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oris diver

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 28, 2013
7
0
Hi

i have a macbook pro 15 inch from 2010 ,the battery cycle count is 1178 and on a full charge i get about 2hours 30min use.

Now i know i should get a new battery but will my battery just fail to charge one day or will the battery life just deteriorate to a point where i need to buy a new one.

Being honest i don't won't to spend money i don't have to ,so i might just tough it out but i was wondering how much longer i have left .

Thanks in advance
 

B...

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2013
1,949
2
Batteries are covered by Apple for 1000 cycles and 80% charge. If it started with 7 hours of battery life, it should have around 5.5 hours now. How would you describe your use? Usually it just does not charge one day, but the decline is gradual--it might so something like "Get a new battery" in the battery window at the top when you need a new one.
 

johnnnw

macrumors 65816
Feb 7, 2013
1,214
21
Might as well ask this here but...

Why after using the laptop on battery from 100% and then plugging it then does it only charge to sometimes 95%, 96% or 97% and then stop there?

If I use it again off battery it goes back up to 100% usually when I plug it back in after.

Why does it stop sometimes?

Very new Macbook Pro, bought in January. 36 cycles.
 

oris diver

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 28, 2013
7
0
Batteries are covered by Apple for 1000 cycles and 80% charge. If it started with 7 hours of battery life, it should have around 5.5 hours now. How would you describe your use? Usually it just does not charge one day, but the decline is gradual--it might so something like "Get a new battery" in the battery window at the top when you need a new one.

my laptop use is heavy and even after a few weeks from new i never had more then 4 hours use on a full charge ,its gradually got worse over the last 3 years . Even 2.5 hours is ok given its age and heavy use.

i was just wondering weather it will just fail one day or can i carry one until it becomes worth my while buying a new one .
 

tillsbury

macrumors 68000
Dec 24, 2007
1,513
454
I think the only thing to be alert for is the dreaded "expansion" where the battery starts to push out on the case and other components. If I were you I'd be budgeting to get a new battery installed sometime this year.

When that's done either you might be happy to continue with it, or it will be worth considerably more as you can sell it with a new battery ready installed.
 

thundersteele

macrumors 68030
Oct 19, 2011
2,984
9
Switzerland
My 2007 MBPs battery eventually gave up after about 4 years (i.e. zero charge). But in most cases I think they will continue to work, just hold less and less charge over time.
 

Stetrain

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2009
3,550
20
You can't say for sure that it will never suddenly fail, but in general they just gradually lose capacity.
 

oris diver

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 28, 2013
7
0
How do you know what battery you need ,amazon has lots of batteries but i'm not sure if any will fit my macbook pro 15 inch core i5 mid 2010

MC371B/A PART NO A1286

Which of the above part numbers do i use to find a battery because i've seen
both numbers used and i'm not sure which to use . Help?
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
How do you know what battery you need ,amazon has lots of batteries but i'm not sure if any will fit my macbook pro 15 inch core i5 mid 2010

MC371B/A PART NO A1286

Which of the above part numbers do i use to find a battery because i've seen
both numbers used and i'm not sure which to use . Help?

I wouldn't trust or recommend any non-Apple battery, due to the number of problems reported with "knockoff" batteries. Also, there is no assurance that knockoff batteries have the same charging technology that Apple uses, involving the battery, the MagSafe adapter and the Mac's logic board.
The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.
 

oris diver

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 28, 2013
7
0
Ive emailed the apple store near me to try and arrange the battery change in the near future . My macbook pro cost a small fortune so putting in a cheaper
battery then finding the battery doesn't last long seems a waste of money ,it makes sense to have OEM parts fitted and thanks for the all the responses .

At 1179 battery cycle counts i'm on borrowed time,i might as well prepare for the inevitable .
 

johnnnw

macrumors 65816
Feb 7, 2013
1,214
21
Ive emailed the apple store near me to try and arrange the battery change in the near future . My macbook pro cost a small fortune so putting in a cheaper
battery then finding the battery doesn't last long seems a waste of money ,it makes sense to have OEM parts fitted and thanks for the all the responses .

At 1179 battery cycle counts i'm on borrowed time,i might as well prepare for the inevitable .

Wow that's a lot of cycles! Most I've ever seen.

Definitely don't go ebay batteries etc. Way too many problems with bad ones. They can also be very dangerous. Exploding, burning... lot's of stuff.

Whenever you hear about batteries blowing up it's almost always from the cheap ones.
 

tann

macrumors 68000
Apr 15, 2010
1,944
813
UK
What % capacity is your battery left at after that?

I too have a 15" 2010 MBP (June) and I'm currently at 85% capacity left and 1208 cycles.

I get on average about 2.5-3hours doing what I usually do on it (a lot of Chrome tabs and a few other applications always open) but I think with just a tab or two I can hit 4 or so.
 

oris diver

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 28, 2013
7
0
What % capacity is your battery left at after that?

I too have a 15" 2010 MBP (June) and I'm currently at 85% capacity left and 1208 cycles.

I get on average about 2.5-3hours doing what I usually do on it (a lot of Chrome tabs and a few other applications always open) but I think with just a tab or two I can hit 4 or so.

it just says for condition = replace soon

full charge capacity =4282mah

Can't remember but i think the full capacity was a lot higher when new
 

tann

macrumors 68000
Apr 15, 2010
1,944
813
UK
it just says for condition = replace soon

full charge capacity =4282mah

Can't remember but i think the full capacity was a lot higher when new

Mine is 5856mah. I am sure that (new) our batteries are 6900mah. So yours is ~62% of it's original capacity.

