uhoh

[Mr_Brightside_@]

um... i'm only getting about 3 and maybe a half hours off my new ibook battery. an anyone tell me what i shoulda done/ can do? (this is only the second time actually using the battery; do i plug it in when it tells me or when it goes to slpee? thanks

 

[mad jew]

To calibrate it (once a month) leave it unplugged until it falls asleep from having no juice. There'll be a warning about ten minutes prior telling you it's using the reserve.

For longer battery life, turn the processor speed down to Reduced in the Energy Saver preferences. Turn the screen brightness down. Turn Bluetooth and AirPort off unless you're using them.

Although 3.5 hours isn't great, it's not that bad either.

 

[homerjward]

what are you doing when getting 3.5 hours? are you working on huge files in photoshop with the backlight at 100% and ae/bt on? or are you just browsing th e web?

 

[killuminati]

Thats not bad at all. With my powerbook I'll be happy to get an hour with all wireless off, reduced performance, and screen on the lowest setting. New batterys are $150 and I can't justify it when I rarely use my powerbook on battery.

 

[xparaparafreakx]

I get three hours plus with airport and brightness halfway to max in class. Just keep cycleing the battery since its brand new.

 

[Chaszmyr]

When you know youre gonna need the battery to last as long as possible, turn the brightness all the way down. I know it makes it harder to see the screen, but it improves battery life dramatically.

 

[reberto]

Just drain the batttery, fully recharge it and you should get some more power.

 

[mad jew]

Just drain the batttery, fully recharge it and you should get some more power.

Calibrating the battery doesn't give you more power but rather it gives your Mac a better idea of how much power it has. 🙂

 

[chucknorris]

Contrary to the opinions of some here, 3.5 hours on a new iBook is NOT acceptable.

My iBook is coming up on 3 months old and I still get over 5 hours of battery life with AE on the whole time.

I'm not sure what to suggest to improve that. You might want to check system profiler, see how many charge cycles you've gone through, and post that here.

 

[mad jew]

Contrary to the opinions of some here, 3.5 hours on a new iBook is NOT acceptable.

Agreed. But is it a new iBook or a new iBook battery (and an old iBook)? 🙂

 

[northernleitz]

I'm not sure what to suggest to improve that. You might want to check system profiler, see how many charge cycles you've gone through, and post that here.

Weather, humidity, etc. can have an impact on battery life as well. But I think the Apple tips on extending battery life are key. I am surprised no one else here brought up having a disc in the optical drive, as in don't.

And one more thing, chucknorris... Go Vandals!

 

[Dreadnought]

I have an iBook 700 G3 and I can still work on it for 4 hours straight on the battery, and that includes folding @ home running in the background!

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

its a new ibook with a new battery, and i just turned off bluetooth cuz i never use it, i use better battery life when im on battery (did the "presentations" battery setting disappear with tiger???)
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 1
Dynamic Power Step: No
Reduce Processor Speed: Yes
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On Modem Ring: No
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
ReduceBrightness: 1

Battery Information:

Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4350
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 124
Amperage (mA): 1966
Voltage (mV): 11358
Cycle Count: 3
theres the info; its charging now
ps does taking out the battery when its fully charged make a difference to anything? i know i can mess with date and time
pps do any ibooks have the thingy that holds energy for a couple minutes when not plugged in and not connected to a battery? - like when switching batteries? i no pbs do