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First time Macbook Pro owner disappointed

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Fluxvol

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 4, 2017
20
5
Yes, I just made this account to post because I need a support group! This is our first ever Mac product:

Bought the wife a new 15in Macbook Pro w/ TB for Christmas. She has been using it for her vacation consulting business and we both like learning Mac OS together but this battery can't be for real can it? I have been following the battery concerns so I have been doing my own testing.

Basic browsing(Chrome, Safari, Firefox) is getting me on average of 4hr 35min. Brightness set to 75%, bluetooth off, indexing complete. Is this really how it is going to be on a typically heralded laptop? I almost regret finally going Mac with this 2016 version. Some said the latest update would help (10.12.2), some say try different browsers, but nothing has given me anywhere close to what I would consider acceptable (~8hrs).

I have until January 15th to return to BB so I am safe there but I really would like to keep it. What are the chances we will get another software update to fix the issue before then? Thank you
 
Depending on your specific needs you may consider the 2015 model. My nephew just got one for Christmas and battery life has been great so far, it's fast as heck, has plenty of ports for peripherals, a killer screen, decent sound (for a laptop) and performance is top notch.
 
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There is definitely a range of battery permeances. I have a maxed out 15 inch model and, after two weeks, finally used it on battery for a meeting. The meeting was 1 hour, auto brightness on and I used it constantly, it never went to sleep or screen blanked. Heavy wifi use. And, after the hour, I still had 90 percent left.

I really do believe there are some software products out there, in a common configuration many people use, that is causing a heavy drain for some users. I did a fresh install, not an upgrade or a transfer/Time Machine restore from another MacBook and I keep background stuff, plugins and such, to a minimum.

Yet some people get 4 hours and I get 10. Odd.
 
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Adam Warlock said:
Depending on your specific needs you may consider the 2015 model. My nephew just got one for Christmas and battery life has been great so far, it's fast as heck, has plenty of ports for peripherals, a killer screen, decent sound (for a laptop) and performance is top notch.
Click to expand...

I agree with this suggestion - I bought a 2015 15" mid-spec new and prefer it to the 2016 models I've had (I've tried both the base and the mid-levle 2016 15"; battery on the base 15" was OK, on the mid-level it's no more than 4 hours).
 
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sorry your 1st mac is a bit of dud. but as others have suggested, save and get superior battery life with the 2015. or wait for the revision in 2017.

or get a 2016 13" non-touchpad macbook pro and an external 24-27" monitor
 
That is what I had originally planned to do, I was fine with the 2015 model but was swayed by the newer model. The most this thing will ever be used for is Word, Excel, Pages, browsing and possible music streaming. I don't think 8 hours is too much to ask for.

How are some saying there issue is fixed and they have never had a problem? I wish that was me. I don't want to reset NVRAM and do a bunch of crazy things to make an expensive laptop just work....
 
tubeexperience said:
This is pretty normal.

Rarely do you get the advertised battery life.

What were you expecting?
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I have a 15" new MBP with 2,6Ghz, 1TB SSD and radeon 460. Getting 9 hours of battery life. That's what he was expecting, and I'm getting it.

Don't know what the problem is with some computers, but a lot of us are getting good battery life.
 
I'm also getting around 9 hours with just web browsing, e-mail, etc. on my 2016 15" base model. If you like the device otherwise, I would suggest one exchange before giving up on it. After using my 2016 MacBook Pro for over a month, I would hate to go back to an earlier version.
 
So look in activity monitor and see what is actually using the energy or CPU and go from there rather than just guessing. The battery is exactly like a tank of gas in a car, some users use the same tank faster than others but it all goes through the engine. Find out what and why and you can choose whether to use that battery energy or not.

Oh and "basic browsing" - no such thing, websites vary hugely in their content and hence energy requirements and that is governed by the website, not the macbook.
 
I'm sorry you're having issues with your battery. 4hrs of battery time does not sound normal to me at all. On mine I can usually get 8hrs with safari, word, and doing some programming projects, all at the same time.

