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BugsBunny

macrumors member
Original poster
my MBP is almost exactly two months old now, and my iStat widget is telling me I've gone through 7 cycles. I guess that means I'm cycling it a little less than once a week...I keep it plugged in while using it at my desk, but take it around the house sometimes (once per week, I suppose)...is that alright for decent battery life?

And on the other hand, once I go to school in three weeks, I'll probably be cycling it almost daily M-F as I take it to class, and then leaving it plugged in all weekend...will that be alright for decent battery life?
 
Apple figures an average battery life of about 500 cycles (resulting in about 50% of original capacity). This would take 18 months if you cycled it once per day.
 
but isn't there something to the fact that not cycling it properly/leaving it plugged in kills the cycles? that's more what i was alluding to...
 
Yes. Lithium ion batteries like to be exercised occasionally. See more here: www.batteryuniversity.com

When I am not using the battery a lot, I let mine sleep unplugged overnight. This uses about 10% of the battery every night. I then recharge it in the morning. Shallow cycling like this is best for these batteries.
 
WHen you store your battery for a long time, they say to leave the battery half charged. I think you are supposed to do a full battery drainage every month (empty your battery completely).
 
Calibrate once a month, yep. But I didn't know that we could shallow charge these things. That's good to know. Thanks.
 
hell i plug it in when i'm at my desk and dont when i'm not. i dont shallow charge it ever. ive been through 123 cycles since buying it in september.
 
my MBP is almost exactly two months old now, and my iStat widget is telling me I've gone through 7 cycles. I guess that means I'm cycling it a little less than once a week...I keep it plugged in while using it at my desk, but take it around the house sometimes (once per week, I suppose)...is that alright for decent battery life?

And on the other hand, once I go to school in three weeks, I'll probably be cycling it almost daily M-F as I take it to class, and then leaving it plugged in all weekend...will that be alright for decent battery life?

Mine is almost 2 months to I think and I have 6 cycles.
 
3 months, 12 cycles, 100% health (5512 mAh)

When it comes time to return to university, the cycles may increase. Full battery discharge each month seems like a good plan for desk-tethered people like myself.
 
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