I'm no battery expert, but I think Apple set it so that once it gets below a certain level they advise a replace because it will be drastically different (in terms of how long it lasts) than when you first got it, but I don't think your battery will just stop working. The length of time it can last will just decrease as the battery capacity decreases.

So if you need to use it while on battery for longer periods of time maybe it would be good to get a replacement, if you do, I'd probably advise to get it from Apple because I've heard stories about third party batteries going wrong..
 

MacHiavelli

macrumors 65816
May 17, 2007
1,255
920
new york
My MBP is showing 121 cycles and 76% capacity. Design cap of 5500 mAh, current cap of 4156 mAh.

I've tried calibrating.

It's a 2008 MBP and has been through 6 batteries.
 

Stetrain

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2009
3,550
20
My MBP is showing 121 cycles and 76% capacity. Design cap of 5500 mAh, current cap of 4156 mAh.

I've tried calibrating.

It's a 2008 MBP and has been through 6 batteries.

Apple did not move to the 1000 cycle rated batteries until 2009.
 

nickandre21

macrumors 6502a
Jun 21, 2012
548
5
Might as well ask this here but...

Why after using the laptop on battery from 100% and then plugging it then does it only charge to sometimes 95%, 96% or 97% and then stop there?

If I use it again off battery it goes back up to 100% usually when I plug it back in after.

Why does it stop sometimes?

Very new Macbook Pro, bought in January. 36 cycles.

its normal all lithium batteries do a trickle charge as it reaches full charge, meaning it will charge and stop charging till it drains a bit and then goes to 100% which is what you are experiencing. Its normal you do not need to worry just enjoy the laptop. if there is any issue with the battery the laptop will notify you will a service battery or replace battery notification.
 
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GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
its normal all lithium batteries do a trickle charge as it reaches full charge, meaning it will charge and stop charging till it drains a bit and then goes to 100% which is what you are experiencing.

Actually, Apple batteries are designed to prevent short discharges and recharges like you're describing. It's normal that your battery may stop charging between 93-99%. For details, read the CHARGING section of the following link.
The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.
 

opinio

macrumors 65816
Mar 23, 2013
1,171
7
MacBook Air 2010
861 cycles at 87% health capacity (iStat Menus)
Design cap: 6700mAh
Current cap: 5805mAh
 

npaisnel

macrumors member
Jun 23, 2013
64
0
Batteries are covered by Apple for 1000 cycles and 80% charge. .


is there a time (age limit) on that

I have a 2007 Santa Rosa 2.4 MBP 3,1 A1226 that has been unused in a cupboard for three years..cycle count 108. Freebie that I got working again

Not had chance to use it yet..if battery is poor but 108 cycles I guess Apple are not going to replace that !! :)
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
is there a time (age limit) on that

I have a 2007 Santa Rosa 2.4 MBP 3,1 A1226 that has been unused in a cupboard for three years..cycle count 108. Freebie that I got working again

Not had chance to use it yet..if battery is poor but 108 cycles I guess Apple are not going to replace that !! :)
Apple doesn't replace batteries free, even if they're defective, if the Mac is no longer covered by warranty or AppleCare.
 

npaisnel

macrumors member
Jun 23, 2013
64
0
That is what I expected..the previous quote when someone suggested they did had too be to good to be true.
 

WesTheMage

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2011
11
0
I don't mean to necro a thread back from the dead after a month, but I have a question related to the topic. Is it normal for a battery to just up and die suddenly? My MBP is a mid 2010 model with 1050 cycles. I had been noticing a slow and steady decrease in the battery life since around 300 cycles, which I expected would continue to keep going down gradually until the battery went dead. It was holding almost an hour and a half's worth of power when playing videogames (tf2, civ 5, starbound, etc) up until a few days ago. I closed the lid at one in the morning which put the computer into standby (bootcamping windows), set the computer down, and went to sleep. Woke up the next morning, discovered the battery was completely dead.

I was under the assumption that it would be like my previous non-apple computers and just decrease in the amount of maximum power capacity until it goes kaput. Instead, it had what I felt was akin to a premature heart attack, and died.

Should I just go ahead and replace the battery, or is it possible that this sudden death is a sign of a different problem? I've already tried resetting the SCP, or whatever you call it, that controls things like battery lights/charging, and I'm not even sure that action had any effect at all. There wasn't any changing of the charger light or anything, and the computer booted up as it always has. I did notice that before it actually makes the sort of whirring sound (I'm assuming that's the hard drive, all MBP's I've seen all make that noise when first being powered on), the sleep light flashes five times. In addition, when I press the battery charge status light on the side of my computer, those lights also all flash five times, with no indication of actually charging the battery.

Thoughts?
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
I don't mean to necro a thread back from the dead after a month, but I have a question related to the topic. Is it normal for a battery to just up and die suddenly? My MBP is a mid 2010 model with 1050 cycles.

Should I just go ahead and replace the battery, or is it possible that this sudden death is a sign of a different problem?
While it's not common, your battery dying the way it did is not cause for concern. Yes, you should have Apple replace it.

The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.
 
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