Battery Abuse

[être]

I've seen some articles and threads regarding how to extend batter life. I really don't intent to follow any of that advice. Here is my perspective. I bought this laptop to enjoy, and for me that means not paying attention to when I'm plugged in or not, running most of the time on battery and only feeling compelled to plug when I need to, or if a long running operation is occurring.

I understand that I will have a lower batter life and will have to replace it sooner for a couple hundred bucks. For me that trade off is well worth the freedom. But at the same time, the curiosity in me makes me wonder if I'm really giving up much battery life anyway. So I'd love to hear from people that pay zero attention to getting the most life out of their battery, how many years they get before making that trip to Apple for a replacement.

 

[pigoo3]

It's really not about "extending battery life" or "shortening battery life". It more about how long before the battery needs replacing.

The batteries Apple has been using in Apple portable computers since about 2009/2010 are rated for 1000 cycles (1 cycle = 1 complete battery discharge & recharge). If someone uses 1 cycle/day...that means this person will be able to go almost 3 years before 1000 cycles are consumed (3 years = 1095 cycles).

If someone only uses 1-2 battery cycles/month (like I do)...then the battery will last much longer. But it's not exactly this simple (batteries tend to lose some of thier life over time due to natural degradation). But for the most part...the faster the battery cycles are used up...the sooner someone will need a battery repalcement.

- Nick

p.s. And even at 1000 battery cycles. The battery is still supposed to reatain 80% of the runtime compared to new. In other words...if a MacBook Pro battery was rated for about 8 hours of average runtime on a single charge when new...then at 1000 battery cycles...it should still get about 6.4 hours (80%) of average runtime. But. After 1000 battery cycles the battery may lose battery runtime at an accelerated & unpredictable rate (the battery runtime loss after 1000 cycles may not be linear).

 

[MacInWin]

Nick got it absolutely right. If you think you'll have your system longer than 3 years, or if you don't care if the battery capacity (time of use) gets smaller and smaller over time, go for it. But now that Apple is making MBPs with so much glue and the battery cannot be changed by the end user any more, the cost of getting a new battery will be significantly higher. When I look at a used laptop, I check the battery for how old it is and how many cycles have been used. A battery that has been heavily used makes the laptop worth significantly less, to me anyway. Also, once LiIon batteries start to decay they die pretty quickly. If you keep depleting the battery below about 60% once it has the full 1000 cycles, it will plummet.

If you need to have it on battery that much, then you need it that way. You'll just have to budget for a battery replacement as a part of that approach. But if you CAN keep it plugged in, or plan to have it longer than three years, or want a higher resale value, treat the battery better. But hey, it's your machine, do what you want or need to do with it.

 

[pigoo3]

Thanks MacInWin. I do like to incorporate the excellent info yourself & others have mentioned in the past about how rechargeable electronic product battery's deteriorate over time (even if they are not used on battery power too often)...and how batteries need to be discharged regularly (at least once/month is pretty good) to keep them "happy".

- Nick

 

[MacInWin]

Well, the "once a month" discharge is not so much for the battery as it is to recalibrate the measuring system that reports how much battery you have left. The battery itself doesn't need any cycling for its health. But once a month is not a big issue, and frankly, the age-related degeneration is likely to be a bigger problem than any once a month process. So if the batter indicator is important to you, once a month is good.

And thanks for the kind words. Spread the truth...

 

[pigoo3]

The "once/month" reference certainly isn't etched in stone. Could be once/week, once/2 weeks, once/month. Just something to get the battery "electrons" moving in the other direction.

And doesn't need to be a full discharge. Could be down to 80%, 70%, 60%, etc.

- Nick

 

[RadDave]

@ OP - now Nick & Jake have already provided excellent advice concerning battery life vs. cycles used - if you are exhausting your battery on a frequent basis, then the cycles will add up much more often and the life of the battery will be shortened - now, we've had plenty of discussions on the forum about this specific issue, so you may want to take a look for further clarification - LINK 1 - LINK 2 - LINK 3 - check the last link about my experience w/ a 3 y/o MBPro w/ a dud battery - lucked out w/ a free replacement post-warranty - Dave