MBP - how to take care of the battery?

[max99]

My new MBP should arrive soon.... so just wandering how is best to look after the battery, my work consists of 9-5 at a desk so it can easily be plugged in and then the rest of the time it could also be plugged in if needed.

So is it best to keep it plugging in as much as I can? or use the battery every x amount of days... do I drain it right down or .... you see where i'm going with this

Tips and advice more than welcomed

 

[monkeydax]

My new MBP should arrive soon.... so just wandering how is best to look after the battery, my work consists of 9-5 at a desk so it can easily be plugged in and then the rest of the time it could also be plugged in if needed.

So is it best to keep it plugging in as much as I can? or use the battery every x amount of days... do I drain it right down or .... you see where i'm going with this

Tips and advice more than welcomed

I would like to say it's good to keep it plugged in, but make sure you allow the battery to be used (down to 10-20%) at least once every two weeks. That should preserve the number of cycles you have in the battery unless you need to use it on the go.

 

[throAU]

Just use it. If you need the battery, use it, if you don't leave it plugged in. However running it on battery at least once every few weeks would be a good idea.

In my experience Apple batteries last well beyond the 3 years expected life without any babysitting.

Trying not to use cycles so you have cycles (which you won't use) is kinda pointless. Just use it as required.

 

[ag29]

Just like others have said, use your battery at least every now and then in order to preserve it.

Don't worry about cycles. I used to be freaked out about them but then I realized I only use about 100 cycles a year so it would take me 10 years to even reach 1k cycles, and I sell my laptops within the 3-5 year mark.

 

[chriz_r]

Just use it. If you need the battery, use it, if you don't leave it plugged in. However running it on battery at least once every few weeks would be a good idea.

In my experience Apple batteries last well beyond the 3 years expected life without any babysitting.

Trying not to use cycles so you have cycles (which you won't use) is kinda pointless. Just use it as required.

I could attest to this same reasoning. my 2012 rMBP was consistently drained and charged and half charged and kept plugged in, all under heavy use, and the battery didn't start showing signs of degradation until about late 2015 and thats when i decided to change the battery. CoconutBattery indicated that i've reached a little over 800+ cycles.

 

[Weaselboy]

So is it best to keep it plugging in as much as I can? or use the battery every x amount of days... do I drain it right down or .... you see where i'm going with this

Leave it plugged in when you don't need to be portable. There is no need to run down the battery intentionally to "exercise" it. That just adds unnecessary charge cycles to the battery.

Here a couple links from Apple that should help you.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1446

http://www.apple.com/batteries/