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rMBP Battery Health Decline

charlieegan3

charlieegan3

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 16, 2012
2,394
17
U.K
I have now had my new MBP for a week and the battery health last week was 97, now its 94 (8103mAh), and seems to keep going down! What am i doing wrong?:confused:

I am only using the machine on battery. I charge it all the way up and then use it all the way down, normally in one go.

I haven't calibrated the battery yet, will this make a difference? is the way that i am using the battery damaging?
 
miles01110 said:
If you think it's a problem then take it in for inspection by a Genius. Otherwise wait until you actually have a problem.
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Would you say this is normal? I really don't want to be damaging my battery, i'm trying to make it last.

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Puevlo said:
Battery health will fluctuate wildly. This is perfectly normal.
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Would calibrating the battery help?
 
charlieegan3 said:
I am only using the machine on battery. I charge it all the way up and then use it all the way down, normally in one go.
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Yeah, you shouldn't be doing that.

Charge often, probably running down battery to 70-50% ideally before charging again to ensure long life, although I wouldn't worry about it right now. Best waiting a few months when there is actually available stock.
 
Maybe it is best to wait a little bit to see more of a difference but I just don't like the idea that everyday i'm slowly killing my battery.
 
When mine arrived the max capacity was ~8760. After 20 cycles, yesterday it was down to ~8230, about a 5% decline. When I woke up this morning, the max capacity was 8552. So there does seem to be quite a bit of fluctuation going on from day to day. I'm always running it from 100% down to about 3-4% before charging it back up.

I'm going to wait until it dips below 7800 mAh, before I get worried.
 
Why are you continuously discharging it? Can't you run with it plugged in sometimes? It is 2012, not the 90s. Battery tech is much different, batteries don't have 'memory' anymore.

I'd recommend calibrating it once (someone posted instructions above), and then use it 'normally'. Plug it in when you are sitting at a desk or table, battery when not. Then forget about it for a while. Check in a few months and if things look bad, bring it in.
 
I can't believe people are using full discharge cycles on their MBP. Unless you have a good reason to not carry your adapter around or simply have no outlet access for 7 hour long periods...
 
scarred said:
Why are you continuously discharging it? Can't you run with it plugged in sometimes? It is 2012, not the 90s. Battery tech is much different, batteries don't have 'memory' anymore.
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I bought a portable with 7 hours battery, not a desktop. Why should I have to plug it in unless it needs to be charged? Do you plug in your iPhone or iPad every couple of hours?

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mzjin said:
I can't believe people are using full discharge cycles on their MBP. Unless you have a good reason to not carry your adapter around or simply have no outlet access for 7 hour long periods...
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What's wrong with full discharge cycles? I can't believe people like the clutter of being plugged in.

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boy-better-know said:
Thats not the best way to cycle your battery. I wouldn't be doing that.
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What's wrong with such usage? Is it bad for iPhones and iPads? What's your source?
 
I'm totally flexible, I can use it plugged in, or on battery, when ever I want. All I need to know is what the best way to use it is. There seems to be conflicting opinions here.
 
charlieegan3 said:
I'm totally flexible, I can use it plugged in, or on battery, when ever I want. All I need to know is what the best way to use it is. There seems to be conflicting opinions here.
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I'd side with Apple's opinion. They say no calibration whatsoever is needed for us, and they don't say we need to plug in. They say their new technology is supposed to guarantee that we shouldn't lose more than 20% over the first 1000 cycles. So, as I said earlier, keep running it as you think is best for you, and if it keeps dropping keep an eye out. I'd say if you lose over 10% in the first 100 cycles, you have something to complain about.
 
I am curious as well the issue with a ~full discharge.

I understand that battery memory is less/no longer a concern, but what "harm" does a full discharge pose to these batteries?
 
JohnDoe98 said:
I'd side with Apple's opinion. They say no calibration whatsoever is needed for us, and they don't say we need to plug in. They say their new technology is supposed to guarantee that we shouldn't lose more than 20% over the first 1000 cycles. So, as I said earlier, keep running it as you think is best for you, and if it keeps dropping keep an eye out. I'd say if you lose over 10% in the first 100 cycles, you have something to complain about.
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I guess thats all I can do, I'm just terrified of getting hit by the £195 pounds replacement battery.
 
charlieegan3 said:
I guess thats all I can do, I'm just terrified of getting hit by the £195 pounds replacement battery.
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If by the next 10-11 months your battery is misbehaving (ie, only holds an hour of charge), you should be able to claim manufacturing default on the battery - most likely.
 
charlieegan3 said:
I guess thats all I can do, I'm just terrified of getting hit by the £195 pounds replacement battery.
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If you actually have a battery drain problem, rest assured with the way you are using your laptop currently you will be below 80% in less than a year and the replacement will be free.
 
prfrma said:
If by the next 10-11 months your battery is misbehaving (ie, only holds an hour of charge), you should be able to claim manufacturing default on the battery - most likely.
Click to expand...

JohnDoe98 said:
If you actually have a battery drain problem, rest assured with the way you are using your laptop currently you will be below 80% in less than a year and the replacement will be free.
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Lets hope so.:)
 
Apparently fully discharging lithium based batteries can harm them.
Also there's no need to fully cycle them every time, as you would a NiCd battery.

The rule of thumb I use is:
- Plug in whenever
- Unplug whenever
:D

Don't give yourself extra work worrying about battery cycles and discharging. Just try not to stress the battery out by completely sucking all the life out of it. Ideally you want your battery to hover around 50% most of the time, but of course that never happens.

TL;DR: Don't worry about it, plug in when you can, don't fully discharge the battery, don't worry about it.
 
charlieegan3 said:
I have now had my new MBP for a week and the battery health last week was 97, now its 94 (8103mAh), and seems to keep going down!
Click to expand...
It is perfectly normal if your battery health (maximum capacity) is more or less than 100%, even when brand new, or if it fluctuates up or down over time. For further details, read the CHECKING STATUS AND HEALTH section of the following link.
charlieegan3 said:
Would calibrating the battery help?
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The built-in batteries in the newer Mac unibody notebooks come pre-calibrated and do not require regular calibration like the removable batteries.

Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug at any time, regardless of the charged percentage. Just make sure you don't run on AC power all the time, as your battery needs to be used regularly to stay healthy. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
 
markp99 said:
I am curious as well the issue with a ~full discharge.

I understand that battery memory is less/no longer a concern, but what "harm" does a full discharge pose to these batteries?
Click to expand...

It shouldn't harm anything, but you don't need to do it. Use the battery when you can't plug in (travelling, on the sofa, on the bed, car, whatever). Plug in when you are stationary (at a desk or table). That is what Apple expects you to be doing. If you are always stationary, be sure to discharge once a month.
 
Squashy said:
Apparently fully discharging lithium based batteries can harm them.
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By full discharge potentially harming the lithium battery they do mean a full discharge. If you still have 1-2%, that's not a full discharge and so far as I know there is no evidence that going that low is harmful. If you have some actual hard data to show us, please do.

Ideally you want your battery to hover around 50% most of the time, but of course that never happens.
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Why? Is this just your opinion, or do you have anything to show us?
 
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