Battery life, am i killing my battery?

mmblarg · Dec 9, 2009, 12:53 AM

i've had my macbook for a little under a year and i think i may have shortened my battery power. i have a tendency to leave my laptop plugged in long past the fully charged time and allow it to run through the battery till it shuts down. i do this when i accidentally fall asleep listening to music or leave for work and forget it's on or plugged in. how hard on the battery or laptop is it to do this repeatedly? when it's fully charged it tells me i have roughly 4 hours of battery power available. is that the right amount? is there anything i should do to protect the battery? the manufacturer warranty will be up in march, should i take it in for a check up while i may have the option of not having to pay for it? any advice?

chill. · Dec 9, 2009, 02:24 AM

i really can't understand your second sentence, you let it charge to full and keep it plugged in for a long time, and then let it run on battery power until runs out of power and shuts down?

clyde2801 · Dec 9, 2009, 05:23 AM

The worst thing you can do to a battery is treat your laptop like a desktop: leave it plugged in all the time and NEVER use the battery.

stridemat · Dec 9, 2009, 05:27 AM

I leave my macbook plugged in most of the time. I basically use it as a desktop with an external screen.

I have found that it doesn't affect the battery that much, I still get over 5 hours of use when using it unplugged. My battery health is 94%, this on a 2007 macbook used heavily.

Every month or so I run the battery till its empty then charge it back up. I basically condition the battery and keep it running reasonably well.

Dec 9, 2009, 12:53 AM	#1
mmblarg macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2009	Battery life, am i killing my battery? i've had my macbook for a little under a year and i think i may have shortened my battery power. i have a tendency to leave my laptop plugged in long past the fully charged time and allow it to run through the battery till it shuts down. i do this when i accidentally fall asleep listening to music or leave for work and forget it's on or plugged in. how hard on the battery or laptop is it to do this repeatedly? when it's fully charged it tells me i have roughly 4 hours of battery power available. is that the right amount? is there anything i should do to protect the battery? the manufacturer warranty will be up in march, should i take it in for a check up while i may have the option of not having to pay for it? any advice?
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Dec 9, 2009, 05:23 AM	#3
clyde2801 macrumors 601 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: In the land of no hills and red dirt.	The worst thing you can do to a battery is treat your laptop like a desktop: leave it plugged in all the time and NEVER use the battery. __________________ I've found that the sanest question I can ask myself is 'Am I going crazy?' Crazy people never ask themselves that. --Jack Robbins late 2011 2.4 i7 17" MBP, 16 gb ram, Crucial M4 512gb SSD
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Dec 9, 2009, 05:27 AM	#4
stridemat Demi-God (Moderator) Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: UK	I leave my macbook plugged in most of the time. I basically use it as a desktop with an external screen. I have found that it doesn't affect the battery that much, I still get over 5 hours of use when using it unplugged. My battery health is 94%, this on a 2007 macbook used heavily. Every month or so I run the battery till its empty then charge it back up. I basically condition the battery and keep it running reasonably well. Attached Images __________________ I support the MacRumors Blood Drive!
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Dec 9, 2009, 02:24 AM	#2
chill. macrumors 6502 Join Date: Sep 2008	i really can't understand your second sentence, you let it charge to full and keep it plugged in for a long time, and then let it run on battery power until runs out of power and shuts down?
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