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New MBP suggested battery maintanence

Jedi5

Jedi5

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 16, 2009
575
34
North Burbs, IL
So I have a brand new MBP which I haven't even unboxed yet.
I've searched and read but there doesn't seem to be a clear one way on what the suggested maintanence for a battery should be.

For every let the battery run down to 20%, I'll read a no let it run to 10%.
I've read you can leave the battery plugged in without ruining it and others chime in saying if you keep it plugged all the time, you'll ruin the battery.

Reason I'm asking is because on my old 2008 MBP, I must have gone thru 3-4 batteries in about 4-5 years.
I did a bad job of battery maintenance and don't want to repeat that again.

What say the experts here?

Thanks
 
Im sure the experts will chime in with helpful info...but the reality with batteries now you just use them. Don't stress too much. Use it off the charger at least some time. :)
 
Like the OP, I've ruined the batteries in every MBP i have owned from 2007 to 2009. I never used the MBPs on battery power enough so after a year, they would barely run an hour and shut down. The new owners would take then to Apple and Apple would replace then out of warranty due to the batteries having less then 10 cycles.

The current MBP battery tech can handle such things much better. After a year of ownership, my 2012 13" classic MBP and my 2015 15" MBP both have about 11 cycles and they still last just as long as they did on cycle one. When I do run them on battery power, I run them till I get the 5% battery warning and then plug them in.

Some say never do that I'll run them they way I want. I never bough the extended warranty on either of my Macs. The 2015 15" is already out of warranty and the 13" 2012 expires at the end of this month. I figure it's cheaper to replace the batteries then to buy the extended warranty.
 
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Jedi5 said:
So I have a brand new MBP which I haven't even unboxed yet.
I've searched and read but there doesn't seem to be a clear one way on what the suggested maintanence for a battery should be.

For every let the battery run down to 20%, I'll read a no let it run to 10%.
I've read you can leave the battery plugged in without ruining it and others chime in saying if you keep it plugged all the time, you'll ruin the battery.

Reason I'm asking is because on my old 2008 MBP, I must have gone thru 3-4 batteries in about 4-5 years.
I did a bad job of battery maintenance and don't want to repeat that again.

What say the experts here?

Thanks
Click to expand...
With today's batteries, just use it however you feel like using it. It doesn't matter at all. It'll still die 4-5 years from now from old age no matter how much or how little you'e used it, or the manner in which you used it.

Enjoy your machine.
 
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Jedi5 said:
I've searched and read but there doesn't seem to be a clear one way on what the suggested maintanence for a battery should be.
Click to expand...

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

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

Here is the official information from Apple on batteries. Just use it on battery when you need to be portable, and leave it plugged in the rest of the time... it won't hurt a thing. Discharging intentionally just adds needless use cycles to the battery.

Just use how you want and don't worry about the battery. The battery will take care of itself.
 
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You don't need to treat the battery in any particular way (but I'd recommend avoiding extreme temperatures and humidity). Just use it as you seem fit. The more you use your computer, specially on the go, the quicker the battery will go of course. But with the new laptops, a battery should last at least 3-4 years, no matter how hard you push it. I average over 1.5 cycles per day, but I never once had to replace a battery on a retina MBP.
 
Jedi5 said:
What say the experts here?
Click to expand...

Just plug your rMBP in when you can and run it off of the battery when. You need to. I don't even have the percentage indicator enabled.

It's a tool. Use it. When the battery fails in 3-5 years(it's a consumable and will wear over time regardless of how you treat it), buy a new one and keep using it.
 
Thanks everyone for the responses!

Don't know how you guys made your batteries last that long, LOL.

Gonna go enjoy my new machine now.

Thanks again.
 
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Jedi5 said:
So I have a brand new MBP which I haven't even unboxed yet.
I've searched and read but there doesn't seem to be a clear one way on what the suggested maintanence for a battery should be.

For every let the battery run down to 20%, I'll read a no let it run to 10%.
I've read you can leave the battery plugged in without ruining it and others chime in saying if you keep it plugged all the time, you'll ruin the battery.

Reason I'm asking is because on my old 2008 MBP, I must have gone thru 3-4 batteries in about 4-5 years.
I did a bad job of battery maintenance and don't want to repeat that again.

What say the experts here?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Use it however you want it will make little difference,your battery will last between 3 and 5 years and then need replacing whatever you do or don't do.
 
Jedi5 said:
Thanks everyone for the responses!

Don't know how you guys made your batteries last that long, LOL.

Gonna go enjoy my new machine now.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
I never do anything special, just use it. I charge it up when it needs to be charged. :)
 
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