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[Not again :(] Has anyone had any luck with 3rd party MacBook batteries?

CodeBreaker said:
Didn't get this :confused:
What I meant was I will charge the battery till it's 85% full; then disconnect the charger and use till it's 65% and then again charge it.
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You don't need to do that. It doesn't matter if you recharge from 85% or 45% or 5%. There is no "memory effect" with Apple batteries, so you can charge/discharge at any time.
 
OK I just got my new battery from Apple.

I remember that the original battery was rated 4100 mAh, but this one's 4300 mAh. So did Apple change the design of this battery?

I think I should calibrate it today.
 
Don't keep your computer plugged in overnight

Have learned from painful experience a big contributor to battery issues (swelling, rapidly reduced capacity) is keeping your macbook (pro) plugged in all the time. In theory this should not be an issue but in the real world it seems to be.

So just do the following:

1. If you are not using your computer for more than say 8 hours, disconnect from the external power supply whether it is in sleep mode or powered off. In other words, unplug it before you go to bed or leave work for the day.

2. Use your laptop on battery a few times per week even if you typically keep it plugged in during the day. You don't have to run the battery down, just give it some exercise.

3. Cycle your battery once a month, twice a month tops. Typically that means running the battery down entirely, let it sit for 6 to 12 hours then recharge it completely and keep it plugged in for at least 3 hours before unplugging the power supply. Check applecare for your model's specific procedure.

4. If not using your laptop for 2 weeks or more, charge the battery to 60% to 80%, then remove it until you will be using it again.

Like I said earlier, in theory you should not have to do some of this stuff although cycling your battery once a month is always a good thing. Sadly though, even Apple batteries are not always perfect so some pragmatic battery management will go a long way.
 
jjniss said:
Have learned from painful experience a big contributor to battery issues (swelling, rapidly reduced capacity) is keeping your macbook (pro) plugged in all the time. In theory this should not be an issue but in the real world it seems to be.
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Well, I learned from painful experience that a big contributor to these problems is the failure to shake a rubber chicken over the computer every 7 hours, tops. Forget what the manufacturers say.

What? You mean I should provide any reasoning or source?
 
jjniss said:
3. Cycle your battery once a month, twice a month tops. Typically that means running the battery down entirely, let it sit for 6 to 12 hours then recharge it completely and keep it plugged in for at least 3 hours before unplugging the power supply. Check applecare for your model's specific procedure.
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  • First, the process you describe (with some errors) is called calibration. For the proper calibration steps, see the link below.
  • Second, there is only one calibration procedure, not different procedures for different models.
  • Third, for models where calibration is recommended, the freqency is once every 30-60 days, not 1 or 2 times per month.
  • Finally, all recent Apple notebooks with built-in batteries come pre-calibrated and do not require regular calibration.
Rather than make stuff up that could mislead people, it's better to learn the facts. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
 
Just what I had feared

So after about 3 months, the new battery failed (Health ~50 %). This is exactly what happened:
  1. The battery charge was around 30 % and I put the MacBook to sleep
  2. When I woke it up after about 15 min, it showed the normal password prompt
  3. The screen went blank before I entered the password
  4. I brought it back to life by pressing the power button and plugging in the charger
  5. It started from safe sleep and the battery charge was 0 %
  6. I got the same "service battery" message and my battery health was 53 %
  7. I restarted, but that didn't change anything
  8. I reset the PRAM and that didnt change anything
  9. I reset the SMC and that didn't change anything
  10. So I just let it charge and after it was about 40 % charged, I unplugged the charger
  11. After letting it idle for a while, the battery health was reported 95 % and charging was 71 % (even though I had unplugged the charger at 40 %). The "service battery" message was gone

There was no problem with the new battery so far and it's health was > 99 % all the time. I had purchased the battery on 26th November and I have taken good care of it (plenty of charge-discharge cycles and monthly calibration). I was given a 90 days warranty by the AASP (which expired on Feb 26th).

So what am I supposed to do now? :( Do I need to replace this battery too and waste more $$$? The battery health is now reported at 95 % and it appears to be normal. I will calibrate it today. Also, there is no swelling on this one.
 

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It is odd, I've had my MacBook Pro for 4 years with no battery swelling or issues, apart from the expected life depreciation. I wonder if the problem is in the battery management on the Mac itself?
 
CodeBreaker said:
There was no problem with the new battery so far and it's health was > 99 % all the time. I had purchased the battery on 26th November and I have taken good care of it (plenty of charge-discharge cycles and monthly calibration). I was given a 90 days warranty by the AASP (which expired on Feb 26th).
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You posted earlier that you always charge up to 85%, then disconnect the charger and discharge to 65%. That sounds like you go from 65% to 85% to 65% once an hour. If you are really doing that, then I can assure you that you are destroying your battery. Charge / discharge cycles are _not_ good for your battery.
 
gnasher729 said:
You posted earlier that you always charge up to 85%, then disconnect the charger and discharge to 65%. That sounds like you go from 65% to 85% to 65% once an hour. If you are really doing that, then I can assure you that you are destroying your battery. Charge / discharge cycles are _not_ good for your battery.
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No. I first thought that was a good idea. But other people in this forum said that it was not. So I just used it normally. I used the battery every day and unplugged the charger when the battery was fully charged for a long time. I think on an average, I made a charge cycle every 2-3 days. I also calibrated the battery every month to be sure that the capacity is correctly reported.

I haven't yet calibrated the battery since yesterday, and the health is still reported as 95% with so "service battery" warning or swelling. I think it may be a software bug. I will post again after I calibrate the battery.
 
CodeBreaker said:
I haven't yet calibrated the battery since yesterday, and the health is still reported as 95% with so "service battery" warning or swelling. I think it may be a software bug. I will post again after I calibrate the battery.
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You shouldn't calibrate your battery that often. Once every month or two is enough.
 
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