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Battery capacity

Q

questionmacapp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 3, 2010
6
0
Hello everyone,

So I bought a macbook pro 13" about a month ago. I've been running coconut battery tests on it and the battery health is only at 89%. This is super upsetting to me.
I went to the apple store and they ran their diagnostic test only to tell me that my battery is within specification, so they wouldn't replace it. The health they calculated was 91%.

What should I do??? This seems unfair to me.

Coconut battery stats:
Battery capacity: 5141 mAh
Original battery capacity: 5770 mAh
Battery load cycles: 27
Age of your mac: 4 months

Thanks for advice. xx
 
I mean I paid a lot of money for a good computer whose battery capacity wouldn't keep lowering mysteriously within the first month of buying it. I'm convinced it's a dud and that I'll have to return to the apple store in a few weeks.
I mean, if it's already lost ~10% of its overall functioning in the first month, this battery definitely won't last past a year and a half at this rate, nor 1000 cycles.
I also don't want to have to buy apple care just in case it fails their tests over a year from now, haha.
That's why I came on here to ask y'all. :p I don't know much about this stuff, but this battery is making me suspicious.
 
I calibrated last night, actually. It hopped down to 87%, I killed the battery and it's back to 89%.

I just don't think that this is gonna be true for this battery, unfortunately:

"The built-in battery in the new 13-, 15-, and 17-inch MacBook Pro is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles."

I'm halfway there at 27 cycles! eep.
 
questionmacapp said:
I calibrated last night, actually. It hopped down to 87%, I killed the battery and it's back to 89%.

I just don't think that this is gonna be true for this battery, unfortunately:

"The built-in battery in the new 13-, 15-, and 17-inch MacBook Pro is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles."

I'm halfway there at 27 cycles! eep.
Click to expand...

If the downward spiral continues and you get well below 80% health, you can always contact Apple.
 
True story.

Am I entitled to a new battery if it drops below 80%? The guy at the apple store was saying something like that the stuff I quoted up there ^^ is more of a guideline for batteries, not a guarantee.

Thanks for your help :)
 
questionmacapp said:
True story.

Am I entitled to a new battery if it drops below 80%? The guy at the apple store was saying something like that the stuff I quoted up there ^^ is more of a guideline for batteries, not a guarantee.

Thanks for your help :)
Click to expand...

I don't know the exact guidelines, but if your battery falls under 80% with less than 1000 cycles in under a year, Apple might replace it. But as I never had such a battery, except my iBook's battery, which now has 20000mAh as capacity and a health of 20%, was already four or five years old, when it showed such weird behaviour.
 
There is no such thing as calibrating a battery... you are merely calibrating your software to give you a better estimate of the battery capacity. The more you use it... the more you kill it. Like miles on the odometer....
 
They Replaced Mine.. Faulty after 2 1/2 years..

questionmacapp said:
True story.

Am I entitled to a new battery if it drops below 80%? The guy at the apple store was saying something like that the stuff I quoted up there ^^ is more of a guideline for batteries, not a guarantee.

Thanks for your help :)
Click to expand...

Well, I CAN guarantee you that earlier this year when I took in my 2007 2.4GHz MBP (for which I had Two Batteries) for a screen repair, I asked the Tech about my Battery.. They said I would need to Contact Apple directly, but that they "are expected to perform within Spec for 300 Cycles" at least.. Mine seemingly had "unusually" Low Battery Levels for the usage, so I did ask and APPLE Replaced BOTH at No Charge!! **One had 130+ cycles and ONE had 150+ cycles; oddly the more used one would last Twice as long, which was under an hour!!

Possibly the Best Part was that I had the Replacements in my hand in about 25 Hrs after I got of the phone, and they were sent from Las Vegas, NV and I am in SK, Canada.. 1500 miles away, and NOT exactly a major center!! It took me about 45-50 minutes of my time and some truthful answers.. I am a VERY HAPPY CAMPER with Apple!! :apple:

I say USE it and if it Fails they will almost certainly TRY to Keep You Happy.. ** FYI: My batteries were OEM made by SONY, and I am sure APPLE uses many different Manufacturers, and some will have Bad Products as was the case with mine.. but the end result is I LIKE Apple more than ever, and so do any friends that I tell/show this to, Very Hard to Argue with that kind of Service!!

:D
 
Mines 400 cycles 93% :cool:

If it continues going downward that fast two just take it back in a month or two. They will replace it then.
 
Inside_line said:
There is no such thing as calibrating a battery... you are merely calibrating your software to give you a better estimate of the battery capacity. The more you use it... the more you kill it. Like miles on the odometer....
Click to expand...

Wow! That's a very important information to know, thanks!

I got my MBP 13" in December last year, and with 271 cycles, Coconut shows battery health oscillating between 87% to as low as 80%. Considering that those batteries are designed to keep 80% for c.1000 cycles, should I worry?

Also, what is the cost for a battery replacement, generally?
 
I just downloaded the "Coconut battery" app, and it says I have 99% battery capacity. I'm surprised since I've had this comp for 10 months now and 88 load cycles.
 
I've just recalibrated my mbp for the first time. My health was sitting at 75% with 504 cycles but now it miraculously jumped up to 100% health and 505 cycles! That can't be right, right? The "replace soon" warning also disappeared from the battery icon.
 

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I've never had a mac, but I often pick out my battery with my current laptop in order to don't take up the battery's life span, and I'm wondering if it is possible to do something like this with a Mac? Since I'm aware you cannot take out the battery to avoid shorten its life span. Is there some option to only give power for the laptop to work without "using" the battery.

As this would be very nice :p I wouldn't use up my battery by having it to charge 24/7 :)

Hope this made any sense :<
 
Chillaz said:
I've never had a mac, but I often pick out my battery with my current laptop in order to don't take up the battery's life span, and I'm wondering if it is possible to do something like this with a Mac? Since I'm aware you cannot take out the battery to avoid shorten its life span. Is there some option to only give power for the laptop to work without "using" the battery.

As this would be very nice :p I wouldn't use up my battery by having it to charge 24/7 :)

Hope this made any sense :<
Click to expand...

It is not recommended to run your Mac on the A/C adaptor with the battery out (Of course, this only applies to removable batteries). Read the FAQ link posted in post #4 of this thread.
 
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