13" White MB battery issues.

[19birel]

Hello everyone, I have a white MacBook 13" (circa 2006 i believe?) that I just picked up on saturday. Since I got it I noticed that the battery didn't seem to last very long, maybe 2-3 hours, and being that I take this laptop to school that can become a little bit of an issue. Is this normal for this type of battery to only last this long? If not, do I need to cycle it or something? Also, Is there a company that sells good aftermarket versions of this battery that will last me a bit longer? Thanks

 

[pigoo3]

Hello everyone, I have a white MacBook 13" (circa 2006 i believe?) that I just picked up on saturday. Since I got it I noticed that the battery didn't seem to last very long, maybe 2-3 hours, and being that I take this laptop to school that can become a little bit of an issue. Is this normal for this type of battery to only last this long?

First of all...this MacBook is from 2006...thus it's possible that the original battery is still in it (5 years old now). If it's still getting 2-3 hours of runtime on a full charge...that's pretty darn good...considering when it was new it would get 4-5 hours (less depending on usage patterns).

If not, do I need to cycle it or something?

Probably not. The battery is simply old. And like I mentioned above. If this is the original battery (5 years old)...2-3 hours of runtime is pretty darn good!

Also, Is there a company that sells good aftermarket versions of this battery that will last me a bit longer? Thanks

Of course there is the Apple Store to get a replacement battery. You could also try these guys for a battery:

OWC

HTH,

- Nick

 

[vansmith]

Like Nick said, if you're getting that out of a 5 year old battery, you've got a pretty good battery in your MacBook.

You can check the state of the battery easily with System Profiler (/Applications/Utilities). If you open it up and look under Hardware > Power, what does it say for the cycle count and condition for the battery?

 

[19birel]

Thanks guys, the system profiler says that my battery is in normal condition so i guess that's good. I was also talking to my friend today who has a MacBook Air and he says that at most he is getting around 3hours of battery. So with that in mind I think my battery isn't bad. Though as I would still like more run time I will deffinetly look @ that link.

 

[vansmith]

Take a look at this. It lists the battery states and what each one means for you. Keep an eye on your battery to see if it changes.

 

[19birel]

Okay, so it looks like I will eventually go with the battery sold in the link listed above. My battery's state is in a good condition so I won't need to upgrade the battery immediately. That source also looks very good for other parts and upgrades as well! Thanks