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Best way to preserve macbook pro battery?

H

handsomelife

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 1, 2010
70
12
Sorry if this has been covered before, just wanted a bit of clarification.

If I keep the charger in constantly then does that effect the battery? I assume my macbook is running solely off the mains. Or should I let the battery run itself down then charge it up again and repeat constantly?

Any help would be great, thanks!
 
You have two choices charge to 100% then use the batter till warned to plug in or charge it all the time. Either way the battery will die soon enough. Just try to avoid constantly charging from half way etc as it will effect things over time even though the battery downt suffer the memory effect.
 
From the FAQ page:

Q: My battery shows XX% health in Coconut Battery. Is that normal? What can I do to keep it from decreasing more.

A: It is normal for batteries to lose capacity over time. According to Apple your battery should last 3 years and 300 cycles before it drops below 80% if you have a removable battery, or 1000 cycles before it drops below 80% if you have a non-removable battery. The best thing to do to maintain your battery is to use it and keep it cool. If you just leave your computer plugged in all the time, the battery sits at 100% (or near 100%) charged, which slowly causes damage. Heat also slowly causes damage, so make sure the battery stays cool and has plenty of airflow. Try to avoid using your MBP on soft surfaces that can block airflow and trap heat. It will help to put your computer in sleep mode overnight rather than leaving it on since that keeps it cooler. Finally, be sure to calibrate the battery occasionally (see Apple’s site for instructions).
 
I don't know about the MBP, but I've had my 2007 Macbook almost constantly plugged in. I've consciously calibrated it maybe 5 times in these years.

Coconut Battery says 178 cycles, 98% of original capacity. :)
 
could we connect iPhone with other blue tooth device ?

hi

could we connect iPhone to other blue tooth device such as nokia mobile , bluetooth sticker and so on ?
 
Gav2k said:
You have two choices charge to 100% then use the batter till warned to plug in or charge it all the time. Either way the battery will die soon enough. Just try to avoid constantly charging from half way etc as it will effect things over time even though the battery downt suffer the memory effect.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but this is wrong, with the current generation of batteries it does more harm to run it all the way down and charge to full. You should only do this now and then to calibrate the battery.

The best way I believe is to just use the battery fairly regularly, but not totally empty it, then to do a calibration (empty and refill) once every month or two.

Personally though, I'd just use it how you like and not worry about it.
 
jaljupp thats not really relevant to this post but the answer is no

and best option on the battery front is to keep it plugged in all the time, as far as i'm aware once the battery is charged it is no longer fed power unless it drops again.
 
moel said:
jaljupp thats not really relevant to this post but the answer is no

and best option on the battery front is to keep it plugged in all the time, as far as i'm aware once the battery is charged it is no longer fed power unless it drops again.
Click to expand...

It does drain though, so it will slowly drain a bit, charge a bit. As noted already, it's best to not leave it plugged in all the time.
 
Here's my grandma's battery preserves recipe.
Battery Preserves

* 1 1/2 quarts ripe batteries
* 5 cups sugar
* 1/3 cup lemon juice

Preparation:
Wash and hull batteries. Combine batteries with sugar in a large stainless steel pan; let stand for 3 to 4 hours.

Bring batteries to a boil slowly, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice. Cook rapidly until battery mixture is clear and syrup is thick, about 15 minutes.

Pour mixture into a shallow pan and let stand, uncovered, for 12 to 24 hours. Ladle battery mixture into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Process for 20 minutes in a boiling water bath.
Makes four 8-ounce jars.
Click to expand...
*I am not responsible if something catches fire while attempting this recipe.


On a more serious note, lithium-ion batteries like to be stored in a cool, dry place at about 50% charge. Your computer is a warm place, and it keeps the battery at 95-100% charge if it's plugged in.
See figure 1 at this link:
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

Since there's no way to stop the battery from charging to 100%, the best thing you can do as far as I can tell is use the battery regularly. Using the computer on battery every day even for just a bit should help the battery last longer. Eventually the capacity will decrease due to cycle count, but the new batteries are rated for 1000 cycles, which will last something like 6 years if you use 1/2 cycle per day.

It is relatively easy to keep the battery cool. I keep my laptop on an aluminum cooling pad that I made my self. It consists of a bunch of square aluminum tubing bolted together, and it keeps the CPU 10 degrees C cooler than if it was on the desk. SMCFanContol helps, as does putting the computer to sleep at night.
 
I can say from experience that the battery will definitely last longer if you take it out while working on AC power. Since most modern laptops stop charging/messing with the battery after 100%, the main problem is just the heat the battery is exposed to sitting inside the machine.

The downside is that MBP batteries are not really the easiest to quickly or routinely remove/insert in this way. Also you of course run the risk of yanking the power cord and losing everything. I circumvented the latter by cutting the head off an ethernet cable and taping it to the head of the power cord. Ghetto I know but it works! The adjacent ethernet plug "clicks" into the jack and holds the power cord in place.
 
MBPs clock the CPU down to 50% if there is no battery present. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but they must have a good reason to do that.
 
handsomelife said:
Sorry if this has been covered before, just wanted a bit of clarification.

If I keep the charger in constantly then does that effect the battery? I assume my macbook is running solely off the mains. Or should I let the battery run itself down then charge it up again and repeat constantly?

Any help would be great, thanks!
Click to expand...

I always leave my MBP plugged in. My Mac is about 8 months old with a 96% capacity.

Habitus :apple:
 
If you keep your mbp plugged, just don't forget to calibrate your battery once every month and your battery should be fine for a few years with minimal capacity loss.
 
I leave mine plugged in most of the time, and I'm on my third battery in a year and a half.
 
There is probably something wrong with your mbp. Or are you using some old powerbook ?
 
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