Is this normal? (Battery question)

[oldtime]

As you can see, I've had my MBA about a year and have logged 49 charge cycles. About a week ago, I noticed my battery draining more quickly than usual. The capacity has dropped from 96 to 90% (actually it's down to 88 now...) in a very short time. I know this can be normal, but it also coincides with poorer real-life battery performance. The only variables in this time period are Mavs and a new charger that replaced a failing original. Could either one of those things be responsible?

<90% capacity on an MBA with <50 cycles worries me a a bit.

 

[raptor402]

That's not normal. Run through another 50 cycles or so just to be sure. Batteries don't always have 100% health when brand new; there can be a deviation of 1-4%. But your situation is unusual, though not uncommon.

I myself am on my 997th cycle on my 15" mid 2010 MBP with 88% health. However, I haven't gotten more than 3 hours on battery in over a year.

 

[lobo1978]

Start using battery and everything will be ok

Man... start exercising your battery. When you stay on power you loose capacity - that's certain as gravity. Compare to my battery: 29 cycles in 13 weeks vs 49 in 12 months

I had the same problem with previous MBA 11" 2010 and Lenovo T410s - I ruined battery by keeping it constantly on charger.

You can get 14 hrs on battery with MBA13", just unplug when it's 100% and plug it when about 30%.

DO NOT "calibrate" e.g. deplete to 0% - as this will cause more damage.

When you proceed this way in a couple days you will notice the capacity recovering bit by bit.

 

[GGJstudios]

It is perfectly normal if your battery health (maximum capacity) is more or less than 100%, even when brand new, or if it fluctuates up or down over time. The gradual decline is not in a straight line downward, and it may decline more rapidly at some times and slower at others. For further details, read the CHECKING STATUS AND HEALTH section of the following link.

Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug any time you need to, regardless of the charged percentage, and you never need to completely drain your battery. Just make sure you don't run on AC power exclusively, as your battery needs to be used regularly to stay healthy.

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The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​