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How do I make my battery last longer?
- Thread starter Enoch07
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I find using it as Apple describe. ie use battery when you need, use mains to charge when you can.
Mine generally lives on the charger during the day on my desk, on charger at home at night, and generally gets run 100-25% most evenings. Consistently over 3yrs 8mths this results in my battery health (ie capacity as a % of original), currently being 90% at 1002 cycles.
Currently the health varies slightly in the range 89.5-91.0%
I contrast that with my MBA which over 1yr less time is at the same health mark (~90%), I put down to less usage on battery (it is only at 350 cycles).
Mine generally lives on the charger during the day on my desk, on charger at home at night, and generally gets run 100-25% most evenings. Consistently over 3yrs 8mths this results in my battery health (ie capacity as a % of original), currently being 90% at 1002 cycles.
Currently the health varies slightly in the range 89.5-91.0%
I contrast that with my MBA which over 1yr less time is at the same health mark (~90%), I put down to less usage on battery (it is only at 350 cycles).
I like to start charging my laptop when it hits 10%. Once the battery is full or close to it (maybe 1%-3% shy) I disconnect. I don't like to leave it plugged in for too long since I feel it reduced the batteries life cycle prematurely. My company laptop (some HP crap) always sits in a dock (been that way for about 6 to 7 months). I took it home one day and wen to use it and the battery drained so damn fast rendering it pretty useless.
Not necessary with MBP chargers, they will cycle the battery approx 97-100%, they don't just sit there trickling current in like chargers of old...
All you're doing is needlessly putting cycles on your battery. You're wearing it out faster than you would just leaving it plugged in.
Your HP computer probably uses a crappier battery than your Mac does (it probably cost less too). My MBP is plugged in, sometimes for months on end, and I still get a solid 6 hours out of it before needing a charge, and the computer is nearing the 3 year old mark.
Yes it would. It isn't stated because it isn't remotely necessary, none of the advice on Apple.com mentions needing to do it.
Here's my original 2011 17" quad core MacBook Pro - having been plugged in for years and very little time off charger. I did nothing but let it be charged all the time and I never condition the battery either. Seems to be working just fine - apple is so good with battery tech!
That is completely unnecessary and isn't saving your battery at all.
Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug any time you need to, regardless of the charged percentage, and you never need to completely drain your battery.
The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions, including tips for maximizing battery performance. If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.
You don't have to unplug when it's charged, as it stops charging and runs on AC power if you leave it plugged in.
Does it really help if we keep our MBP on charge most of the time?
I have this 15" 2009 MBP which I put on charge most of the time in order to avoid using up the cycle count. But turns out, the battery will bloat due to overcharging if you do that.
Does anyone know if the newer rMBP also have this issue? Looks like Apple wants us to run out the cycle count and use up the battery one way or another.
I have this 15" 2009 MBP which I put on charge most of the time in order to avoid using up the cycle count. But turns out, the battery will bloat due to overcharging if you do that.
Does anyone know if the newer rMBP also have this issue? Looks like Apple wants us to run out the cycle count and use up the battery one way or another.
It doesn't help or hurt. Just use your Mac normally, on battery power when needed, and on AC power when available.
The battery cannot overcharge. Some batteries will swell near the end of their useful life, but that has nothing to do with how and when they're charged.
It's not what Apple wants. Batteries are designed to be used. They will die over time, whether they're used or not. They are consumable items. Your best approach is to not do anything strictly for the sake of your battery, but forget your battery and use your Mac in the way it suits your needs.
My idea is that I like to stick with my laptop as long as possible. Not changing it if it is not necessary. Normally I won't even upgrade my OS ( I am still using Snow Leopard) if I don't see the need for it. So trying to conserve the battery usage is one of my method in prolonging the lifespan of my laptop.
I believe this is the reason for OP to start the thread too. How to prolong his/her mac as long as possible. I am talking about 6-7 years here. I switched from PC to Mac was also because of Mac's longevity.
Your battery isn't going to last 6-7 years. You can keep your Mac and OS version as long as you like, but your battery will die, no matter what you do. Batteries like to be used, so use it. It will eventually die, even if you don't. Intentionally avoiding running on battery won't prolong its life.
Battery life is an exception, they are a consumable item. Just as with tyres I wish they would last 500k but unfortunately physics gets in the way. No doubt they will continue to improve over time but with current tech 3-5yrs seems more normal. Wishful thinking will not add 2yrs to that I am afraid.
