battery issues... apple wont replace though

Buy a new battery.

 

That is more than a charge a day. Why are you surprised battery life is now sapped? Your battery isn't defective (what AppleCare covered) it's used up.

 

Have you tried calibrating the battery? After a certain number of cycles your battery will wear out - I've been quite lucky and managed to get 700 cycles out of my Air's battery and its still just under 90% of original capacity. While I would have thought you would have been able to get over 570 cycles without a significant drop off in battery life, I think its at that point at which it is hard to argue you had a defective battery, rather it has just worn out slightly faster than expected (kind of like with a car, your brake pads may wear out faster than expected, or the filter in your air conditioning etc).

 

570!

Wow, my Powerbook of 8 years only has a 160 cycle.

I guess that's why I still get almost 3 hours of battery life. Nobody believes me when I say that my 8 year old battery still gets almost 3 hours.

 

Are you serious?

batteries don't last forever and you have used your battery enough that you have shortened its life, despite the fact that you have only had it for 1.5 years.

 

I believe applecare will warranty a battery if it displays characteristics of being defective, i.e., showing decreased capacity while having less than 300 charges. Your battery has more than 300 charges and is therefore no longer their responsibility. Had you taken it to apple while it still had less than 300 charge cycles and shown them that it was defective... then you would have had a point. Otherwise you can't just assume that you are entitled to a new battery because you bought applecare.

 

I know you must be somewhat frustrated lbjandai, but the fact is that batteries wear out. If it had been a part that shouldn't have worn out (eg. the screen, motherboard, fans, iSight, keyboard) then I would say they probably would have replaced it.

However, like every device with a battery (including cellphones, digital cameras), one must always consider that they may need to replace the battery if their usage is going to exceed the lifespan of the battery. I thought I would have had to have replaced my battery by now and have been pleasantly surprised that I haven't had to, but in the back of my mind when I bought it I always knew that at some point that battery probably will need to be replaced (and it probably still will at some point).

I think its fair to say that your usage is exceptionally low.

 

Batteries get worn out, and the previous technology would give you roughly 300 charges before battery was wearing out. Thats the reason they cover 300 charges on the warranty. The new machines do have 1000 charges, due to design changes.

Same with a car, if you drive a lot, your tires will wear out faster.

You can disagree, but the same goes for every manufacturer that uses batteries, they have a given max number of charges before they count a battery as worn out.

 

Applecare is to cover defective hardware. Nothing you have described would constitute being defective. A battery will hold less charge over time and can only hold a certain number of charges before it completely dies. Nothing is wrong with your battery, you have just used it excessively and thus shortened its life at a faster rate. Your only option will be to buy a new battery if you want to get maximum battery life again. Sorry to tell you this but I totally agree with Apple in this case. If Applecare replaced every overused battery it would end up costing all of us more for Applecare to begin with.

 

Too bad AppleCare doesn't replace batteries that show normal behavior after prolonged use.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/replacements.html

Looks like next time you should read the terms of the warranty.

 

Battery is like tyres on your car. They wear out. Wear and tear is not covered by warranty.

Did you know that you can use a MacBook connected to the charger, and when you do that it doesn't put any wear on the battery at all?

 

Without committing some sort of small fraud? No.

Your thinking on the subject would only be relevant if you were within your 300 cycles, end of story. It sucks yea, but batteries are "consumables" and you have certainly consumed. Good for you for using it so much though, I know people that are scared to unplug!

 

Applecare only replace a battery if it's under 300 cycles and under 80% health. After that the battery is considered spent, period.

Just buy a new one.

 

A fairly recent phenomenoa is a recognition that a small minority of customers can cause the majority of issues and costs to a business. Basically, the adage that "the customer is always right" has limitations and exceptions. The trick is finding those customers that are likely to be more trouble than they're worth.

The only "issue" with your battery is that you've used it up. It's an expendable, wear item and you've gotten a useful service life out of it. Period. To expect someone else to provide you a replacement for "free" is unreasonable.

Are you the kind of customer that's more trouble than your business is worth? For a small fraction of the constant complainers on this board, I'd like to say, this isn't the brand of computer for you, so sorry it hasn't worked out. Probably better for all involved to move along and find a different laptop/desktop. Not saying this is you, but I'm sure we've all identified the few that fit this description...

 

Isn't one of Apple's bullet points 7 hour battery and such and such retainment after 1000 charges or w/e. My new i7 Macbook is reading less than two hours with 45% charge in OSX. No video running, brightness at 40%. Should I have it checked out? That is a far cry from the 8-9 hour promise.

 

From Apple - Batteries - Notebooks:

You can confirm your stats by using coconutBattery. If your load cycles are < 1000 and your capacity is < 80% then you can probably get a replacement.

 

Just read a thread on programs that activate your 330m. I had skype running. Feel silly for worrying now. Wish there was graphics switching in windows though. I have to use windows quite often and the cut in battery life really hurts.