MBA i7 battery draining fast..

[weespeed]

I'm not really happy about the battery life on my new MBA 13" i7 but it is what it is.

But it seems to be draining fast even when idle.
My battery health was at 96% on 8 cycles this morning. So I decided to fully charge it then let it run down to calibrate it.
Brightness at 2 notches from middle, backlight keyboard on 1 notch, one chrome browser with 3 tabs, and mail.app open.

Every time it goes to sleep and I log back in the battery percentage drops 1%. And I;m talking 2-3 minutes from sleep to log back in. This doesn't seem normal.

In fact typing this post I went from 95% to 92%. I hope I didn't get a dud. I really like my air, but this is making me think twice about it. For 1900 I was expecting 7 hours battery life, but I'm willing to live with 4-5.. But watching my battery drop before my eyes with mail.app and typing this post is pissing me off..

Anyone have any solutions ideas?? Or is it just me??

Thanks

 

[xraydoc]

I'm not really happy about the battery life on my new MBA 13" i7 but it is what it is.

But it seems to be draining fast even when idle.
My battery health was at 96% on 8 cycles this morning. So I decided to fully charge it then let it run down to calibrate it.
Brightness at 2 notches from middle, backlight keyboard on 1 notch, one chrome browser with 3 tabs, and mail.app open.

Every time it goes to sleep and I log back in the battery percentage drops 1%. And I;m talking 2-3 minutes from sleep to log back in. This doesn't seem normal.

In fact typing this post I went from 95% to 92%. I hope I didn't get a dud. I really like my air, but this is making me think twice about it. For 1900 I was expecting 7 hours battery life, but I'm willing to live with 4-5.. But watching my battery drop before my eyes with mail.app and typing this post is pissing me off..

Anyone have any solutions ideas?? Or is it just me??

Thanks

Allow it do discharge completely until it shuts itself off, charge it back up while leaving it off until its complete, then turn it on and see how it does.

Also, probably wise to check the Activity Monitor now to see if some oddball process is running full tilt. That will use battery juice quite quickly.

 

[alecgold]

I have the idea that the new versions and/or snapshot feature is causing a lot of battery drainage. I have trouble getting 5 hours out of my 11". I was always able to get well over 7 hours of careful use out of my 13" 2010.
I have istat menu and it shows a lot of activity from mbd every now and then.
I think I am going to try to disable versions and/or local snapshots and see where that is going.

 

[weespeed]

Allow it do discharge completely until it shuts itself off, charge it back up while leaving it off until its complete, then turn it on and see how it does.

Also, probably wise to check the Activity Monitor now to see if some oddball process is running full tilt. That will use battery juice quite quickly.

Thanks for the reply..

In the process of doing just that.. Gonna let it drain and recharge it. At this rate it'll be quick. From the time I posted to this reply my battery has dropped to 86%.. That's pretty fast.

My cpu usage is 2% user and 1% system. I've checked Activity Monitor and nothing seems out of place. Although I do see DropBox and SugarSync is taking up some memory.. Maybe I should disable those and see if that helps battery drain, but then it defeats the purpose of having my AIR using those useful apps.

 

[Acorn]

someone posted before that having mail open was killing their battery. try again with mail closed because i know people have mentioned its a battery hog.
i get 8 hours or more on my 2010 macbook pro and i get 7 with click to flash on my 11 inch 2010 1.4 ghz machine.

I love my battery life. the new machines seem to be worse for battery life not batter. maybe its lion. i dont have lion on either of my machines.

 

[alecgold]

someone posted before that having mail open was killing their battery. try again with mail closed because i know people have mentioned its a battery hog.
i get 8 hours or more on my 2010 macbook pro and i get 7 with click to flash on my 11 inch 2010 1.4 ghz machine.

I love my battery life. the new machines seem to be worse for battery life not batter. maybe its lion. i dont have lion on either of my machines.

Mhh, thanks for the tip, I'll try it right away without mail, it's open all the time, so might be worth it.

 

[weespeed]

someone posted before that having mail open was killing their battery. try again with mail closed because i know people have mentioned its a battery hog.
i get 8 hours or more on my 2010 macbook pro and i get 7 with click to flash on my 11 inch 2010 1.4 ghz machine.

I love my battery life. the new machines seem to be worse for battery life not batter. maybe its lion. i dont have lion on either of my machines.

If thats the case than that really sucks. I need my email, it's vital for my work.
Seems it's like my iPhone4.. Now I'm gonna have to set it to push or poll for mail once every hour?? That would really suck.

I'm really beginning to think it's Lion. And re-installing it on a brand new Air to see if it will help is ridiculous.

