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Preserving Cycle Count

A

acdo71

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 29, 2007
1
0
Hey guys,

I've only had my macbook for a few months and I'm already at 140 cycle counts. My friend who has had his for 2 months longer than me is only at 80 cycle counts. What am I doing wrong? I make a lot of music and have a lot of applications open. However I keep my laptop plugged in quite often. Thanks guys!

- Adam
 
Well if he has his powered down a lot/doesn't use it of course he isn't going to have a lot of wear on his laptop. In all honesty there are a lot more things to worry about than battery wear. You're more likely to spill coffee and ruin your computer, for instance.
 
Well my only thought is that you should keep it on AC more often. That's pretty much the only sure fire way of reducing the number of cycles you go through.

In the end, if you do need to go without the AC fairly often, just invest in a new battery once you clock more than 300 cycles. There's a discount for students if that helps.
 
Batteries, like all things, are fated to die. In this respect, one might envy the desktoppers, who, tethered as they are to their alternating currents, do not fear the inexorable march of the charge cycle.
 
heatmiser said:
Batteries, like all things, are fated to die. In this respect, one might envy the desktoppers, who, tethered as they are to their alternating currents, do not fear the inexorable march of the charge cycle.
Click to expand...
If you're plugged in, are you cycling the battery? What actually happens when you're plugged in, and the magsafe LED is green? Are you trickle charging the battery, or do you completely bypass the battery, and run the MacBook directly off of a/c?

Is there any harm to the battery in staying constantly plugged in to the a/c (whether using the compute or not), and only unplugging and running off of battery when absolutely necessary (travelling, using computer in bed, etc?)

thanks,
Mark
 
Apple laptops do not trickle charge in an attempt to keep the machine topped off. Instead they allow the battery to slowly deplete (to ~95% for PPC laptops and ~93% for Intel laptops) before charging up to 100%. This helps prevent overcharging and extra wear and tear on the battery.

As long you calibrate your battery every month or two, feel free to run it on AC the rest of the time.
 
g-boac said:
If you're plugged in, are you cycling the battery? What actually happens when you're plugged in, and the magsafe LED is green? Are you trickle charging the battery, or do you completely bypass the battery, and run the MacBook directly off of a/c?

Is there any harm to the battery in staying constantly plugged in to the a/c (whether using the compute or not), and only unplugging and running off of battery when absolutely necessary (travelling, using computer in bed, etc?)

thanks,
Mark
Click to expand...

As WildCowboy said, the batteries drain to a certain point before the charging kicks in. On my Macbook, I've noticed the cycle increasing even without appreciably using it unplugged. So yeah, it does cycle while plugged in, unfortunately, but it does so slowly. Maybe 1 per week? That said, no, I don't think there's any harm to being constantly plugged in. That's how most people use their laptops anyway.
 
heatmiser said:
As WildCowboy said, the batteries drain to a certain point before the charging kicks in. On my Macbook, I've noticed the cycle increasing even without appreciably using it unplugged. So yeah, it does cycle, but it does so slowly. Maybe 1 per week?
Click to expand...
It has to be longer then just 1 cycle per week.

I've gone through 9 cycles since November. A few of those weeks I was on battery power and recharging everyday.
 
Eidorian said:
It has to be longer then just 1 cycle per week.

I've gone through 9 cycles since November. A few of those weeks I was on battery power and recharging everyday.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you're right; it's probably not that quick. It's just a bit unsettling to see the number (seemingly) randomly increase by 1 every now and then.
 
When you unplug and then plug back in that is a cycle. even if the plug accidentally unplugs it will count that as a cycle.

That being said cycle count is not a conclusive way of determining battery health. Instead the battery health indicator will be. To keep your battery at it's best it is good to power cycle it once a month or so. Do this by letting the battery drain until the computer shuts off. Then fully change it and let it drain again. People say that the new Poly batteries in the Macbooks and MBP do not need to be power cycled. I do find however that it still helps. See I always forget to charge mine and I inadvertently power cycle at least once a month.:eek:
 
g-boac said:
If you're plugged in, are you cycling the battery? What actually happens when you're plugged in, and the magsafe LED is green? Are you trickle charging the battery, or do you completely bypass the battery, and run the MacBook directly off of a/c?

