rMBP Battery Woes - 2013 rMBP model

[steiney]

I have a late 2013 rMBP. The battery recently hit its 1000 cycle milestone. It was at 80% health at that point, which is right in line with spec for that battery as I understand it. Now it's at 1095 cycles and it's at 64% health, with the battery status listed as "failing".

Is this normal or no? I was expecting the battery to continue a linear progression so that, after another three years, the battery would be at 60% health, etc. Is that not how it works?

 

[Sanpete]

I'm no expert, but my experience is that once they reach a certain point they go downhill fast to a fairly low level. Rather like people.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Batteries aren't digital. They don't decay with any great linearity or consistency.

 

[maflynn]

[MOD NOTE]
I updated the title to differentiate between the newer 2016 MBP with its battery issues and the 2013 that the OP is asking help for.

 

[steiney]

I'm no expert, but my experience is that once they reach a certain point they go downhill fast to a fairly low level. Rather like people.

Batteries aren't digital. They don't decay with any great linearity or consistency.

Thanks Sanpete and keysofanxiety! So, how long would you venture to guess my battery will remain usable? Once it's in "failing" status, should I expect a couple more months or more like a couple more weeks?

[MOD NOTE]
I updated the title to differentiate between the newer 2016 MBP with its battery issues and the 2013 that the OP is asking help for.

Ah, thanks. I didn't think of that when I was posting.

 

[Sanpete]

I couldn't say how much longer it will last for ordinary use, because when mine get that way I mostly keep them plugged in, only run the battery when there's no plug around anywhere.

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

The battery is rated for 1000 cycles https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201585. Meaning it should hold 80% once it reaches that point, which you've stated it did.

After this however is very difficult to work out. A lot depends on how you've used it, 3-4 years for 1000 cycles isn't a big deal but is on the higher side. The battery won't just give out overnight, and will likely keep deteriorating over the next few years.

On a safety note, they can sometimes start to swell and become dangerous (Nothing to be concerned with, just aware of to help with working out your options). So you could consider a replacement, depending on how much you plan to keep using it. If you plan on keeping it for several more years, then I'd recommend a replacement as it'll serve you well in the long run and isn't a huge expense. But if you're planning on replacing it this year you should be fine.

 

[carlob]

 

[steiney]

I couldn't say how much longer it will last for ordinary use, because when mine get that way I mostly keep them plugged in, only run the battery when there's no plug around anywhere.

I usually drain my battery fully once per day. I'd definitely replace the battery in it before I'd stay tethered to the wall, personally.

The battery is rated for 1000 cycles https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201585. Meaning it should hold 80% once it reaches that point, which you've stated it did.

After this however is very difficult to work out. A lot depends on how you've used it, 3-4 years for 1000 cycles isn't a big deal but is on the higher side. The battery won't just give out overnight, and will likely keep deteriorating over the next few years.

On a safety note, they can sometimes start to swell and become dangerous (Nothing to be concerned with, just aware of to help with working out your options). So you could consider a replacement, depending on how much you plan to keep using it. If you plan on keeping it for several more years, then I'd recommend a replacement as it'll serve you well in the long run and isn't a huge expense. But if you're planning on replacing it this year you should be fine.

Well I'm glad to hear you think it will continue to deteriorate versus just dying. I'm planning to run this puppy into the ground. Even at 64% health, it's still giving me about 3-5 hours of use per charge, depending on how hard I work her. The way I use my computer, I really only need about 1-2 hours at a time, so I'm going to see how low it gets. On my previous MBP, a late 2006 flagship model, I had a battery that got to the point that it only held about 10 minutes of charge, and I had a Chinese knock-off battery that swelled up and I remember the OS made a big fuss about telling me to replace my battery immediately. It was definitely more that this "failing" status that my current MBP's battery is in.
[doublepost=1485999063][/doublepost]

Is that cycle count 1.136 or 1,136? I was using iStat to get my info. I just downloaded coconutBattery and the cycle count uses a comma for the thousands place on my version. If you're only at 1.136 cycles, I'm really impressed. If you're at 1,136 cycles, then I got screwed on the battery because you've done more cycles than me and you've got way more health.

 

[carlob]

one thousand 136 cycles. your coconut battery uses a comma because you are from the uk or usa or other Anglo-Saxon country. Rest of the world uses a dot as thousands separator.
[doublepost=1486025777][/doublepost]but you know what, your question made me look at the screenshot again and I found out that the two lines "battery temperature" and "discharging with" are not following the system-wide region settings. There should be a comma instead of a dot, it's probably a bug. At least degrees are correctly Celsius and not Fahrenheit. Also the date format is not correct.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I usually drain my battery fully once per day. I'd definitely replace the battery in it before I'd stay tethered to the wall, personally.



