Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Macz0r

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 22, 2012
3
0
So iv just bought a new 13" retina, and the battery cycle count says 3.

Does this mean my new toy has previously been used? or possibly a repaired/resale?
 
There were probably some tests in there that counted to the cycle count. When I got my new rMBP, the cycle count on my battery was still 1.
 
Not at all. A full calibration of the brand new battery takes up 2 cycles. Then, as the battery naturally drains below ~90% (or so) while it's shipped to you, the system counts one more cycle.
 
Wow, nice quick replies :) (new to this forum)

Thanks, thats good to know ! Loving this little machine.
 
So iv just bought a new 13" retina, and the battery cycle count says 3.

Does this mean my new toy has previously been used? or possibly a repaired/resale?
It's possible that your Mac was tested before shipping. It's nothing to worry about.
Not at all. A full calibration of the brand new battery takes up 2 cycles. Then, as the battery naturally drains below ~90% (or so) while it's shipped to you, the system counts one more cycle.
The calibration process only takes one cycle, and the majority of Mac notebooks ship with zero cycles on the battery, even though they are all pre-calibrated. Draining below 90% does not count as a cycle. Read the WHAT IS A CYCLE? section of the following link for details on how cycles work.

The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.
 
It's possible that your Mac was tested before shipping. It's nothing to worry about.

The calibration process only takes one cycle, and the majority of Mac notebooks ship with zero cycles on the battery, even though they are all pre-calibrated. Draining below 90% does not count as a cycle. Read the WHAT IS A CYCLE? section of the following link for details on how cycles work.

The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

A full factory discharge of the battery does sometimes register as 2 cycles. Sometimes, the batteries get off the manufacturing line with a charge cycle. Whether one gets a notebook battery with 0, 1, 2, or 3 cycles out of the box depends on the testing/approval process that particular batch of batteries went through before being inserted into finalized products.

The ~90% figure wasn't supposed to be exact. To avoid microcharging (and thus unnecessary battery wear) the OS avoids recharging over a particular charge level, usually in the low 90's. Once the battery drains to the point where the OS feels comfortable to recharge it, and a user plugs it in to recharge it, that counts as one more cycle.
 
A full factory discharge of the battery does sometimes register as 2 cycles.
No, it doesn't. A cycle is a cycle. How they're counted does not change.
The ~90% figure wasn't supposed to be exact. To avoid microcharging (and thus unnecessary battery wear) the OS avoids recharging over a particular charge level, usually in the low 90's. Once the battery drains to the point where the OS feels comfortable to recharge it, and a user plugs it in to recharge it, that counts as one more cycle.
That is not true. The short discharge protection prevents recharging when the battery is above 93%. Dropping below that threshold and recharging does not count as a cycle. Again, read the section of the Battery FAQ I suggested to understand what a cycle is and how they're counted.
 
BTO 15" rMBP arrived with 2 cycles count.

Kept it plugged while in used then put it to sleep unplugged; next day battery was at 98%, used it on battery up to 85%, and then plugged it and cycle count went up to 3.

It went 1 cycle count up without actually fully draining the battery.

Is that normal? good or bad?
 
My CTO 15" retina arrived with 3 cycles on it. It's been working fantastic and iStat is reporting it actually has more capacity than it is designed for (I doubt this is accurate, though). If it's just a few cycles I don't think that's anything to worry about. Actually, although this is pure conjecture, I would assume it might mean your battery has been tested more thoroughly, meaning your battery might have less chance of fault.

It went 1 cycle count up without actually fully draining the battery.

Is that normal? good or bad?

If you read the "what is a cycle" section of the FAQ that GGJstudios linked to you will see that your battery does not have to completely drain for the cycle count to go up.
 
BTO 15" rMBP arrived with 2 cycles count.

Kept it plugged while in used then put it to sleep unplugged; next day battery was at 98%, used it on battery up to 85%, and then plugged it and cycle count went up to 3.

It went 1 cycle count up without actually fully draining the battery.

Is that normal? good or bad?
It sounds like you had already used up most of the 3rd cycle, so just the recharge from 85% was enough to go over the threshold and count another cycle. In other words, it didn't arrive with 2 cycles, but with something like 2.85 cycles. It will not count a full cycle if you only drain and recharge 15% of the battery.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.