2013 MBA Battery Issue

[mrplt]

Hi,

I've bought myself a new MBA 2013 just two weeks ago (I sold the old one to my friend, and bought a new one (didn't buy 2014 'cause 2013 was very cheap.) According to coconut battery, battery capacity was 7300mAh two weeks ago, but now it shows only 7180. Its battery capacity is supposed to be 7150mAh but if the capacity goes down 120mAh in two weeks it won't last long.

I'm charging it once a day, and unplugging it when the battery is full.
I did not calibrate it when I bought it, assuming it was already calibrated.

Is it a faulty battery or is it normal?

It goes 12 to 16 hours with a single charge, indeed it was when it's new.
It has only 11 load cycles.

 

[coldjeanzzz]

You're not supposed to unplug it when the battery is full. If you don't have any need to use it on battery power then don't, all you're doing is adding unnecessary cycles to it. It's not good to leave it plugged in all the time as well though. Check out the app FruitJuice, it gives you a pretty good idea of how often you should be on battery power in order to keep your battery going efficiently.

 

[mrplt]

Now **** just got serious it only has 14 loadcycles but the battery health is around 7000mAh. it was 6950 a minute ago and 7100 when I unplugged it from the charger. I did a calibration, it increased the mAh (according to coconutbattery) but it's still around 7000.

Am I doing something wrong? I do use it after unplugging, and plug again when the charge is around 15%.
What should I do to prevent the battery from dying?

 

[T5BRICK]

I'm charging it once a day, and unplugging it when the battery is full.

Stop doing this. You're simply adding extra cycles to the battery. Plug it in when you can and run it off the battery when you need to. Just make sure that you don't leave it plugged in constantly, the battery needs to be used to stay healthy.

I did not calibrate it when I bought it, assuming it was already calibrated.

The battery is calibrated. You really don't need to worry about it unless the battery drops below 80% within this first year.

 

[mrplt]

Stop doing this. You're simply adding extra cycles to the battery. Plug it in when you can and run it off the battery when you need to. Just make sure that you don't leave it plugged in constantly, the battery needs to be used to stay healthy.



The battery is calibrated. You really don't need to worry about it unless the battery drops below 80% within this first year.

Okay, I will do that. At first I'd thought plugging it out when it's charged would have been better for the battery.

I got it, won't worry about it till the battery drops below 80%

 

[Dweez]

I bought my 2013 MBA just about a year ago, I've attached my battery info.

33 cycles in a year. I intentionally cycle the battery approximately once per month.

 

[Altemose]

Okay, I will do that. At first I'd thought plugging it out when it's charged would have been better for the battery.

I got it, won't worry about it till the battery drops below 80%

My Mac started at 104% of its original capacity according to Battery Health, then went to 89% then to 84%. It then rose to 86% and stayed between that and 88% for the two years I have had it. I think it is just the process of breaking the batteries in.

 

[artfun]

Hi,

I've bought myself a new MBA 2013 just two weeks ago (I sold the old one to my friend, and bought a new one (didn't buy 2014 'cause 2013 was very cheap.) According to coconut battery, battery capacity was 7300mAh two weeks ago, but now it shows only 7180. Its battery capacity is supposed to be 7150mAh but if the capacity goes down 120mAh in two weeks it won't last long.

I'm charging it once a day, and unplugging it when the battery is full.
I did not calibrate it when I bought it, assuming it was already calibrated.

Is it a faulty battery or is it normal?

It goes 12 to 16 hours with a single charge, indeed it was when it's new.
It has only 11 load cycles.

I don't know much details, but friend of mine lost his battery on MBP because of faulty charger. You may want to try to replace the charger.

 

[mrplt]

So nowadays I use ıt only at home, so should it be constantly plugged-in? Or for example should I plug it in when I'm using it, and leave it unplugged at nights?

 

[HarryWarden]

So nowadays I use ıt only at home, so should it be constantly plugged-in? Or for example should I plug it in when I'm using it, and leave it unplugged at nights?

I always unplug it overnight because I turn mine off when I go to sleep. Otherwise, I leave my MBA on all day and just close the lid when not using it.

 

[GGJstudios]

I'm charging it once a day, and unplugging it when the battery is full.
I did not calibrate it when I bought it, assuming it was already calibrated.

As already stated, you don't need to unplug when fully charged, as it automatically stops charging when full and runs on AC power while plugged in.

The built-in batteries in the newer Mac unibody notebooks come pre-calibrated and do not require regular calibration like the removable batteries in older Apple notebooks.

