4 Cycles on new MBP and down to 99%?

[doktordoris]

Hullo,

Iam a bit alarmed, my lovely new, old MBP that I have had for 11 days and has gone through a mere 4 battery cycles has only, according to coconut battery, 99% of it capacity left.

I do realise that in real terms that one percent is a piffling thing, but I must admit I find it a bit disheartening to have my beloved machine show signs of age so quickly.

Is this normal?
(I mean the battery condition, not my reaction to it. I imagine my reaction is normal for first time mac owners who want their 'baby' to be perfect!)

thanks for your time.

doris

 

[noobinator]

How do u check this? I'm new to macs.

 

[doktordoris]

download a program called coconutbattery

from here

http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/

doris

 

[Wehrwolf]

Hullo,

Iam a bit alarmed, my lovely new, old MBP that I have had for 11 days and has gone through a mere 4 battery cycles has only, according to coconut battery, 99% of it capacity left.

I do realise that in real terms that one percent is a piffling thing, but I must admit I find it a bit disheartening to have my beloved machine show signs of age so quickly.

Is this normal?
(I mean the battery condition, not my reaction to it. I imagine my reaction is normal for first time mac owners who want their 'baby' to be perfect!)

thanks for your time.

doris

Yes, it's normal, and your battery capacity will fluctuate on a regular basis, making any 1-5% changes you may see utterly meaningless. My 2009 13" has over 60 cycles on it and the capacity has ranged from 95%-100%.

If you're concerned there's a long term issue, then use CoconutBattery's saved data feature to capture the date and battery capacity over the course of several weeks or months. What you'll probably find is that the average capacity will stay the same.

Otherwise, follow Apple's guidelines on maintaining a healthy battery.

 

[Wehrwolf]

Here's a screen cap of my CoconutBattery data:

nvm...

 

[doktordoris]

Aha, thanks for your help.

But I drained it down to 90%, then recharged and now it is back up to 100%.

doris

 

[pricej636]

That number fluctuates all over the place. You have nothing to worry about.

 

[MWPULSE]

the support docs say that you should recalibrate the battery regularly.. wind the battery all the way down to zero, so it comes up with the warning battery message, then plug it in, leave it there until its done.. still use the laptop by all means, but leave it charging.. that will remind the battery computer how much juice it actually has

Hope this helps...

PTP

 

[doktordoris]

the support docs say that you should recalibrate the battery regularly.. wind the battery all the way down to zero, so it comes up with the warning battery message, then plug it in, leave it there until its done.. still use the laptop by all means, but leave it charging.. that will remind the battery computer how much juice it actually has

Hope this helps...

PTP

I should recalibrate after only owning it for 11 days and using 4 cycles?

I normally only use my MBP with mains power, apart from on mondays.
The only reason there are 4 cycles used is that when I first got it I played with it on battery power for a bit to test out the remarkable battery times.

doris

 

[Wehrwolf]

If you're going to be using it plugged in most of the time, then Apple's recommendation is that you calibrate the battery at least on a monthly basis.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

 

[vong]

going to use this thread, dont wanna create another one.

anyone have the link where it tells you what a 'cycle' is and all these battery terms

 

[baf30]

Mine fluctuates between 96 to 100.

 

[doktordoris]

going to use this thread, dont wanna create another one.

anyone have the link where it tells you what a 'cycle' is and all these battery terms

http://www.apple.com/batteries/

 

[GGJstudios]

the support docs say that you should recalibrate the battery regularly.. wind the battery all the way down to zero, so it comes up with the warning battery message, then plug it in, leave it there until its done.. still use the laptop by all means, but leave it charging.. that will remind the battery computer how much juice it actually has

No, that is NOT the procedure the support docs recommend. What you described is not calibrating.
Calibrating a portable computer battery

I should recalibrate after only owning it for 11 days and using 4 cycles?

You should calibrate it when you first get it. From then, every 30-60 days, depending on how you use it.

Calibrate your battery during the first week you own it, and then recalibrate it every two months. If you use your computer infrequently, it’s best to recalibrate it at least once a month.

anyone have the link where it tells you what a 'cycle' is and all these battery terms

A cycle is one full discharge/recharge or two 50% discharges/recharges or four 25% discharges/recharges, etc. Basically, it's whatever combination of discharges/recharges that add up to one full cycle.

Determining Battery Cycle Count

A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could use your notebook for an hour or more one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle.

How do u check this? I'm new to macs.

iStat Pro

 

[ttran88]

the number fluctuates all the time. One day I'll be at 97% and the next I'll be back at 100%. Don't worry about it.