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Terenc3

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 15, 2010
35
0
Just to share mine.. =)

A little disappointing though.. :D
 

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RyanMacm

macrumors member
Feb 15, 2012
77
0
Just to share mine.. =)

A little disappointing though.. :D


How did you manage that? I'm new to mac. Have had my new macbook pro for almost 2 weeks now. I read an read about this battery life usage. still don't quite get it. i'm a bit slow when it comes to this, explain to me more detailed about how to maintain your battery life at 85% after 100+ count cycles. How do you do that? how often do you run on battery and how often do you charge to not charge?
 

Terenc3

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 15, 2010
35
0
How did you manage that? I'm new to mac. Have had my new macbook pro for almost 2 weeks now. I read an read about this battery life usage. still don't quite get it. i'm a bit slow when it comes to this, explain to me more detailed about how to maintain your battery life at 85% after 100+ count cycles. How do you do that? how often do you run on battery and how often do you charge to not charge?

Hmm.. I dun really take care of the battery. When I'm home (20% of the time) I just leave it plugged in. 80% of the time I am mobile and the battery will be used. Many times, used from 100% to 0% (sometimes 2 cycles in a day too).

I do heard a lot about using the battery more. Utilising a full cycle at least once a week will help in keeping it strong. =)

I believe if your battery is at 80% with less than 1000 cycles apple will replace it free of charge

I tried that. There was a point in time where my battery dropped to 75%. I called AppleCare and was told to bring down to local Apple Support Store. But when I'm there, the Battery condition was found out to be GOOD though its 75%. I din get any exchange though. =)
 

talmy

macrumors 601
Oct 26, 2009
4,726
333
Oregon
Probably depends on how nice you are when you talk to them. I had mine signal it was bad, but when I charged it up the error went away. I took it to the Apple Store and they replaced it anyway.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
How did you manage that? I'm new to mac. Have had my new macbook pro for almost 2 weeks now. I read an read about this battery life usage. still don't quite get it. i'm a bit slow when it comes to this, explain to me more detailed about how to maintain your battery life at 85% after 100+ count cycles. How do you do that? how often do you run on battery and how often do you charge to not charge?
As the OP said, they exercise their battery often, which they need to remain healthy. A good rule is run on battery when you need to and plug in when you can. Just don't run plugged in all the time. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
this guy...
Not bad is an understatement. 274 load cycles and im already at 90%
Comparing health is meaningless. A week from now yours could be at 94% and nickphoto's could be at 89%. It fluctuates up and down over time.
 

Terenc3

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 15, 2010
35
0
Probably depends on how nice you are when you talk to them. I had mine signal it was bad, but when I charged it up the error went away. I took it to the Apple Store and they replaced it anyway.

Haha.. Thought I was nice enough though! But mine normally hovers around 85% (82% to 87%). So, I guess its fine..


I just downloaded iStat to check mine.

724 cycles, 94% health. Not bad.

That's incredible! Hopefully mine will increase over time.. :D
 

jekyoo

macrumors 6502
Sep 11, 2007
343
1
Chicago
How did you manage that? I'm new to mac. Have had my new macbook pro for almost 2 weeks now. I read an read about this battery life usage. still don't quite get it. i'm a bit slow when it comes to this, explain to me more detailed about how to maintain your battery life at 85% after 100+ count cycles. How do you do that? how often do you run on battery and how often do you charge to not charge?

Think of it this way: your cells can only take up to so many recharges. Basically, you're recharging all your cells and wearing out their charge capacity. You should leave it plugged it unless that's not an option.

----------

Comparing health is meaningless. A week from now yours could be at 94% and nickphoto's could be at 89%. It fluctuates up and down over time.

Agreed. I current capacity the other day was 96% but now it's at 98%. It's been slowly going up in the last 24 hours.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
Think of it this way: your cells can only take up to so many recharges. Basically, you're recharging all your cells and wearing out their charge capacity. You should leave it plugged it unless that's not an option.
That's not true. Read the Battery FAQ to gain a better understanding.
 

RyanMacm

macrumors member
Feb 15, 2012
77
0
That's not true. Read the Battery FAQ to gain a better understanding.