Truth. When my mid-2009 MBP was still my daily driver I would run it on battery when I could and plug in when I needed to. Over time I had to plug it in more and more until after four years it started showing the service battery warning and could barely hold a charge for two hours. That was 75% overall capacity and 400 cycles. Of course I got my MagSafe replaced as part of that recalled of the t-shaped cables, so it's possible that didn't help it any. The cable never frayed, but the light stopped working.
Use it normally, keep it clean. Be aware when using it in harsh conditions (high heat and dust.) Don't try to baby it as far as battery life. Eventually the battery will go bad, and you go to Apple store or reseller and grab a new one. Just use the dang thing!
Except for catastrophe or warranty repair, the only time I think about changing out any Mac is when it can no longer do a specified task (run VMs for example) or an OS update drops support for a hardware platform. Typically I can get 5-8 years out of a machine.
Except for catastrophe or warranty repair, the only time I think about changing out any Mac is when it can no longer do a specified task (run VMs for example) or an OS update drops support for a hardware platform. Typically I can get 5-8 years out of a machine.
If you are using Yosemite, there is a setting called "reduce Transparency" here is an article for that.
http://www.tekrevue.com/tip/reduce-transparency-effects-os-x-yosemite/
I have found that with my 2012 MBA and 2009 MBP it has been a huge difference .... probably 15-20%
http://www.tekrevue.com/tip/reduce-transparency-effects-os-x-yosemite/
I have found that with my 2012 MBA and 2009 MBP it has been a huge difference .... probably 15-20%
So how does one explain a one year old laptop just dying on you when it's taken off life support "AC power cord"? My company gives me a laptop every 2 years since they lease them that long. My dock has to be connected to AC power to obviously work. If I take my laptop home with me I'm lucky if I can get a little over 3 hours on a charge. I'm going to stick with my suspicions and say that by having the AC cord plugged into the laptop all the time it does kill the life of the battery.
Did the do a Mythbuster's on this? I'll take a look and see.
By the way the previous laptop that I had did the same thing. I'm due for a new laptop this Summer and I'm sure that will be the same thing. I've had a Dell, now HP, and will be getting a new Dell once this lease is up.
Did the do a Mythbuster's on this? I'll take a look and see.
By the way the previous laptop that I had did the same thing. I'm due for a new laptop this Summer and I'm sure that will be the same thing. I've had a Dell, now HP, and will be getting a new Dell once this lease is up.
Is the laptop a Mac notebook?
No need to check Mythbusters. There are countless reports in this forum alone from those who ran for years predominately on AC power, who still have good battery life from a charge.
Again, was your previous laptop a Mac notebook?
To go back off-topic again, despite what other people say here, keeping a lithium-ion battery at near full charge is not an ideal storage state. It's not as bad as deep discharging it, but neither is it ideal. Any lithium battery manufacturer will advise deep in their tech specs that the ideal storage SoC is between 40-60%. If you look to the electric vehicle market, you will see these recommendations being applied more rigorously because the battery packs are much more expensive, and much more difficult to replace, and expected to serve a much longer lifespan over a much larger number of charge cycles. Apple isn't going to tell you not to keep your laptop plugged in because it's not a practical recommendation, and the effect it has on battery longevity is not going to be immediately detrimental. And replacing a laptop battery is a relatively cheap and painless option compared to replacing the battery in an EV.
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And plenty of other people who have seen first-hand batteries that are no good after years kept in this state. Apple doesn't have some magic battery technology not available to the rest of the world.
No, they don't have magic battery tech, but they use better suppliers and perhaps the battery controller is better implemented.
We're not talking about storing batteries, but rather batteries in Macs that are in regular use. Apple has different instructions for storing batteries for 6 months or more.
There is no factual proof that batteries died as a result of being plugged in. There are many factors that can contribute to battery health declining, including age, which means they will eventually die, no matter how they are treated. Batteries are consumable items and are not designed to last forever.
yet batteries in cars which see a much heavier duty cycle, in a much wider range of temperatures, can last a decade or more despite seeing tens of thousands of cycles. Batteries are generally considered 'disposable' in consumer electronics because the electronics manufacturers prioritize battery life of the device when new over longevity of the battery. If the battery controller in your laptop prevented it from ever being discharged below 20% or charged above 80%, barring normal defect rates, the battery would outlast the computer.