11" 2012 MacBook Air battery health

Grimsrud · Nov 22, 2012, 05:19 PM

I've had my 11" i5 MacBook Air (8GB RAM, 64 GB SSD) for a couple weeks, and the battery health is already at 94.5% after only running 15 cycles on the battery (according to iStat Pro in my dashboard and Battery Health). Battery Health also says the age is "1.6 months". I used to have a 13" 2010 MacBook Pro, and I don't remember the battery health dropping this quickly. Is this unit defective, or is this just the normal pace the battery decays at?

cedwhatev · Nov 23, 2012, 12:32 AM

Normal behaviour.

shortcrust · 07:14 AM

I've just bought a second hand 2011 11". According to Battery Health its health is at 97.5% after 97 cycles and 13 months.

dmk1974 · Jan 16, 2013, 09:47 PM

My 2012 11" base MBA is at 89% battery health after 81 cycles. I bought it in June the week these were released. Am I going to have a problem with this and if so, will Apple replace the battery before my 1-year warranty is up?

Mlrollin91 · Jan 16, 2013, 10:06 PM

Its all normal. Mine is currently at 93% health with 90 cycles. It has gone from 100% down to 91% back to 99% then to the current 93%. It will do this for the entire life of the battery. It is only a problem if it is constantly below 80% before you hit 1000 charges. Then you have a defective battery and I think Apple will replace it even after your one year is up. My girlfriend's 2009 MBP is at 73% remaining with 450 cycles. Just haven't had time to take it in.

Brian Y · Jan 17, 2013, 02:21 PM

Pretty much anything can affect the reported % - even the temperature.

GGJstudios · Jan 17, 2013, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimsrud

I've had my 11" i5 MacBook Air (8GB RAM, 64 GB SSD) for a couple weeks, and the battery health is already at 94.5% after only running 15 cycles on the battery (according to iStat Pro in my dashboard and Battery Health). Battery Health also says the age is "1.6 months". I used to have a 13" 2010 MacBook Pro, and I don't remember the battery health dropping this quickly. Is this unit defective, or is this just the normal pace the battery decays at?

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.

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.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ

JohnLT13 · Jan 17, 2013, 03:43 PM

239 cycles at 92%. not sure how accurate the measuring tool is.

ybz90 · Jan 17, 2013, 04:39 PM

I wouldn't worry if it goes back up. If it continues to drop precipitously below 90% before you hit 100 cycles, then you might have a problem.

Apple batteries are much improved from even just a few years ago. 703 cycles on my 2011 Air and still getting 4-5 hours out of it (88%) health.

yegon · Jan 17, 2013, 06:38 PM

Yeah, I wouldn't worry. My 2011 mba was about 95% when I bought it, now after 250 cycles it still hovers around the 93-95% range. Heck, my late '08 mbp has had over 600 cycles and it's at about 85% and still gives 2.5hrs of battery.

Nov 22, 2012, 05:19 PM	#1
Grimsrud macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2010	11" 2012 MacBook Air battery health I've had my 11" i5 MacBook Air (8GB RAM, 64 GB SSD) for a couple weeks, and the battery health is already at 94.5% after only running 15 cycles on the battery (according to iStat Pro in my dashboard and Battery Health). Battery Health also says the age is "1.6 months". I used to have a 13" 2010 MacBook Pro, and I don't remember the battery health dropping this quickly. Is this unit defective, or is this just the normal pace the battery decays at?
	0

Nov 23, 2012, 12:32 AM	#2
cedwhatev macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Canada	Normal behaviour. __________________ MacBook Air 11" 2012 1.7GHz, 8GB, 128SSD
	0

Nov 23, 2012, 07:06 AM	#3
shortcrust macrumors 6502 Join Date: Aug 2008	I've just bought a second hand 2011 11". According to Battery Health its health is at 97.5% after 97 cycles and 13 months. Last edited by shortcrust; Nov 23, 2012 at 07:14 AM.
	0

Jan 16, 2013, 09:47 PM	#4
dmk1974 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Sep 2008	My 2012 11" base MBA is at 89% battery health after 81 cycles. I bought it in June the week these were released. Am I going to have a problem with this and if so, will Apple replace the battery before my 1-year warranty is up? __________________ 2012 13" MacBook Air i5 1.8 MD231LL/A \| iPad Mini Wi-Fi 16GB Black \| iPhone 5 64GB Black \| Apple TV3
	0

Jan 16, 2013, 10:06 PM	#5
Mlrollin91 macrumors 68000 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SoCal	Its all normal. Mine is currently at 93% health with 90 cycles. It has gone from 100% down to 91% back to 99% then to the current 93%. It will do this for the entire life of the battery. It is only a problem if it is constantly below 80% before you hit 1000 charges. Then you have a defective battery and I think Apple will replace it even after your one year is up. My girlfriend's 2009 MBP is at 73% remaining with 450 cycles. Just haven't had time to take it in. __________________ iMac 21.5", 2.7 i5 Quad, 8GB, 1TB; 11" MBA 1.7 i5, 4GB, 64GB; Black 64GB 3G iPad 2; Black 32GB iPhone 5; and Red 8GB iPod Nano 5G
	0

Jan 17, 2013, 02:21 PM	#6
Brian Y macrumors 65816 Join Date: Oct 2012	Pretty much anything can affect the reported % - even the temperature.
	0

Jan 17, 2013, 03:43 PM	#8
JohnLT13 macrumors regular Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Boston	239 cycles at 92%. not sure how accurate the measuring tool is.
	0

Jan 17, 2013, 04:39 PM	#9
ybz90 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2009	I wouldn't worry if it goes back up. If it continues to drop precipitously below 90% before you hit 100 cycles, then you might have a problem. Apple batteries are much improved from even just a few years ago. 703 cycles on my 2011 Air and still getting 4-5 hours out of it (88%) health. __________________ Buy my Thunderbolt Display and Drobo (and other cool stuff)!
	0

Jan 17, 2013, 06:38 PM	#10
yegon macrumors 65816 Join Date: Oct 2007	Yeah, I wouldn't worry. My 2011 mba was about 95% when I bought it, now after 250 cycles it still hovers around the 93-95% range. Heck, my late '08 mbp has had over 600 cycles and it's at about 85% and still gives 2.5hrs of battery.
	0

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