Is there any harm to the battery in staying constantly plugged in to the a/c (whether using the compute or not), and only unplugging and running off of battery when absolutely necessary (travelling, using computer in bed, etc?)

thanks,
Mark
Click to expand...
The battery will not be trickled charged if the current charge is above 95% (that's the threshold on my mbp in any case). You will know when your battery is being charged (even if it's only a matter of 6%) if the Magsafe light turns red. Otherwise, your battery is not being charged.

And there's no harm in keeping it on AC. As long as you periodically calibrate, you'll be fine.
synth3tik said:
When you unplug and then plug back in that is a cycle. even if the plug accidentally unplugs it will count that as a cycle.
Click to expand...

Umm...no, that is not a cycle. Apple defines a cycle as a drain of 100% of your battery's capacity. Macbook/Pro users are expected to get roughly 300 cycles (or complete drains of their batteries) before maximum capacity drops below 80% of a brand new battery.

Apple's page.
 
CalBoy said:
Umm...no, that is not a cycle. Apple defines a cycle as a drain of 100% of your battery's capacity. Macbook/Pro users are expected to get roughly 300 cycles (or complete drains of their batteries) before maximum capacity drops below 80% of a brand new battery.

Apple's page.
Click to expand...

Then I should be at 15 cycles and not 57. Apple may define a cycle as such, but their software and third-party software does not.
 
synth3tik said:
Then I should be at 15 cycles and not 57. Apple may define a cycle as such, but their software and third-party software does not.
Click to expand...

How old is your computer? Even if you just have it on AC all the time, you will gradually lose power over time.

Plus, you could have a defective battery.
 
Cycle Count

How do I track battery cycle count? Is there a counter somewhere in Leopard?

thanks!
Mark
 
g-boac said:
How do I track battery cycle count? Is there a counter somewhere in Leopard?
Click to expand...

You'll want to download an app to get better results (multiple sources). iStat Pro (a Dashboard widget) and Coconut Battery (regular app) are the most common ones, and while Coconut is better, it's had some problems with Leopard. I advise you download both and then compare the results to ensure that there is some consistency.
 
System Profiler lists the cycle count...it's under "Power" in Tiger. The iStat Pro widget also shows it.
 
I forgot about system profiler. :eek:

iStat has other advantages though, so I still recommend it.
 
I don't have an issue with using the computer and basically ignoring the cycle count...
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5221
Cycle count: 187
Battery health: Good
My MacBook is 13 months old and MB batteries are quoted by Apple as 5200mAh, so it's still above rated capacity!

However, batteries can and do die over time, even with the computer running almost permanently on AC, like my Pismo, whose battery died altogether a few weeks ago, having 8 mins of charge about 3 months ago and 1:30 a year and a half before that.
 
so i googled 'how does cycle count increase and how to lower it' in google. and this popped up. :p dont wanna make a new thread. :)

anyways, yeah. how do i prevent it from increasing rapidly and such? also, is it bad (does the cycle increase or such) if say im 100% and still plugged, unplug it, go to school, and plug it again?
 
gagugagu said:
so i googled 'how does cycle count increase and how to lower it' in google. and this popped up. :p dont wanna make a new thread. :)

anyways, yeah. how do i prevent it from increasing rapidly and such? also, is it bad (does the cycle increase or such) if say im 100% and still plugged, unplug it, go to school, and plug it again?
Click to expand...

If you use your Mac from 100% to 50% battery capacity, then recharge again to 100%, it will count as 0.5 cycles. You have to again complete half a cycle to get a full cycle, thus go again from 100% to 50% and recharge again.
GGJstudios said:
This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions: Apple Notebook Battery FAQ
Click to expand...
 
oh. so hold on.. i drain mine to 1%. and charge up to 100% (in most occasions; then leave it on) is that bad?
 
gagugagu said:
oh. so hold on.. i drain mine to 1%. and charge up to 100% (in most occasions; then leave it on) is that bad?
Click to expand...

You don't need to completely drain the battery, it is not necessary. If you can use the power adapter, use that. Just remember to calibrate every once in a while.
And that FAQ might be a good read too. I guess, I am forced anyway to post it.
 
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