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Best way to preserve battery on MBP?

Cosmotose

Cosmotose

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2009
22
1
Central FL, 321
It's all too easy to tear through your laptop's battery. And with MBP's battery built in, its not exactly easy to replace should you be careless with its lifespan. I know Apple says it'll recharge 1000 times, but I don't want to waste any of 'em.

What are some good tips for making the most out of the battery? Like, letting the battery drain completely before recharging it, not leaving it plugged in, etc...?
 
I read the apple batteries link, but still not sure about what if I'm working all day from home on my MBP using an external monitor? Should I switch back and forth from being plugged in to running on battery only or run it plugged on all day? What do most of you do?
 
Joemero said:
I read the apple batteries link, but still not sure about what if I'm working all day from home on my MBP using an external monitor? Should I switch back and forth from being plugged in to running on battery only or run it plugged on all day? What do most of you do?
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Simply put, make sure you give it a full cycle every month. There is no reason to switch back and forth and what not during the day. Thats the last thing you should be thinking about while working :)

Just make sure you cycle it once a month and you will be fine.
 
uberamd said:
Simply put, make sure you give it a full cycle every month. There is no reason to switch back and forth and what not during the day. Thats the last thing you should be thinking about while working :)

Just make sure you cycle it once a month and you will be fine.
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How about when I leave it to in sleep mode? how long will it last unplugged?
 
simply the cycle the battery as much as you can, a better used battery will last longer (the irony)

there was a user here (I'm sorry I don't remember the thread) who had a battery of 100% for a computer I think 2 yrs old, it was certainly above 1 yr.

He cycled continually and I would recommend the same. I am not so good on it and after 20 months my MBP is on 80% :(
 
What exactly is cycling? Is that where you fully charge it and let it stay charged for 2 hours (or is this only for the first time?) and then let it FULLY run down (0% right? Not just 1 or 2%?) I did that for the first time with my MBP, but I don't let it run down anymore, kind of like with my 3GS, I just let it get it down to under 10% and then charge it.
 
SephirothXR said:
What exactly is cycling? Is that where you fully charge it and let it stay charged for 2 hours (or is this only for the first time?) and then let it FULLY run down (0% right? Not just 1 or 2%?) I did that for the first time with my MBP, but I don't let it run down anymore, kind of like with my 3GS, I just let it get it down to under 10% and then charge it.
Click to expand...

A cycle is "A complete discharge followed by a complete charge of a battery."
 
uberamd said:
A cycle is "A complete discharge followed by a complete charge of a battery."
Click to expand...

No, a cycle is any time your computer has gone though 100% of a charge, be it one 100% to 0% or ten 100% to 90%.
(You may have meant 100% when you said complete, but I wasn't sure)
 
geoffreak said:
No, a cycle is any time your computer has gone though 100% of a charge, be it one 100% to 0% or ten 100% to 90%.
(You may have meant 100% when you said complete, but I wasn't sure)
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I just googled the definition of battery cycle and thats what I got. I'm not quite sure if doing 10% each day for 10 days has the same effect. Are you working the entire battery when doing that?
 
Read Apple's site:

A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could listen to your iPod for a few hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle.
Click to expand...
 
Somebody is thinking too much about this battery stuff.

Just use the laptop. Its taken me nearly 3 years to go through 460 charges. I'm nearly re-charging my laptop 3 times a week on average. I've lost probably 30-50 minutes of battery life capacity overall.

The battery technology in your battery is supposed to stay at the same capacity for 1000 charges whereas mine gets weaker through using it gradually every time.

Apple wasn't lying when they said the battery will probably outlast the laptop.

To get anywhere near worried you would have to recharge your laptop 6-7 times a week in order to get to the 1000 charge finishing line, and thats again over a 3 year period. AND the battery will still operate after a 1000 thousand charges but in the admittedly weakened state.

Chill out and just use the laptop in all its glory.:D
 
There is no reason that you still shouldn't be a little bit conscious of taking care of your battery. I don't generally worry about it either, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to ignore the basics of being a well informed consumer and making sure that I get a decent amount out of a product that I've spent a lot of money on. It is also worth mentioning that even taking care of my battery a bit and what not, mine still died within a year (apple sent me a new one for free after haggling with the warranty.
 
Best way to preserve it?

Remove the battery at approximately 50% storage capacity. Place the battery in a protective casing that will eliminate excessive contact with atmospheric pollutants and sunlight. Store the battery in a climate-controlled area at approximately 60F. Proceed to install adequate surveillance system inside the climate-controlled area to keep watch on the battery and make sure everything is ok.

Or you could just use your computer and enjoy it.
 
cababah said:
Best way to preserve it?

Remove the battery at approximately 50% storage capacity. Place the battery in a protective casing that will eliminate excessive contact with atmospheric pollutants and sunlight. Store the battery in a climate-controlled area at approximately 60F. Proceed to install adequate surveillance system inside the climate-controlled area to keep watch on the battery and make sure everything is ok.

Or you could just use your computer and enjoy it.
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I assume you were being sarcastic or extremely protective of your battery lol. :p either way your right just use the computer. And have fun with it make sure you try to cycle it regularly. At least once a month. :)

PTP
 
I suggest quit being paranoid and use your mac. You will probably break your computer before you use your six thousand or so hours on that battery.
 
Avoid deep discharges of the battery. In other words, try to not always run the battery dead. It is better on the Li-Ion batteries to be topped off after each use. Only deep discharge when you calibrate and only do that no more than once a month. Although, if you have a need to use the battery until it is dead, go ahead. That is what it is for. Just avoid it if you can.
 
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