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Is leaving a MBP on charge o/n bad practice?
- Thread starter MiniD3
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That sounds perfectly fine. These machines take very well care of their batteries so use it as you'd like!
I was under the impression that once you have it plugged in then the battery is not really used and it serves more like a middle man but without being affected. Once in a while its good to unplug it and use it on battery but other than that its fine plugged in. I keep mine plugged in all the time as I don't really use it as portable unless I change countries but that doesn't happen often.
So, that was my interpretation. I hope I wasn't wrong
So, that was my interpretation. I hope I wasn't wrong
Won't hurt. But there's also no need to leave it plugged in overnight if it's already fully charged and it isn't active.
Fair bit of assumption and misinformation here. Lithium-ion batteries shouldn't be stored for long periods of time at full charge, which is effectively what you're doing by having your laptop plugged in 24/7 (the battery is not cycled). This leads to a faster rate of deterioration in the cells, meaning reduced capacity over time. Li-ions can be stored at 30-70% safely for prolonged periods (several months) to reduce this effect. Some batteries actually include complex control circuitry that partially discharges them when left at full charge (one example is the DJI Phantom Intelligent Flight Batteries - these begin to slowly discharge from 100% to about 70% when left for a period of about 10 days).
Long and short of it, you should be at least exercising your battery every week or two. You don't need to drain it to 0% (it's actually worse for the battery, risking cell voltages dropping below 2V which is damaging), but you should perhaps let it drop to 20% before recharging.
Of course, there is no exact 100% science with batteries as the characteristics of each cell are always somewhat unique, but generally just give them a bit of exercise every so often.
Long and short of it, you should be at least exercising your battery every week or two. You don't need to drain it to 0% (it's actually worse for the battery, risking cell voltages dropping below 2V which is damaging), but you should perhaps let it drop to 20% before recharging.
Of course, there is no exact 100% science with batteries as the characteristics of each cell are always somewhat unique, but generally just give them a bit of exercise every so often.
Charge it when you can, run it from the battery when you need to.
Apple used to suggest that you complete one charge cycle each month, but that information is no longer listed on their website. It's probably a good practice to use your battery occasionally though.
Apple used to suggest that you complete one charge cycle each month, but that information is no longer listed on their website. It's probably a good practice to use your battery occasionally though.
- Nobody is talking about storing a battery for long periods at full charge. The OP asked about simply leaving it on charger overnight. His message wasn't completely clear, but presumably what he means by keeping it "fully charged for the new day" is that he will actually utilise that full charge the next day by running it off battery power.
I left my macbook air 13" 2013 charging everyday. I would discharge the battery once a month and the rest of the time it's charging and now my battery is very bad. Can't even watch a full movie before it dies even though the battery icon is still showing around 70%. Sometimes the battery would die and if I don't charge it as soon as possible, my clock would reset into the year 2011. Waiting for the new macbook to come out and this time won't be leaving my laptop charging all the time.
To be honest, like others have said, I don't see an issue with this. I've had my laptop in a docking station for quite sometime, and all is well thus far.
Batteries these days, are so different from years ago...
Batteries these days, are so different from years ago...
- Yes, 'cause purposely erasing 30 % usable capacity from day one is so much better than losing those 30 % from natural degradation over 5 years - if it ever even gets that high...
Not to mention any degradation that does happen anyway (which it will), will be a percentage of 70 % rather than of 100 % and you'll end up with an even lower effective capacity.
These mumbo jumbo battery maintenance tricks make no sense, let me tell you.
Overnight is no problem at all. Several months straight could be - it was for my Powerbook about a decade ago; I don't know if newer batteries have improved on this.
Except that is misinformation right there.
The battery controller will trickle charge and discharge the battery from 100% to 95% in the course of a week or two to keep things flowing and thus you're never actually in a "fully charged storing" scenario. Try it if you don't believe me.
OP: It doesn't matter, the battery's programmed to take care of itself much better than you ever could. Use your laptop however you like. The battery will degrade from old age at 5 to 6 years old or too many cycles, whichever comes first.
I highly recommend the Mac App "Fruitjuice" if you want to maximise the health and life of your battery.
http://fruitjuiceapp.com
I've been using this app on a Late 2013 MacBook Pro, following the guidance every day, and my battery is still rated as being at 96% of its original capacity. I first heard about this app on the Mac Power Users podcast and it really is a gem.
http://fruitjuiceapp.com
I've been using this app on a Late 2013 MacBook Pro, following the guidance every day, and my battery is still rated as being at 96% of its original capacity. I first heard about this app on the Mac Power Users podcast and it really is a gem.
True. I hear so many myths spread around these days that only apply to old batteries from perhaps the mid-nineties that simply don't apply anymore. Even the most basic lithium-ion batteries these days have software and controllers that negate the need to "condition" them. I'm more than comfortable keeping my laptop (or any other electronic device) continually charged if I need to take it with me at any time.
And I've done absolutely nothing at all on my 2012, it's left plugged in 90% of the time, and have the same health you do. It's a gimmick, nothing more.
That's good. Whatever works best for you. Personally I'm happy with FruitJuice as recommended by John Gruber, and the MPU crew, but it's absolutely not essential of course.