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segers909

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 7, 2009
208
19
Belgium
I've got this mac for 2 and a half years now, and in that time I used 478 cycles. Now my Mac is telling me my battery needs to be replaced, and the health is down to 77%. Considering Apple claims the battery lasts 1000 cycles, I'm pretty disappointed! Any tips, or am I gonna have to pay 200 euro to get this fixed?
 

Natzoo

macrumors 68000
Sep 16, 2014
1,986
631
i feel like you should take it to apple. But they are some things that can hamper your battery life, similar to how a car works. Maybe you have a lot of battery consuming apps, or having the high end graphics running all the time.

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I've had my mac for one year and I've used 421 cycles
 

bsforever

macrumors member
Dec 25, 2008
56
2
I've got this mac for 2 and a half years now, and in that time I used 478 cycles. Now my Mac is telling me my battery needs to be replaced, and the health is down to 77%. Considering Apple claims the battery lasts 1000 cycles, I'm pretty disappointed! Any tips, or am I gonna have to pay 200 euro to get this fixed?

i'm having the same exact issues (on a mark 1 2012 retina macbook pro) and debating whether to take it in to the apple store. please let me know how your experience goes.
 

segers909

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 7, 2009
208
19
Belgium
I live in Belgium, no Apple stores here. I'll be passing trough Amsterdam on a trip in April so it'll have to wait until then. I'm gonna calibrate the battery and reset my SMC today, see if that helps any...
 

Natzoo

macrumors 68000
Sep 16, 2014
1,986
631
i looked it up, and there was an apple store in belgium, not sure if it still is
 

nylon

macrumors 65816
Oct 26, 2004
1,393
1,029
I have an early 2013 15" rMBP (which is the same as the 2012 version just with a boost in MHz). I currently have 600 battery cycles with 86% of original capacity remaining.

I cycle the battery once a month i.e. completely run out the battery and leave it discharged for 8 hrs. Then recharge and leave it plugged in for 8 hrs after it reaches 100%.

Try cycling the battery a couple of times.
 

segers909

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 7, 2009
208
19
Belgium
After calibrating it and resetting my SMC, the health is up to 79%. I should note that while using it on battery power, the Mac fell asleep with 33% charge. I connected it to Magsafe, powered it back on and disconnected Magsafe again to keep it going.
I also contacted authorised Apple Service Providers (these are privately owned Apple "stores" who also do repairs and are certified by Apple) near where I live and got a battery replacement quote of.. Prepare yourselves.. 510 euro. :eek:
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
I cycle the battery once a month i.e. completely run out the battery and leave it discharged for 8 hrs. Then recharge and leave it plugged in for 8 hrs after it reaches 100%.
That isn't the procedure for calibration and all you're doing is shortening the life of your battery by fully draining it.
After calibrating it and resetting my SMC, the health is up to 79%.
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. Completely draining your battery is bad for it and should be avoided.

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.
The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions, including tips for maximizing battery performance. If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.
 
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