MBP Battery Life

[vlug]

Hi All,
I have had my MBP since about October 2011. I have only ever used it about 3 times when not connected to the MagSafe PowerSupply as its mainly used as a main desk PC.

However.. each time I have used it on the battery alone it has only lasted 2hrs top's. Granted this is with full brightness on the screen and using wifi, but I wasn't exactly pushing it CPU wise, just streaming online TV and browsing the web.

My friends MBP last's 4+ hours using full brightness on the screen doing the same sort of activity.

Maybe I need to use it more not connected to the mains, when its on my desk it is always connected to the main could this harm it? shouldn't do right?

2hrs web browsing and streaming low bit rate web tv cant be right can it?

Specs:
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011)
Processor 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1024 MB

I haven't approached Apple yet because I upgraded the ram, but the battery issue was evident before I did this. Will put original ram back in before I go to an Apple store, unless anyone responds to this with another option or information.

Thanks
Scott

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Streaming TV most likely uses Flash.

Adobe Flash Player is CPU intensive, thus more power is needed to feed the CPU, which results in higher temperatures and often higher fan speed(s) on mobile computers. As more power is used due to Flash, the battery life of mobile computers is shortened by a good bit.
To check, if Adobe Flash Player is responsible for less battery time or the heat, go to Applications / Utilities / Activity Monitor and select to show ALL PROCESSES and sort by CPU.

There are a variety of Flash blockers for all the four major browsers available.
A Flash blocker does what it says, it blocks Flash content, but via a click on the marked Flash object, the Flash object can be activated and used.

• Safari: ClickToFlash, for which there is an extension and a plug-in; CTF allows you to download YouTube and other kinds of MPEG-4 encoded video too.
• Opera: has a built-in Flash blocker
• Firefox: Flashblock is an add-on to block Flash
• Chrome: FlashBlock is an extension to block Flash

Also make sure to have the latest Adobe Flash Player version running, you can get it here.​

 

[vlug]

The streaming TV was with Microsoft Silverlight, but thank you for responding, and the 1 instance it lasted 2hrs was only web browsing and browsing in Finder whilst a friend taught me a few Apple / OSX tricks as I am new to OSX.

 

[robvas]

 

[simsaladimbamba]

The streaming TV was with Microsoft Silverlight, but thank you for responding, and the 1 instance it lasted 2hrs was only web browsing and browsing in Finder whilst a friend taught me a few Apple / OSX tricks as I am new to OSX.

I don't know how much CPU Silverlight uses, maybe have a look at Activity Monitor like mentioned above the next time you use it on battery.

______________________________________________________
This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
Apple Notebook Battery FAQ by GGJstudios
______________________________________________________​

 

[thundersteele]

Install gfxcardstatus and set it to "integrated only."

Unfortunately some of the streaming services are not optimized on OSX, and use up a lot of power. Apparently this gets worse the more CPU power is available.

Finally, you should use your battery once in a while (i.e. at least once a month). Otherwise it might loose charge capacity.

About this Mac -> More Info -> System Report -> Power
has all the information about your battery.

 

[vlug]

Thanks for responding, I have checked the battery info, not sure what it all means but here it is:

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: ***************
Manufacturer: DP
Device Name: bq20z451
Pack Lot Code: 0
PCB Lot Code: 0
Firmware Version: 406
Hardware Revision: 1
Cell Revision: 1102
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh): 8379
Fully Charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 8487
Health Information:
Cycle Count: 4
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12473

System Power Settings:

AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 60
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 60
Wake on AC Change: No
Wake on Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake on LAN: Yes
Current Power Source: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
GPUSwitch: 2
PrioritizeNetworkReachabilityOverSleep: 0
RestartAfterKernelPanic: 157680000
Standby Delay: 4200
Standby Enabled: 0
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 15
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Wake on AC Change: No
Wake on Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
GPUSwitch: 2
Reduce Brightness: Yes
RestartAfterKernelPanic: 157680000
Standby Delay: 4200
Standby Enabled: 0

Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes
ID: 0x0100
Wattage (W): 85
Revision: 0x0000
Family: 0x0085
Serial Number: 0x001b95c7
Charging: No

I have seen people mention that Graphics program tweak before might give it a go next time I run battery only.

But as a whole though guys 2hrs is not good enough when browsing Finder and internet without streaming is it?

Thanks

 

[Interstella5555]

streaming is hammering wifi, processor, and display, especially if you have it turned up all the way, so it makes sense that streaming online video is going to eat your battery.