Battery life after 11 months

[jjk454ss]

My Macbook battery life seems to be much lower than when first purchased it. Below is the info from system profiler, does this look normal for almost 11 months old? When I first unplug the charger it says over 5 hours battery left, but I think I get between 2-3 hours. Mostly web surfing with wifi. Then after 10 minutes of just sitting it is at 93%, but still says over5 hours left. Also, after waking it after leaving it in sleep mode, it seems to be constantly telling me it is on reserve power and to plug it in, even though I don't really remember it being low when I left it last.

The lower battery life seems to have started after I installed a OCZ SSD. My last Macbook battery life improved after installing an Intel SSD.

Model Information:
Serial Number: 6N848099S13C
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: bq20z951
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 002a
Hardware Revision: 000a
Cell Revision: 0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 4030
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4030
Health Information:
Cycle count: 144
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12522

 

[jjk454ss]

After 30 minutes:

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: 6N848099S13C
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: bq20z951
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 002a
Hardware Revision: 000a
Cell Revision: 0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3528
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4039
Health Information:
Cycle count: 144
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -935
Voltage (mV): 12095

After 1 hour:

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: 6N848099S13C
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: bq20z951
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 002a
Hardware Revision: 000a
Cell Revision: 0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3042
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4039
Health Information:
Cycle count: 144
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -906
Voltage (mV): 11743

 

[testcard]

Have you tried calibrating your battery: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

Also consider coconutBattery for keeping an eye on battery performance.

 

[DarkHeraldMage]

I second the recommendation to use Coconut battery. I installed it the first time I booted up my Macbook Pro and monitored one a month or so from then on. Almost 2 years later and the battery was almost at 50% of the norm, but I wouldn't have had a measurable way of knowing that without tracking through coconut.

As a side note, my battery bulged and Apple gave me a brand new one courtesy of AppleCare, so now I'm back at 100%.

 

[testcard]

Here's a link to download coconutBattery: http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/index.html

Useful little app.

 

[jjk454ss]

Thanks for the info. I'll check out coconutbattery and calibrate the battery tonight.

 

[DarkHeraldMage]

Thanks for the info. I'll check out coconutbattery and calibrate the battery tonight.

Make sure you open the little foldout tray on coconut and save the readouts. And I recommend recording the first reading when the computer is fully charged. That'll help.

 

[jjk454ss]

Make sure you open the little foldout tray on coconut and save the readouts. And I recommend recording the first reading when the computer is fully charged. That'll help.

Sweet, thanks.

 

[forester54]

there is definitely something wrong because I have lost 103 mAh in 22 months. (started at 5020 mAh) Do you still have applecare? I would take it in and have them test it.

 

[jjk454ss]

there is definitely something wrong because I have lost 103 mAh in 22 months. (started at 5020 mAh) Do you still have applecare? I would take it in and have them test it.

I do still have Applecare, but how do they determine if it is a defect and will replace it?

 

[DarkHeraldMage]

I do still have Applecare, but how do they determine if it is a defect and will replace it?

It's really a toss-up as to whether or not they'll replace it, so all you can do is try. They may say that the decrease is within a tolerable range that they have predefined and tell you to make do or purchase another one. They may also say that it's way outside the reasonable limits for degradation over the period of time you've had it, and will replace it instantly. You can't really know unless you go in and let them have a look-see. What could it hurt? Might get a new battery out of it, but you definitely won't get a new battery if you don't let them look at it.

 

[jjk454ss]

Yeah, I'll be out near an Apple store on Sunday, maybe I'll set up an appt and see what they say. Thanks

 

[jjk454ss]

there is definitely something wrong because I have lost 103 mAh in 22 months. (started at 5020 mAh) Do you still have applecare? I would take it in and have them test it.

After calibrating it last night, my capacity shows even less:

Full charge capacity (mAh): 3978