How often do you take the MBA battery to zero?

[Jobsian]

As I don't like carrying the power supply and this thing is so damn portable I do it on an almost daily basis.

I take the MBA with me around the house and find myself trying to 'nurse' the battery to zero by forcing myself to watch things on lower brightness than is actually comfortable etc in the name of not having to go upstairs and get the Magsafe adapter

Just wondering what proportion of people are in the same or similar ship. Poll added

 

[richpjr]

Did it once in the month I've owned it to calibrate it.

 

[Jobsian]

Sorry I should have said: not on purpose, ie not in order to calibrate it (didn't think current batteries needed that anymore anyway), just because you like using it without the power supply

 

[glen e]

This brings up another question: since some of you guys are flogging the hell outta your batts - what's it cost total to replace a MBA 11" batt? - and getting it done, not DIY - labor and parts?

 

[Typswif2fingers]

This brings up another question: since some of you guys are flogging the hell outta your batts - what's it cost total to replace a MBA 11" batt? - and getting it done, not DIY - labor and parts?

Not sure about the cost of battery replacement, but it seems that by the time the batteries are ruined it is time to replace the whole machine anyway....

Battery replacement would be about 100-150 bucks... I feel..

 

[Cynicalone]

I don't really try to get it to "zero". I use it a lot daily on the battery. When it gets down to 15 to 20% I plug it in.

A few times in the last 45 days or so I couldn't get to a plugin in time and it died.

I do calibrate my battery like Apple used to tell you to do on laptops (during the first week, and then every two months). Apple says this is unnecessary now.

Even using it the way I do I have never had a problem with my laptop batteries.

I bought my laptop on July 21st and I have 35 cycles on the battery right now. The battery is rated for 1000 cycles so I have 965 to go. I'm not worried.

 

[3dflyboy1]

This brings up another question: since some of you guys are flogging the hell outta your batts - what's it cost total to replace a MBA 11" batt? - and getting it done, not DIY - labor and parts?

I'm almost sure it's $150.

 

[MovingWater]

Would much prefer a pool with five options: daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, rarely/never, with no distinction between 11" and 13". Somewhere between weekly and rarely is probably a good place to be.

 

[Cynicalone]

Apple has all the details on battery replacement...

http://www.apple.com/support/macbookair/service/battery/

By the time my battery is in need of replacement I'll be wanting to upgrade anyway.

 

[qwerf123]

I do it once a month.

I only do it, as I am the sort of person who leaves their MacBook charging for nearly all time I use it.

Also apple advised me to make sure I do it at least once a month and as its not much bother, I don't mind doing it knowing it can help my batteries life

Shame there is no option for this in the poll.

 

[zeemeerman2]

I bought my laptop on July 21st and I have 35 cycles on the battery right now. The battery is rated for 1000 cycles so I have 965 to go. I'm not worried.

Isn't the battery rated to work at 80% of its normal power after the said cycles? So after 1000 cycles you could work only 5-6 hours instead of 7.

 

[Cynicalone]

Isn't the battery rated to work at 80% of its normal power after the said cycles? So after 1000 cycles you could work only 5-6 hours instead of 7.

I think you are right. But it will be a long time before I can find out.

 

[wickoo]

I hate the battery life on 2011 11,6" and I take it down to 0% every single day. I've had it for a few weeks now and already have gone through over 40 battery cycles.

Really, any sort of multitasking takes the estimates down to merely 2 hours. This is nuts.

I carry it around my house too. I wouldn't bother doing it with any other, heavier notebook, but this thing is so tiny it's difficult to resist.

 

[erasr]

I'm sure I read on the Apple website that there's no need to do this anymore on their laptops?

 

[ZBoater]

I'm sure I read on the Apple website that there's no need to do this anymore on their laptops?

Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

 

[The Catalyst]

I drain/recalibrate my 13.3" battery once a month, that's it.

 

[EJ8]

I drain/recalibrate my 13.3" battery once a month, that's it.

Just wondering - what do you mean by recalibrate? How is that done?

 

[The Catalyst]

Draining the battery down to zero=recalibrating (to me at least). Apple recommends that you do this at least once a month, see the links posted above:

Standard Maintenance:
For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her notebook on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing. If on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month.