Do you leave your macbook on when closing the lid

[sim667]

I've got a habit of using my computer for a few mins, closing the lid, then using it again a couple of hours later..... Then not using it for a couple of days. I rarely turn it off, and dont often take it out of my house.

But when im leaving it for a couple of days, im leaving it on, but not plugged in. So when I do go to use it again the battery is empty.

Am i going to knacker the battery doing this?

 

[Barna Biro]

You won't kancker the battery, but if you are not using your notebook for days, I'd suggest just shutting if off when you're done with whatever you're doing. That way, when you eventually get back to it ( after a few days ), the battery should be almost as charged as when you left it.

It's really your call in the end...

 

[sim667]

You won't kancker the battery, but if you are not using your notebook for days, I'd suggest just shutting if off when you're done with whatever you're doing. That way, when you eventually get back to it ( after a few days ), the battery should be almost as charged as when you left it.

It's really your call in the end...

I never plan not to use it for days.

Its the joy of having a macbook, mac pro and ipad, you just grab whatevers nearest

 

[SchuettS]

I've got a habit of using my computer for a few mins, closing the lid, then using it again a couple of hours later..... Then not using it for a couple of days. I rarely turn it off, and dont often take it out of my house.

But when im leaving it for a couple of days, im leaving it on, but not plugged in. So when I do go to use it again the battery is empty.

Am i going to knacker the battery doing this?

Is it going to sleep when you shut the lid? You'd think the battery would still have charge after a few days of being in sleep mode.

 

[ROLLTIDE1]

I have never used the sleep function on any computer if I am closing the lid then I am turning off the power first

 

[MCAsan]

Get a Bookarc stand or similar. Hook up the MBP/MBA when you get home and never log out or power off. Set the machine to sleep at midnight. Having it hooked up means it is always ready and time machine backups are being done. If it is just sitting on a desk, the battery is going...and no time machine backups are being run.

 

[sweetbrat]

I always just close the lid; there's really no sense in turning it off unless you know you're not going to be using it for a while (meaning a few days or so, at least in my opinion). I don't usually go that long between uses, but it seems like your battery shouldn't discharge that quickly when it's asleep. Is your battery health low to begin with?

 

[takeshi74]

Am i going to knacker the battery doing this?

As always with battery questions:
http://www.apple.com/batteries

 

[sim667]

I always just close the lid; there's really no sense in turning it off unless you know you're not going to be using it for a while (meaning a few days or so, at least in my opinion). I don't usually go that long between uses, but it seems like your battery shouldn't discharge that quickly when it's asleep. Is your battery health low to begin with?

Its a brand new battery....

it will use about 50-60% over a couple of days on sleep.

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I have never used the sleep function on any computer if I am closing the lid then I am turning off the power first

That will batter your hard drive. Spinning up and spinning down during power on/off.

 

[Mrbobb]

If the book stays in your house, u should be on AC most of the time, otherwise the battery has a limited number of usable cycles.

But OK fine, u like to use it in the bedroom, in the porch. So plug it in when u go to bed, so next day it's ready to go again. Simple.

 

[12dylan34]

Its a brand new battery....

it will use about 50-60% over a couple of days on sleep.

It's normal for it to lose about 1% per hour when sleeping.

 

[dusk007]

Yes sleep is usually between 0.4-0.8W. Depends a little on RAM and battery.
With 60Wh that is about 1% per hour. 95Wh should be more like half a %.

If you want it to power down and not use any battery but still not reboot, you can enable hibernation.

sudo pmset -a hibernationmode 25

Default is "3" which writes the hibernation image and than enter normal sleep. 25 writes the file powers down and always wakes from the image. That takes longer than from memory but is otherwise the same. Every app is loaded and all you know.
It is just as off as if it was shut down from an energy perspective. It just boots differently.

Me I prefere mode "0" which is no hibernation at all. It sleeps immediately and wakes up fast. Much more convenient and I don't care if it might loose its state on power loss as that never happens and wouldn't be the end of the world either.

 

[sim667]

It's normal for it to lose about 1% per hour when sleeping.

This sounds about right for me then.

 

[wolfpuppies3]

I have always turned my computers off at the end of the day. Works for me.

 

[Ifti]

I just close the lid with the notebook running.
At the end of the day I switch it off.

Note: You should discharge and charge the battery every so often to keep the juices flowing. A poster above said to keep it on AC power most of the time - but this WILL knacker the battery.
Apple recommend to let the battery discharge every so often to around 30% or so and charge it back up - I regularly do this and maintain a health battery.