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:) Is it better to unplug and drain battery, or leave plugged in to use? :)

gacxx

gacxx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 24, 2007
114
0
Basically, is it better for the battery to be plugged in during use, or is it better to charge, and unplug? I've always done the cycling because I was told that before, but is it the truth? What method will keep my battery healthier? What do you do? Thanks.
 
Also I know to calibrate once a month. Part of the reason I want to know now is because I've been playing Restaurant City on Facebook which is a flash game. And to get something called gourmet points, you must leave the page open. Flash has been KILLING my battery life, and I don't want to end up charging it twice a day if it's not good for my battery.
 
Good to know. I feel so silly now :p Basically when it gets to 100% charge while plugged in, it stops charging the battery right?
 
I leave mine plugged in all the time (I have to for my external monitor). That being said, it is great to calibrate once a month. Sometimes Ill let it run down below 93 just to get it back up to 100% when it stops at 98/99.
 
You've been a great help, because now I can stop wasting my battery bt discharging it always, rather than leaving it plugged in. Good thing I cought it 10 months and 214 cycles in! :eek:
 
gacxx said:
You've been a great help, because now I can stop wasting my battery bt discharging it always, rather than leaving it plugged in. Good thing I cought it 10 months and 214 cycles in! :eek:
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Yeah, just when you unplug, make sure you drain it completely first. By the nature of my study schedule, I only drained it halfway before plugging it back in for the machines first four months, and the battery is doing not as good as it should be at eight months (the current age of this machine), even after calibration.
 
dandaman2 said:
Yeah, just when you unplug, make sure you drain it completely first. By the nature of my study schedule, I only drained it halfway before plugging it back in for the machines first four months, and the battery is doing not as good as it should be at eight months (the current age of this machine), even after calibration.
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Objectivist-C said:
This is the opposite of what you want to do. Completely draining a Li-on/Li-po battery is terrible for battery longevity.
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Apple says to keep the electrons flowing: http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html. It says the ideal use is 'An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her MacBook Pro on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing.'

But it doesn't say anything about how much we should drain the battery daily to keep the 'juices flowing'. So I've also been draining the battery from 100% to 50% once daily, and then I keep it plugged in for the rest of the time.

Are you telling me I should drain down to like 20% everyday and then keep it plugged in?
 
Apple told me that it doesn't matter if it is plugged in all the time or not. As long as the battery is calibrated once a month (let it drain empty, wait 8 hours or so, and then plug into to full charge) you will be fine.
 
To calibrate it unplug it and continually use it until it goes to sleep on its own, then leave it until the sleep light turns off and then plug it back in and fully charge the battery
 
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