Leaving the laptop plugged in bad for the battery?

[ztk]

I've heard conflicting reports that leaving the laptop plugged lowers the battery life and that it is not true since it stops charging the battery.

So is it bad to leave it plugged in all the time?

 

[spinnerlys]

No. Why would Apple create notebooks with user-unreplaceable batteries?

MRoogle will get you some results on this often asked question.

 

[DannySmurf]

No, it's not bad for the battery. When you use the machine plugged in the battery is bypassed if it already has a full charge.

Edit: Bit of a clarification.

 

[ztk]

Thanks, I did try using google but like I said I got people saying both things so I was unsure.

 

[lucy van pelt]

thanks..., i had been wondering the same thing, i like to sit and work on my book with it plugged in.

 

[DannySmurf]

thanks..., i had been wondering the same thing, i like to sit and work on my book with it plugged in.

Yeah, I do the same thing, and have never noticed any degradation because of that.

 

[student_trap]

well thats really odd, because I have now had three macbook and pro batteries go bad because they have spent the vast majority of their life plugged in.

I thought it was something to do with the laptop constantly charging to 100% and then letting off until it is about 97% before charging back up.

 

[testcard]

There's a good case for running the battery down completely once a month, and then giving it a full charge. Do a search for "battery calibration" or take a look here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

 

[savar]

I've heard conflicting reports that leaving the laptop plugged lowers the battery life and that it is not true since it stops charging the battery.

So is it bad to leave it plugged in all the time?

Most laptop batteries require conditioning to maintain the life of the battery.

Leaving it plugged in is only bad in the sense that over time the logic in the battery loses track of how much charge is left, so your battery will show low charge even when its not low. Conditioning helps the battery logic recalibrate.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

 

[Anthonydrums]

I been using my mac for almost 1.5 years now. And the battery still functions perfectly. I don't think that it will lose it's power significally if i use it the way you described, even though i factor in that batteries do die at certain age...

but then again i can just buy a new one...

Don't worry too much

Greets

 

[miles01110]

Thanks, I did try using google but like I said I got people saying both things so I was unsure.

Yeah, most of them don't know what they're talking about though :-\ Seems to be a theme on the internet.

 

[Cottonsworth]

My battery went weird after hardly using it over the years. Like others have suggested, I think giving the battery a regular workout would prolong the life. At least in theory.

 

[Sukia]

I have a PB G4 for 6 years. I never, never unplugged. Still charging at 97%.
Not bad at all, i think.