Battery life mid 2012 MacBook Pro

[mikaju]

there is actually an argument here. If we are asking what is really good for the battery, it really depends. leaving it connected to the adapter all the time will not eat up your charge cycle, so the battery will not deplete. but it will cause the full charge capacity (FCC) to decrease. If u charge it and discharge it all the time, your FCC might not be affected, but if you have ACPP and wants to claim warranty, if your cycle count exceeded the allocated amount, there goes your warranty for the battery.

apple says the following though:

"Basically, a good rule to thumb is to run on AC power much of the time, but run on battery power for a while a few times per week. Using the battery for 2 full charge cycles per week equates to 300 cycles in 3 years, which is the optimal use."

so if the person uses MBP around 6-8 hours a day should keep the adapter plugged and only unplug for a few hours to run it on battery, doing it on a regular basis with "accuracy" so that one can match the ratio of cycle count per week
isn`t it a painstaking process? like being constantly on the lookout to check the impending "shrink" of the battery`s lifespan, that seems kinda redundant to me.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

The sane advice would be to just use it, the more brutal one would be to just use it, and on occasion, when you think off it, use it on battery, not every day, but maybe once or twice a week.


See below for a more detailed and terrifying approach.

 

[GGJstudios]

Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug any time you need to, regardless of the charged percentage, and you never need to completely drain your battery. Just make sure you don't run on AC power exclusively, as your battery needs to be used regularly to stay healthy. The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[mikaju]

i am just curious how people use it
i am a relatively new user of macbook (well sort of, it has been only 14 weeks as indicated in the pic) http://i.imgur.com/6LH5mn4.png
14 weeks
52 cycles

basically I use my mac like 5, 6 or even 8 hours a day
some sites say that I shouldn`t keep it plugged and let it use on the battery, others say frequent use on battery can shorten its battery`s life
like really I don`t know what the best best thing to do(((

 

[T5BRICK]

i am just curious how people use it
i am a relatively new user of macbook (well sort of, it has been only 14 weeks as indicated in the pic) http://i.imgur.com/6LH5mn4.png
14 weeks
52 cycles

basically I use my mac like 5, 6 or even 8 hours a day
some sites say that I shouldn`t keep it plugged and let it use on the battery, others say frequent use on battery can shorten its battery`s life
like really I don`t know what the best best thing to do(((

Just use your laptop. Don't worry about the battery. I had mine for almost 4 years and racked up about 500 cycles. The battery was at about 87% when I gave it to my family. Apple does suggest running the battery all the way down at least once per month, so make sure you do that. Otherwise, leaving it plugged in all the time is just fine.

 

[mikaju]

Just use your laptop. Don't worry about the battery. I had mine for almost 4 years and racked up about 500 cycles. The battery was at about 87% when I gave it to my family. Apple does suggest running the battery all the way down at least once per month, so make sure you do that. Otherwise, leaving it plugged in all the time is just fine.

ok cheers mate
i ll just use it as you suggested and take it easy
but i am curious how you used it, for example if you had to work 6 hours a day like in my instance

thanks

 

[mrsir2009]

ok cheers mate
i ll just use it as you suggested and take it easy
but i am curious how you used it, for example if you had to work 6 hours a day like in my instance

thanks

Depends... Are you going to be using it at a desk for the full 6 hrs?

 

[GGJstudios]

some sites say that I shouldn`t keep it plugged and let it use on the battery, others say frequent use on battery can shorten its battery`s life
like really I don`t know what the best best thing to do(((

Read the post and the link just before yours.

 

[MattyDlotus]

I always run mine off AC power until the reserve warning comes on then charge fully. So far in 5 months I've had 153 cycles and the battery is still at 100% health.

 

[GGJstudios]

I always run mine off AC power until the reserve warning comes on then charge fully. So far in 5 months I've had 153 cycles and the battery is still at 100% health.

There is no need to drain your battery until the warning, unless AC power isn't available. You're putting needless cycles on your battery.

 

[yusukeaoki]

I always run mine off AC power until the reserve warning comes on then charge fully. So far in 5 months I've had 153 cycles and the battery is still at 100% health.

