battery - replace soon. How much longer do I have?

[stewie1]

Rev. B SSD model, just over 2 years old. Just happened to see the "replace soon" battery status last week. It has since disappeared. I have noticed over the past few months that my battery isn't what it used to be, I now have about 2.5 hours of web browsing time, where I used to have over 4. I'm running close to 350 cycles, so it is to be expected.

Asked the genius at the Mac Store how much longer I had before the battery conked out on my completely. He wouldn't hazard a guess.

Here's my dilemma: I'm looking at a $200 repair for the battery. My MBA is currently in getting the screen replaced due to the loose hinge issue. So cosmetically, it will look great. I know that if I hold on to it longer term, I will probably be looking at a battery replacement later this year. Do I instead try to sell the MBA now and upgrade to a newer model? Obviously this will cost a lot more than just a battery replacement, but the new features (like the deep sleep mode) would be a nice bonus. On the other hand, I love the computer I have, it is still snappy as hell and perfect for what I need it for... and I'm a cheapskate. Do I just invest the $200 in the battery and get at least another year or two out of it?

 

[kappax12]

i remember seeing some macbook air battery on ebay for like $125 new, so if it was me i just buy the battery and install it myself with the tool instead of trying to sell it and get the new one. beside what different are you going to do with the new compare to the one right now.

 

[Hellishness]

It depends on how you use your computer. On my MBP I used it largely on batter and in like 3 months i was down to around 95% health. My current MBA is like 90+% on AC and it's still at 100%. It only goes down when i calibrate it, but then it'll go back up from like 99% to 100% after a few more hours on battery and recharging. If, for you, it's reasonable to use it on AC as much as possible, do that and hope that your MBA will make it through the hours you have it in sleep mode. The biggest thing i cannot stress enough is that you cannot leave it plugged in when you're not using it or you will kill the battery by holding it at 100%. This is fine if its a desktop replacement and after like 5-6 years of being plugged in for like 5 years straight the battery will probably still last like 10-15 minutes (which is great if like the power goes out, you can save your work). If you only get 2.5 hours on the web, then you probably carry around your charger anyway so what's the difference if it's 2.5 hours or half an hour? I mean I hope this helps you decide if its worth 200 bucks to you (or $125 or whatever it costs)...

 

[farmermac]

I'd say that if your battery still lasts 2.5 hours then your battey will continue to work for a long time. I wouldn't bother replacing it unless you want that full battery life back but IMO 2.5 hours is decent enough that I wouldn't plow $200 for a battery replacement

 

[stewie1]

Thanks for the replies.
I was told that the battery itself cost $140 and the installation would bring it up near $200.
The videos I've seen online make it look really simple... just unscrewing and screwing. Very do-able.

Basically, I have 2 concerns about doing this myself:

1 - I don't want to buy a cheap knockoff battery that will explode in my face or not hold a charge after a month.

2 - is there anything I could do during the installation to mess up the computer? I've changed hard drives and installed RAM on my old Dell laptop, but nothing beyond that.

thanks.

 

[GGJstudios]

It only goes down when i calibrate it, but then it'll go back up from like 99% to 100% after a few more hours on battery and recharging.

Of course, calibration doesn't raise or lower your battery health. It only makes your reading more accurate. If, for example, it shows 98% health before calibration and shows 92% after calibration, that means that it really was at 92% when it was incorrectly reporting 98%. Calibration only made the reading accurate.

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