How to set NOT to recharge battery unless <40% full?

[Bernard SG]

And Apple would be stupid to not allow for the modification of the battery firmware through software updates. Therefore it is modifiable. QED

I never heard of anything such as a battery firmware update. Not saying that it doesn't exist but here again, I really doubt about it. The processor is integrated to the battery - which is an interchangeable element. I don't think the Mac can actively get access into it, it just can collect information from it and display them.

 

[GGJstudios]

Uninformed how?

Who knows more about the design and inner workings of MacBook Pros, Apple batteries, MagSafe adapters, etc.? Apple or you?

You challenged my 40% recommendation. Apple didn't post that on this thread, you did.

I simply quoted Apple's statement about long-term storage of batteries. If you consider that a challenge, that's your problem. What you quoted came from batteryuniversity.com, so it is perfectly reasonable to quote Apple's statement on the matter. Sensitive much?

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

I never heard of anything such as a battery firmware update. Not saying that it doesn't exist but here again, I really doubt about it. The processor is integrated to the battery - which is an interchangeable element. I don't think the Mac can actively get access into it, it just can collect information from it and display them.

Why not do a little searching to see that I'm right.

 

[ryannazaretian]

Again, we're completely off topic...

tennis.music, there is no way to currently do what you want to do.

Options:
1) Remove battery (if possible) with a partial charge.
2) Leave battery in, use every once in a while. Calibrate if desired.
3) Don't worry about it. Let the battery suffer if it's too much to take care of. If you're not using in, then you shouldn't miss it, right?

Sorry...

Also, provide Apple feedback so this may be introduced in future models or software.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html

 

[GGJstudios]

tennis.music, there is no way to currently do what you want to do.

That's exactly what the OP was told as early as the 3rd post.

1) Remove battery (if possible) with a partial charge.

From Apple:

Important: It is strongly recommended that you do not use your MacBook or MacBook Pro while the battery is removed.

2) Leave battery in, use every once in a while. Calibrate if desired.

That's exactly what was recommended before the thread was derailed.

3) Don't worry about it.

Exactly.

 

[Bernard SG]

Why not do a little searching to see that I'm right.

I stand corrected. However, I'm still unconvinced that it opens a possibility for the setup suggested by OP. As mentioned before, that would mean that your battery couldn't be charged above that 40% threshold.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

I stand corrected. However, I'm still unconvinced that it opens a possibility for the setup suggested by OP. As mentioned before, that would mean that your battery couldn't be charged above that 40% threshold.

You're wrong again. Why don't you try reading a little closer? Right now the battery is set to not charge unless the battery charge drops below 95%. That means if you plug it in at 96% it won't charge it. But if you plug it in at 94% it'll try to charge it up to 100% (normally makes it to around 99%). So if you set it to not charge unless it's below 40% it'll only charge it up to 100% if it was plugged in at less than 40%.

COME ON!

 

[brucem91]

here is an idea, just use the laptop and don't worry about it.

My MBP is over a year old, got it August 2009, and I have 389 cycles, with a battery condition of "normal". I feel as if my battery lasts almost just as long as the day I got it. My routine consists of:

Keeping it on power when I am seriously working
Using it to lounge around the house with, and I can watch a few youtube shows and two hulu shows(45 min shows + ads) no problem. Though flash is a problem here.

 

[Bernard SG]

You're wrong again. Why don't you try reading a little closer? Right now the battery is set to not charge unless the battery charge drops below 95%. That means if you plug it in at 96% it won't charge it. But if you plug it in at 94% it'll try to charge it up to 100% (normally makes it to around 99%). So if you set it to not charge unless it's below 40% it'll only charge it up to 100% if it was plugged in at less than 40%.

COME ON!

How am I wrong?
Imagine this: you have a flight or a train to catch, and you intend to use your lappie extensively during the travel that lasts several hours. Then you discover your battery is 60% charged.
Now you first need to drain your battery to below 40%, which i can see taking 20 to 30 mins even with the most CPU intensive activity. Let's say 15 mins. Then you need to charge your battery from 40% up to 100% which lasts at least another hour, so some 75 mins to fully charge your battery instead of the, maybe, 45 needed to charge from 60% to 100%.
Isn't that a bit impractical for a laptop?

 

[Inside_line]

I've posted about this issue previously as it is annoying....

I think GGJ is right in so much that the way it is currently setup gives the best overall user experience without having to think about a battery. If you are just a "user" then the way it is now "just works".

