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Surprised to read this as my local Apple store replaced the battery on my mid-2012 MBA a few weeks ago without any argument.


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http://s21.postimg.org/y5go7pshh/battery.png

I have a mba 13" mid 2012 @57%, 100 cycles, and service battery warning.

SMC reset once, and the health% fluctuates 30%-70%. Don't have applecare tho :(
 
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Any idea whether and when this would appear on the applecare websites in Europe? I have an MBP retina 13" which is under a year old. I would consider buying apple care, when this is also eligible in Europe when I deliver my MBP here when this happens.
 
80% at 1,000 cycles is "as designed". There will always be variations, so this may be "normal". But if you have AppleCare, Apple should now pay for a battery replacement. That is if your Mac is _almost_ 3 years old.
I didn't quite understand. Are you saying that the battery should still have 80% of life left even at 1000 cycles?
 
I didn't quite understand. Are you saying that the battery should still have 80% of life left even at 1000 cycles?
Yes, or at least in most cases based upon testing. Of course, not every cell or group of cells has the exact same quality. Therefore, it's possible that some could drop below 80% capacity in less than 1,000 cycles and some may be capable of greater than 80% after 1,000 cycles.
 
I thought this was always covered... I had my battery replaced in February because it lost only 10% of it's capacity, and said "Service Battery." Maybe that fell under "defective battery," rather than "lost capacity?"
I had the same understanding. I've gotten Apple to replace low capacity batteries at no cost as long as I was within the warranty period, including during the AppleCare extended period. Perhaps it just wasn't blatantly stated previously.
 
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I believe this is a just a change within the verbage of AppleCare. It use to mention 1000 charge cycles but nothing about the 80%. As long as the MRI results while doing testing at the Genius Bar is above 80%, it will not fail the test. I've seen batteries in MRI that has 1200+ charge cycles that are still at 85-90% of original capacity.

apple.com/batteries is a good place to start as to how best to charge and discharge your battery.
 
Keep in mind that age is also a factor. For example, I used my 2009 mbp on my desktop connected to a power source and monitor since I bought it. It currently has just 100 cycles (with once a month or so drain and fill to keep the battery efficient), but my battery life is toast now (57% of the original capacity…3744mAh out of original 6500 mAh). Even with just 100 cycles, the battery still essentially died quickly in 2013 when it was only 4 years old..dropped to 75% capacity. So power cycles and age both matter for how long your battery lasts.
 
my 2015 rMB is already down to 91% after 50 cycles. good to know
In mine the health was fine but the diagnostics was failing on the battery. Took it in, they ran their tests, which failed, yet they sent me home, telling me to reinstall the OS. I did this and the tests passed for a month. Took it back in December and they replaced the battery.
I've found if I cool it while it's charging, by placing it on a stand with the builtin fan running, it maintains a better charge. After 122 cycles it's at 99%.
 
I'm wondering how Apple measures the percentage of the battery (like Battery Health program in MAC?). An Apple Care of my Macbook Air 2013 is going to expire mid July this year. The percentage is exactly 80%.
 
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I'm wondering how Apple measures the percentage of the battery (like Battery Health program in MAC?). An Apple Care of my Macbook Air 2013 is going to expire mid July this year. The percentage is exactly 80%.
I was in a similar position to you this time last year.

With mine they plugged it in to their network and run a set of special diagnostics. There were all sorts of results, presumably related to other potential problems, but the cycle count and "health" (current capacity vs. original max) were basically the same as I was seeing via third party battery monitors. That was enough to get replacement approved.

Incidentally, the replacement battery is not doing well. It is less than one year' old and 114 cycles but health is only 83%. I shall have to talk to them.
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I was in a similar position to you this time last year.

With mine they plugged it in to their network and run a set of special diagnostics. There were all sorts of results, presumably related to other potential problems, but the cycle count and "health" (current capacity vs. original max) were basically the same as I was seeing via third party battery monitors. That was enough to get replacement approved.

Incidentally, the replacement battery is not doing well. It is less than one year' old and 114 cycles but health is only 83%. I shall have to talk to them.
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Thanks. I went to an Apple store to get my Macbook Air checked. They ran special software like what they did to yours to check the percentage of the battery. Luckily the percentage was 79% so I got it replaced. I told a staff that my AppleCare is going to expired soon so I want to change the battery. He said it's ok if the battery is not below 80%. As they have a record of my laptop, I can change the battery later even if the AppleCare is expired.
 
I was in a similar position to you this time last year.

With mine they plugged it in to their network and run a set of special diagnostics. There were all sorts of results, presumably related to other potential problems, but the cycle count and "health" (current capacity vs. original max) were basically the same as I was seeing via third party battery monitors. That was enough to get replacement approved.

Incidentally, the replacement battery is not doing well. It is less than one year' old and 114 cycles but health is only 83%. I shall have to talk to them.
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The best I think would be just to keep your Macbook Pro charged as and when it is possible to not wear down the battery in the first place. It is a myth that plugging in the charger all the time will diminish your Mac's battery life. When the power is full, the Mac draws power from the Magsafe charger. In any case, you can always go for battery replacements at independent Mac repair centres which are a lot cheaper than Apple stores.

I don't bother with Apple Service Centres that much as in Singapore, they take 5 days for a battery change.

In any case if anyone of you is in Singapore, Mac Plus supplies reliable Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, and Macbook Retina batteries. Their Macbook battery replacements are done on the spot and comes with 6 months warranty. I have checked them out at http://www.macplus.sg and http://www.macplus.sg/macbook-batteries and found them to be good.
 
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