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13rutal

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 7, 2012
5
0
Hi everyone,

I am about to buy a secondhand MacBook Air from Craigslist and wondering if there is any possible way for the sellers to lie about the battery cycles as they do for car mileages. :mad:

Thanks for any opinions
 
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
31
located
Hi everyone,

I am about to buy a secondhand MacBook Air from Craigslist and wondering if there is any possible way for the sellers to lie about the battery cycles as they do for car mileages. :mad:

Thanks for any opinions

They could easily change a screenshot via Preview, if that is all you get to get battery cycle information. As for anything else, probably, but then again, it may be too much work for someone not or only half versed in scrubbing shiny code.
 

mrsir2009

macrumors 604
Sep 17, 2009
7,505
156
Melbourne, Australia
Hi everyone,

I am about to buy a secondhand MacBook Air from Craigslist and wondering if there is any possible way for the sellers to lie about the battery cycles as they do for car mileages. :mad:

Thanks for any opinions

Well if they show you a screenshot as proof, they could have photoshopped it.
 

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
For battery, IMO shelf life matters. Say ur buying a 2009 laptop and battery says 50 charge cycle only. Now IHO battery needs exercising just like a car engine that's left sitting.

How old is this laptop?
 

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
It's a MacBook Air 2012 with 30 cycles.

Oh you are fine then. So it's about 6 months old, even if they guy discharge it everyday, doesn't amount to more than 200 cycles, not worth it to anybody to going into the trouble of rolling back the odometer.
 

Puevlo

macrumors 6502a
Oct 21, 2011
633
1
No because in a car reversing reduces the mileage and going forward increases it. However in a battery both charging and discharging affect the cycle count.
 

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
No because in a car reversing reduces the mileage and going forward increases it. However in a battery both charging and discharging affect the cycle count.


U actually tried this didn't you? LOL!
 

Nimravus

macrumors member
Jan 1, 2013
56
0
Oh I found it! Cycle Count 7 on my Mid2012 MBA I got in Sept 2012. I guess I keep it plugged in mostly... Says Fully Charged capacity of 6758. I read somewhere it's supposed to be a 6800mah battery. Does it go down that fast after only 7 cycles?
 

A Hebrew

macrumors 6502a
Jan 7, 2012
846
2
Minnesota
Oh I found it! Cycle Count 7 on my Mid2012 MBA I got in Sept 2012. I guess I keep it plugged in mostly... Says Fully Charged capacity of 6758. I read somewhere it's supposed to be a 6800mah battery. Does it go down that fast after only 7 cycles?

Battery's in your MacBook are meant to fluctuate overtime. Search the forum for Battery FAQ to get a lot of questions answered.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
Oh I found it! Cycle Count 7 on my Mid2012 MBA I got in Sept 2012. I guess I keep it plugged in mostly... Says Fully Charged capacity of 6758. I read somewhere it's supposed to be a 6800mah battery. Does it go down that fast after only 7 cycles?
If you're not already doing so, use iStat Pro (free) or iStat Menus ($16) to get accurate readings of your battery health and cycles and computer uptime, among many other things. A forum member has posted a copy of iStat Pro that has been "tweaked" to enhance compatibility with Mountain Lion. You can download it here.

It is perfectly normal if your battery health (maximum capacity) is more or less than 100%, even when brand new, or if it fluctuates up or down over time. For further details, read the CHECKING STATUS AND HEALTH section of the following link.

Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug any time you need to, regardless of the charged percentage, and you never need to completely drain your battery. Just make sure you don't run on AC power exclusively, as your battery needs to be used regularly to stay healthy. The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.
 

Nimravus

macrumors member
Jan 1, 2013
56
0
Thanks guys I'll read up. I have left laptops plugged in most of the time all my life.
 
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