How long did your laptop battery last for? [Archive]

haiggy

Jan 5, 2006, 12:11 AM

Alongside the 'How long did your iBook harddrive last for?' thread, I thought I would make this one.

How long has your laptop battery lasted? Which laptop do you have? Have you replaced it? When? How much charge does it have left now?

You can find this out with a program called coconutBattery, incase you don't already have it.

My 14" iBook battery is 26 months old (original) and I've used 196 charge cycles. It has 3% of it's charge left... quite depressing.

Lacero

Jan 5, 2006, 12:17 AM

My 14" iBook battery is 26 months old (original) and I've used 196 charge cycles. It has 3% of it's charge left... quite depressing.
Seems like you're a good candidate for a replacement battery.

My PowerBook 12" battery still lasts for about 3 hours on normal surfing and email, and it's 18 months old. Probably about 100 charge cycles.
Here's to the Crazy Ones http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=35452 (http://www.uriah.com/apple-qt/movies/think-different.mov)

haiggy

Jan 5, 2006, 12:39 AM

Seems like you're a good candidate for a replacement battery.

My PowerBook 12" battery still lasts for about 3 hours on normal surfing and email, and it's 18 months old. Probably about 100 charge cycles.
Here's to the Crazy Ones http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=35452 (http://www.uriah.com/apple-qt/movies/think-different.mov)

Replacement as in go out and by a new one? or do you think Apple might give me a new one for free? It's not a huge deal to me... I don't use it for portability reasons a whole lot... and I'm almost always near a wall outlet.

livingfortoday

Jan 5, 2006, 12:41 AM

haiggy

Jan 5, 2006, 01:02 AM

My original Apple battery in my TiBook lasted about 4 years before suddenly dying. It was still holding an hour or two charge with light use, then it just stopped completely.

My new battery on my TiBook says 165 cycles, and 4.165mAh left. It's a NuPower, though, so it's got a 4800mAh charge (supposedly).

Are you sure its 4.165mAh? or do you mean 4165mAh? Mine has like 167mAh after 197 cycles. It sucks because new batteries are like $150.

livingfortoday

Jan 5, 2006, 01:08 AM

Are you sure its 4.165mAh? or do you mean 4165mAh? Mine has like 167mAh after 197 cycles. It sucks because new batteries are like $150.

Yeah, whoops, you're right. 4165. This NuPower battery is really great. They're pricey, but really worth it. I found mine on eBay for around $80, so I'd check there before hitting up OWC.

haiggy

Jan 5, 2006, 01:17 AM

Yeah, whoops, you're right. 4165. This NuPower battery is really great. They're pricey, but really worth it. I found mine on eBay for around $80, so I'd check there before hitting up OWC.

Thanks, I might do that... when I need the whole portability thing. lol

e²Studios

Jan 5, 2006, 01:27 AM

29 months old 98% battery capacity :) Its half of what a lot of you have as far as cycles but it still holds a great charge :)

Ed

dorqiekat

Jan 5, 2006, 02:01 AM

so what drains the battery? take it off charge too much or keeping it on charge? I know that you should let the battery drain once in a while...

oblomow

Jan 5, 2006, 02:50 AM

It's still going strong after more than a year.

gammamonk

Jan 5, 2006, 03:33 AM

Wow, this is really interesting. I just checked my own battery, 93% after 20 months. Not that bad I think. I'm going to email my friend with an iBook G3 where the battery is not strong enough to finish booting OSX. I want to see his numbers!

semaja2

Jan 5, 2006, 05:52 AM

have you guys tried to recalbirate your batterys to see if it gives a better reading, when i first did mine i got a extra 196ma but when i re did it i lose 2% :(

Mitthrawnuruodo

Jan 5, 2006, 07:44 AM

I used to take very good care of mine (i.e. discharging and recharging it several times a week), but after a period of neglect the battery deteriorated quickly. Now I'm a bit kinder to it, and try at least to discharge/recharge a couple a times a month...

oblomow

Jan 5, 2006, 08:36 AM

mmm, this is weird/surprising/funny.

going from 87 to 91% capacity

haiggy

Jan 5, 2006, 12:28 PM

Why is my battery so bad????

Mitthrawnuruodo

Jan 5, 2006, 12:32 PM

Why is my battery so bad????Have you discharged and recharged it regularly?

If you've just kept it plugged in, then the battery deteriorates quickly. According to Apple (http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html) the battery needs to be in use (to keep it's juices flowing, sort of speak) to stay fresh.