Ryan, your patience is amazing. I agree with you from an engineering standpoint, apple's policy is not the best for greatest battery life, but a tradeoff for user experience.

There are gains to be had by adjusting charge threshold, but in the end apple is a hardware company. They want to sell you new batteries, or maybe you'll just pop for a new MBP when your 3-year old computer is not so shiny and the charge doesn't hold as well. Apple is already worlds ahead of every other manufacturer on battery life, so I wouldn't expect further optimization just yet. Given time... everything changes though.

 

[Inside_line]

To solve all your problems, apple merely needs to include a "battery conserving" checkbox that switches the charge threshold from 95% to something lower... I could see this right next to the automated graphics switching checkbox.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

How am I wrong?
Imagine this: you have a flight or a train to catch, and you intend to use your lappie extensively during the travel that lasts several hours. Then you discover your battery is 60% charged.
Now you first need to drain your battery to below 40%, which i can see taking 20 to 30 mins even with the most CPU intensive activity. Let's say 15 mins. Then you need to charge your battery from 40% up to 100% which lasts at least another hour, so some 75 mins to fully charge your battery instead of the, maybe, 45 needed to charge from 60% to 100%.
Isn't that a bit impractical for a laptop?

Don't play your previous comment off. You said it couldn't be charged passed the 40% threshold.

 

[Bernard SG]

Don't play your previous comment off. You said it couldn't be charged passed the 40% threshold.

I wrote exactly: "that would mean that your battery couldn't be charged above that 40% threshold."
Sorry for the ambiguity. English not my first language.

 

[Bernard SG]

(...)from an engineering standpoint, apple's policy is not the best for greatest battery life, but a tradeoff for user experience.

(...)Apple is already worlds ahead of every other manufacturer on battery life, so I wouldn't expect further optimization just yet. Given time... everything changes though.

I see a bit of contradiction here. If they are already worlds ahead of (most of) the competition, I would think that they're doing something just right from an engineering standpoint.

 

[Inside_line]

They are doing a lot right, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved further.

 

[RandomKamikaze]

If I plug in the power cord, Snow Leopard will recharge the battery if it's bellow 95% full. But this is not healthy for the battery. I basically use my MBP every day, and more than 10 hours a day, except for sleeping or traveling to work. Each time I will use the power cord. This means, the battery is always 95%-100% charged, never get under that, and this is very bad for the battery. It's estimated that only 80% capacity remains after 1 year if I keep using in this way, but it would be 96% if I keep it at 40% charged, at temperature 25 degree.

Don't ask me to unplug the AC, because straining and charging it everyday is not good to the battery too.

Don't ask me to calibrate the battery once in a while, that's a different issue, I want to keep the battery in low charged level.

Don't ask me to take out the battery and store it in the refrigerator, it's a unibody MBP and and I think there should be a better solution.

Here is what I want to do: adjust the computer's recharge threshold from 95% to 40%, by this way I can keep the battery in a low charged level for a long time and I don't need to remember anything, but I found no way to do so?

Any idea how to do it?

Thanks

How do you plan to keep it at exactly 25 degrees all day every day for a year?

Does it matter what the maximum capacity is if you constantly leave it at 40%

 

[vant]

Your best bet is to use the battery without caring about it. Oh and listen to GGJ, he knows his battery shiz.

 

[IRONMAN2]

Normal Battery Life?

On a same same but different topic...

My Macbook Pro is 11 months old and i;ve been testing the battery life under various usages (Wifi, Media or office) and the average battery life is 3 hours!

Apple claim 8-9 hours! My question is is this normal? and/ or could this be considered a fault?

Thanks for any comments or assistance.

 

[Bernard SG]

On a same same but different topic...

My Macbook Pro is 11 months old and i;ve been testing the battery life under various usages (Wifi, Media or office) and the average battery life is 3 hours!

Apple claim 8-9 hours! My question is is this normal? and/ or could this be considered a fault?

Thanks for any comments or assistance.

It's difficult to say, you need to give more details on how you test it; but it doesn't seem normal. Do you use a Battery monitoring tool like Coconut or iStat to check your battery health?
My MBP 13" which is the same age lasts over 5 hours, streaming music via WiFi and surfing the web (using ClickToFlash), bluetooth disabled and screen brightness at 1 or 2 bars.
I'm not too sure that the 8-9 hours claim by Apple applies to that iteration of MBP - but the next one from April 2010, if I'm not mistaken.