Battery Calibration

[MarkW19]

I calibrated my battery the other day (charged it up, left it fully charged and plugged in for 4 hours, unplugged and drained it, then left it sleeping for 7 hours, charged back up again), but ever since it's been showing full battery as 97%. Before I calibrated, it was 99% or 100% for "fully charged".

Can anyone help?

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Hmm... that's odd. Perhaps it's the way you calibrated? I always calibrate by charging the battery until full, running it down until it automatically goes to sleep, then plugging it in and charging it until full again - that's what I remember the instructions that came with my computer said to do to calibrate the battery.

 

[MarkW19]

Hmm... that's odd. Perhaps it's the way you calibrated? I always calibrate by charging the battery until full, running it down until it automatically goes to sleep, then plugging it in and charging it until full again - that's what I remember the instructions that came with my computer said to do to calibrate the battery.

I followed the instructions on the Apple site, which are the steps above. I'll try doing it again.

 

[sjb]

Hmm... that's odd. Perhaps it's the way you calibrated? I always calibrate by charging the battery until full, running it down until it automatically goes to sleep, then plugging it in and charging it until full again - that's what I remember the instructions that came with my computer said to do to calibrate the battery.

Once the laptop goes to sleep, you're supposed to let it sleep for at least 5 hours. Here are the instructions:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284

 

[gloves]

A silly question I have regarding the calibration process for the Macbook Pro: After letting the laptop sleep for 5 hours, when you plug the charger back into the laptop, are you supposed to continue letting the laptop sleep until it is fully charged?

Or can you actually get the same effect while charging the laptop and using it at the same time?

 

[alphaod]

The calibration is just charge full, discharge fully and recharge fully. Nothing special. Sometimes that health meter is wacky as well so don't always depend on it.

 

[gloves]

Thanks alphaod. So it doesn't matter whether the laptop's being used while charging or not. That's great news - makes it easier to do the calibration on a regular basis rather than having to plan to do without the MBP.

 

[MediaRyan]

I had no idea this existed.

Is this something you do after a few months of use to be sure the indicator is accurate?

 

[e12a]

The calibration is just charge full, discharge fully and recharge fully. Nothing special. Sometimes that health meter is wacky as well so don't always depend on it.

there is a difference however. While powerbooks dont require a 5 hour wait, some model Powerbooks, Macbooks and Macbook Pros require a 5 hour "dead" time before recharging. After waiting at least 5 hours, you can begin recharging your mbp/mb, and during this time you may use the computer. So its best to drain the battery at night before you go to bed.