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Advice sought - long term storage of MBP

M

matram

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 18, 2011
781
416
Sweden
Hi Guys,

With my new MBP 15" 2016 it is time to put my old 2014 aside.

I tend to save my old machines as backup. However last time I did this, when moving from 2011 to 2014 MBP the battery died after a year.

Just a couple of deep discharge - charge cycles was enough to kill the battery. Even if I shut the machine off there still seems to be some current drawn that will deplete the battery.

So what is you advice, put the old machine aside with power connected? Any way to shut the machine off in a way that it will draw zero current?

/M
 
Use it from time to time, lend it to others, the batteries die without use it's that simple I'm afraid.
 
maflynn said:
I would use it monthly, not every few months - just to be safe.
Click to expand...


I do not even use my primary laptop each month. I put it away with 100% because I use it plugged in. In two months the battery is down at 70-80%.

If a more worn battery, once a month would be wise for sure. This is a one year old hardly used MacBook Pro NON-retina with all the nice ports and DVD drive built in! Imagine that!;)

Most important thing it to keep those electrons moving no matter what. Use it or lose it.:)
 
Charge to 50-60% once per year to address self-discharge. No need to run the computer otherwise.

Store in a cool location.
 
I have a 2010 MBPro 13" that I just retired (after buying a new 2015 MBPro).

I start it up once a week to check the battery.

I noticed that after a week in storage, the battery was down to 96%, but that plugging it into the charger wouldn't "activate" the charging process.

But after a second week, the battery had dropped a little more, the charger activated, and it re-charged back up towards 100%.

So, that will be my routine -- check once a week, when the battery falls to +/-88% or so, recharge it back up and put it away.
 
Thanks every one for your feedback and a special thanks to danniexi for the link to Apples guideline.

In summary it seems.
  • Keep the charge between 20 - 50%
  • Regularly charge the MBP, Apple: every 6 months
  • Store cool
I am not fully convinced the MPB will last 6 months on a charge even OFF so I will probably check a bit more frequently the first months to get a feel for the discharge rate.
 
I don't think this is recommended, but I've left my old MBPs and an iBook plugged in and sleeping since I stopped using them. Still work.
 
I used to do that, but lately I have just gotten rid of the system. The hassle of reverting back to a system that has not had any of its software updated in a year or so outweighs the time to get something fixed. So I fix the current system versus using the backup machine. Not criticizing keeping an old system, just relaying my experience.
 
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