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Is this really bad for my mbp battery life? Moving rooms....

A

andyACEcandy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 11, 2008
863
14
I have a big TV in my living room but I enjoy using my macbook in bed before I sleep.

So, I have been taking my mbp to the livingroom to watch football and TV for 1-3 hours or so and stuff then take it back into my bedroom when I'm done and plug it in.


Is this really bad for my laptops long term battery life? constantly using it for 1 hour then charging?
 
No? Look at the explanation of charge cycles. There's more information there than I could comfortably put in a forum post.

It won't harm your computer, but you should calibrate monthly anyway.
 
[incorrect info - removed]

The only thing to really avoid with Li-ion batteries are very extreme circumstances, such as...
  • Long-term storage of the battery. If you must, ideally drain it to ~40% and store it in a cool (~10°C), dry place.
  • Climate extremes. Avoid freezing the battery or using it in the middle of the desert.
  • Overcharging (from damaged/inappropriate chargers) or other hardware damage. This one should be a no-brainer - don't use a damaged or inappropriate charger, or otherwise physically damage the battery.

Li-ion batteries are pretty resilient. Treat it generally nicely (which you seem to be, by the sounds of it) and they'll last years. If you want to check the 'health' of the battery, you can try out coconutBattery.
 
BlueRevolution said:
Really?
Click to expand...
Hm. I was wrong. Damnit, I think I'm getting my battery technologies mixed up a bit here.

It's the lithium ions that have the 'de-calibration' (which is the electronics reading the charge poorly) and the ni-cads that have the memory effect (which is the actual battery getting screwed up).

...Upon further review, I think the rest of my list was sound. Add in the calibration every so often (though it may not actually need it very often unless you do the rapid charge-discharge cycles I was talking about).
 
Most of what I know about Li-ion batteries comes from Apple's battery info minisite (since I figure that's the most relevant to the subject at hand), and they say nothing about it mattering one way or another how long your individual drain/charge sessions are. You could be right, but I assume they'd mention if it made a significant difference where their own batteries are concerned.
 
Gah. I honestly can't even remember where I read that now. I was fairly certain that the 'de-calibration' was more rapidly caused by the more rapid charge/discharge cycles - but I may have misread something else.

...I'm really not coming up with much useful information tonight, am I? :rolleyes:
 
andyACEcandy said:
now im just confused hahaha
Click to expand...
Summary: What you're doing is okay. Li-ion batteries are pretty resilient.

Some additional tips: Don't put it in any climate extremes, or use damaged chargers. Don't store it (unused) for prolonged periods if you can possibly avoid it - if you must, drain it to 40% and put it in a cool, dry place. Every few months use it on the battery until it drains down to 0% and goes to sleep on it's own (it'll warn that it's on reserve battery power shortly before this), then plug it in and let it charge up to 100%.

This should keep it in good condition for quite some time.
 
My personal opinion is just to use it however you want and don't worry about it, it should last a decent time anyways and trying to do everything perfect for the battery won't add that much life to it anyways.
 
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