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brand new MacBook - battery only at 99%!

S

stvfisher

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 16, 2008
59
0
So I got a MacBook on Tuesday and am already noticing something screwy with my battery. On Tuesday I replaced the RAM and HD before even plugging the MAcBook in. I then hooked up the AC adapter and reloaded Leopard. Once Leopard was loaded (hour or so later) I noticed my battery was just sitting at 99%. Finally about 30-45 minutes later it git 100%, so I was happy and brushed it off as an initial charge.

So last night when I plugged the MacBook in to use it I was back at 99%! I used the laptop for about 2 hours and never went back to 100% on the battery.

So what gives? Did I do something wrong with the initial use/charge? Should I try draining my battery and recharging it?
 
Mydel said:
No everything is all right. No need to worry
Click to expand...

So is this normal? I guess i'm confused, I would expect it to be att 100%


Also, what exactly classifies as a 'cycle'. I noticed I was on my 2nd cycle, yet I have yet to use the battery by itself (I've always been connected to the AC Adapter)
 
Yeah, I had the same prob. with my MB. But, honestly it is pretty much meaningless if the battery meter reads 99% instead of 100%.
 
OK, I admit to not following this:

"Be sure to fully charge your portable when you plug it in for the first time, and then run Software Update to ensure you have the latest software. Apple periodically releases updates that may improve battery performance."

I pulled down the updates prior to my battery ever reaching '100%'. Though I honestly doubt it matters....

So what exactly constitutes as a 'cycle' for the battery? I am concerned I'm at 2 cycles, yet I've never ran of strictly battery.
 
I'm pretty sure it won't hold the battery at 100% when plugged into AC to avoid risk of the battery leaking or catching fire. There was a lot of information that came out around the release of the MacBook about how the system purposely lets the battery drain a bit. I've seen mine go down to as low as 95%. Apple released an update back in the summer of '06 that reduced how much the battery drains, and I haven't seen mine go down below 99% since then.
 
stvfisher said:
OK, I admit to not following this:

"Be sure to fully charge your portable when you plug it in for the first time, and then run Software Update to ensure you have the latest software. Apple periodically releases updates that may improve battery performance."

I pulled down the updates prior to my battery ever reaching '100%'. Though I honestly doubt it matters....

So what exactly constitutes as a 'cycle' for the battery? I am concerned I'm at 2 cycles, yet I've never ran of strictly battery.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I think you're freaking out about nothing. Just use the computer and get on with life. My machine says I'm at 95% battery after 60-some charge cycles. Big deal, I still get about the same battery life as before. They wear down, that's their nature.

You're at 1% or less difference than what they battery thinks it can hold. I don't see any reason to be concerned (check apple's documentation if you don't agree). Unless you have a magical 20% swing or something, I'd find other things to worry about!

Just my two cents. I wasn't trying to be snarky, either. Just trying to help.
 
skyrider007 said:
YOu are such a perfectionist!
Click to expand...


You have no idea..... :D


I guess I won't worry about it. I'll switch the battery to show time remaining, not pecentage : )

I don't think anyone answered this .... what exactly is a charge cycle? I've heard that after 300 or so your battery tends to degrade, so I'd like to use as few 'charge cycles' as possible, but I'm not exactly sure what a charge cycle is!
 
I've seen my charge vary between 97 - 100% depending on the charge cycle. It's not a problem
 
If you take it off the AC power and run the battery down from 99% - 97% remaining - it will not charge itself back up to 100%. Remove the power and run it down for a while and then charge her back up - it will then charge itself back to a full 100%.
 
GodWhomIsMike said:
If you take it off the AC power and run the battery down from 99% - 97% remaining - it will not charge itself back up to 100%. Remove the power and run it down for a while and then charge her back up - it will then charge itself back to a full 100%.
Click to expand...

I will certainly try that tonight!
 