As of this post I'm down to 51% battery. My first post was at 1:30. I have only had chrome and mail.app open. Chrome is on macrumors. So yeah my battery is really crappy. Down 50% in 2 1/2 hours doing nothing but surfing, mail and an update from Apple for iTunes and remote desktop.. And that's in between me using my iMac, so the Air is not even being used that much.

This is down right bad...

 

[bursthead]

Even though i have a i5 13, having mail off gained about 2 hrs, i had been around 3-4 hrs and now i avg 5-6 no bluetooth,50%brightness, no time machine, with chrome and itunes on...

 

[iphonsteve4ajob]

It takes an hour for your laptop to enter "standby mode" aka deep sleep. When it does you should see your %'s drop only 1-2% from the time you go to sleep to when you wake up. Give your battery some time. Don't be too paranoid about dropping percentages ever time you log back in. Time the total "up" time. Remember Apples website states "up to 7hrs," meaning most members here are reporting 5-6. Remember step #6 in your batt calibration.

1. Plug in the power adapter and fully charge your PowerBook's battery until the light ring or LED on the power adapter plug changes to green and the onscreen meter in the menu bar indicates that the battery is fully charged.
2. Allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for at least two hours. You may use your computer during this time as long as the adapter is plugged in.
3. Disconnect the power adapter while the computer still on and start running the computer off battery power. You may use your computer during this time. 4. When your battery gets low, the low battery warning dialog appears on the screen.
5. At this point, save your work. Continue to use your computer; when the battery gets very low, the computer will automatically go to sleep.
6. Turn off the computer or allow it to sleep for five hours or more.
7. Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.

 

[KPOM]

If thats the case than that really sucks. I need my email, it's vital for my work.
Seems it's like my iPhone4.. Now I'm gonna have to set it to push or poll for mail once every hour?? That would really suck.

I'm really beginning to think it's Lion. And re-installing it on a brand new Air to see if it will help is ridiculous.

This is down right bad...

I don't notice too much of an effect leaving Outlook 2011 on in my 11" model. I get about 3.5-4 hours on that model connected to Wi-Fi with Safari and Outlook running, so on your 13" I'd expect closer to 5.5-6 hours. Given how rapidly it is going through battery on yours, I'm suspecting you have a dud, particularly if it's losing 1% every time you put it to sleep and wake it up a few minutes later. Have it checked out.

 

[weespeed]

I don't notice too much of an effect leaving Outlook 2011 on in my 11" model. I get about 3.5-4 hours on that model connected to Wi-Fi with Safari and Outlook running, so on your 13" I'd expect closer to 5.5-6 hours. Given how rapidly it is going through battery on yours, I'm suspecting you have a dud, particularly if it's losing 1% every time you put it to sleep and wake it up a few minutes later.

I'm still hoping after I run the battery down and let it sit overnight and then charge it, it'll be ok..

I really don't want to wipe and return and start all over. I know Apple is pretty easy to deal with and they will exchange it, but it's a pain and a hassle.

But from reading and doing some research, seems people with Lion have battery issues. I wish I could instal SL on my Air but we can't..

 

[justaregularjoe]

<snip>
...I wish I could instal SL on my Air but we can't..

Why not?

 

[weespeed]

Why not?

As far as I have read it's not possible on the new 2011 Airs. The several people that have, have a lot of issues. No kexts and drivers for certain things, etc..

 

[alecgold]

I only tried it for half an hour orso last night but turning of mail did seem to work for me. Battery life got back to around 5 hours with 72% left, light one notch, backlight one notch, BT off and just surfing the internet. That was around 3 hours!

 

[MRU]

I only tried it for half an hour orso last night but turning of mail did seem to work for me. Battery life got back to around 5 hours with 72% left, light one notch, backlight one notch, BT off and just surfing the internet. That was around 3 hours!

Don't need to turn mail off, Just change the frequency it checks for mail from 1 minute to say 30.

 

[alecgold]

Don't need to turn mail off, Just change the frequency it checks for mail from 1 minute to say 30.

Oh, thats even better! Does it matter much if you've got push mail, e.g. MobileMe and gmail on? These keep polling a lot as well iirc. I use this a lot for syncing notes & todo lists on my iPhone.

Edit: mail was at an 5 minute interval, so not every minute. I just hope for a quick update to 10.7.2 or an update for mail

 

[weespeed]

Ok, did the whole battery calibration. Used it till it shut off. Let it sit overnight. Plugged it back in this morning to charge to 100%.
As of right now my battery health went down. At 100% charge I'm at 95% Health. Yesterday I was at 96%.

I dunno, I know I maybe paranoid, but at this rate will it last me till next year?

I might just have to go to Apple Store and see what they can do. Such a hassle. I have a the full skin wrap from BSE too.. I know Apple won't refund that.

Brand new bought on launch week for a little under $1900, this irks the hell out of me.

Great as I'm writing this post, dropped from 99% to 97% battery..

