MacBook Pro battery cycle is almost 2000. Should I replace or not?

[kel2]

Well, you shouldn't listen to that kind of stupid advice, and instead read Apples battery manual.

However, I think that they cycle count really is secondary and at 4 years age, your battery is just used up and old. My previous MBPs battery gave up after about 40 month, with just about 200 cycles (used as desktop replacement mostly).

Ya i guess so but even after 1300+ cycles battery health never went below 90%
do you reckon there is a risk if i continue to use this battery? And also shouldn't i have already got a "replace now" message on my battery indicator?

 

[hova]

Dude there is a lot of misinformation when it comes to battery charging going back to the late 90s with mobile phones. I can't blame you for doing that. Technology changes all the times so of course rules change with them.

Going back to your problem though. Your laptop is rather "old". What you can do to extend the life is:
-Restore you Macbook to factory setting
-Get a battery replacement from apple (if they still support that model)
-Install 8GB RAM
-Install a SSD (SSD is rather expensive).
All of that will cost you a big chunk of money so if you are willing to go that route you might as well think about selling your current Macbook to get a newer one.
I feel terrible telling you this but i can't think of better things you could do.

 

[Yahooligan]

For the heck of it, I plugged in and powered on my old PowerBook G4 to see what it said about the battery. I'm actually pretty surprised at the low cycle count. I have to say, though, that I can't really complain about a battery that still functions after 8.5+ years.

 

[kel2]

Dude there is a lot of misinformation when it comes to battery charging going back to the late 90s with mobile phones. I can't blame you for doing that. Technology changes all the times so of course rules change with them.

Going back to your problem though. Your laptop is rather "old". What you can do to extend the life is:
-Restore you Macbook to factory setting
-Get a battery replacement from apple (if they still support that model)
-Install 8GB RAM
-Install a SSD (SSD is rather expensive).
All of that will cost you a big chunk of money so if you are willing to go that route you might as well think about selling your current Macbook to get a newer one.
I feel terrible telling you this but i can't think of better things you could do.

Ahh you dont need to feel terrible at all! I knew one day id have to deal with the issue of upgrading Im just so surprised after all your answers that my battery has nearly clocked 2000 cycles! i just hope it doesnt explode on me or ruin my hard drive!

I dont think id ever sell this macbook. Id rather get the ram and battery upgrade and then when i can afford a new one give this to my younger brother. He has got his last year in school coming up and then off to uni so this will do him some good.

Thanks for all the advice folks. Really appreciate it. Going to head down to some authorised apple repair shops and ask around what sort of price they are charging for the battery. If its a bit steep Ebay/ amazon should have viable options.

Damn yahoo i feel really bad for my battery after looking at yours! 8.5 years and only that. Apple have made some good lasting batteries the last few years!

 

[thundersteele]

Ahh you dont need to feel terrible at all! I knew one day id have to deal with the issue of upgrading Im just so surprised after all your answers that my battery has nearly clocked 2000 cycles! i just hope it doesnt explode on me or ruin my hard drive!

I don't think you have to worry. I had a case of expanding battery, however expansion only started a few weeks or month after it had died for good.

 

[Astroboy907]

Bloody hell folks! the only reason i took out the charger after it was 100% was because i read an article about battery health that stated to disconnect once fully charged and rarely ever go below 40%. I think it was that it reduces the battery health. Can really remember. I went by that method and up until say 3 months ago the battery load cycles were like 1500/1600 and battery health was in the high 80's and sometimes 90's.

I wonder if 2000 cycles even counts to what i have put this battery through. As you guys stated maybe if i had left the charger the cycles would have been well below the current figure! Il continue to use it on the charger for a while until i can afford to put a new battery in. Just hope the battery doesnt explode or anything like that!

Well, it seems to have worked for your battery health but maybe it needs calibration. Anyways, I wouldn't recommend using this unplug method with the new battery. You will get better computer performance and just the same life of the battery without unplugging it. My sisters mid 2009 MBP (same model as yours I believe) has 70% health and 489 cycles, and trust me she never calibrates or anything (so it may be a bit higher or lower). You are fine leaving it plugged in when you are stationary.

Oh, and it won't explode. Or at least, it shouldn't. If you punctured it it would though!

 

[nickandre21]

That's nice, but I never said not to use the battery or to use it as little as possible. I said to use it however is most convenient and not worry about a specific battery use/charge regimen or voodoo ritual or whatever.

Let me know what % health you have after 14 months.

haha cool mate

 

[KUguardgrl13]

As a comparison, I also have a Mid-2009 MBP. I'm at 400 battery cycles and 80% health. I use the AC adapter as often as possible. I'm a college student, and my battery can't always get me through a full day of class without charging in between. I have on occasion let it get to reserve battery or even die completely on accident.

 

[coldjeanzzz]

Oh man you've been treating the computer like a smartphone. Laptops are meant to be used plugged in unless you actually need to use it on battery. Every time you disconnect the laptop and use it on battery power you are adding cycles to it, the less you take it off power the longer it will take to add cycles. Generally you want to drain it to almost depletion about once a month but that's not absolutely necessary, if you just use it normally (i.e when you are sitting at your desk then plug it in, if you want to use it somewhere else then unplug it) your battery should be fine.

 

[sparky1499]

Macbook Pro (see sig) 25 months old, Coconut battery says 25 months old, 216 cycles, 94% of original capacity

This thing is plugged in all day most days...

 

[yesss]

jh