Should i keep my battery in?

[steller]

Hi everyone,
I have a question. Should I keep my battery in my laptop if I am using my laptop as a desktop? I mean I never take my laptop out and it just keeps charging my battery. Will it be better if I take out my battery and just use the AC power source? Thanks

 

[emw]

Your user manual will give you proper instructions for conditioning your battery. You should not have any reason to remove the battery while it is in "desktop mode."

 

[BornAgainMac]

Have one battery that you use all the time. Have a spare battery that you have charged when you need to be mobile after your main battery dies. Mark the battery so you don't get them confused. The 2nd battery will have a long life and the main battery will provide you convenience but won't hold a charge as long after a year or two. Don't worry about getting the 2nd battery until after a year.

 

[wordmunger]

Have one battery that you use all the time. Have a spare battery that you have charged when you need to be mobile after your main battery dies. Mark the battery so you don't get them confused. The 2nd battery will have a long life and the main battery will provide you convenience but won't hold a charge as long after a year or two. Don't worry about getting the 2nd battery until after a year.

Boy, I'm much too lazy for that. After my first battery wore out (in about 2 years), I just bought a replacement. This one is now about a year and a half old, and still gives me a good 3 hours on a charge. Within the next six months or so, I'll be buying a new computer, and I'll never have had to worry about keeping a "spare" charged up.

 

[JLS]

The advice for windows laptops is to remove the battery if you plan to use a power supply for a long period of time, and it makes sense too me. I don't see why it would be any different for a mac laptop.

 

[alphaq619]

From the Apple website

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

"Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her iBook on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing."

I use my laptop as a desktop when I'm at home. I leave the battery plugged in, but once it's charged, I take it out. It's perfectly fine to use your powerbook without the battery installed. Been doing this for over 6 months.

 

[jxyama]

i'm surprised no one has mentioned one huge danger with leaving the battery out: power loss.

remember that without the battery in it, a laptop is one little tug on the power cord away from losing everything you haven't saved.

(yes, it's the same deal for desktops, but desktop power cords are harder to accidentally unplug.)

 

[PHARAOHk]

i'm surprised no one has mentioned one huge danger with leaving the battery out: power loss.

remember that without the battery in it, a laptop is one little tug on the power cord away from losing everything you haven't saved.

(yes, it's the same deal for desktops, but desktop power cords are harder to accidentally unplug.)

Exactly. That's one of the built in benefits of portables. No need to buy a UPS.

 

[mac4drew]

I use my laptop as a desktop when I'm at home. I leave the battery plugged in, but once it's charged, I take it out. It's perfectly fine to use your powerbook without the battery installed. Been doing this for over 6 months.

Good advice, now if only I wasn't too lazy to follow it...

Mine went out after about two years of leaving it plugged in most of the time and unplugging it on rare occasions... one time I unplugged it and the power went off in less than five minutes after it was allowed to charge all the way. Apple sold me a neat battery that was a different shade white than the rest of the computer. Next time I'm going to get a replacement right when I get the computer, or something, because the whole bottom of my computer looks like ass.