iBook Power Questions [Archive]

jhomayne

Aug 19, 2004, 05:08 PM

i apologise if this has been asked a plethora of times before, and no doubt it has but my searching was fruitless.

i was just wondering what the optimum conditions regarding ibook power settings.etc were.

at the moment i leave it plugged in all the time and then occasionally let it run down and charge it back up again.
at night i shutdown the ibook but leave it plugged in.

*prepares to be shouted at* :o

vraxtus

Aug 19, 2004, 05:47 PM

i apologise if this has been asked a plethora of times before, and no doubt it has but my searching was fruitless.

i was just wondering what the optimum conditions regarding ibook power settings.etc were.

at the moment i leave it plugged in all the time and then occasionally let it run down and charge it back up again.
at night i shutdown the ibook but leave it plugged in.

*prepares to be shouted at* :o

Well, regardless of how you cycle power, the battery will eventually decay with or without use... it's more likely actually that using the battery more will cause it to decay faster.

5300cs

Aug 19, 2004, 07:34 PM

You should read this: http://www.apple.com/batteries/ Someone else posted this link a few weeks back (sorry, I don't remember who.)

See if that helps.

Finiksa

Aug 20, 2004, 05:30 AM

(sorry, I don't remember who.)
That would be me… and about a dozen other people. I think that link should really be made a sticky by now, enough people ask the same question every week.

5300cs

Aug 20, 2004, 06:58 AM

Nice one, that was a good find. It should be a sticky.

jhomayne

Aug 21, 2004, 05:51 AM

*disclaimer* stupid post!

so.. i could shut down my ibook and unplug it and no ill-effects would occur? (i mean i'm thinking that obviously no ill-effects would arise but y'never know. i'm just trying to minimise the time that my ibook spends plugged into the mains)

apologies *first time mac AND first time laptop owner*

:o

5300cs

Aug 21, 2004, 08:12 AM

It should be OK. If you unplug your machine, how long are you planning to go without using it? If it's for long periods of time, like 2-3 weeks or something, the FAQ suggests leaving the battery at 50% or so and then unplugging it and storing it away.

For just over night or a short period of time, I think you can safely leave it plugged in. I do, and my battery is still OK.