MBA + monitor --> demands external power

[aaronvan]

My mid-'12 MBA, when I connect it to my HP 2009m monitor, it won't work unless the MBA is on external power. Since the monitor has it's own power, the MBA should just be pushing pixels and not using a lot of extra power, correct? Is there an override? I don't see anything in Energy Saver. I like extending my battery life to the utmost and keeping the MBA on external power will shorten battery life. That was a $139.00 lesson I learned at the Apple Store.

Edit: running Yosemite, but the same occurred under Mavericks and MLion.

 

[willydimes]

as far as i understand keeping it on power doesn't ruin anything, in fact prevents you from constant drain of you battery which saves the battery life so my advice is plug it in

 

[aaronvan]

as far as i understand keeping it on power doesn't ruin anything, in fact prevents you from constant drain of you battery which saves the battery life so my advice is plug it in

Some folks claim batteries need full cycles to remain healthy. Others say don't discharge below 40% or charge over 80%. Or 30/90. Or on full moons. Who knows?There is a lot of contradictory information out there. However, my MBA was on external power almost continuously for about 18 months (with an external monitor) and my battery required replacing after just 93 cycles.