Applecare and battery replacement?

[Jedi5]

So lately the battery on my MBP has started to lose charge faster and faster.
From what I've read and understand, it is a hit or miss if Applecare will replace your battery or if you just have to fork over for a new one.

I did the battery info in the Apple menu and got this:

Cycle count : 609
Condition : Poor

My MBP is about 1 yr and half old.
Is this normal for the batter to die so soon?
I just did normal use, nothing out of the ordinary.

This was my first laptop so I'm sure I wasn't charging the battery correctly either.

I'm guessing AC will not cover a new battery, huh?

Thoughts?

 

[Mal]

You must charge and discharge it quite often to get a cycle count of 609 within a year and a half. If your computing habits can adapt, it'd be better to charge it less often, the battery will last longer.

AppleCare will not replace the battery past 1 year, except in rare cases of dramatic failure. In addition, since you have more than 300 cycles, the battery is considered consumed (unless you have one of the MBP's where the battery isn't user-replaceable, one of the advancements with those was a 1000 cycle expectancy, so you may have better luck if so). I'd say you're most likely going to have to replace it yourself. Can't hurt to ask, of course.

If you take it to an Apple Store, they'll run a quick test to determine if the battery died normally or has failed in one of the known ways. If it doesn't say they should replace it according to that test, you'll probably just have to buy a new battery.

jW

 

[Detrius]

At a year and a half old, I expect your machine to be one of the unibody MBPs, so the battery should be rated at 1000 cycles.

As stated, batteries are considered to be consumables, so it would only be covered if it "failed" within a certain period of time or cycles. The only way to know if it will be covered is to check with Apple.

 

[Jedi5]

You must charge and discharge it quite often to get a cycle count of 609 within a year and a half. If your computing habits can adapt, it'd be better to charge it less often, the battery will last longer.

jW

Yeah, I think that's the problem I had, I don't know how or when to charge the battery.

If I use the MBP for 15-30 minutes, I would just plug it back up and recharge even though there was plenty of power left.

Is there a correct or suggested way of charging your battery?
I don't want to ruin my next battery due to not knowing how to charge correctly.

Thanks

 

[Mal]

In general, let it run down fairly low before recharging, or just use it on the power adaptor. If you fully charge it 2-4 times per week, you'll be looking at charge cycle counts of ~100-200 per year, which is pretty reasonable. It's a balance between not recharging it too often and not letting it go without being cycled for too long. Mine sits most of the week on the charger, but when I pull it off, I try to run it down to less than 20% before I recharge it.

My computer is almost two years old. I have 393 charge cycles on my battery, but it does say "Check battery" in System Profiler (that's the first time I've seen that, though I don't check often). It had said "Good" until just recently, apparently. I still get about 3-4 hours on a charge, for "regular" usage, i.e. not gaming or watching movies. I'll probably replace the battery in another year, if I don't find an excuse to replace the computer (I don't usually).

EDIT: Here's Apple's advice: Tips for maximizing your battery charge

jW

 

[GGJstudios]

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions: Apple Notebook Battery FAQ

 

[AFPoster]

I just went to the Apple store for this same issue. On a new MacBook Pro you should be getting around 350 - 400 cycle counts before you start to lose a full charge so if you have battery issues make sure you're under 350. If its older Mac's than it's 300 cycles.
For 1.5 years and over 600 cycles you definitely aren't allowing your battery to full charge and discharge so that it can remain that charge %. Regardless you're over 350 cycles and that is the time that it will continuously drop in holding a charge and Apple even tells you batteries should last 2 years 3 if lucky. I mean they'll last longer but not with the same full charge like it was when opened out of the box.