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2011 MBA Battery Capacity Down to 96% in 7 Days

D

dsc888

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 25, 2010
408
168
Boston, MA USA
Guys,

I picked up my 2011 13" MBA just last week and the batter capacity has decreased to 96% (6468mAh out of 6700mAh max) per Coconut Battery 2.7. It never got to 100% Battery Health and stayed at 99% for about 3 days then it started to drop. I've properly cycled it twice already by running it down to complete shut down and doing a full charge. My MBP is still at 99% health after 14 months of use.

I will say that I've used the different MagSafe chargers on it...the one for my MBP and MBA that came in the box. I don't know if it affects the battery. I imagine that Apple expects people to do this.

I don't want to exchange it and end up with a Toshiba SSD. Thanks for you feedback.
 
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coconutBattery.png


I did a few full charge and discharges and it went back up. But it will drop again at some point - nothing you can do. Just enjoy what you have. Any MBA you get will be the same.

And although it says my mac is 26 weeks old that is prob wrong... unless apple had the 1.8's sitting in a warehouse since Jan '11....?
 
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dsc888 said:
Guys,

I picked up my 2011 13" MBA just last week and the batter capacity has decreased to 96% (6468mAh out of 9700mAh max) per Coconut Battery 2.7. It never got to 100% Battery Health and stayed at 99% for about 3 days then it started to drop. I've properly cycled it twice already by running it down to complete shut down and doing a full charge. My MBP is still at 99% health after 14 months of use.

I will say that I've used the different MagSafe chargers on it...the one for my MBP and MBA that came in the box. I don't know if it affects the battery. I imagine that Apple expects people to do this.

I don't want to exchange it and end up with a Toshiba SSD. Thanks for you feedback.
Click to expand...

I have the same problem and I don't know what to do. Mine says fully charged at 98%. Please update here if you find something. My MBA is 13" 1.7/4/256GB model.
 
Unless your capacity drops significantly (I would say below 80%) and doesn't get better over time (a month or so), then your battery may be defective. I have 2010 MBA and my battery has been at 89% at its lowest but right now, it's at 95%. The value fluctuates, thus there is no need to worry about it unless it's really serious.

Raptura said:
The processor within the MBA's was only released in June.
Click to expand...

Release date != Manufacture date

Intel has been manufacturing the CPUs for roughly a year. Hence January doesn't actually sound too unbelievable.
 
jim468 said:
I have the same problem and I don't know what to do. Mine says fully charged at 98%. Please update here if you find something. My MBA is 13" 1.7/4/256GB model.
Click to expand...

Your battery is normal. The current capacity will fluctuate up and down a few percentage points. It isn't a one way street. I've had my MBA for about two weeks and mine has gone up to 101 (almost 102% darn it!), down to 98%, back up to 100%, and is currently at 99%.
 

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I've owned multiple Mac laptops and it's not unusual to have it plugged in and be sitting at 95-99 percent "fully" charged. Unplug it and let it drop into the 80s and then plug it back in and it will charge to 100.
 
I posted a similar thread a couple of weeks ago. I have the same computer and at that time my full charge capacity was 6151mAh (91%) after only 10 cycles. It's gone up and down a bit (by 3%), but currently is at 6263mAh (93%) after 15 cycles. I tried a few full discharges followed by charges, but it doesn't seem to really help much. I called Apple and they said as of now the battery is still "normal" on their "charts", but wouldn't tell me at what level it would no longer be considered normal. If they have "charts" then they obviously have cutoffs, but I guess they don't want them widely known. Just keep an eye on it and if things get worse then give Apple a call, but as of now your battery is still running better than mine. =S
 
You shouldn't use the mbp charger as the 13in charge is rated at 60w whereas the air charger is 45w.
 
You can use a 60w or 85w on the MacBook Air. It's not going to hurt it. I use an 85w exclusively because I just use my old MacBook Pro adapter to keep the MacBook Air adapter un-opened for resale.

It will only pull as much power as it needs. People need to stop spreading this misinformation.
 
And1ss said:
You shouldn't use the mbp charger as the 13in charge is rated at 60w whereas the air charger is 45w.
Click to expand...

Using a higher wattage power adapter is fine. Macbooks have a limiter in there to prevent over-charging. Imagine if this was true - you would have to buy a specific cinema display for different wattage ratings! lol
 
Hollandar said:
I posted a similar thread a couple of weeks ago. I have the same computer and at that time my full charge capacity was 6151mAh (91%) after only 10 cycles. It's gone up and down a bit (by 3%), but currently is at 6263mAh (93%) after 15 cycles. I tried a few full discharges followed by charges, but it doesn't seem to really help much. I called Apple and they said as of now the battery is still "normal" on their "charts", but wouldn't tell me at what level it would no longer be considered normal. If they have "charts" then they obviously have cutoffs, but I guess they don't want them widely known. Just keep an eye on it and if things get worse then give Apple a call, but as of now your battery is still running better than mine. =S
Click to expand...

91%-93% after 10 cycles? That would bother me. A couple more points and your going to be at 89%. These batteries are supposed to maintain a capacity of 80% up to 1000 cycles. So...they expect you to live with a battery capacity in the high 80's for most of the time you own your new laptop (providing you do hit the high 80's before being anywhere near 1000 cycles).
 
People, you need to get real. Battery capacity is going to fluctuate. There is nothing wrong.
 
Yes. Thanks for the correction. That's what I meant.

iphonsteve4ajob said:
The OP meant 6700, probably just hit the wrong key.
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----------

Thanks you! Yes. That does make sense. I have the ACD at home and it charges both my MBP and MBA just fine.

wiregen said:
Using a higher wattage power adapter is fine. Macbooks have a limiter in there to prevent over-charging. Imagine if this was true - you would have to buy a specific cinema display for different wattage ratings! lol
Click to expand...
 
Hellhammer said:
Intel has been manufacturing the CPUs for roughly a year. Hence January doesn't actually sound too unbelievable.
Click to expand...

The serial number calculation is actually off. Coconut Battery just needs to be updated with the new serial number info.

The link was posted in another thread, I can't find the link but basically it translated to early June for my 13" i7.
 
Guys,

Thanks for all the replies. Every post is helpful...even the ones that tell me I'm being a bit OCD:D! I got lucky with my MBP that is still at 99% after 175 cycles in over a year. So naturally I was shocked. I will keep an eye on the meter and bring it in if it drops a bit too fast.
 
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