Macbook Pro 15inch Retina Battery Help

[gundamzero]

I just bought a Macbook Pro 15inch Retina I just have a few questions.

My battery only lasts around 4 hours, all I do is browse the web on firefox, no heavy apps, is this normal?

My laptop heats up significantly, when I charge it and use it at the same time, is this normal??

Is it ok for the battery and laptop to use the laptop while it is plugged in? I read somewhere continuously using a laptop while it's plugged in, is bad for the battery.

Thanks in advance for your help guys.

 

[dan1eln1el5en]

i get 6-7 hours out of the same machine.
I am extremely cautious about what apps are running, when on the move.
A culprit is helper apps, esp. Chrome Helper.

open up Activity Monitor and see what apps are running and using a lot of power.

 

[Altemose]

I just bought a Macbook Pro 15inch Retina I just have a few questions.

My battery only lasts around 4 hours, all I do is browse the web on firefox, no heavy apps, is this normal?

My laptop heats up significantly, when I charge it and use it at the same time, is this normal??

Is it ok for the battery and laptop to use the laptop while it is plugged in? I read somewhere continuously using a laptop while it's plugged in, is bad for the battery.

Thanks in advance for your help guys.

On a relatively new battery you usually would see 6-7 hours of use as mentioned. Obviously check the CPU usage as mentioned by dan1eln1el5en and you can see what sort of capacity your battery has in Coconut Battery or Battery Health.

 

[gundamzero]

Thanks for the tips guys, but I was wondering Is it ok for the battery and laptop to use the laptop while it is plugged in? I read somewhere continuously using a laptop while it's plugged in, is bad for the battery.

 

[mfram]

Yes, it's fine to use the laptop while it's plugged in.

 

[Altemose]

Thanks for the tips guys, but I was wondering Is it ok for the battery and laptop to use the laptop while it is plugged in? I read somewhere continuously using a laptop while it's plugged in, is bad for the battery.

It is fine but you should cycle the battery at least once a month.

 

[hiddenmarkov]

My laptop heats up significantly, when I charge it and use it at the same time, is this normal??

Is it ok for the battery and laptop to use the laptop while it is plugged in? I read somewhere continuously using a laptop while it's plugged in, is bad for the battery.

Thanks in advance for your help guys.

Charging will generate some heat. An ipad or iphone will do the same thing. Its normal.

Keyword for your using power plugged in is continuously. Over time this will "wear" out the battery as it were and its max storage rating will get lower. Do it for years straight and at some point the battery may be useless.

Like mentioned above about once a month run a cycle. Run it battery only till she just cuts off. Let it sit for a bit, a few hours, then do a full recharge on it.

You can also get many battery monitoring applications as well to get better information about your battery. Many are free...forget the one I use and mac is at home now (at work currently).

 

[glenthompson]

I just bought a Macbook Pro 15inch Retina I just have a few questions.

My battery only lasts around 4 hours, all I do is browse the web on firefox, no heavy apps, is this normal?

My laptop heats up significantly, when I charge it and use it at the same time, is this normal??

Is it ok for the battery and laptop to use the laptop while it is plugged in? I read somewhere continuously using a laptop while it's plugged in, is bad for the battery.

Thanks in advance for your help guys.

No problem leaving it plugged in all the time.

Flash is one of the big battery killers. I use the Safari add-in Click2Flash that blocks flash unless I click on it to allow it. Keeps a lot of annoying ads and videos from automatically playing.

As someone else suggested, Activity Monitor is your friend. Crank it up and see what is using resources.