Help: MacBook will shut itself when battery reaches 50%

[sabor]

This is a 1.83 MacBook Pro with latest software updates. I have been using it for quite a while running on battery power and until 3 day ago (I bought it @ beginning of March) this had never happened to me.

While using the MacBook on battery power, the machine would just shut itself when it reached ~50% battery. No warnings or anything, just BOOM, off. This is mega risky since hardware does not like these kinds of turn-offs.

I am in Munich right now and its kinda hard to coordinate a call with Apple. I also do not want to schedule a return since I live in Costa Rica. I will be in Calfornia in a week and then in Boston for another week. Like I have mentioned before, I want to avoid returning it for repair since its extremely difficult to coordinate the sending of the MacBook back at me.

Has this happened to anyone else? Is there a fix for this? Thanks.

 

[mad jew]

Did you calibrate the battery as soon as you got the machine? It might help in this case since calibrating realigns the computer's idea of how much charge the cells can hold with the actual amount of charge the cells can hold.

If calibrating does nothing, then maybe try resetting your PMU. 🙂

 

[aplasticspork]

Mine also started to do that randomly (after 23 cycles), and yes it was calibrated. Only difference was that mine shut off at 92% 🙁
Edit: I also reset the PMU twice to no avail.
Take it into the nearest apple store, they gave me a new battery 🙂

--Andrzej