn't take it to Apple because they would not be willing to help you. Forget about the 4% battery life you lost and focus on taking care of the 96% you have. Follow my suggestions and you will have a good battery!

I don't know where you are getting your info from but this is not accurate at all!
If you want maximum battery life, you are supposed to charge your battery, unplug it once fully charged, run on battery power until the batter warning comes up, let it turn itself off, if you can, leave it alone for a couple of minutes after the computer shuts itself off, then plug it back in and you start all over again! Having 49 cycles at 100% health is nothing amazing...it's a new battery that is expected to last 1000 charges before you start noticing abnormal battery life! There absolutely IS a direct correlation between the battery life and battery readings!

unless others and I are completely wrong!
 

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