Need advice/help with my mbp battery

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Hey folks,

I have a MBP 15inch, that is 23 months old. The model is MacBookPro5, 4.

Last night I checked the health of my battery for the first time ever, and noticed:

"Cycle count: 735"
"Condition: check battery"

Is this very bad / something to be worried about? I think the limit is 1000. I don't even fully understand what "cycle count" means (I thought it meant powering up from flat battery - which I have only ever done a few times).

Any advice on how to get the most out of my battery and take proper care of it? Also, does the computer stop working once the battery is dead, or can you still use it as long as it is plugged in?

My current battery capacity is 4852 mAh. The design capacity was 6500mAh, and the battery seems fine, although it doesn't stay charged as long as it used to (meant to be 7 hours, but its more like 2-5 depending on what I do).

If it helps;
• I sometimes leave my charger plugged in to the computer overnight even though it is fully charged
• Most times though, I usually either turn it off if I wont use it for a while or keep it in stand by. I assume turning it off when not using would be the best for the battery?

Any help or advice would be great, and apologies for the long question!

Thanks
 
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This happened to me I believe it said "Service Battery" or something of the sort. I brought it into the Apple Store and they said I had to replace it. They told me though that to make it last longer I should charge it up and then use it until the charge is almost gone and then charge it up to the top again, it turns out I did exactly what you did (left it plugged in whenever I could) and it shortened the life span.

Also, it said "Service Battery" for a few months and the computer ran fine, up until my charger broke and I decided to bring it in.
 

pigoo3

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Last night I checked the health of my battery for the first time ever, and noticed:

"Cycle count: 735"
"Condition: check battery"

Is this very bad / something to be worried about? I think the limit is 1000.

You are correct about the 1000 cycle count "lifespan" of your notebooks battery...this is what Apple claims.

As far as the "check battery" message. I think that this "pops" up once the cycle count or remaining capacity hits a certain point. If everything is working normally...I wouldn't be too concerned about it.

Of course eventually you will need a new battery...this will depend on how many minutes of total 100% charged battery runtime you can tolerate once the battery capacity gets really low.

HTH,

- Nick
 
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Ok thanks for the reply Pigoo3.

If/when my battery dies, will I still be able to use my MBP with the power chord plugged in?

Also, can you recommend a certain way of charging it to prolong its life?

eg.

• leaving it plugged in and fully charged all the time to avoid more load cycles - although could this weaken the battery charge?

or

• Should I charge it fully, then let it go completely flat and charge it fully again (and keep repeating)

?
 

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