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PERSONALLY, how do you guys manage your battery and a/c adapter?

A

AnthrMacUser

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 18, 2010
23
0
UNITED STATES
Without giving links to mac sites nor apple sites. How do you guys manage your battery and ac adapter usage? I'm new to this macbook pro and i've read all the apple support and other sites of how to use the a/c adapter when to plug it in and when to not, how long to, where, etc. But how do you guys individually use yours? In order to keep it balanced? Thank you guys :)
 
I always use mine OFF the charger during the day. And whenever I'm not using it its asleep or turned off on the charger. I never seem to run outa battery using that system :D
 
i normally leave my A/C charger plugged into my MBP for 4-5 days then let it go down to 50% and repeat the steps
 
AnthrMacUser said:
Awesome! Thank you by the way but i hope other mbp users would give me some isight of how they use theirs :D
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Everyone uses theirs differently, based on their needs for portability. Some use it mostly at a desk with external monitor, keyboard, mouse.... some mostly on the go with no peripherals. What matters is how you plan to use it. Did you read the info I posted? That should give you a good idea how to care for your battery.
 
Mine is only a 5-hour (3.5-4 hour usable) battery, but I actually keep it plugged in quite a bit, as I usually sit in one place to work, plus I don't like doing anything strenuous while on battery power. I have done that for about a year, unplugging it about once every 3 days (126 cycles over 13 months), and iStat still shows my battery at 96%, so it works well for me.
 
This is how I tend to use my mbp 2.4 old aluminum style. I tend to keep it plugged in most of the time regardless of where I am using it. Usually about once a week or so I will take it onto the couch unplugged and I will tend to run it down until it hits the red warning with 15 minutes left. Then I will plug it in and the cycle starts over again. I am not doing this for any particular reason, it is just how my usage tends to work.

PS... I did this same routine with an old powerbook g4 and the battery would only last 10 minutes if unplugged after about a year. So far this battery has been really reliable.
 
advres said:
This is how I tend to use my mbp 2.4 old aluminum style. I tend to keep it plugged in most of the time regardless of where I am using it. Usually about once a week or so I will take it onto the couch unplugged and I will tend to run it down until it hits the red warning with 15 minutes left. Then I will plug it in and the cycle starts over again. I am not doing this for any particular reason, it is just how my usage tends to work.

PS... I did this same routine with an old powerbook g4 and the battery would only last 10 minutes if unplugged after about a year. So far this battery has been really reliable.
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That sounds good to me, i have mine plugged in right now in the living room. Thinking whether or not if i should plug in it or not since its 94% now and 40 minutes til it's fully charged. So I think I hsould just leave it plugged in. Thank you for your isight!
 
If you have a power socket nearby use it. If not, use the battery. That's about it.

The only trick is not to abandon the battery: for example, don't leave it 3 months without a charge. But since this is most likely your main machine there's a slim chance it will happen.
 
When it is charging, it is best to leave it plugged in until it is done charging, to prevent a chance of it developing a memory (when the battery thinks it is empty or full but really isn't). When you use it while charging, it will charge considerably slower, but that's natural.
 
alust2013 said:
When it is charging, it is best to leave it plugged in until it is done charging, to prevent a chance of it developing a memory (when the battery thinks it is empty or full but really isn't). When you use it while charging, it will charge considerably slower, but that's natural.
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The new batteries don't have such a memory, so that's not an issue.
 
GGJstudios said:
The new batteries don't have such a memory, so that's not an issue.
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i have the new 2010 15" mbp low ends i5. So am i Okay? I've read the links about battery i'm just so confused by so many different users saying different things. I just need something solid and just go with it.
 
AnthrMacUser said:
i have the new 2010 15" mbp low ends i5. So am i Okay? I've read the links about battery i'm just so confused by so many different users saying different things. I just need something solid and just go with it.
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That's why it's safer to learn what Apple recommends, rather than try to get a consensus among users. Many users don't treat their batteries properly and many think that calibration is simply draining and recharging the battery. If you really want to do it right, depend on facts, rather than opinions.
alust2013 said:
In theory Lithium batteries don't, but my past couple phones tell a different story.
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Phone batteries are quite different from Apple notebook batteries.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/
You can also recharge a lithium-ion polymer battery whenever convenient, without the full charge or discharge cycle necessary to keep nickel-based batteries at peak performance.
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Mine is plugged in, and I use it. I don't think about it, fret about it, lose sleep over it.. etc.

It's a tool that I own, and not the other way around.
 
Depends on what I'm doing, if I'm just browsing the web, doing some word processing etc then I run on the battery. If I'm doing anything that demands more juice like playing games and what not then I run of the mains.

I try to make sure I run of battery a few times a week, and I have an awful memory for doing routines so will probably end up calibrating every 6-8 weeks or so.
 
When I got my MBP last week, I did endless research on the battery as well. I have concluded, that there is no 'real' way to keep your battery healthy, as there are many ways to work your battery. Numerous replies on threads stated that more cycles the better. As if it was a competition to have the most cycles. But, if you think about it, more cycles, the less efficient.. right? I think it's good to have cycles (just not that much) to move the ions in your battery. And then there are those who replied stating that they use AC power most of the time, even posting pictures of how many cycles they've used within the past months.

I use my MBP mostly at home, and Apple has recommended me (through the phone), to keep it on AC most of the time, and have 2 cycles per week. Which means 8 cycles a month = 96 cycles a year. Within 3 years, you will have approx. 288 cycles before dipping below 80% (if I am correct). I'm sure using the battery isn't bad. By stating that Apple recommends me to use 2 cycles, doesn't mean you have to use 2 cycles. You can use more or less. The batteries aren't so expensive anyway for a thousand dollar product
 
AnthrMacUser said:
... how to use the a/c adapter when to plug it in and when to not, how long to, where, etc. But how do you guys individually use yours? In order to keep it balanced? Thank you guys :)
Click to expand...

I don't manage it. I plug it in, or use it on the battery, whatever is convenient. I never calibrate. I very rarely run it down to near empty. I do the same with my current 13" MBP and with my old 2006 13" MB.

MB - about 400 cycles, still at 93% ish
MBP - 81 cycles, still at 94% ish
 
I don't manage it. I just plug it in when I feel like it or when its close to dead and it seems to be fine as far as battery life goes. I can usually get 6 hours or so out of it which is fine for me. I guess if I calibrated it or whatever I could get 7 or 8 or closer to it but 6 is fine for me.

Mines a early 2009 15"
 
I don't pay it much attention, just use it however I need it. I still end up doing a full cycle at least once every week just using it.
 
I don't sweat about the battery. I use my MBP with power supply mostly when I'm at base and battery whenever I'm not. As long as I try to follow the recommended guidelines provided by Apple then that's fine. I've always got way too many things to worry about and a laptop battery is probably near the bottom of the list.

Gotta love the battery life though! It saved my ass a couple of times and I'm not the greatest fan of power supplies either especially when on the move.
 
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