Battery or Plug in Power ?

[Keats1]

21 Oct 18

Well after a lot of hand wringing I finally decided to buy a brand new MBP to replace my late 2011 laptop that had a bad GPU.
It's a 2017 15" with touch bar model # MPTT2LL/A.
It arrived on Friday and I got to work setting it up Saturday morning. The battery low warning came up so I plugged it in to recharge the battery. It's at 100% now.
This model does not allow for a battery replacement without taking it to a certified service center. Oh well.
So I do not want to risk damaging the battery.
My question is: After the battery is fully charged, should I disconnect the charging cable from the Type C port and just run on battery power until it needs to be recharged again or should I just leave it plugged in and use it that way. Will this damage the battery?
There is nothing in any of the guides I can find including the "MBP Essentials" that I down loaded in "Books".
I'd appreciate any and all tips and clues you can give me..

Keats
Phoenix Az.

 

[JustinRP37]

It really doesn’t matter. Batteries degrade with three things, 1) age, 2) heat, and 3) cycles. You can leave it plugged in all the time and heat and age will do it in, or you can always be discharging it and recharging it. Just use it as you need to and when battery health gets to 80% or less have Apple replace it for $199. I have about 160 cycles on my 2016 15 inch MBP and it’s health is at 96%. No matter how hard you try, the battery will not last forever. So use it, enjoy it, it whatever you do never leave it in a hot car or in direct sunlight! Also try to avoid freezing temperatures. Seeing as you are from Phoenix, seems like heat would be your biggest risk.

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

Same as above, just use the thing normally. Don't deliberately do anything such as constantly charging/discharging etc. If you're by a power socket, then plug it in. If you're mobile, then use the battery - it's what its designed for.

You can't do anything to realistically extend the battery life. Maybe create a false perfect situation involving timers, coolers etc. But you'd be spending your time managing the battery as opposed to actually using the thing for what you brought it for.

So just chill out and use it.

 

[Keats1]

Thank you both for the good answers. On an older model I could replace the battery myself but these newer ones don't allow for that. Hopefully this will answer the question for anyone else with a concern like mine.

Keats Phoenix...

 

[JustinRP37]

Thank you both for the good answers. On an older model I could replace the battery myself but these newer ones don't allow for that. Hopefully this will answer the question for anyone else with a concern like mine.

Keats Phoenix...

That is correct, but just because it is not replaceable by you, does not mean it isn't replaceable. Apple can do it. Yes it is expensive, but these batteries actually last a long time.

 

[kohlson]

In my family's experience, we have a 2011 MBA that had well over 1000 cycles before the battery needed replacing. I believe my daughter plugged it in at night and then ran on battery power over the course of the day during her 4 years at school. My wife has a 2012 MBA that she kept plugged in most of the time, and it needed replacing in less than 3 years. I have a 2013 MBP, and it's battery still works well enough -- easily goes 3-4 hours. I keep mine plugged in when I can, but it often runs on battery, and once a month or so runs down to 5%. I think the worst thing you can do is kept plugged in all the time, but that's a personal observation.