 

[IngerMan]

Ok, did the whole battery calibration. Used it till it shut off. Let it sit overnight. Plugged it back in this morning to charge to 100%.
As of right now my battery health went down. At 100% charge I'm at 95% Health. Yesterday I was at 96%.

I dunno, I know I maybe paranoid, but at this rate will it last me till next year?

I might just have to go to Apple Store and see what they can do. Such a hassle. I have a the full skin wrap from BSE too.. I know Apple won't refund that.

Brand new bought on launch week for a little under $1900, this irks the hell out of me.

Great as I'm writing this post, dropped from 99% to 97% battery..

Don't sweat the small stuff. If your health drops below 80% with less then 1000 cycles then apple will replace it for free. Also the cost to replace a brand new battery from apple in your MBA is not that bad. I can't remember but it is less then $150. So 2 years from now $150 boom, New again.

I did the battery calibration on my new 2010 MBA when I first got it. And it dropped the health on it too, to about 96 95%. I just left it alone for I traveled with it and it came back up to 97%. 6 months later and 120 plus cycles it was still 94 - 96%.

I took delivery of my new 11" last week. 6 cycles later and 100% health. I am not going to calibrate it for I travel with it daily. I am not going to get paranoid if it drops to 92%. I have a warranty and Apple will honor it. It is a simple deal for them to replace it, if that what it comes down to.

So do not sweat the small stuff. Besides what is your SSD and Screen

 

[weespeed]

So do not sweat the small stuff. Besides what is your SSD and Screen

Lol, I hear what you're saying, it's just annoying to see the battery like that on a new machine. Also my expectation of 7hrs turned into a real world 4-5 doesn't help.

How long is that warranty? I guessing under a year and under a 1000 cycles?

Well I will take it to the Apple Store, maybe they can see something in the logs that I don't see. I've looked for rogue processes and apps etc..

And I have Samsung SSD and Screen.

 

[IngerMan]

Lol, I hear what you're saying, it's just annoying to see the battery like that on a new machine. Also my expectation of 7hrs turned into a real world 4-5 doesn't help.

How long is that warranty? I guessing under a year and under a 1000 cycles?

Well I will take it to the Apple Store, maybe they can see something in the logs that I don't see. I've looked for rogue processes and apps etc..

And I have Samsung SSD and Screen.

Keep iMail off, that can be a good hour. If you just use it normal, I would bet it comes back to 97 - 98%

Apple is great and I am sure they would warranty the 1000 cycles 80% 5 years life as they post on there web.

Just copied this from their website. Why worry.


How do I replace the battery in my MacBook Air?
The battery in your MacBook Air is a consumable item, which means it will require replacement at the end of its useful life. A replacement battery can be purchased directly from Apple. The price of the replacement battery includes installation of your new battery and environmentally responsible disposal of your depleted battery.
How much does battery replacement cost?
Battery replacement prices are based on your region:

Region Apple Price United States $129 pre taxes Canada CA$139 pre taxes Europe €129 inc. VAT Switzerland CHF 199 inc VAT United Kingdom £99 inc. VAT Japan ¥12,800 inc. taxes Australia A$179 inc GST China 988 RMB inc. vat
Battery replacement service may be available at your local Apple Authorized Service Provider ("AASP").1

 

[iphonsteve4ajob]

Lol, I hear what you're saying, it's just annoying to see the battery like that on a new machine. Also my expectation of 7hrs turned into a real world 4-5 doesn't help.

How long is that warranty? I guessing under a year and under a 1000 cycles?

Well I will take it to the Apple Store, maybe they can see something in the logs that I don't see. I've looked for rogue processes and apps etc..

And I have Samsung SSD and Screen.

Aside from your original issue of the dramatic loss of batt percentage - you're being over critical of your batt life because you think it's not working properly.
Most member are getting 6.5 on very, very good days. This with barely anything running. 5hrs is average.

94-95% batt health is also normal. That will go up and down. 95 today 96 tomorrow, 94 after that. And so on....

If you're lasting 5-6hrs your battery is pretty normal. It really depends on your apps. Everyone's got something different running in the background.

 

[Mashimoto]

same here, boooo

upgraded my MBA 13.3 '10 model to '11 model both with full options and this one sux at energy usage. I easily had 5-7 hrs with the '10 model with the same usage behavior... now, it's the 1-3 hrs = horrible
+ I prefer SL to Lion... over all not really excited about the upgrade overall, actually thinking about to downgrading back...

 

[daviddth]

1 to 3 hours is horrid. I get 7+ hours normally, 4 to 5 if running windows on it and I am very impressed with that. It does depend on what you are using the MBA for though - watching movies, word processing, surfing the net, games or in my case family tree or sequencing lights under windows all use different resources in the MBA and thus the battery drops at different rates.