Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Hicks.

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 27, 2006
271
19
UK
Hi guys,

I have a 3 week old macbook that won't charge over 98%. Since I've had it's had 12 charging cycles and I have let it run down so it switches itself off into sleep mode 3 times.

The battery health shows as being 100% (according to a dashboard widget) yet it wont actually show 100% charged (the ac charger is green though).

Any ideas, is this a defect? Sorry if it sounds trivial, but these things really bug me :rolleyes:
 

Eraserhead

macrumors G4
Nov 3, 2005
10,434
12,250
UK
Hi guys,

I have a 3 week old macbook that won't charge over 98%. Since I've had it's had 12 charging cycles and I have let it run down so it switches itself off into sleep mode 3 times.

The battery health shows as being 100% (according to a dashboard widget) yet it wont actually show 100% charged (the ac charger is green though).

Any ideas, is this a defect? Sorry if it sounds trivial, but these things really bug me :rolleyes:

It is trivial, don't worry about it. So you don't notice get it to show the battery life remaining instead. ;)
 

ITASOR

macrumors 601
Mar 20, 2005
4,398
3
Mine has 30 something charge cycles and still charges to 100%. Call Apple, it's worth a try and you may get a new battery out of it!
 

benthewraith

macrumors 68040
May 27, 2006
3,140
143
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Computers tend to do this from time to time, it's no reason to get a new battery, unless it charges to like 80% then stops. If it stops at 92% or below, I'd return the battery.
 

UnclePaulie

macrumors regular
Apr 6, 2004
123
12
LA, CA
I remember reading somewhere that your battery won't charge if it's already above 95%. So to get it to get up to 100%, you have to unplug it and discharge it fully and then let it fully charge back up without interruption.
Take a look at the instructions for battery calibration in the MacBook manual.
 

benthewraith

macrumors 68040
May 27, 2006
3,140
143
Fort Lauderdale, FL
I remember reading somewhere that your battery won't charge if it's already above 95%. So to get it to get up to 100%, you have to unplug it and discharge it fully and then let it fully charge back up without interruption.
Take a look at the instructions for battery calibration in the MacBook manual.

He did. He let it run all the way down till it was completely drained, and then charged it back up.

Speaking of which, I need to do that soon.
 

SMacDuff

macrumors 6502
Oct 21, 2006
283
10
Stockholm, Sweden
Go to http://www.coconut-flavour.com and download and install coconutbattery v2.5. It'll tell you your Original battery capacity as well as your current battery capacity among other things. Very handy. Right now, my Macbook's original capacity is 5260mAh while my current capacity is 5280mAh. My Macbook is 4 weeks old and I calibrated the battery during my first week with it so it's in good shape.
 

rw1979

macrumors member
Oct 26, 2006
72
4
Dublin, Ireland
Sorry for barging in but I was wondering...
I'm usually near a power socket whenever I settle down to do some work, so if I leave my MBP plugged in all the time will that cause any issues with battery life in the long run?
 

SMacDuff

macrumors 6502
Oct 21, 2006
283
10
Stockholm, Sweden
Sorry for barging in but I was wondering...
I'm usually near a power socket whenever I settle down to do some work, so if I leave my MBP plugged in all the time will that cause any issues with battery life in the long run?

In the long run you would likely diminish the carrying capacity of your battery. You should calibrate it regardless if you have it plugged in all the time or not. You should be fine doing once a month but anyone can correct me if my time is wrong as I'm a new Macjunkie. :)
 

tobefirst ⚽️

macrumors 601
Jan 24, 2005
4,612
2,335
St. Louis, MO
Haha, hard to say! I would like to think it is just my good luck to get a superbattery yet you're probably right. In any case, the battery does seem to last a long time for me.

The coconut battery actually doesn't do anything except display already available information in a pretty interface. It gets the information from the System Profiler. So if the software is bad, it's Apple's software that is bad.
 

walleyealx

macrumors member
Oct 22, 2006
54
0
personally, i believe that your macbook is particularly smart.

it knows that 9+7 > 1 + 0 + 0

its just picking the highest number, it cant help it!
 

Hicks.

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 27, 2006
271
19
UK
Update

After another battery calibration I am happy to say that it now reaches 100% again :)
 

mullerj4

macrumors newbie
Apr 15, 2007
1
0
problem with a 12months battery with only 24% capacity

My macbook pro is only 12 months old, 96 battery cycles, but its capacity is now reduced to 24%.
It shutdowns quickly without system information, and re-calibration processs does not work.
What is the issue ?
a wrong serial ?

my id for battery : A1175 serial KF6172CNTY48
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.