You could try performing an SMC reset to see if that helps out. If not perhaps see if you can get it exchanged because 4hrs does not sound right.


I have attached a screenshot of my estimated battery time. You can see I have 4 tabs open on safari and a quoted 13 hrs of battery time. This is with screen set to 75% (12 clicks) and 5 clicks on the keyboard blacklight.
 
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Fluxvol said:
What are the chances we will get another software update to fix the issue before then? Thank you
Click to expand...
2016 15" battery: Built-in 76.0-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
2015 15" battery: Built-in 99.5-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery

So the 2016 battery is about 25% less than the 2015 battery... I don't think any amount of software updating is going to compensate for that. :(
 
aristobrat said:
2016 15" battery: Built-in 76.0-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
2015 15" battery: Built-in 99.5-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery

So the 2016 battery is about 25% less than the 2015 battery... I don't think any amount of software updating is going to compensate for that. :(
Click to expand...

But the new CPU and GPU are more power efficient are they not?
 
I am expecting at least 80% of what was advertised on the battery. Not less than half.

Yes, basic browsing on 3 sites (this one, Best Buy, and apples site). Can't get much simpler than that. No graphic intensive sites.

I leave activity monitor open during most of the testing. The current browser being tested is the leading battery drain. Nothing else is close.

I called Apple and they are giving me 30 days to make my choice, get it serviced or even try a new laptop. Is it even worth trying another one? I have 11 days left on my return at BB so I have time to try my options.
 
How much have you used it? Also do you power it off or just shut the display. The new Mac seem to take a few days to settle down. Some people say it is because of indexing. But, after a few days of use. and charging cycles, the battery life improves.
 
As a long time user of Macbooks I think the overall issue I have with the Battery on the 2016 model is that you're accustomed to not worrying or thinking about the battery and the 2016 version just makes you constantly worry about it as you use it. It's almost like a sick obsession you're like looking at it checking it constantly watching it drain while it's constantly on the back of your mind.

I think what I'm trying to say is that it's half mental and the other half is we're comparing it to existing macbooks wanting it to either be the same or better and perhaps that's the wrong comparison to make. I know myself, and I'm constantly thinking get this thing to a charger asap even though it's well above 50% which really isn't right either. But hey I'm sick like stated above :S
 
jerryk said:
How much have you used it? Also do you power it off or just shut the display. The new Mac seem to take a few days to settle down. Some people say it is because of indexing. But, after a few days of use. and charging cycles, the battery life improves.
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Every day since 12/25. We just shut the display.

Darkloki: But as a first time owner shouldn't I at least get enough battery for a 5hr road trip, a flight to Atlanta, etc? We are just talking internet browsing. No gaming or programming.
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bcave098 said:
My question is what does it look like in Activity Monitor on the Energy tab? Anything using the dGPU?
Click to expand...

I will look later. Took it home at lunch so it could be charged and my wife could use it.
 
Fluxvol said:
Basic browsing(Chrome, Safari, Firefox) is getting me on average of 4hr 35min. Brightness set to 75%, bluetooth off, indexing complete.
Click to expand...
4 and half hours does seem low.

Try only using Safari and turn the display down to 50% and see how much that helps your battery
 
Install the GPU monitor I suggested and try to ensure you're not running your dedicated card, try different browsers and video playing software to get around utilizing the Dedicated GPU to increase battery life and overall efficiency. I know for me it's almost like a game to try to run without ever using the dedicated card and opening, running and closing aps simply based on that.

I'm not a long time 2016 Macbook User, as I too got mine on the same day you got yours and I personally can tell you that I have not used the system in any given moment for more then an hour. But my concerns have been right there with you, and I've perhaps been lazy not trying to figure it out by just sinking back to my 2014 Macbook Retina which doesn't help you at all and isn't progressive in the slightest. If I come up with something I'll share it with you though in the future.

A part of me is also hoping that Apple figures it out and releases an update that fixes it. I'm inclined to say that if I ran the system in Bootcamp the battery life would be about the same, which tells me that it's gotta be a software based issue and not Hardware.
 
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