Only 99%? My current laptop holds a maxiumum of 53% and I think even that number seems inflated a bit. :p

I'm just messing with you, I feel your pain.
 
a charge cycle is running on batteries all the way down. to a dead 0% then charging back up thats one cycle.. and about the 300 cycles.... it they are lithium ions about 270 charges before they start to show signs of dgrading now if they are lithium polymer's about 700 charges before they start to degrade just my $0.02C
 
eyemac74119 said:
a charge cycle is running on batteries all the way down. to a dead 0% then charging back up thats one cycle.. and about the 300 cycles.... it they are lithium ions about 270 charges before they start to show signs of dgrading now if they are lithium polymer's about 700 charges before they start to degrade just my $0.02C
Click to expand...

Thanks for answering that!

These forums are always so helpful
 
I also noticed that some of my first charges were topping at 98 or 99%....I don't think this is anything to be worried about. Right now mine has been 100% for a few days....What matters is how much time you can get out of it not that percentage number when it's plugged in.
 
The health is calculated in some obscure way and fluctuates from day to day. Mine said 90% yesterday but says 92% today. Don't worry if it says 99. If it said 90% on day 1, then I would worry.
 
stvfisher said:
So is this normal? I guess i'm confused, I would expect it to be att 100%


Also, what exactly classifies as a 'cycle'. I noticed I was on my 2nd cycle, yet I have yet to use the battery by itself (I've always been connected to the AC Adapter)
Click to expand...

Seriously, stop paying close attention to those numbers, you'll drive yourself insane. There's nothing wrong.
 
stvfisher said:
So I got a MacBook on Tuesday and am already noticing something screwy with my battery. On Tuesday I replaced the RAM and HD before even plugging the MAcBook in. I then hooked up the AC adapter and reloaded Leopard. Once Leopard was loaded (hour or so later) I noticed my battery was just sitting at 99%. Finally about 30-45 minutes later it git 100%, so I was happy and brushed it off as an initial charge.

So last night when I plugged the MacBook in to use it I was back at 99%! I used the laptop for about 2 hours and never went back to 100% on the battery.

So what gives? Did I do something wrong with the initial use/charge? Should I try draining my battery and recharging it?
Click to expand...

My MBP is 4 weeks old and the battery hangs out at about 98% of charge.

This is normal.

Get Apple's Doc on calibrating the battery: it may or may not go back to 100% but this is common, normal and makes very little difference in actual use.

We have two other older MBP and they range from 94% to 97%.
 
99% is nothing to to worry about. Let's say you have 4 hours of battery life. Losing one percent of it is only going to set you back around 2.4 minutes. I don't know if I calculated any of that correctly though...
 
Macbook pro shows 99% ? solution is here

If it shows charged but still at 99% then here is what you do.

1. Shut down the Macbook pro
2. Switch off power.
3. Switch on power. The power indicator should glow orange now
4. Wait till it turns green to show that it is fully charged
5. switch on your macbook
6. Now it should be at 100%
 
vedavyasa said:
If it shows charged but still at 99% then here is what you do.

1. Shut down the Macbook pro
2. Switch off power.
3. Switch on power. The power indicator should glow orange now
4. Wait till it turns green to show that it is fully charged
5. switch on your macbook
6. Now it should be at 100%
Click to expand...

Don't bother with this.

That's a normal thing - remember, it's just an indicator, and is not perfectly accurate.
Keep using your computer normally, maybe unplug it once in a while for a few hours.
Other then that, don't worry and don't do any of that crazy nonsense that I quoted.
 
vedavyasa said:
If it shows charged but still at 99% then here is what you do.

1. Shut down the Macbook pro
2. Switch off power.
3. Switch on power. The power indicator should glow orange now
4. Wait till it turns green to show that it is fully charged
5. switch on your macbook
6. Now it should be at 100%
Click to expand...

That won't happen. If you restart it, it will still say 99%. This is perfectly normal, and it is because the battery doesn't charge any after it hits 100% until it hits about 95 or 96. So even if it is plugged in, it will naturally lose a small amount of charge, as all lithium batteries do when not in use.

So you have nothing to worry about. Even though you don't want to use a lot of charge cycles, don't leave it plugged in constantly, as this is actually worse for the battery. Use it on battery power to at least 50% every 2-3 days, and it will be fine. These batteries are designed to last 1000 cycles before really starting to go downhill, and with the large capacity, you will get plenty of use out of it.
 
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