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Proper battery use

S

sethlution

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 13, 2011
202
48
Hi guys, I just bought the new 13" MacBook pro, and coming from a cheap old dell of laptop, it is amazing. My only concern is that I'm planning on using it for another 3 years, so I want to take care of the battery well. I've read the apple support page, but it's still confusing to me.

I mainly use it at home, so I can plug it in all the time. When it's plug in, does the MacBook use the battery at all?. Also, should I charge it to 100% and completely drain it every time, or should I always plug it in, and only run on battery once or twice per week?
 
sethlution said:
Hi guys, I just bought the new 13" MacBook pro, and coming from a cheap old dell of laptop, it is amazing. My only concern is that I'm planning on using it for another 3 years, so I want to take care of the battery well. I've read the apple support page, but it's still confusing to me.

I mainly use it at home, so I can plug it in all the time. When it's plug in, does the MacBook use the battery at all?. Also, should I charge it to 100% and completely drain it every time, or should I always plug it in, and only run on battery once or twice per week?
Click to expand...

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

http://www.all-about-apple.com/battery-care.html

http://guides.macrumors.com/Laptop_Battery_Guide
 
Last edited:
______________________________________________________
This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
Apple Notebook Battery FAQ by GGJstudios
The F.A.Q. includes the following topics:
  • BATTERY INFORMATION
  • BATTERY LIFE FROM A CHARGE
  • AC POWER
  • CALIBRATION
  • BATTERY LIFESPAN
  • CHECKING STATUS AND HEALTH
  • CHARGING
  • WHAT IS A CYCLE?
  • BATTERIES ARE NOT COVERED
  • BULGING OR SWELLING BATTERY

______________________________________________________​
 
You should calibrate your battery from time to time (how: see links above), other than that, don't worry about it. My 2009 MBP has 89% original capacity left after 2.5 years of very careless usage (sometimes its not plugged, sometimes it is plugged for weeks without pause). The battery went through 724 loadcycles so far. Your battery will surely last you 3 years and maybe even 5 without you having to do anything special.
 
If I use my rmbp mainly as a desktop (I probably won't be traveling and/or moving it around without a power source very often since it will be sitting on my desk with an outlet right next to it.) how should I treat the battery? Should I unplug it and let it run on the battery once a day for 1-2 hours or should I just leave it plugged in? By leaving it plugged in, I am not really creating any cycles on the battery so that should extend the battery life correct? Apple says that their batteries should last close to a 1000 cycles.
 
lazer155 said:
By leaving it plugged in, I am not really creating any cycles on the battery so that should extend the battery life correct? Apple says that their batteries should last close to a 1000 cycles.
Click to expand...

No, that isn't correct. Batteries need to be used "from time to time". Is 1-2 hours a day enough? Honestly I don't know. But when my old battery wasn't working well anymore, Apple informed me it was because I wasn't working with the laptop on battery power enough. Well, given that the battery even when new and full never lasted more than 2 hours, it was a hassle to use on battery power.

With these new machines getting 7-8 hours of battery life, I'm decided to pretty much work exclusively on battery power now. Makes for a much nicer work environment, but I guess I'll need to change the batteries more often in the long run. I'm already at 20 cycles after two weeks of use.
 
lazer155 said:
If I use my rmbp mainly as a desktop (I probably won't be traveling and/or moving it around without a power source very often since it will be sitting on my desk with an outlet right next to it.) how should I treat the battery? Should I unplug it and let it run on the battery once a day for 1-2 hours or should I just leave it plugged in?
Click to expand...
You don't have to do that daily, but running on battery a few times a week is good. Read the AC POWER section of the Battery FAQ.
 
JohnDoe98 said:
No, that isn't correct. Batteries need to be used "from time to time". Is 1-2 hours a day enough? Honestly I don't know. But when my old battery wasn't working well anymore, Apple informed me it was because I wasn't working with the laptop on battery power enough. Well, given that the battery even when new and full never lasted more than 2 hours, it was a hassle to use on battery power.

With these new machines getting 7-8 hours of battery life, I'm decided to pretty much work exclusively on battery power now. Makes for a much nicer work environment, but I guess I'll need to change the batteries more often in the long run. I'm already at 20 cycles after two weeks of use.
Click to expand...

GGJstudios said:
You don't have to do that daily, but running on battery a few times a week is good. Read the AC POWER section of the Battery FAQ.
Click to expand...

In the Ac Power section, it says discharge to 50% every 2-3 days so I'll give that a try. Has anyone else done that and noticed an extended battery life?
 
lazer155 said:
In the Ac Power section, it says discharge to 50% every 2-3 days so I'll give that a try. Has anyone else done that and noticed an extended battery life?
Click to expand...
It doesn't have to be strictly 50%, but "somewhere around 50%". That means it should be lower than 90-95%, but it doesn't have to be as low as 20%. Anywhere around 25-75% should be fine. It just needs to be enough that the battery is getting some use regularly.
 
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