Lau

Jan 5, 2006, 12:47 PM

I'm fairly haphazard about plugging in, discharging etc, and I guess it shows. I've had my PB for about a year and 4 months. It had a sudden drop in time a while back, but seems to have stabilised now at 2-2.5 hours with airport on and screen at full brightness.

Maybe I should have been a bit more careful with the battery, but I bought the thing to be mobile, even if that usually means sitting cross legged in an armchair surfing the net without the minor inconvenience of a power cord. :p

haiggy

Jan 5, 2006, 03:05 PM

Have you discharged and recharged it regularly?

If you've just kept it plugged in, then the battery deteriorates quickly. According to Apple (http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html) the battery needs to be in use (to keep it's juices flowing, sort of speak) to stay fresh.

Dammit, I guess that is why. I wish I knew that when I got it. There were times where I had my iBook plugged in without being unplugged for weeks probably.

e²Studios

Jan 5, 2006, 04:48 PM

Dammit, I guess that is why. I wish I knew that when I got it. There were times where I had my iBook plugged in without being unplugged for weeks probably.

The odd part about this is that my iBook is always on the power adapter, if you looked at the picture i posted in an earlier post it only had 50 some odd power cycles. A lot of times the auditoriums, classrooms and libraries i was in along with my office had a power outlet for me to use so i rarely used the battery.

I do have to say whenever i used it via battery power i usually always at least used half the charge if not all of it, maybe that makes a difference?

Ed

haiggy

Jan 5, 2006, 05:32 PM

The odd part about this is that my iBook is always on the power adapter, if you looked at the picture i posted in an earlier post it only had 50 some odd power cycles. A lot of times the auditoriums, classrooms and libraries i was in along with my office had a power outlet for me to use so i rarely used the battery.

I do have to say whenever i used it via battery power i usually always at least used half the charge if not all of it, maybe that makes a difference?

Ed

Whenever I used my battery I used it more than half or almost all of it.

xPismo

Jan 13, 2006, 11:57 PM

Well, after having my powerbook shut down only an hour into being off the a/c nipple, I found:

(via coconutBattery 2.1)

Current 2046mAh
Max 2047mAh

Current Cap 2047mAh
Original Cap 4400mAh
46%

450 load cycles
28 months old.

Dang, time and tide... The older posts about NuPower batteries seemed less than favorable, but I wanted to ask you guys what you think? $129.00 to apple or Nu?

Seasought

Jan 14, 2006, 12:00 AM

How long has your laptop battery lasted? Which laptop do you have? Have you replaced it? When? How much charge does it have left now?

The stock one that came with my Powerbook G4 15" lasted about two weeks before it died and I had to get it replaced, for free, at my local Apple store.

The new one, however, is at 98% capacity since I've had it. So far so good. :D

mustard

Jan 14, 2006, 12:36 AM

I have been using my machine for almost a year and half never really running the battery below 25% other than the recommended first charge and drain conditioning process. Is there any consistence to what people are actually getting from there battery or is it just as it seams - luck:confused:

http://www.graphicair.com/battery.jpg

Temujin

Jan 14, 2006, 07:37 PM

Applespider

Jan 14, 2006, 07:46 PM

Mine's probably done a full discharge to recalibrate about 4 times since I got it. Aside from that it's probably spent 95% of the time plugged in to the wall.
Not too bad though for being two years old.

steelphantom

Jan 14, 2006, 08:00 PM

Check this out... my current battery capacity is somehow greater than the original battery capacity. I must really take care of my iBook, huh? ;)

keyshawn

Jan 15, 2006, 12:30 PM

I've had mine for five months, and usually leave it plugged most of the time.
If it makes a difference, I leave on my ibook almost 24/7 [F@H, of course].

I'm a bit concerned, mine seems a bit lower than others for its age. I calibrated my battery when I first bought my ibook too :confused:

Should I be worried about my battery's status ?

Also, when I unplug it and use it away from the outlet; is it better for the battery if I would completely let the battery drain away; or should I plug it back it in immediately and charge it ?
(This is besides the occasional calibration when I let the battery drain to 0%, about once a month).

regards,
keyshawn

MacRumorUser

Jan 15, 2006, 01:05 PM

Powerbook 15" DL drive. Only about 2 months old my battery dropped to 30 min of juice. Got a replacement though which work much better then the first did to start with. Get about 4 - 4.5 hours of surfing etc.

14 cycles, Full charge capacity = 4483 mAh

Just interested, did they replace just the battery?

I had same problme with 15" DL. It reported about 46% of original charge left after 2 months use. I rang Apple and they decided to replace the entire laptop rather than the battery. Seemed wasteful to me, but then Steve announced MacBookPro so when the replacement arrives, I'm returning for a refund and getting the macbookpro :D

Seasought

Jan 15, 2006, 04:05 PM

Should I be worried about my battery's status ?

