How to take care of my battery?

[joey4127]

I have had 3 laptops before this MBP I got and on all of them my battery life was horrible a few weeks/months after I got it. I usually use my laptop plugged into the power outlet...What should I do to keep my MBP battery the best I can for a longer time? Should I let it run out every once in a while and ten recharge it...Any help would be great!!


Thanks

 

[RITZFit]

Calibrate the battery once every month.

 

[alphaod]

Calibrate the battery once every month.

Or if you use it a lot, there isn't much to worry about.

 

[joey4127]

Calibrate the battery once every month.

How do you calibrate a battery? I'm new to this stuff

 

[RITZFit]

How do you calibrate a battery? I'm new to this stuff

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284
(info towards bottom)

 

[alphaod]

How do you calibrate a battery? I'm new to this stuff

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284
(info towards bottom)

At least once a month make sure you fully charge you machine, run it battey until it forces sleep, plug it in and charge it full before you unplug it again.

Of course if you use the battery a lot, you may already be doing this so this calibration is unnecessary.

 

[gazy1344]

Hi,

I am in the same situation and I was wondering if it will not be better to take the battery out when my computer is plugged in for long period of time?

I am asking this because on my old computer (A Vaio) I used to run it without the battery most of the time which apparently helped the battery to stay in top notch condition. I know i am a bit of an OCD person when it comes to batteries.

I hope you can help.

Gary

 

[nhaque]

charge up to 40% then you can take it out to store

 

[gazy1344]

Thanks for the info.

What I am wondering is whether or not taking the battery out will help preserve its capacity?

Thanks

Gary

charge up to 40% then you can take it out to store

 

[Azmordean]

I don't think removing the battery is a good idea with these machines. Apparently they do not receive quite enough power from the adapter to power them during intensive tasks - during such tasks, the MBP will draw a slight amount of power from the battery even when plugged in. Thus if you remove the battery, your MBP will be clocked down and performance will suffer considerably. The best option is to leave the battery in and occasionally calibrate it as others have mentioned here.

 

[gazy1344]

Thanks,

So if i understand it well, leaving my computer on all day plugged in with the battery in will not damage my battery in the long run. However, what will damage it is to do full charge cycles.

Gary

I don't think removing the battery is a good idea with these machines. Apparently they do not receive quite enough power from the adapter to power them during intensive tasks - during such tasks, the MBP will draw a slight amount of power from the battery even when plugged in. Thus if you remove the battery, your MBP will be clocked down and performance will suffer considerably. The best option is to leave the battery in and occasionally calibrate it as others have mentioned here.

 

[nhaque]

Thanks for the info.

What I am wondering is whether or not taking the battery out will help preserve its capacity?

Thanks

Gary

while it may not be the best option for your MBP, but if what you want is to preserve the battery for as long as possible, then take it out and store at 40% is the best option. But again, if you just want to preserve it under normal usage, then perhaps calibrate it every month is the best option.

 

[alphaod]

while it may not be the best option for your MBP, but if what you want is to preserve the battery for as long as possible, then take it out and store at 40% is the best option. But again, if you just want to preserve it under normal usage, then perhaps calibrate it every month is the best option.

Well it's actually from anywhere from 40%-60%

 

[polycat33]

However, what will damage it is to do full charge cycles.

Not sure what you mean here, calibrating once a month is a good thing to do if you're concerned about battery health. And calibrating means letting the battery drain all the way until it forces sleep and then recharging all the day (with a few hours in between of letting it rest empty). That is GOOD for your battery.

 

[bart rijksen]

my awesome battery

My battery is just getting better and better. it is at 5700 capacity!!! up from 5600. What i do, is i just calibrated it when i got it, and then i just leave it plugged in until i use my battery. If i use the battery, i let it drain to 2% or to sleep. Works awesome

 

[snaky69]

Hi,

I am in the same situation and I was wondering if it will not be better to take the battery out when my computer is plugged in for long period of time?

I am asking this because on my old computer (A Vaio) I used to run it without the battery most of the time which apparently helped the battery to stay in top notch condition. I know i am a bit of an OCD person when it comes to batteries.

I hope you can help.

Gary

No, don't do that, your power will be cut in half to save your computer,(something about if your comp ever needs mores power than the magsafe can provide, so it downclocks itself to half power when you take off the battery) apple says so somewhere on their website(can,t find it). Leave it in, it's fine where it is.

 

[SamoanDude]

Battery life loss happens every year, even if you don't use it.

Just an FYI

 

[Bobioden]

I go through a cycle a day. It is fully charged when I start using it in the morning. I will use it outside, on the couch, kitchen table or wherever in the house until it runs low, then I will plug it in and charge it back up. Sometimes I will do this twice in a day. I think people get too hung up on numbers. I like mine unplugged, easy to go from room to room.