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How do you properly condition a new Macbook Air battery?
- Thread starter GREEN4U
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No conditioning is necessary. Just plug it in and fully charge it. Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug at any time, regardless of the charged percentage. Just make sure you don't run on AC power all the time, as your battery needs to be used regularly to stay healthy. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions:
No, it's simply exercising the battery, and only suggested if you don't regularly run on battery power. The built-in batteries in the newer Mac unibody notebooks come pre-calibrated and do not require regular calibration like the removable batteries in older Apple notebooks.
For the steps to calibration for older Mac notebooks, read the CALIBRATION section of the Battery FAQ.
Ok then. So what kind of "exercises" other than the one I quoted, need to be done?
I'm coming from a Powerbook battery that only has 655 cycles but can't last longer than 20 seconds without the AC cord. The experience has made me very paranoid about batteries and making sure I'm doing it right.
None. As long as you run on battery power regularly and don't run exclusively on AC power, there's nothing else you need to do. Just relax and enjoy your Mac.
Mac batteries have changed; three years ago they were rated for 300 charges, but today they are rated for 1000 charges, so with a new MBA the 655 charges wouldn't be a problem.
The rule: Don't use the batteries unnecessarily (but don't go panicky about it, because you have 1000 charges). You can leave the MBA plugged in all the time, but then you should run it on batteries about once a month.
That's good news. 1001 cycles until 80% is really hard for me to believe. Is yours actually like that?
I think my Powerbook was at 50% by like 200 cycles.
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This is what I wanted to know, thanks.
I think my Powerbook was at 50% by like 200 cycles.
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This is what I wanted to know, thanks.
oO I did, how else would I have known that. I just said it's hard to believe and asked if ppl actually got that...
None of us are at 1000 cycles yet, but my wife uses a 2010 Air that still has a great battery life.
This is what I do with all my toys including my Air.
Fully charge it.
Use it until battery drops to 10%
Fully charge it.
Use it until battery drop to 50%
Fully Charge it.
After the third charge I do as I please.
Then again, I don't exactly keep my toys long enough to see how the Battery is. LOL My 32GB BlackBerry PlayBook currently holds that record and counting.
Fully charge it.
Use it until battery drops to 10%
Fully charge it.
Use it until battery drop to 50%
Fully Charge it.
After the third charge I do as I please.
Then again, I don't exactly keep my toys long enough to see how the Battery is. LOL My 32GB BlackBerry PlayBook currently holds that record and counting.
I will probably do something like this.
Having any portability whatsoever will be soooo refreshing. I've forgotten what it feels like. I've had to carry my cord around for a long, long time. I've just gotta find better things to do on the internet than Macrumors to make it worth it.
That is not necessary and not recommended by Apple. You're putting unnecessary cycles on your battery and it won't have any effect on its health or performance.
If you do, you're putting unnecessary cycles on your battery. There is no conditioning or calibration necessary or recommended by Apple for current Mac notebook batteries. Old habits seem hard to change for some people.
Ok maybe I won't do that. LOL.
I'm glad I asked this question though. It seems things should be generally A-OK.
Sadly, it is posts like this that too many people who desperately think they have to do something, read and follow, even though no explanation is included for why the poster does this, where this information came from or if it applies (it doesn't) to an MBA. Posts with links to Apple are ignored while people follow undocumented instructions from posts by strangers. The clean install threads are similar. No documentation yet people blindly follow the advice, spending hours rebuilding their Macs, occasionally messing them up, all because the OP said it resulted in a 'snapper' system.
In my defence I didn't say it's necessary nor it's the way to properly condition the battery. I just got used to it and as I said, I don't keep my toys long enough.
I thought I posted where I got this tip from, I got it here long time ago probably when I first bought my iPod.
It is a public forum, as they say take it with a grain of salt.
iPod batteries and Mac notebook batteries are not the same, and the proper maintenance of them is not the same.
Nothing we can do about that.Just relax and enjoy your Mac.
There are people on this site who are genetically incapable of this.
Is that like, "My mind's made up. Don't confuse me with the facts!"?Please, enough facts already.
I agree. It seems like a lot of old timers on this forum think they have the right to disparage anyone who asks a question they think is stupid.