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Battery Question

MacBookPro13"

MacBookPro13"

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 25, 2011
589
0
Ireland
Which is better for the long term life of my MacBook Pro battery?

A) Using the laptop mostly plugged in when I am able to plug it in.

B) Using the laptop without it being plugged in and only plugging it in when the battery runs low?



I mainly use my laptop on my desk where it's no problem to have it plugged in, but I just want to know is it bad to have it plugged in all the time or what?

Cheers.
 
rkaufmann87

rkaufmann87

macrumors 68000
Dec 17, 2009
1,760
39
Folsom, CA
MacBookPro13";11894638 said:
Which is better for the long term life of my MacBook Pro battery?

A) Using the laptop mostly plugged in when I am able to plug it in.

B) Using the laptop without it being plugged in and only plugging it in when the battery runs low?



I mainly use my laptop on my desk where it's no problem to have it plugged in, but I just want to know is it bad to have it plugged in all the time or what? Calibrate when it's brand new then put it on your calendar to do so every 2-3 months.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

What is best is using your battery on a regular basis (meaning it should be off the charger) and to calibrate it ever 2-3 months. Here is what Apple says and their advice works!

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1764220
 
ECUpirate44

ECUpirate44

macrumors 603
Mar 22, 2010
5,750
8
NC
MacBookPro13";11894781 said:
Should you calibrate the battery when you first get the computer?
Click to expand...

Yes, you should calibrate. Follow the directions on Apple.com carefully.

GGJstudios will post the Apple Notebook Battery FAQ any minute now.
 
MacBookPro13"

MacBookPro13"

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 25, 2011
589
0
Ireland
I should be getting my laptop today so I will make sure to calibrate :)


One question though..

6. Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.
Click to expand...


May I use the laptop during the recharging period of the calibration?
 
ECUpirate44

ECUpirate44

macrumors 603
Mar 22, 2010
5,750
8
NC
MacBookPro13";11894807 said:
I should be getting my laptop today so I will make sure to calibrate :)


One question though..




May I use the laptop during the recharging period of the calibration?
Click to expand...

Yes!
 
ThaDoggg

ThaDoggg

macrumors 6502a
Sep 26, 2010
724
64
Burlington, Canada
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

GGJstudios said:
ECUpirate44 said:
Yes, you should calibrate. Follow the directions on Apple.com carefully.

GGJstudios will post the Apple Notebook Battery FAQ any minute now.
Click to expand...
LOL. You know, you can post it yourself, rather than waiting for me! :D

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
Click to expand...

We would rather wait :-D
 
acidfast7

acidfast7

macrumors 65816
Nov 22, 2008
1,437
5
EU
I've found that running the battery full to empty a few times per week has keep my battery healthy over two years. It's till has 85+% capacity after about 550 cycles.

My gf's battery only has 150 cycle over 3 years and has lost almost 50% of it's capacity.

:(
 
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