Well I'm glad to hear you think it will continue to deteriorate versus just dying. I'm planning to run this puppy into the ground. Even at 64% health, it's still giving me about 3-5 hours of use per charge, depending on how hard I work her. The way I use my computer, I really only need about 1-2 hours at a time, so I'm going to see how low it gets. On my previous MBP, a late 2006 flagship model, I had a battery that got to the point that it only held about 10 minutes of charge, and I had a Chinese knock-off battery that swelled up and I remember the OS made a big fuss about telling me to replace my battery immediately. It was definitely more that this "failing" status that my current MBP's battery is in.
[doublepost=1485999063][/doublepost]

Is that cycle count 1.136 or 1,136? I was using iStat to get my info. I just downloaded coconutBattery and the cycle count uses a comma for the thousands place on my version. If you're only at 1.136 cycles, I'm really impressed. If you're at 1,136 cycles, then I got screwed on the battery because you've done more cycles than me and you've got way more health.

Draining the battery completely lowers the life in modern batteries that is why yours is so bad so young. Always keep them plugged in when you can use them on battery when you can't for maximum battery life.

At 64% it's in danger of failing completely very quickly or swelling and destroying you computer if you plan to keep using it you need to get the battery replaced. Apple charge $200 in the states and it will last another three years not a bad deal.

 

[steiney]

one thousand 136 cycles. your coconut battery uses a comma because you are from the uk or usa or other Anglo-Saxon country. Rest of the world uses a dot as thousands separator.
[doublepost=1486025777][/doublepost]but you know what, your question made me look at the screenshot again and I found out that the two lines "battery temperature" and "discharging with" are not following the system-wide region settings. There should be a comma instead of a dot, it's probably a bug. At least degrees are correctly Celsius and not Fahrenheit. Also the date format is not correct.

That makes sense. It also occurred to me, I'm on 10.9 so I had to download an older version of coconutBattery, and my version does not have any toggle for Fahrenheit/Celsius in its preferences pane. So maybe yours does and you've set it to metric measurements since you're not in the U.S.

Draining the battery completely lowers the life in modern batteries that is why yours is so bad so young. Always keep them plugged in when you can use them on battery when you can't for maximum battery life.

At 64% it's in danger of failing completely very quickly or swelling and destroying you computer if you plan to keep using it you need to get the battery replaced. Apple charge $200 in the states and it will last another three years not a bad deal.

Oh, wow. I had no idea about that. I know the memory effect effected older nickel batteries and not the current lithium ion batteries, but I had no idea that doing a full discharge is harmful to lithium ion batteries. Thanks for the info.

I'm actually planning to do the battery replacement myself when I do it. It doesn't look too difficult. I've done surgery on my old late 2006 MBP a few times and also on my iPhone 5 a few times, so I think I can handle it. If bought from iFixIt, the battery is only $120, so that's a savings of $80, plus I don't have to have some stranger's greasy mitts all over my sweet, precious baby.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

That makes sense. It also occurred to me, I'm on 10.9 so I had to download an older version of coconutBattery, and my version does not have any toggle for Fahrenheit/Celsius in its preferences pane. So maybe yours does and you've set it to metric measurements since you're not in the U.S.



Oh, wow. I had no idea about that. I know the memory effect effected older nickel batteries and not the current lithium ion batteries, but I had no idea that doing a full discharge is harmful to lithium ion batteries. Thanks for the info.

I'm actually planning to do the battery replacement myself when I do it. It doesn't look too difficult. I've done surgery on my old late 2006 MBP a few times and also on my iPhone 5 a few times, so I think I can handle it. If bought from iFixIt, the battery is only $120, so that's a savings of $80, plus I don't have to have some stranger's greasy mitts all over my sweet, precious baby.

All cool if you want to do it yourself ifixit is your best bet for Apple parts.

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

Apparently it's best to keep them between 20-80%. But best practice is to keep it charged when possible, and use the battery when needed. You can't overcharge them. They go through cycles when you fully discharge them which lowers the life, this may be why you've got high cycles on a not so old computer.

Anyway as has been suggested, get it replaced and just use the battery as needed.

 

[carlob]

I have 1136 cycles, my maxed out rMBP is October 2013 and as shown above battery capacity is at 86%. I never bothered to follow any guidance regarding how to use the battery, I just charge it when is down to 10-15% and mostly use it unplugged. I leave it plugged overnight and also I never shut it down, it's always on. Frankly I never cared too much about battery or usage patterns, never had a problem with this laptop.