89% isn't terribly bad I guess. I keep seeing conflicting information with regard to batteries in both the Powerbooks and the iBooks. If it doesn't really affect your lifestyle with regard to use don't worry. If it really annoys you pick up another one or try calibrating the battery again.

Also, when I unplug it and use it away from the outlet; is it better for the battery if I would completely let the battery drain away; or should I plug it back it in immediately and charge it ?
(This is besides the occasional calibration when I let the battery drain to 0%, about once a month).

I've only had advice to NOT let it drain all the way down each time I use it when not plugged into an outlet. I don't let mine fall below 60% (on my Powerbook mind you) but that's just me.

Seasought

Jan 15, 2006, 04:05 PM

Check this out... my current battery capacity is somehow greater than the original battery capacity. I must really take care of my iBook, huh? ;)

I have the same thing going on with mine actually.

Temujin

Jan 15, 2006, 09:09 PM

Just interested, did they replace just the battery?

I had same problme with 15" DL. It reported about 46% of original charge left after 2 months use. I rang Apple and they decided to replace the entire laptop rather than the battery. Seemed wasteful to me, but then Steve announced MacBookPro so when the replacement arrives, I'm returning for a refund and getting the macbookpro :D

Yeah, just the battery. Got a new one 2 days later at my local Apple Store.

Boelman

Jan 15, 2006, 10:26 PM

I have had mine for about 4 months now and it is holding about a 2 hour charge or so I'd say depending on what i have to do.

Squozen

Jan 16, 2006, 05:21 AM

Doing a full discharge/recharge constantly is the WORST thing you can do to a lithium-ion battery. Read Apple's docs on maintaining batteries.

xPismo

Jan 22, 2006, 10:03 PM

Well, after having my powerbook shut down only an hour into being off the a/c nipple, I found:...Dang, time and tide... The older posts about NuPower batteries seemed less than favorable, but I wanted to ask you guys what you think? $129.00 to apple or Nu?

Well. Talk about timing. My orig battery started going south rapidly since I posted that. So, apple.com/store: 1 battery please, thanks. Oh, and google the life of li-poly batteries for some interesting info. No matter what you do, they will die around year three from the manufacture date (so no old stock for these macs). Here are my big numbers so far:

http://homepage.mac.com/ihaddock/Forums/NewBatterySpecs.jpg

So hopefully i have 4 or so hours of real life for school that starts next week.

Think I can still find the last 33mAh for the magic 4400?

(Oh, I still love my powerbook.)

ITASOR

Jan 22, 2006, 10:07 PM

I agree that taking care of your battery is a great idea, but some people like value it over their lives...

"Oh no, I can't bring my laptop with me, it only charged to 92% and still has 8 to go..."

I mean what's the worst that happens? Your battery doesn't last more than 3 years and you drop another $100 on a brand new one...it's not that bad.

xPismo

Jan 23, 2006, 11:57 AM

Wooooo!

4401mAh!! :D :D :D This morning. :D :D :D Rocking. :D :D :D

Had 3.5 hours last night working with iWeb. :cool:

Chewieez

Jul 30, 2007, 12:07 AM

Well I thought I'd revive this thread as I just downloaded istatpro widget and discovered some info about my 4 1/2 year old tibook battery.

I'm using the original battery in my 1g tibook laptop and have had the computer on just about everyday for the past 4-5 years.

According to istatpro here are my battery stats:

Health: 81%
Cycles: 688

I'm happy to know my battery is holding in there. I still regularily get 2.5-3+ hours of regular usage out of it.

noodle654

Jul 30, 2007, 02:48 PM

Well, this is my 2nd battery which is about 3 months old and it still at 4400mAh. My other battery is I think at 17% remaining. iBook 1.42Ghz 1.5GB RAM.

applehero

Jul 30, 2007, 02:52 PM

I'm at 82% health with 28 cycles, but I leave mine plugged all the time unless I'm traveling, which is not very often. My PB will be 2 years old in October.

bb0ys

Jul 30, 2007, 03:04 PM

I bought the 800MHz PB back in 2002. I've replaced the HD but the battery is still original. It lasts about 2.5 hours and its typically used for web-surfing, chatting, PDF viewing, file-browsing, and playing iTunes from over the network.

Luigi239

Jul 31, 2007, 12:55 AM

My Core Duo Macbook which is just about a year old has gone through a whopping 336 charge cycles, but still has about 90% of the battery health. I don't think thats bad at all for all the cycles it has gone through.