number of cycles? grrr :(

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hey, i've had my macbook pro for 11 months now, and its on 310 cycles.

1. Is this a high number?

2. How can i reduce the cycles?

I usually plug it in when its at 10-20% and then take it out between 90 and 100 :)

Thanks
 

Raz0rEdge

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The cycling of battery is normal..that' what it does..it charges, and discharges and charges again..:)

A potential to reduce the number of cycles is to keep your MBP plugged in all the time as to not drain the battery. However, this introduces a nasty side-effect in batteries that make them lethargic to holding a charge over a long period of time. As time goes on they'll be able to hold a decent charge and you will be forced to keep it plugged in all the time..

You're better off using the system like it was designed to be..charging when needed, using it off the battery when charged..

I imagine the number of cycles your battery will go through will outlive your need/use of the MBP before you decide to upgrade..
 

chscag

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If your MacBook Pro is a new model, then the battery is good for 1000 charge - discharge cycles. Of course much depends on how you take care of the battery. Always follow Apple's guidelines on how to care for your battery. LINK + LINK
 
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Thanks for your help guys, without any major programs running, i only get 5 hours run time, is this below average? i may consider taking it into an Apple store.

Can they like "check the health" on it or something to see if it was originally defective or something? haha

i only really keep it plugged in when im using programs like after effects or cinema 4d, which when its unplugged only gives me like 1hour of charge haha, its crazy :p
 

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I usually plug it in when its at 10-20% and then take it out between 90 and 100 :)

My advice is...if you are near an electrical outlet...plug it in (and leave it plugged in). When you need to be mobile/portable...then of course run off battery power.

On the other hand...your battery is supposed to be good for 1000 cycles...and a new battery installed is around $129. Let's say your usage is 333 cycles/ year...that's 3 years until you hit 1000 cycles. This works out to be less than $.12 cents/day. At $.12 cents/day...maybe not something to get super worried about.:)

- Nick
 
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MacInWin

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With the modern Li-Ion batteries in MBPs the old concerns about batteries losing the ability to hold a charge if plugged in all the time no longer apply. Li-Ion batteries LIKE to be kept topped up, and don't like deep discharges, so it's better to plug in your MBP whenever possible. In your specific case, you deep discharge your battery by taking it al the way down to 10%, so each practical cycle is a full-cycle. If you were to change your habit to keep it plugged in when you can and definitely recharging when it gets to 60-70%, you'll get more lifetime out of the battery. Not more cycles, that's still about 1000, but if you use external power when you can, and don't deep-discharge the battery, the calendar time to use those 1000 cycles will be increased. While it's not absolutely rigid, two 50% cycles are roughly one full cycle, etc.

My MBP stays plugged in at my desk most of the time, with the exception that I let it deep-discharge about once a month to let the OSX system re-calibrate the battery meter settings. On the other hand, the object of a laptop is portability, so don't be afraid to take it on the road. 1000 cycles are a lot, and the battery doesn't fail at that limit, it just starts to decay.

EDIT: Pigoo3 beat me to it, and was much more brief, to boot!
 

pigoo3

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Thanks for your help guys, without any major programs running, i only get 5 hours run time, is this below average?

You don't need to be running any "major programs" to "eat up" battery charge at a fast rate. Having the display brightness on a high setting...watching internet videos...will "eat up" battery charge at a fast rate.

- Nick
 

pigoo3

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EDIT: Pigoo3 beat me to it, and was much more brief, to boot!

Hey...all that extra info is good reading...and a great reminder of the technical side of things!:)

- Nick
 
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Pigoo and MacInWin, thankyou both for taking the time to explain all this to me in such a easy to understand way haha!

The fact it only costs $120 ish to buy a new one, thats not that much, probably about £80 GBP so yeah :)

Would i need to send it back off to apple for them to do it? and would i need to be within my applecare time span ?
 

pigoo3

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Would i need to send it back off to apple for them to do it?

You can certainly go to a local Apple Store (if you are near one)...or ship it to Apple otherwise. Or you may have an official Apple service place near you that can do it as well.

Newer Apple notebooks have what "technically" is a non-user replaceable battery. So most folks have Apple do the battery replacement. But if you have no Applecare remaining when the battery needs to be replaced...it is not that difficult to do it yourself.

But...I do not think that there is much of a difference between the cost of a replacement battery (that you would replace yourself)...and the cost of having Apple do it. So it really comes down to a convenience sort of thing. If it's a hassle to get to an Apple Store...or a hassle to ship the computer. Then doing it yourself can be the way to go.

and would i need to be within my applecare time span ?

Applecare only comes into play if you have a defective battery. If the computers battery accumulates a lot of charge/discharge cycles simply due to lots & lots of usage...this is not a free Applecare replacement situation. Since you are in the UK...I know there are some different consumer protection laws than we have in North America. So you may want to check on the specifics...when it comes time to replace the battery.

- Nick
 
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Ahh ok thankyou!

Also, i've upgraded the RAM in my macbook myself to 16GB, does opening my mac up void my applecare?
 

pigoo3

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Ahh ok thankyou!

Also, i've upgraded the RAM in my macbook myself to 16GB, does opening my mac up void my applecare?

I don't think that ram upgrades void the warranty.

If you have already removed the bottom cover to do a ram upgrade...then you've done about 50% of the work for the battery replacement. After removing the bottom cover...all you need to do to remove the battery is remove a couple screws & undo one plug...and out the battery comes. Install is opposite of removal.

- Nick
 

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