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Should I ask Apple for a battery replacement?

M

madflava54

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 20, 2011
94
0
Per coconutBattery, my battery capacity is 81%. This is a MacBookPro8,1. 7 months old and battery loadcycles is 104. This is a tad bit over the claimed 1000 load cycles. Not sure why I'm down to 81% so fast. I was initially pretty concerned with how it dropped so quickly. 4/10, it was 5369/5770, which is 93%. I didn't think much of it but recorded the values intermittently.

4/10/12 5369
4/11/12 5242
4/12/12 5385
4/19/12 5476
4/20/12 5486
5/4/12 5285
9/1/12 5229

So, 5 weeks, I dropped down to 4690. That's almost 10%. I know it's not perfect, but I am not sure if my battery is just dying at a quicker rate or OSX 10.8.2. is destroying my battery life.

Thank you.
 
104 cycles are less than 1000 load cycles, unless you meant 1040 or 1004 or 1400 cycles, which would be a lot considering the machine is only 7 months old, meaning five cycles per day or so.
If it is indeed 104 cycles and the capacity drops below 80%, Apple will replace the battery.
______________________________________________________
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

______________________________________________________​
 
madflava54 said:
So, 5 weeks, I dropped down to 4690. That's almost 10%. I know it's not perfect, but I am not sure if my battery is just dying at a quicker rate or OSX 10.8.2. is destroying my battery life.
Click to expand...
Your OS doesn't have anything to do with your battery health. I would take it to Apple and have them check to see if the battery is defective.

 
CCB has been a little inaccurate lately, but that is a lot. Have you tried an SMC reset? It may or may not change the battery readings as I don't think they are being recorded accurately.

The acid test is actually how long the Mac lasts when running on battery power alone.

Run it down until it shuts down then follow these instructions


http://support.apple.com/error/503.html


The site is down at present, but the link should work when it comes back online.
 
Yeah, I meant 104. I guess my point of including that it just seems like the battery is just deteriorating at a rapid pace.
 
simsaladimbamba said:
104 cycles are less than 1000 load cycles, unless you meant 1040 or 1004 or 1400 cycles, which would be a lot considering the machine is only 7 months old, meaning five cycles per day or so.
If it is indeed 104 cycles and the capacity drops below 80%, Apple will replace the battery.
______________________________________________________
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

______________________________________________________​
Click to expand...
Hmm..I read some of the info you posted in the link and the "Batteries are not covered" caught my eye. When I bought my Air the one of the genius's main selling points on me buying apple care was,"right before your two years are up just bring it in and get a new battery".
 
CatsTide said:
When I bought my Air the one of the genius's main selling points on me buying apple care was,"right before your two years are up just bring it in and get a new battery".
Click to expand...
It's important to remember than "Genius" is only their job title, and not necessarily an indication of their knowledge, experience or expertise. They were wrong.
 
They change your battery if it is defective, but do not change it for normal wear.

For the op I think that it could be a faulty battery.
 
Apple's diagnostic is nothing but a UI of info that you could get in system info. If you hold option and click the battery icon, if the condition says normal, apple will not replace your battery under warranty. Try calibrating your battery. You want to do this every few months to maximize your battery life. Don't leave your computer plugged in all the time either. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490 if you're still having issues, monitor your software CPU usage in activity monitor. Honestly 90% of the time it was software issues. You will have to build a case for a battery replacement but if you haven't tried calibrating, they'd only replace for sympathy but you may have the same issue with the new battery and same habits.
 
Just don't ever bring a tech your findings based on some internet utility. Useless. Apple has their own diagnostics and will not replace anything based on your findings from third party software.
 
nochaunche said:
i had this same thing happen. I took mine in and genius bar told me I had a defective battery.
Click to expand...


Had time to visit store today. It was showing 84.7% via Macs built in assessment software. Guy said because it's over 80%, he can't replace. Said to keep a look out and if below, then bring it in. Pretty upset because nor happy with 5 hour battery life. Guy gave me a lecture on using Safari vs. chrome and that Word is a battery hog. As in many things in life, I guess it depends on what person you get. Maybe I will try in two months when it's closer to my one year warranty expiring.
 
If you want your battery to last, you need to look after it.

Don't leave it in a discharged state.
Try not to do too many deep discharges.
Keep it out of hot cars other hot environments.

Do this and it is virtually guaranteed you'll get the claimed battery life.

I had my Mbp battery replaced under warranty at 11 months after a service battery warning. If I had the money at the time I would have replaced it myself as its failure was entirely my fault.
 
I have my cMBP, mid 2010, around July/August. Currently it holds a health charge of 81% after 1035 cycles. Still get decent battery life 5 hours, normal usage!
 
madflava54 said:
Per coconutBattery, my battery capacity is 81%. This is a MacBookPro8,1. 7 months old and battery loadcycles is 104. This is a tad bit over the claimed 1000 load cycles. Not sure why I'm down to 81% so fast. I was initially pretty concerned with how it dropped so quickly. 4/10, it was 5369/5770, which is 93%. I didn't think much of it but recorded the values intermittently.

4/10/12 5369
4/11/12 5242
4/12/12 5385
4/19/12 5476
4/20/12 5486
5/4/12 5285
9/1/12 5229

So, 5 weeks, I dropped down to 4690. That's almost 10%. I know it's not perfect, but I am not sure if my battery is just dying at a quicker rate or OSX 10.8.2. is destroying my battery life.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Apple prices are rip off. Probably because they include labor work,
but any adult computer user can replace the battery by himself.

In case the Apple store will not give you a free battery, you could try to save money.

You could lookup your battery model and buy genuine battery on eBay 1.5x-2x times cheaper.
I got mine for ~$70 instead of $120 "official price" LOL :p

Of course, you need to choose carefully, with mind, - otherwise there's a risk of getting a fake battery.
Check the seller reviews, feedback should be at least 99% and a long positive history.

----------
Rambaud said:
My battery has failed on a 2011 MBP.

I shall be taking into an Apple store the next time I am near one.
Click to expand...

This advice applies to you as well :)
 
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