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MacBook Pro Battery Life

R

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
I was reading on the Apple site that the life of the MacBook Pro battery is 1000 full cycles, which they claim is around 5 years of average use.

I have to charge my 13" MacBook Pro everyday, so after doing the math I won't get 3 years out of my battery. I know I'm not the only person that uses their MacBook Pro on a daily basis and needed it charged just as much. Or am I?
 
You should ask this in the MacBook Pro forum. ;)

Each time you charge the battery does not equal a cycle though.
 
This is the Macbook Pro Forum.

Each time I charge my Macbook Pro it is a full cycle because I only do it when the battery is almost completely dead.

I don't see how using my MacBook Pro everyday is considered above average use. It is normal to use a computer on a daily basis, in this day and age.
 
miles01110 said:
Or maybe you could just wait and see how your battery holds up instead of complaining about it when nothing's actually wrong.
Click to expand...
Maybe you need to look at my post again, because it was not a complaint.
 
Resist said:
I don't see how using my MacBook Pro everyday is considered above average use. It is normal to use a computer on a daily basis, in this day and age.
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Using it every day is not considered above average. Using it on battery power, every day, is considered above average. I use mine a lot, every day, but it's plugged in, so my battery will last me longer than yours.
 
deadwulfe said:
I use mine a lot, every day, but it's plugged in, so my battery will last me longer than yours.
Click to expand...
I do that also, but I often use it unplugged on my couch, while watching TV.

So using it plugged in a lot, has little or no effect on the battery?
 
I'll be 99% sure in saying that your battery will not last your 5 years. It will definitely suffer after a few years of constant use.

Just replace the battery whenever it starts to get back a few years down the road, or get a new computer.
 
in two months i've used 52 cycles...

so 26 a month means i have 38.46 months till i start to lose battery capacity.

that's only 3.2 years. ah well. still better than any other laptop batteries i know of.
 
Resist said:
So using it plugged in a lot, has little or no effect on the battery?
Click to expand...

Little effect on the battery, I gather. Like ABadSanta said, just use your computer the way you want to. Down the road, you will either need to replace your battery or not, but don't let that dictate your experience. Everything wears out and needs replacement some time, so enjoy it before that time comes!
 
deadwulfe said:
Little effect on the battery, I gather. Like ABadSanta said, just use your computer the way you want to. Down the road, you will either need to replace your battery or not, but don't let that dictate your experience. Everything wears out and needs replacement some time, so enjoy it before that time comes!
Click to expand...

So it's unlike other laptops where leaving it plugged in damages the battery? Most laptops have this problem; is the macbook pro battery controller smarter than that?

yes, i'm new with macbooks. pardon my dumb questions
 
GuitarG20 said:
So it's unlike other laptops where leaving it plugged in damages the battery? Most laptops have this problem; is the macbook pro battery controller smarter than that?

yes, i'm new with macbooks. pardon my dumb questions
Click to expand...

You're right, the MacBook Pro is smarter than that. The battery will NOT charge until it is at (I believe 93 percent), meaning when you leave it plugged in all the time it's taking juice directly from the cord and bypassing the battery.

That is why you'll see your battery percentage at like 99, or 98, because the battery will slowly drain without usage, but that is proof right there that it's not getting charged. Once it gets down to that magic percentage it will then charge.

Other computers are (were?) stupid, and they take the juice for the computer from the battery, which then causes extra wear on the battery due to a consistent charge/drain. I do not know if this is still a problem with new laptops, but my old Sony did this and my battery life was terrible. Macs are not like this. I always have my MBP plugged in and do a full cycle/calibration on it once a month.
 
GuitarG20 said:
So it's unlike other laptops where leaving it plugged in damages the battery? Most laptops have this problem; is the macbook pro battery controller smarter than that?

yes, i'm new with macbooks. pardon my dumb questions
Click to expand...

Lithium polymer batteries have a built in chip that prevents damage from overcharging amongst other things. This whole "be unplugged as much as you can to avoid damage to the battery" myth needs to die.
 
snaky69 said:
Lithium polymer batteries have a built in chip that prevents damage from overcharging amongst other things. This whole "be unplugged as much as you can to avoid damage to the battery" myth needs to die.
Click to expand...

So would it be better to keep it charging while at home, even though the battery is full? Or would that still wear the battery out
 
Leaving it plugged in doesn't harm the battery. Now, using it until it dies and then plugging in will harm the battery (this is called 1 cycle). I suggest not killing the battery just for the purpose of charging it. If you really had to use the battery, then go for it; otherwise don't try to completely kill it before you charge.
 
Resist said:
I do that also, but I often use it unplugged on my couch, while watching TV.

So using it plugged in a lot, has little or no effect on the battery?
Click to expand...
I heard keeping your battery charged when it don't need charging is draining the life out of the battery.
 
smithmanny said:
I heard keeping your battery charged when it don't need charging is draining the life out of the battery.
Click to expand...
Like previously mentioned, this comes from the older Ni-Cad battery days, this is no longer true with today's batteries.

Do you fully discharge and charge your cellphone everytime? Thought not. I bet you didn't notice any effect on battery life from doing this either.


You can keep your MBP plugged in 24/7 without harming battery, though it is a good idea to use it on the battery once in a while to keep the juices flowing. Constantly charging and discharging from 0 to 100% is more harmful to the battery than keeping it plugged in all the time.

I suggest you search for GJGStudio's battery FAQ on this forum, it should answer most of your questions regarding the battery.
 
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