I alway plug my macbook when use in home
But sometime i need to use the macbook outside..
And I just use it awhile.
When the battery fall untill 94 and below, am i recommended to charge my battery immediately or use the macbook untill 20% or less and than only charge?

uh just read and follow this: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1764220

can u close ur thread?

Ok lets just say the cut off period for the battery to count as 1 cycle is about 70%

If u use untill lets day 90-80% u can recharge it up and avoid losing a cycle. It doesnt count.

If ur battery life goes below 70%, eg.65% might as well use it untill finish thn recharge. Or u will lose 65% of battery.

Battery life could last an average of 500-800 cycles before shortage occurs.

Btw its a good thing to download iStat Pro widget on ur dashboard to monitor on the cycle

a source would be appreciated

Im working at an Apple store =D above 3 yrs experience

Which country is that?

Apple stated modern MacBook/ MacBook Pro with internal battery should maintain min 80% of original capacity for up to 1000 charge cycle. Anything shorter than that you should be able to file for a battery exchange. So far the worst MacBook I've seen only gets 800+ charges, and the battery still hold 86%.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

i agree with you on this, same source on apple site.
it says 1000 charge cycles and battery drops to 80%

that's mean if 80% and above i can charge my battery and will not lost a cycle? thank for the information
Cuz i really dun really understand what apple say

80% is referring to the battery health, not the charge. if ur battery health is under 80%, but ur cycle count is still under 1000, and u are still under warranty, u can get a replacement battery from apple

basically just charge it whenever u need it. no need to wait until 70% la what la. just remember to do calibration at least once a month.

i dont know what Creamy Crimson said is true abt cycle counts, but what matters is the cycle count shown in System Profiler. i dont see why we need to know how to count the cycle if we can already know the number

Download iStat pro thn u'll noe what i mean and the actual battery cycle count rate ;]

Using a Macbook Pro and a Macbook White... seen it, check it... worked with Apple engineering team... cant be wrong

system profiles & istat pro & coconut battery all report the same figure on my mac

dahsyat oh u, worked at apple store (assuming not confused with reseller) then work with apple engineering summore

Apple store in Aussie part time whn im studying there

Apple reseller in Malaysia part time... No Apple store here... (and yes i know what is the difference between the Apple Store and a Reseller)

We multitask, so whn engineering center need us we go

I think YeeFang wanted to know about the ''battery health' 70% cut off thingie not the total battery cycle of 800-->1000 in total. Because this is the question most customers ask. And why should we care about the percentage and not the total cycle? Because if u were to charge everytime at 70% or below, u are using 1 cycle and wasted 70% of the battery. That means u reach 1000 faster, and more cycle means ur battery die faster. If u follow the battery health rule ur battery optimizes its usage taking a longer time to reach 1000.

Theres a senior engineer at my place that uses a macbook white, and takes care of the battery cycle like i did. been 4, almost 5 yrs... total battery cycle 500... battery in tip top condition... nonit change. Other friends who doesnt care much about the cycle, battery 3 yrs confirm giv problem... total battery cycle 800+ (battery kembang, battery run out fast etc) So thats y it is important to keep track the percentage

Less cycle = Longer battery life

But nvm lah... if u dont want to headache and care about ur battery... waste the cycle all u want and get a replacement battery... cheap cheap only maaahhh... RM500 +-

Hope tht helps... Sorry if i was doubted, or downed at... or not so good at explaining things

This post has been edited by Creamy Crimson: Jun 3 2011, 11:42 PM

Thank you for your explanation.
So what I should do now is keep maintaince my battery percentage between 80% to 100% to avoid the battery cycle.
My mac is 12weeks now and already 21 cycles.
I have to start do some maintainance

ah good piece of info right there. thanks!

no prob man!

and battery kembang (inflating) is a very scary thing...

Am sorry, but how to know the cut off period of the battery?

Another question would be, do I need to calibrate the battery? Said HERE :



Mine was early 2011 model, so does this apply?

Nice info btw, thanks I always charge when the battery life's between 40%-50%. That's explain my loadcycle increase quite fast for a 3 weeks old mbp.

what cause this?
what if continuously plug charger to mbp?

There could be many caused. Overheating, chemical errotion or failing. Just like aging AA battery that will leak. Li-poly battery will expand. Chemical reaction inside the cell produce gas. If not handled properly, combustion might happen. It is good to have healthy charging practice. But being paranoid on charge cycle numbers is just too much.

so means it's better to plug in adapter to charge all the time to avoid battery cycle??

Jellybean: I use iStat Pro widget to monitor on the cycle, different models have different breakeven point that range between 80%-70% u can use iStat to check your breakeven point for the cycle

iStat Pro can be downloaded fr here http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/s...s/istatpro.html

calibration can be done if ur macbook is seldom used just to get the battery up and running

ferr & mkaz: continuously charging ur macbook with the ac adapter is safe, and a good thing. It has automatic overcharge protection.

as wei said, it is caused by chemical reaction and heat. More cycle will increase ur chances of an expanding battery.

And yes, dont worry too much bout it and be too paranoid about battery cycles... gadgets are meant to be changed at some point of time

well, i face tis problem as well, guess above replies are very helpful

Hi guys, I am wondering whether to buy a used MBP 2010 model.

around 11 months used, hows the battery life???

i bought my mac last week and now the batt health stated 98%. Is this normal?




Attached thumbnail(s)

Where did you check the "98%" reading?

i use istat pro, checked on the "About this Mac" menu but don't have this feature.

