Battery/Charge question

[LeahM]

Is it ok to leave the laptop plugged in all the time in my 17" MBP, or is it damaging to the battery?

Whats the best way to get the longest life out of my battery?

 

[Joko]

Well my machine is 5 years old and has been plugged in all the time basically.
I'd say constantly recharging would be more work for the battery therefor shorter life span so i say keep it plugged in.

 

[LeahM]

Thank you for the answer.
Also, how do you find out how many Cycles you have?

 

[ChrisN]

download istat pro

ChrisN

 

[forafireescape]

Or you can download the Coconut Battery app.

I've heard it's better to let your charge go down all the way to zero at least once a month. There are a bunch of other threads on this, so you could search and find some.

 

[espressoroast]

Both istatpro and coconut battery are great for health monitoring but I prefer istat to be able to see all sorts of things. Turning off its Wifi-component is probably a good idea in Leopard by the way, as far as I know.

Anyway, here's what Apple has to say about how to maintain your batery;
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

 

[LeahM]

There are a bunch of other threads on this, so you could search and find some.

I tried to look for other threads but I might have not worded it properly

 

[skorpien]

I tried to look for other threads but I might have not worded it properly

You don't have to worry about keeping your MBP plugged in. It's mostly the discharge/recharge cycle that wears the battery down. I may be wrong, but if the MBP is plugged in, it will run off of AC power rather than running off of battery and continually recharging it (if that's what your concern is). However, Apple recommends calibrating it every month or so to keep it performing optimally.

 

[Joko]

Thank you for the answer.
Also, how do you find out how many Cycles you have?

Sorry i meant 5 MONTHS old. iStat pro from www.islayer.com