Just run on battery a bit once in a while.
You dont need to run it until warning comes out.

 

[mikaju]

Depends... Are you going to be using it at a desk for the full 6 hrs?

yeah, pretty much at desk but I feel like i wanna shift positions sometimes
and move on to the couch and place it on my lap (without AC)
so all i do now is firing up macbook, then when it dwindles on 80% i plug the AC, charge it to 100% and on and on

sorry if i sound too noob it has been a a while since i deviated from Windows and switched to Mac

 

[T5BRICK]

yeah, pretty much at desk but I feel like i wanna shift positions sometimes
and move on to the couch and place it on my lap (without AC)
so all i do now is firing up macbook, then when it dwindles on 80% i plug the AC, charge it to 100% and on and on

sorry if i sound too noob it has been a a while since i deviated from Windows and switched to Mac

If you can run it on AC, do it. If you can't, don't. There is no need to run the battery down when you have AC available, you're just putting extra cycles on the battery.

In the end, the battery is a consumable part. It will stop working eventually no matter what. Putting a lot of cycles on it can make it happen faster, but just leaving it plugged into AC all the time can cause issues too. Just use your laptop however you want and make sure you run the battery down at least once a month.

 

[Brian Y]

The battery is a consumable part - like your car tyres and brakes.

If you leave your car parked up all the time, and never drive it, you won't wear the tyres down, but they may start to split/crack, and whilst your brakes may not wear down, they will start to rust/cease up.

If you drive at 150mph everywhere, and use heavy braking, both will wear down much quicker.

There's a happy medium - drive regularly at a reasonable speed, and use the brakes softly, and it will last longer.

If you want to get the most out of your battery, you need to be careful with it. If you don't want to do that, use it however, and just replace it whenever it gets to an unusable state.

 

[snaky69]

yeah, pretty much at desk but I feel like i wanna shift positions sometimes
and move on to the couch and place it on my lap (without AC)
so all i do now is firing up macbook, then when it dwindles on 80% i plug the AC, charge it to 100% and on and on

sorry if i sound too noob it has been a a while since i deviated from Windows and switched to Mac

You're overthinking this. Truly overthinking it. These battery posts drive me up the wall sometimes.

This isn't rocket science. Let's keep this short and sweet:

Constantly draining then charging from 100% to 0% back up to 100% as some people like to do on here is bad for the battery, you're putting needless cycles on your battery while thinking you're keeping it healthy.

Having the computer plugged in 100% of the time is bad for the battery, as they need a bit of exercise to keep healthy, just like you do.

(You could probably do a human analogy: Running around like crazy 24/7 will kill you with a heart attack due to stress, going 100% couch potato will kill you from obesity, or will end up you on a program on TLC.)

Anything in between is fair game. Plain and simple. GGStudios' guide is an excellent read, if you want to delve deeper into the technical aspect of things. If you don't just follow the above two paragraphs.

 

[mikaju]

snaky69
Brian Y
T5BRICK

thank you guys for your input
loved your metaphorical examples
all is crystal clear now

cheers

 

[MattyDlotus]

Just run on battery a bit once in a while.
You dont need to run it until warning comes out.

I do it this way as it suits me better, being mobile with the laptop. And IMO this is the best way for battery health aswell.

 

[GGJstudios]

I do it this way as it suits me better, being mobile with the laptop. And IMO this is the best way for battery health aswell.

You can certainly treat your battery any way that you choose, as it's your Mac. However, batteries don't respond to anyone's opinion. They respond to whether they're treated properly or not. Proper care of a battery isn't a matter of opinion, but fact.

 

[MattyDlotus]

You can certainly treat your battery any way that you choose, as it's your Mac. However, batteries don't respond to anyone's opinion. They respond to whether they're treated properly or not. Proper care of a battery isn't a matter of opinion, but fact.

I appreciate your point, but 154 cycles and 100% health doesn't seem so bad.

 

[danny32]

I appreciate your point, but 154 cycles and 100% health doesn't seem so bad.

i have 257 cycles on mine, 27 months old, and still 92%... cant complain