Your battery is fine. 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. The gradual decline is not in a straight line downward, and it may decline more rapidly at some times and slower at others.

Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug any time you need to, regardless of the charged percentage, and you never need to completely drain your battery. Just make sure you don't run on AC power exclusively, as your battery needs to be used regularly to stay healthy.

​

The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

I always unplug it overnight because I turn mine off when I go to sleep. Otherwise, I leave my MBA on all day and just close the lid when not using it.

One thing to consider is that there are maintenance scripts that run on a daily, weekly and monthly schedule. If your Mac is in sleep mode at the scheduled time, the scripts will run the next time your Mac is awake. If your Mac is shut down at the scheduled time, the scripts won't run until the next scheduled time. If your Mac is always shut down at those times, the scripts will never run, unless you manually run them or change the default schedule. You can manually run the scripts using the Maintidgit widget.

 

[coldjeanzzz]

I always unplug it overnight because I turn mine off when I go to sleep. Otherwise, I leave my MBA on all day and just close the lid when not using it.

There is no reason to unplug it overnight even if it's off.

----------

I bought my 2013 MBA just about a year ago, I've attached my battery info.

33 cycles in a year. I intentionally cycle the battery approximately once per month.

What is your battery health percentage a right now?

 

[mrplt]

There is no reason to unplug it overnight even if it's off.

----------



What is your battery health percentage a right now?

7282/7150 = 101% accordıng to the screenshot he posted.

Now I started to use my computer like you said and the battery health percentage jumped from 97.7% to 99%, so definitely there wasn't a problem to worry about. Hope it will go up a little more.
I'll install the Maintidget widget, too to keep my battery maintained.

 

[coldjeanzzz]

7282/7150 = 101% accordıng to the screenshot he posted.

Now I started to use my computer like you said and the battery health percentage jumped from 97.7% to 99%, so definitely there wasn't a problem to worry about. Hope it will go up a little more.
I'll install the Maintidget widget, too to keep my battery maintained.

Strange for the health to be that high with only 33 cycles in a year. That is nothing and suggests the battery isn't being used enough.

 

[GGJstudios]

7282/7150 = 101% accordıng to the screenshot he posted.

Now I started to use my computer like you said and the battery health percentage jumped from 97.7% to 99%, so definitely there wasn't a problem to worry about. Hope it will go up a little more.
I'll install the Maintidget widget, too to keep my battery maintained.

The health will fluctuate up and down over time, with a general downward decline. The Maintidget isn't used to maintain a battery, and you don't need any app to do that. The Maintidget widget is used to manually run the scripts that OS X will automatically run if you leave you Mac on or in sleep mode.

 

[MrMacUser]

Now **** just got serious it only has 14 loadcycles but the battery health is around 7000mAh. it was 6950 a minute ago and 7100 when I unplugged it from the charger. I did a calibration, it increased the mAh (according to coconutbattery) but it's still around 7000.

Am I doing something wrong? I do use it after unplugging, and plug again when the charge is around 15%.
What should I do to prevent the battery from dying?

Seems a bit low for a new battery but still in the range of normal. 7000/7150 = 98%. I don't think Apple will replace that. FWIW I bought my 2014 MBA the first week it came out and have been tracking the battery health every couple weeks: 7285, 7369, 7318, 7305 over 17 cycles. I generally remove the charger once it's fully charged and don't let the battery drop below 20%.

 

[mrplt]

The health will fluctuate up and down over time, with a general downward decline. The Maintidget isn't used to maintain a battery, and you don't need any app to do that. The Maintidget widget is used to manually run the scripts that OS X will automatically run if you leave you Mac on or in sleep mode.

I know that it's not for maintaining a battery, but it lets me see the last maintenance dates of battery, and with that app I'm able to maintain battery if Mac is shut down at the maintenance time.

 

[GGJstudios]

I know that it's not for maintaining a battery, but it lets me see the last maintenance dates of battery, and with that app I'm able to maintain battery if Mac is shut down at the maintenance time.

It's not maintenance dates of battery. The maintenance scripts maintain OS X. They have nothing to do with hardware, batteries or battery life. That widget isn't necessary if once in a while you simply leave your MBA in sleep mode rather than shutting down, whether plugged in or not. Doing so won't hurt your battery life.

 

[mrplt]

I'm not doing any maintenance, I'm letting the computer do all the things.

Today when I opened Coconut Battery I was shocked (and very happy!)

The battery health finally went over 100%. I'm using the computer as you told me to.