Number of battery cycles?

[kwokaaron]

Out of curiosity, how many battery cycles do you guys have on your MacBooks? I talked to a few of my friends that uses 2011/2012 MacBook Pros (I use the Mid 2012 rMBP) about our battery life and in turn about our cycle count. They all looked at me funny when I said I had around 60 something cycles. Is that not normal?

Edit: As GGJstudios has rightly said, the poll is flawed in that it doesn't have a timeframe. Therefore, just take it as an overview of how you "rank" amongst other users, old or new. If you want, you can also post your average number of cycles annually and your model year.

Edit 2: If I've calculated mine correctly mine should be about 21 cycles/year. Hopefully I'll be able to use it for another 4 more years at least.

 

[duervo]

My mid-2012 has 33 cycles on its original battery right now.

 

[maflynn]

I have no idea, I have a 2010 MBP that my kids use, and a 2012 rMBP that I use. I don't look at all at the battery cycles, I figure it will tell me when I need to replace the battery.

 

[freeskier93]

I'd say that's pretty abnormal for that age of laptop. I'm guessing you always use it plugged in? 60 cycles in 3 years is 20 cycles per year. My 2010 MBP has 732 cycles, which is 146 cycles a year, which I'd say is still relatively low.

Also, I have the service battery message but have always ignored it because I still get 4 hours on a charge.

 

[T5BRICK]

My old mid 2009 13" MBP has over a 1000 battery cycles. I haven't checked for a while since it was handed down to my parents.

 

[GGJstudios]

Out of curiosity, how many battery cycles do you guys have on your MacBooks? I talked to a few of my friends that uses 2011/2012 MacBook Pros (I use the Mid 2012 rMBP) about our battery life and in turn about our cycle count. They all looked at me funny when I said I had around 60 something cycles. Is that not normal?

There's no such thing as a "normal" number of battery cycles. It's whatever is normal for your needs. Some users are mobile most of the time and have to run on battery frequently. Such a user would normally have more cycles than one who uses their MBP primarily as a desktop. I recommend you ignore your cycle count and just relax and enjoy your Mac.

The poll is flawed because it doesn't take into account any time frame. 60 cycles may be low for a 5 year old computer, but high for one that's 1 month old.

Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug any time you need to, regardless of the charged percentage, and you never need to completely drain your battery.

​

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

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[iSheep5S]

Mine has 3 which is of no help to this thread. I have only had it for a few weeks. Mine will likely stay low as i use on power all the time.

I did have a 2011 'classic' well used MacBook Pro i bought to try the whole Mac thing. It had 787 cycles and still worked well with a reasonable 5hrs usage indicated when taken off power.

I will vote for its cycles to help.

 

[chanerz]

Mid 2010 here. My first battery had 400 cycles. I changed it to new one and has 4 cycles.

 

[kwokaaron]

My mid-2012 has 33 cycles on its original battery right now.

I guess I'm fine then

I have no idea, I have a 2010 MBP that my kids use, and a 2012 rMBP that I use. I don't look at all at the battery cycles, I figure it will tell me when I need to replace the battery.

That is true, although the fact that it's non-removable does worry me...

I'd say that's pretty abnormal for that age of laptop. I'm guessing you always use it plugged in? 60 cycles in 3 years is 20 cycles per year. My 2010 MBP has 732 cycles, which is 146 cycles a year, which I'd say is still relatively low.

Yeah, mostly plugged in although I do cycle it maybe once a month.

I will vote for its cycles to help.

Thanks!

 

[bobr1952]

Same as OP--mid 2012 rMBP--86 cycles. I use this as my primary computer--and pretty much 100 percent at home--and mostly plugged in except for around once a week when I use it for a day or two on battery power. Hence the 86 cycles. Battery seems to like this routine as it usually stays around 95 percent.

 

[MacInTO]

I'm about the same as bob^, I have a 2012 rMBP and I have 95 cycles.

I rarely take it out of the house.

 

[kwokaaron]

Same as OP--mid 2012 rMBP--86 cycles. I use this as my primary computer--and pretty much 100 percent at home--and mostly plugged in except for around once a week when I use it for a day or two on battery power. Hence the 86 cycles. Battery seems to like this routine as it usually stays around 95 percent.

I'm about the same as bob^, I have a 2012 rMBP and I have 95 cycles.

I rarely take it out of the house.

It's good to know that I'm not the only one around that cycle count. Is the battery life still good on your macs? I get around 9 maybe 10 hours with iTunes music playing and writing reports.

 

[DavidBlack]

I have nine battery cycles.

 

[JTToft]

451 cycles, 86 % health on Early 2011 15" (original battery), owned and used since Feb 2011.

110 cycles per year, or 0.3 per day.

 

[bobr1952]

It's good to know that I'm not the only one around that cycle count. Is the battery life still good on your macs? I get around 9 maybe 10 hours with iTunes music playing and writing reports.

For what I do, battery life is quite good--web, Spotify, mail, a few other things--and 9 or 10 hours seems about right.

 

[e93to]

564 cycles with 68 ~ 72% battery health remaining on my late 2009 MBP, which I purchased new on first or second week of Feb 2010 (around 0.3 cycle per day)

 

[KUguardgrl13]

164 cycles on my late-2013 rMBP with about 97% capacity. My mid-2009 MBP had about 400 cycles with 77% capacity on the original battery before I replaced it in December of 2013. The replacement battery has far less since I don't use that Mac nearly as much.

 

[seadragon]

I just breathed new life into my mid-2010 13" MBP.

16 GB RAM, 480 GB SSD, and a new battery. What a difference it's made. Almost like a completely new computer! Boot up time went from 1:30 to 20 seconds.

Cycle count is currently... 1.

 

[Ih8reno]

212 cycles on early 2011 Macbook Pro 13 inch and 82.1% capacity according to coconut battery.

 

[adamhenry]

6 cycles in 3 months.