MBP 2 Months Old, 7 Battery Cycles...OK?

[BugsBunny]

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?

 

[flopticalcube]

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.

 

[pianodude123]

yes. 7 cycles for 2 months is not much.

 

[BugsBunny]

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...

 

[flopticalcube]

Yes. Lithium ion batteries like to be exercised occasionally. See more here: http://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.

 

[noodle654]

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).

 

[vicious7]

Calibrate once a month, yep. But I didn't know that we could shallow charge these things. That's good to know. Thanks.

 

[AHDuke99]

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.

 

[giganten]

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.

 

[nightelf]

My MBP has 9 cycles in about 10 days, and the health is 97%.

 

[amusiccale]

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.