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2007 Macbook Pro only getting an hour batery life. Options?

S

slobizman

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 16, 2008
111
9
My late 2007 Macbook Pro 15" has never had great battery life. Maybe around 2-3 hours at the start, then quickly down to about 90 minutes. Now I'm getting around an hour. And I do know the steps required to recycle the battery and it really does not do much for me.

I'm wondering what options are available to me. If I get a new battery from Apple, will it be just like this one was, or have they improved them? Are there any third-parties that sell replacement batteries that are better?
 
Try going to Apple>About this mac>more info>power

that should tell you how many charges and what the charge capacity is. The battery could be used up
 
qpid said:
Try going to Apple>About this mac>more info>power

that should tell you how many charges and what the charge capacity is. The battery could be used up
Click to expand...

How long should a Macbook Pro 15" battery, should I go buy one from Apple, last? And are there any other sources?
 
slobizman said:
How long should a Macbook Pro 15" battery, should I go buy one from Apple, last? And are there any other sources?
Click to expand...

It should give at least 300 cycles with no/minimal drop in uptime. If it is less than that, and you are getting only an hour's time, go to an Apple store. If you are under warranty, they will run a quick test and give you a replacement battery if required.
 
anirban said:
It should give at least 300 cycles with no/minimal drop in uptime. If it is less than that, and you are getting only an hour's time, go to an Apple store. If you are under warranty, they will run a quick test and give you a replacement battery if required.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, I asked that incorrectly. How many hours/minutes should a battery last before it runs out?
 
slobizman said:
I'm sorry, I asked that incorrectly. How many hours/minutes should a battery last before it runs out?
Click to expand...

It will definitely decrease with use (not too much though), but I would say nothing less than 2 1/2 hours initially.

How many cycles have you gone through?

Either you have a battery defect, or you are at the end of its' life cycle.
 
crackbookpro said:
It will definitely decrease with use (not too much though), but I would say nothing less than 2 1/2 hours initially.

How many cycles have you gone through?

Either you have a battery defect, or you are at the end of its' life cycle.
Click to expand...

I bet I have both, the defect and the end of life cycle.

I have owned it for one year, using it every day. I think I got 2.5 hours at first, but down to 1.5 within a few weeks. 1.5 hours was around the number for most of this year, but in the last month or so it's been more like an hour. And it acts funky, like sometimes when it's showing 7-8 minutes, will will suddenly shut off.

Is there a better place to buy a replacement battery than my Apple store? Or even another brand?

EDIT TO ADD: I just checked and I have put the battery through 455 cycles. Condition Fair.
 
How much of the time are you running on battery vs. plugged in during an average week?

I've had the same thing happen with my last 2 MBP's (original and early 2008), but I run on power almost 99% of the time and the "genius" told me that was the reason. However, they did give me a new battery each time (I do have AppleCare, I don't know if that was a factor or not)
 
I'm going to an Apple store tomorrow to try and get my battery switched out for the same reason (again). I had the original battery, which was replaced by the recall, then that battery was giving me ~50% health after ~150 cycles, and now this battery jumps between 40% health and 60% after 180 cycles. I'm only getting about 45 min of actual battery time at the moment. My AppleCare runs out in August though, so hopefully they'll give me a new one to last me a while longer.
 
I wasn't running plugged in until a couple months ago when I was forced to due to the poor battery life. Now it's plugged in a lot.

DrJason said:
How much of the time are you running on battery vs. plugged in during an average week?

I've had the same thing happen with my last 2 MBP's (original and early 2008), but I run on power almost 99% of the time and the "genius" told me that was the reason. However, they did give me a new battery each time (I do have AppleCare, I don't know if that was a factor or not)
Click to expand...
 
aleksandra. said:
Then it's just used up. Batteries usually have a shorter lifetime than laptops. Hopefully the new ones in current MBPs will really last 1000 cycles.
Click to expand...
Are the latest batteries for the mid-2008 Macbook Pro (square, removable battery) improved with new technology, or are they still made in the same way as the originals?
 
my guess is that it's consumed and you'll need to purchase a replacement. 455 cycles is a lot.

you can confirm with an apple store if you want.

there are no dramatic changes with batteries. maybe small changes with the internal chip for better reliability but nothing drastic.
 
cawesjmu said:
I'm going to an Apple store tomorrow to try and get my battery switched out for the same reason (again). I had the original battery, which was replaced by the recall, then that battery was giving me ~50% health after ~150 cycles, and now this battery jumps between 40% health and 60% after 180 cycles. I'm only getting about 45 min of actual battery time at the moment. My AppleCare runs out in August though, so hopefully they'll give me a new one to last me a while longer.
Click to expand...

I'd like to use my Applecare for this, but I have a feeling it won't help since I never went in earlier. Now that I have 455 cycles, they'll probably just say that I've used it up.
 
One thing no one has answered yet is, is there an alternate supplier of a better battery than Apple?
 
aiterum said:
I believe it has to be under 300 cycles for them to take it and replace it under warranty
Click to expand...

not just that, they use a specialized utility only available to repair centers/geniuses to determine if it's consumed or defective. the 300 is just a general guideline.
 
slobizman said:
My late 2007 Macbook Pro 15" has never had great battery life. Maybe around 2-3 hours at the start, then quickly down to about 90 minutes. Now I'm getting around an hour. And I do know the steps required to recycle the battery and it really does not do much for me.

I'm wondering what options are available to me. If I get a new battery from Apple, will it be just like this one was, or have they improved them? Are there any third-parties that sell replacement batteries that are better?
Click to expand...

Hmmm, have you considered getting a new MBP, maybe the new 15" or something? It'll have 7x more battery than your currrent one and much much more... Also, it'll save you from worrying about future battery life problems.
 
airplaneman said:
Hmmm, have you considered getting a new MBP, maybe the new 15" or something? It'll have 7x more battery than your currrent one and much much more... Also, it'll save you from worrying about future battery life problems.
Click to expand...

God, I wish. But I just spent $2,000 on this a year ago. Hard to through that out the window.

It probably wouldn't burn my lap either like this one does.
 
slobizman said:
One thing no one has answered yet is, is there an alternate supplier of a better battery than Apple?
Click to expand...

Try googling Macbook pro battery replacement. I saw a lot of links. The reputable places look to either be sold out, or selling them for about the same price as Apple (ifixit, macmall, ect.) There are other places selling them for 50-80 bucks, but I would be hesitant putting my CC number in their website. Amazon also has some, but again, for about the same price, or they are off-brand and the reviews are mixed. Good luck.
 
Sirolway said:
Have you run CoconutBattery on it? It will tell you what % of the battery's original capacity remains...
Click to expand...
Just downloaded and ran it.

3907 current
5600 original

So, what, the difference (1700) is what will never come back?
 
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