Recurring battery issue. Charge capacity at 63%; only 7 months old

Problem came back
Normally, I charge my battery up to 99%, then I run the Macbook off the battery until the charge is around 20-25% (or whenever the battery charge icon turns red). This cycle is repeated.

I don't perform as many battery calibrations as I should at the end of each month. I've done at least 2 in the past 3 months.

According to coconutBattery, my Macbook (white, refurbished) is 7 months old and has 205 charge cycles.
Just today, I checked the current capacity to be 94% (4225 mAh). Sometime later, I ran coconutBattery again and to my surprise the capacity is now at 62% (3132 mAh).

Something similar to this happened where my capacity dipped down to 90% and later went back up to the normal 95%.

Did I kill the battery?
Are 205 charge cycles too many at this age?

And does anyone have a particular method to charging their Macbook to prolong battery life/capacity?

I also read this thread (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/532346/) concerning AppleCare's policy on the battery.
I have not purchased AppleCare yet since my 1 year warranty hasn't ran out yet.
I take very good care of my Macbook and I'm disappointed to see that the battery has deteriorated so quickly.

Could it possibly be some issue with the PRAM/NVRAM that I may not be aware of?

I'm apologize for all of the questions but I would appreciate it if someone could explain the situation. Thanks for your help in advance.



Problem came back

miles01110 said:

You didn't kill the battery, it's just some sort of weird bug in the reporting software. If you calibrate it on a semiregular basis, that's the best way to maximize the life of your battery.

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Okay thanks. You're right about that. I disconnected it from the power outlet and removed the battery and then I held down the power button to try and "reset" it. After I started up coconutBattery, it's reading 94% capacity again, so all's well.

This must be annoying but the problem is back. The capacity of the battery is back to 63%.
The day after the problem was initially resolved, the battery was back at its 94% capacity. I decided to start charging it more and leaving it on the power adapter to sit at 100% charge for a while. Once I removed it, I checked coconutBattery just in case the problem came back, and it did. I also checked System Profiler and it reads out basically the same thing.


I've already reset the SMC by unplugging the power adapter and removing the battery and then pressing the power button for five seconds.
I also reset the PRAM by holding down command + option + p + r.
When those two didn't work, I decided to recalibrate the battery.
The battery charge went down much quicker than I expected, so I'm beginning to suspect something is wrong with the battery.



What else should I do?

Okay, thanks.
I'm still covered by the one-year warranty. Do you think they'll replace my battery if I walk into the Apple Store and explain this?
I plan on buying Apple Care once it nears 12 months of ownership.

noodle654 said:

Make an appointment for a Genius at your Apple store. You should bring your laptop too just to show them. They will replace it on the spot. If you had AppleCare, you could call and they would overnight everything to you, which is a huge plus since I am 1 hour from an Apple store, and plus I just hate going to them...best of luck.

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Yeah, I live pretty far from the nearest one. Oh well. Thanks again for your trouble, I appreciate your help.