I dont know whether this app reliable or not.

well that's 2% drop for 6 cycle. Maybe you should monitor it closely. Have you done a calibration?

If you are not happy with it, you should call AppleCare on office hour and make a case, see if they can offer you an exchange.

This post has been edited by wei: Jun 12 2011, 01:45 PM

cant really said without doing some check.
ask the owner (seller) to install coconutBattery, and check from there.

Okay.. i removed the istat pro and install istat nano.. it give me a reading 97% health. Seems like this widget reading do not tallied to one and another.



Attached image(s)

Get coconut battery

Try to do a battery calibration and see

Thanks guys.. done calibrating. Batt increased to 99% and then the subsequent charging indicated 100%. Problem solved.

i did battery calibrating but then when powered up (with 100% battery) it only last 3hours and below ..
any mistake ??

lol i just got my mbp 2 days ago with 4 cycles my batt is down to 98%

if you used it plugged in,its normal.mine is also like that,only 5 cycles for 3 weeks now.
the 97% is because its plugged in,and the battery is fully charged.its like the adapter controls the current so the battery doesnt overcharge.like charge-discharge.

@mkaz You have to tell us more. Which model is your Mac? How old is it?

@insane.gamer, I hope you read the replies above. Tried calibrating the battery?

wei: mbp 13" 2010 bought dec2010 ..

Okay, have you install the app mentioned like iStat Pro or Coconut Battery? What is the reading you get for Charge Cycle & Remaining Capacity?

Battery life highly depend on what you running on it.

For example:
Running 3-4 bar screen brightness and nothing connected over USB/FireWire. Only doing word processing is definitely will run longer than have full brightness, WiFi on, Bluetooth on, playing music, watching youtube with external hard drive connected.

How do you "calibrate" the battery? I don't understand :/

Hi,

I bpught my MBP 13" on 1st june 2011, and as for tody my cycle is 23, is it consider bad? How can i keep the battery good?

Pls advise.

im sure u understand how to use google

guys just read this. everything u need to know is here

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1764220

may i propose a sticky about battery care?

Very good info there. I suggest anyone concerned about battery go study it. Everything you need to know is there in 1 page.

Guys, why do you need all those 3rd party applications to tell you about your battery cycle? Why not just go into System Profiler(Click on the Apple logo on the top left corner, hold down option & click on System Information), when you're inside, under the Hardware section, look for Power. Once there, somewhere above, look for Health Information: Cycle Count.

& it's not encourage to keep charging your Mac when it has reached 100% as it'll cause your battery to swell. Other than that, the battery is lithium so which means, if you always use it till around 25% & start charging, the battery will not be able to heat up that particular liquid inside the battery & this carries on, that 25% will freeze & that it show you end up with short power supply even after charging till 100%.

Recalibration of your battery is important if you want to expand it's lifespan. To do this, make it a routine to do it at least once every 2 weeks. Purposely let your battery go from 100% to flat & then charging it back up to 100%. Same goes with the iPhone, recalibrating will expand your battery lifespan.

I may be wrong about all these but these are reliable sources from Apple forums.

my battery just dropped to 88% . normal?

---

Added on July 9, 2011, 9:47 pmnow 85-86%

This post has been edited by insane.gamer: Jul 9 2011, 09:47 PM

Most of the time it depends on your usage. My old mac's battery was so bad that even with the screen down, the battery still depletes.

If you think your battery is not performing as it should, send to service center, get it replaced. Posting here won't cure the degrading battery.

try to seek apple service centre for replacement if still under warranty....

i sent to machines . said it would take 2 weeks . dont know what to do without it . if they can replace the battery or better yet replace with brand new mbp takper la jugak . but i highly doubt that

in many cases, apple wont approve the replacement.
unless your battery last less than 1 hour.
or your laptop is too new to having battery problems.
i tried to replace mine last time, but failed

u also sent for service? what did they say? and they really take 2 weeks?

@BRY7 your 1 single case represent many cases???
Study the topics and you will find insane.gamer is having a quite recent MBP where he/she is reporting drastic battery life drop since purchase.

@insane.gamer Do not send to Machines. Send to proper service center. Like VR Tech or QCD, the process might take you around 10 working days. But if you call AppleCare, and get them agree to look into your case prior walking into service center will cut things short a bit. Tell them you've been monitoring the battery life and it's dropping day to day.

In most cases I find talking to AppleCare team will get a better repair feedback. They will approve for parts faster then waiting for local service center to process.

They way you talk to them will also determine the outcome. Be as specific and informative as you could.

This post has been edited by wei: Jul 11 2011, 01:34 AM

owh no i already sent to machines and they said will take 14days
i dont think they will do anything just leave it in the shop for 14days and call me for pickup and say theres nothing wrong . vrtech or qcd are official apple service centres? then i think i might give applecare a call and see whats up . do u have any way for me to tell them my problem?
thanks

Since you sent it in, just wait la. Nothing much can do unless you want to cancel repair and send to other place.

just talk normally, describe to them the problem and what you facing. Tell them you need the Mac to work and ask them if can speed up the process.

All those Apple Store in Malaysia are all rubbish. If you were in overseas, you have the right to give it back if you're not satisfied with the product & get a new one. But if it's 2 weeks, at least it's better than nothing. Is it gonna be a free replacement?

Can i always plug my MBP in my house?
Will this caused my battery life become shorter?

its actually recommended as the mbp has automatic switch off load when the charging is full.