In need of MBP battery care & shut down primer

[mikeoui]

Hey folks,

I ordered the MBP with Retina a few days ago and am in need of a bit of a primer as this is my first Mac. I'm not concerned about actual operation as I have Mac experience and am tech savvy, but I have two main questions:

1) How should I handle charging? I have a six-year-old Dell that I keep plugged in at all times. What is the best way to handle charging in order to preserve the length of the battery's life?

2) Shut down. I generally shut down my Dell every night. Should I not do this with the MBP? I mostly shut it down because it's loud (and kept in my bedroom). I'm sure this won't be an issue with the MBP, but I'm still wondering if there's any reason that I shouldn't shut it down every night.

Thanks!

 

[simsaladimbamba]

1.

______________________________________________________
This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
Apple Notebook Battery FAQ by GGJstudios
The F.A.Q. includes the following topics:

• BATTERY INFORMATION
• BATTERY LIFE FROM A CHARGE
• AC POWER
• CALIBRATION
• BATTERY LIFESPAN
• CHECKING STATUS AND HEALTH
• CHARGING
• WHAT IS A CYCLE?
• BATTERIES ARE NOT COVERED
• BULGING OR SWELLING BATTERY

______________________________________________________​

2. Just put it to sleep. That is what most do, and I rarely shut my MBP down.

 

[GGJstudios]

1) How should I handle charging? I have a six-year-old Dell that I keep plugged in at all times. What is the best way to handle charging in order to preserve the length of the battery's life?

Run on battery when you need to and run on AC power when you can. As long as you don't run on AC power all the time, you'll be fine. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

2) Shut down. I generally shut down my Dell every night. Should I not do this with the MBP?

You can, but you don't need to. Sleeping it is fine. Many Mac users go many months at a time without shutting down.

 

[mikeoui]

I generally work at a desk so my computer stays there 95% of the time. Is there a "magic number" that I should run the battery down to before plugging it back in? Otherwise it will be plugged in most of the time and I know that's not ideal. (And I did read the linked page.)

 

[GGJstudios]

I generally work at a desk so my computer stays there 95% of the time. Is there a "magic number" that I should run the battery down to before plugging it back in? Otherwise it will be plugged in most of the time and I know that's not ideal. (And I did read the linked page.)

Re-read the AC POWER section, which directly answers your question.

 

[mikeoui]

I have no idea how I missed the bolded part of that section . Sorry and thanks for your help!