The LED is green but battery is 98%

[seleneS]

I've been plugged my new MBP in since last Friday when I got it. Today I noticed that the LED on the power adapter is green but the battery icon on the menu bar always shows 98%. Is there a problem with the battery?

 

[rkmac]

This is completely normal. The max the battery can hold fluctuates due to MANY factors. As long as you seem to be getting a reasonable length of battery life I wouldnt worry.

EDIT: Just reread your post, and it is advised to not keep your laptop always on the power adapter. You want to cycle the charge every so often for optimal battery health.

 

[Erasmus]

A better explanation is that Apple notebooks only start recharging the battery once they fall below a certain threshold, I think it's 95%. This is to prevent the battery constantly switching recharging on and off when it's almost completely full, and helps prevent degradation of the battery.

ie, if it bothers you that much, let the battery drain a bit more, and plug it in again. It should then recharge to 100%.

On a related note, if you haven't yet calibrated your battery, you should.

 

[seleneS]

Yay, I've just drained the battery to 94% and it's charging now.

@rkmac: How often and how much should I drain the battery to optimal the battery health?

CoconutBattery shows that my battery loadcycles are 9, and the capacity is 97% (5651 mAh/5770 mAh). Is this normal for a one week old laptop?

Thank you guys!

 

[Erasmus]

Yay, I've just drained the battery to 94% and it's charging now.

@rkmac: How often and how much should I drain the battery to optimal the battery health?

CoconutBattery shows that my battery loadcycles are 9, and the capacity is 97% (5651 mAh/5770 mAh). Is this normal for a one week old laptop?

Thank you guys!

You should calibrate your battery ~once a month, at least.

If you haven't yet calibrated your battery, the CoconutBattery health estimate will be unreliable.

I have 23 cycles on mine, and am still at 100% health. Using iStat Pro.


EDIT: Calibration link
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490
Can't help noticing that it says that some new models don't have to be calibrated. Haven't seen that before, it must be new.

 

[Kyzelios]

You should calibrate your battery ~once a month, at least.

If you haven't yet calibrated your battery, the CoconutBattery health estimate will be unreliable.

I have 23 cycles on mine, and am still at 100% health. Using iStat Pro.


EDIT: Calibration link
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490
Can't help noticing that it says that some new models don't have to be calibrated. Haven't seen that before, it must be new.

The list of MacBook models that have been pre-calibrated is definitely new.

 

[GGJstudios]

Can't help noticing that it says that some new models don't have to be calibrated. Haven't seen that before, it must be new.

Even with the pre-calibrated models, if you suspect your battery readings are inaccurate, you can calibrate. Calibration doesn't have a permanent effect. While you may not need to calibrate some models when you first get them, you may need to at a later time.

I've been plugged my new MBP in since last Friday when I got it. Today I noticed that the LED on the power adapter is green but the battery icon on the menu bar always shows 98%. Is there a problem with the battery?

It's normal for your battery not to charge between 93% and 99%. For details, read the "CHARGING" section of the link below. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​