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Clamshell mode on battery

smallnshort247

smallnshort247

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 23, 2010
531
8
Whenever I'm in my room, I usually use my MBP as a desktop replacement by connecting it to an external monitor, external mouse keyboard etc. My issue is that if I close the lid on the MBP while the monitor is plugged in it will go into sleep mode. Then I usually press a key on the external keyboard or move the mouse to wake the MBP up. the only problem is if I don't have the magsafe plugged in at the time, it will go back into sleep mode in like 5 seconds. If I have the magsafe plugged in and charging it will stay in desktop mode like I want. Is there a way to fix this so that I can use the desktop mode without having to have it plugged in? The main reason is because it really messes with the battery cycles when I plug it in to charge in the middle of a battery cycle. Thanks
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
smallnshort247 said:
The main reason is because it really messes with the battery cycles when I plug it in to charge in the middle of a battery cycle. Thanks
Click to expand...

No, it doesn't. It's fine to plug or unplug whenever you need. The only exception is when you're calibrating your battery.

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions: Apple Notebook Battery FAQ

As you will see in that link (at the end of the Calibration section), you can use Caffeine to override the sleep settings.
 
T

tjb1

macrumors 68000
Aug 26, 2010
1,999
0
Pennsylvania, USA
A battery cycle is not each time it reaches 100% it marks that as a cycle...

If you plug it in at 75% battery that is only 1/4 of a cycle and you would need to plug it in at 75% battery 4 times to get 1 cycle.
 
smallnshort247

smallnshort247

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 23, 2010
531
8
antster94 Kinda answered my question, answer being that I guess there is no way that you can put your macbook in clamshell mode without it plugged in at the same time. Thanks guys!
 
J

Jottle

macrumors 6502
Oct 17, 2003
402
5
tjb1 said:
You can always use Insomniax to keep the computer awake.
Click to expand...

I do this. Enable Insomniax, then put the computer to sleep. Then wake it up in clamshell mode. Then unplug the power cable. Insomnia must be kept active to prevent the mbp from sleeping in clamshell mode on battery power. Unfortunately, there's no way to run clamshell on battery power without using a 3rd party application. That being said, Insomniax is a pretty resource light application.
 
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