I have read it over and over countless times. still don't get it. I'm feeling a bit dumb now lol. thats why i kinda just don't read it anymore but to enjoy my laptop. All in all, I leave it plugged in, sometimes when i go out to a cafe, i don't take the charger with me to let it drain or when i go eat i leave it running on battery. Then when i return to my room, i plug it in again. So I don't know if I'm doing this method right or wrong. Maybe GGJ can educate me more cos reading the battery info, i still don't get it. I need a good example of how i t should be and go from there. :)
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
I have read it over and over countless times. still don't get it. I'm feeling a bit dumb now lol. thats why i kinda just don't read it anymore but to enjoy my laptop. All in all, I leave it plugged in, sometimes when i go out to a cafe, i don't take the charger with me to let it drain or when i go eat i leave it running on battery. Then when i return to my room, i plug it in again. So I don't know if I'm doing this method right or wrong. Maybe GGJ can educate me more cos reading the battery info, i still don't get it. I need a good example of how i t should be and go from there. :)
Many people use their Mac portables on battery frequently, as a natural part of their routine. For them, there's not much to think about. Just use it on battery when you're on the go (which for them is frequently) and plug it in when AC power is available. The problem with the statement, "You should leave it plugged it unless that's not an option" is that there are also many who use their portable primarily at their desk, and travel infrequently. For them, "leaving it plugged in unless it's not an option" would mean they'd be running on AC power all the time, which isn't good for the battery.

If you use your Mac on battery a lot naturally, keep doing what you're doing.
If you use your Mac on AC power most of the time, remember to unplug and run on battery at least a few hours every few days, so your battery will get some exercise. Otherwise, your battery life will be shortened.
 

nickphoto

macrumors newbie
Feb 21, 2012
23
0
this guy...
Not bad is an understatement. 274 load cycles and im already at 90%

Haha yeah a bit of an understatement I guess. It operates as my desktop 80% of the time so is most always plugged in. And believe me, I don't think I get 94% of 7hrs life out of it.
 

RyanMacm

macrumors member
Feb 15, 2012
77
0
Many people use their Mac portables on battery frequently, as a natural part of their routine. For them, there's not much to think about. Just use it on battery when you're on the go (which for them is frequently) and plug it in when AC power is available. The problem with the statement, "You should leave it plugged it unless that's not an option" is that there are also many who use their portable primarily at their desk, and travel infrequently. For them, "leaving it plugged in unless it's not an option" would mean they'd be running on AC power all the time, which isn't good for the battery.

If you use your Mac on battery a lot naturally, keep doing what you're doing.
If you use your Mac on AC power most of the time, remember to unplug and run on battery at least a few hours every few days, so your battery will get some exercise. Otherwise, your battery life will be shortened.

Understood, thank you GGJ :) you're awesome.
 

thatoneguy82

macrumors 68000
Jul 23, 2008
1,895
2
Beach Cities, CA
Mine is still doing pretty well, I've had this since May 2010. I probably should have more cycles for having it for this long, but it still works. However, there are times that I wish it would charge a bit faster and hold the the charge a lot longer.
 
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macuser2134

macrumors member
Feb 15, 2012
50
0
If you use your Mac on AC power most of the time, remember to unplug and run on battery at least a few hours every few days, so your battery will get some exercise. Otherwise, your battery life will be shortened.

Totally agree with the advice - it makes a lot of sense.

But something else is really bugging me about this: Why don't Apple build this behavior right into their battery management system? Their circuitry already aught to have the capabilities to do this. Shouldn't it be in Apple's interest to incorporate this as a feature? To minimise the battery replacements they're doing.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
Totally agree with the advice - it makes a lot of sense.

But something else is really bugging me about this: Why don't Apple build this behavior right into their battery management system? Their circuitry already aught to have the capabilities to do this. Shouldn't it be in Apple's interest to incorporate this as a feature? To minimise the battery replacements they're doing.
Free battery replacements have nothing to do with how people use their batteries. Apple only replaces batteries free if they're defective. If batteries die an early death because people don't care for them properly, Apple charges to replace them. It would be very problematic for Apple to "force" running on battery on some automated schedule, as invariably, that schedule would conflict with many users needs.
 

emir

macrumors 6502a
Apr 5, 2008
610
4
Istanbul
Age of my Mac: 21 months (time goes by)
Cycles: 423
Life: 87%

i'm planning on using this for at 48 moths or sth like that, and i think it's very very much possible.
 
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