need help with the battery

[Jordan246]

hi i have a mid 2010 macbook pro 13in and a year ago i had the service battery indicator on the battery menu. And now i have the same message again and the battery feels like it is braining faster then it once was a couple of months ago. Here are some shots that i took to see if it is something i should go and get fixed. please let me know and write back thanks.

 

[Vermifuge]

well... your battery has lost about 1/4 of its design capacity... i think the 2010 MacBooks are rated for about 1000 charge cycles.

 

[MushroomMan]

hi i have a mid 2010 macbook pro 13in and a year ago i had the service battery indicator on the battery menu. And now i have the same message again and the battery feels like it is braining faster then it once was a couple of months ago. Here are some shots that i took to see if it is something i should go and get fixed. please let me know and write back thanks.

As mentioned I believe those batteries are designed for about 1000 loadcycles (there is a really good long thread comparing user's experiences that unfortunately I couldn't locate FWIW). This means you are not doing too badly really given that your battery still charges up to 75.6% of its original total charge - I would be happy with that performance.

I guess it depends on what you want to do with your laptop, but as it is 5 years old and replacement batteries (proper genuine ones) are expensive, I would just live with it for as long as you can.

Using your laptop with the battery in its current condition will give you no grief or cause for concern other than simply having reduced portability as far as I am aware.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

As mentioned I believe those batteries are designed for about 1000 loadcycles (there is a really good long thread comparing user's experiences that unfortunately I couldn't locate FWIW). This means you are not doing too badly really given that your battery still charges up to 75.6% of its original total charge - I would be happy with that performance.

I guess it depends on what you want to do with your laptop, but as it is 5 years old and replacement batteries (proper genuine ones) are expensive, I would just live with it for as long as you can.

Using your laptop with the battery in its current condition will give you no grief or cause for concern other than simply having reduced portability as far as I am aware.

Apart from the fact that when it really starts to die it could swell, becoming a (fairly serious) fire hazard and threatening to split and ruin the laptop with corrosive chemicals.

OP your battery has done really well nearly 1000 cycles and 5 years is fantastic battery peformance. You are now in a situation where you either get it replaced or put the money towards your next computer and limp along as you are keeping an eye for battery swelling as you go.

 

[maflynn]

Apart from the fact that when it really starts to die it could swell, becoming a (fairly serious) fire hazard and threatening to split and ruin the laptop with corrosive chemicals..

This is what scares me the most - too many reports of batteries swelling and exploding. For the OP, the cycle count is high so it seems the battery is near its EOL, so its time to replace it.

 

[Mnowell69]

my mbp did 1700 cycles on it's battery before it was changed, and it still had 37% capacity. It wasn't overheating and it worked as expected.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

my mbp did 1700 cycles on it's battery before it was changed, and it still had 37% capacity. It wasn't overheating and it worked as expected.

Fantastic (Although I'd imagine that it was not lasting long at that point). That doesn't mean that you shouldn't keep an eye on old batteries for swelling etc though. It isn't guaranteed there will be a problem but enough are reported that it is worth keeping in mind.

 

[Mnowell69]

it gave about 2 hours which was ok. Nothing like new but still enough to watch a movie etc
Yes, it is wise to monitor the temperature of the battery but i honestly have never been that bothered.

 

[MushroomMan]

This is what scares me the most - too many reports of batteries swelling and exploding. For the OP, the cycle count is high so it seems the battery is near its EOL, so its time to replace it.

True, but I thought this only happened right at the end, i.e. where the battery could hold basically zero charge? I had swelling battery cells on my MBP pre-unibody and while it didn't cause any laptop damage due to the design, I can imagine that the unibody would be in a fair bit of trouble in this instance.

I do also agree that it would always be better to be safe than sorry, so if I were concerned I would just unscrew the bottom 10 screws and have a look.

 

[iConnected]

... i had the service battery indicator on the battery menu. And now i have the same message again ... Here are some shots that i took to see if it is something i should go and get fixed. please let me know ...

You know where it says "Service Battery"?

That's a great big clue, right there

Pricing details here under "Apple out-of-warranty battery service pricing for Mac notebook":

https://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=servicefaq&geo=United_States&product=Macnotebooks

 

[simonsi]

You know where it says "Service Battery"?

That's a great big clue, right there

LOL. Horse. Water