Is my battery dead?

[TwoLaneHighway]

Hello. I have an early 2015 rMBP that I bought from MacSales a couple of years ago and it was in mint condition. Like most MBP, I could leave it turned on, with the lid closed, and leave it for weeks without the battery really going down much.

Yesterday, I charged this rMBP up to 100% and then closed the lid and put it in my travel bag. When I opened it up this morning so that I could return to MacRumors, my battery is at 7%.

I do have Firefox open with maybe a dozen tabs, but historically that wouldn't drain the battery much when it is closed.

I assume my battery had a stroke or something last week and is on its last leg.

Does that sound correct?

And if I took it to an Apple Store, how much would it cost to replace the battery - assuming that can be done?

Also, could there be some larger problem with this rMBP? (I hope not, because this was supposed to be my "good" rMBP that I had been saving as my other rMBP is nearly worn out.)

 

[Fishrrman]

First, I'll recommend that you take it to a brick-n-mortar Apple Store and get the battery replaced.

The cost should be 199, which includes:
- A new Apple-labeled battery
- Installation
- A short warranty.
That's a bargain, in my opinion.

Second, I suggest that in the future, you take steps to preserve the battery.
That is:
- DON'T leave the MBP plugged into the charger all the time. 3-4 times a week, take if "off the charger", let it run down to 40-45% power, and then re-connect it to the charger.
- At night, either power the MBP off or put it to sleep. Then, UNPLUG the charger from the wall outlet. Plug it back in the next morning.

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

First, I'll recommend that you take it to a brick-n-mortar Apple Store and get the battery replaced.

The cost should be 199, which includes:
- A new Apple-labeled battery
- Installation
- A short warranty.
That's a bargain, in my opinion.

In another thread, someone said I have to go online and make an appointment to do that? (As opposed to just walking into the store.)

Is that something they can usually do same day?

Second, I suggest that in the future, you take steps to preserve the battery.
That is:
- DON'T leave the MBP plugged into the charger all the time. 3-4 times a week, take if "off the charger", let it run down to 40-45% power, and then re-connect it to the charger.

Oh. I thought I had read that leaving your MBP plugged in all of the time was better.

In normal situations when I am at home, my MBP is like a desktop, so I leave it plugged in all of the time.

When I travel like I have been the last few months, I leave it on all of the time, but of course, not plugged in all of the time.

Maybe you can suggest a better approach to preserving my laptop battery for my particular situation...

Whether I am at home or travelling - will be on the road from not until end of the year - it is not an option for me to shut off my rMBP every night.

I run a business and often have numerous browser tabs open for work and research, plus a handful of applications. I usually work up until bedtime, and it's not practical to have to bookmark webpages mid-research and have to close all of my work just to save my battery,

I have been doing this for nearly ad ecade with no issues with my battery - in fact my primary rMBP still has its original battery from 2015 if I recall correctly.

However, maybe I need to tweak my power settings and I'm not sure if I understand the difference between just closing my laptop lid and putting my rMBP into "sleep" mode.

What do you suggest for my particular situation, and can you explain what "sleep" mode really means?

- At night, either power the MBP off or put it to sleep. Then, UNPLUG the charger from the wall outlet. Plug it back in the next morning.

I usually just unconnect the power charge from my laptop when I want to run on battery.

Do I need to take better care of my power adapter/charger too? (I didn't think leaving the power adapter plugged in with nothing plugged into it would hurt - sorta like an extension cord plugged into an outlet with nothing plugged into it.

 

[Gregg2]

Call Apple Care. Even if you don't have coverage, they can help you get an appointment at a store.

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

I went into alocal Apple Store yesterday.

Turns out to replace the battery on my rMBP, they have to replace the "top shell" and the keyboard?!

Normally that costs like $350, but since it is a battery issue they are saying it should only be $199.

The problem is that they have to order the top shell, and I might not get this fixed until the middle of next week.

So much for an hour fix.

Oh, ironically the guy said my battery tested "Ok" but we are moving forward with a battery replacement.