Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Battery time is low

A

asukulu

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 4, 2011
13
0
Hi, I just purchased a new mac book pro 15" with lion installed and Ive noticed that when fully charged it never has more than about 5-6 hours of remaining battery time on a full charge!! This is with one browser window open and all energy settings set to the minimum possible. I have the screen brightness down to about 2 notches so I can barely even see it. I do not have parallels or anything like that installed. Is this normal?? I was under the impression that it has 12 hours battery time but Im only getting half that at the very most. If I do nothing it may go up 1 hour but who does nothing on their mac? Ive checked the battery status and it says normal. Should I take it back and get it replaced?? Also I am having major issues connecting to the internet. I cannot connect via ethernet or wifi however my modem and router are not supported by my isp so Im left to my own devices to try and configure them. Its like another language to me. I just try and change things and see what happens but no luck so far. Sometimes the wifi will connect but then later it will be disconnected again. Network diagnostics does nothing to help.
 
I am getting a similar problem. Battery has 80 cycle on it, at 101% but with just safari open it last about 5-6hrs. Is there any app that tracks how long that current cycle last you? Coconut battery/istat does not have that.
 
Aznskill2k said:
I am getting a similar problem. Battery has 80 cycle on it, at 101% but with just safari open it last about 5-6hrs. Is there any app that tracks how long that current cycle last you? Coconut battery/istat does not have that.
Click to expand...
If you have 80 cycles and your health is 101%, your battery isn't calibrated properly. See the link I posted for the calibration procedure. Your readings are inaccurate.
 
GGJstudios said:
If you have 80 cycles and your health is 101%, your battery isn't calibrated properly. See the link I posted for the calibration procedure. Your readings are inaccurate.
Click to expand...

But the apple website says that calibration is no longer necessary with the new models. However I did calibrate and it made no diff.

My battery says 10 cycles and at 100% only has 5-6 hours. I think Im going to take it in and get them to replace the battery.
 
asukulu said:
But the apple website says that calibration is no longer necessary with the new models. However I did calibrate and it made no diff.
Click to expand...
If it's showing 101% after 80 cycles, it's obviously inaccurate. Even though newer batteries come pre-calibrated, that doesn't mean you should never calibrate if you suspect your readings are inaccurate. Calibration does not have a permanent effect.
 
About calibration and percentages...

Often your percentage is based on the following items 'Current Capacity' and 'Design Capacity' often a new/er battery will sport higher 'Current Capacity' than 'Design' this will of course degrade over time.

The issue is battery life and usage. I don't know where the OP heard 12 hour battery life since that has never been on a mac portable in my lifetime, but closer into the 7-8 hour range certainly is.

Check to see if bluetooth is on, also SSD and HHD do make a difference. Also try to run integrated graphics only.

*I'm running a freshly installed battery in my '08 Unibody with 1 cycle, 5100 mAh current capacity and 4800 mAh design capacity; putting it at 106%
 
Not only has 12 hours never been on a Mac, it's never been a possibility on ANY computer (with the assumption that at least light web browsing is involved; not just sitting there). 10 hours was reached by an HP netbook, that's about it. A full powered computer? Mac batteries already have an incredible capacity in such a package; it matches most 9 cells without the added bulk.

This generalization does not include sheet batteries.

asukulu said:
My battery says 10 cycles and at 100% only has 5-6 hours. I think Im going to take it in and get them to replace the battery.
Click to expand...
You're going to be laughed out of the store. Especially because you never bothered to actually USE it for the said hours. You're basing everything on a very crude calculation/icon.
 
Aldaris said:
About calibration and percentages...

Often your percentage is based on the following items 'Current Capacity' and 'Design Capacity' often a new/er battery will sport higher 'Current Capacity' than 'Design' this will of course degrade over time.

The issue is battery life and usage. I don't know where the OP heard 12 hour battery life since that has never been on a mac portable in my lifetime, but closer into the 7-8 hour range certainly is.

Check to see if bluetooth is on, also SSD and HHD do make a difference. Also try to run integrated graphics only.

*I'm running a freshly installed battery in my '08 Unibody with 1 cycle, 5100 mAh current capacity and 4800 mAh design capacity; putting it at 106%
Click to expand...

I have SSD does that reduce battery time remaining? But surely 5-6 hours on 100% charge at 10 cycles is faulty??

As I said I HAVE Callibrated
 
SSD should only help your battery.

See if there is anything running in the background that is demanding so much power. I've noticed personally that iTunes can be a deal breaker if battery is more of a priority.
 
Aldaris said:
SSD should only help your battery.

See if there is anything running in the background that is demanding so much power. I've noticed personally that iTunes can be a deal breaker if battery is more of a priority.
Click to expand...

Nothing else running just one browser window
 
asukulu said:
Hi, I just purchased a new mac book pro 15" with lion installed and Ive noticed that when fully charged it never has more than about 5-6 hours of remaining battery time on a full charge!! This is with one browser window open and all energy settings set to the minimum possible. I have the screen brightness down to about 2 notches so I can barely even see it. I do not have parallels or anything like that installed. Is this normal?? I was under the impression that it has 12 hours battery time but Im only getting half that at the very most. If I do nothing it may go up 1 hour but who does nothing on their mac? Ive checked the battery status and it says normal. Should I take it back and get it replaced?? Also I am having major issues connecting to the internet. I cannot connect via ethernet or wifi however my modem and router are not supported by my isp so Im left to my own devices to try and configure them. Its like another language to me. I just try and change things and see what happens but no luck so far. Sometimes the wifi will connect but then later it will be disconnected again. Network diagnostics does nothing to help.
Click to expand...

Aznskill2k said:
I am getting a similar problem. Battery has 80 cycle on it, at 101% but with just safari open it last about 5-6hrs. Is there any app that tracks how long that current cycle last you? Coconut battery/istat does not have that.
Click to expand...


You guys should have done your research. The advertised battery life on MBP's is nowhere near accurate. What you have is perfectly normal - apple lies on its spec.
 
Also, I've never had my battery life show more than 5:30 or something with 50% brightness and gfxcardstatus set to using just the integrated. However, I've been using it on battery for the past hour and it's still showing 5:16. It varies way too much depending on your changing use.
 
Try resting SMC. I did this today and after the battery time calculation finished I was getting about 7 hours of battery life again. Again, this is only a calculation and can be effected by the activity being performed on the Macbook Pro.

By the way, my cycle count on my 2009 MacBook Pro is 404.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back