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What are the do's and dont's after getting MBA 13"? program, battery life, tricks

I Always Check

GGJstudios said:
That's because the article was written in 2008, before built-in batteries were introduced. The Battery FAQ is more up to date:

This is why you can't trust everything you read on the internet. When it comes to Apple batteries, Apple is the most reliable source of information. The Battery FAQ contains information directly from Apple, not blogs or articles written by those who don't have all the facts.
Click to expand...

The latest news from Apple, lets face it if you love Apple we know they don't do manuals. Only the warning about not removing the battery in the booklet.

I use the same cycling with my iPad and iPhone as well. Battery life on my MBA seems to run at between 6-7 hours depending on what I'm doing. Plug in the Superdrive and that drops dramatically as you would expect. I'm determined to stick with this trackpad although the temptation to buy another MM was strong.....I'm getting there, its better than any other pad I have ever used.
 
I am surprised nobody mentioned laptop lock yet, that should be the #1 thing. If it's gone, nothing else matters.
 
kulimer said:
I am surprised nobody mentioned laptop lock yet, that should be the #1 thing. If it's gone, nothing else matters.
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I guess that depends on your situation and preference. I've used laptops since they were first introduced and I've never had one stolen. It helps to have a good security system:
protectedbyglock.png
 
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what are some of the locks you guys used and recommend? Targus Decon combo lock is the worst, if you lock your laptop to a desk, it's locked forever.
 
GGJstudios said:
I guess that depends on your situation and preference. I've used laptops since they were first introduced and I've never had one stolen. It helps to have a good security system:
protectedbyglock.png
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You are just asking for a pat down from the TSA.
 
Clearing A Few Points Up

kulimer said:
Can any experts explain some do's and dont's in terms of software and hardware?

Also, any software you specifically liked?

Anything you did to extend the battery life?

Share your tricks!
Click to expand...

The date being reported by coconut battery is the date your Air was put in it's pretty box, and part charged ready for sale. Mine is 2 weeks old, but is reported as being 12 weeks old.

On to your battery question: it Can take up to 10 full cycles for the battery to reach it's optimum, factory charge ( 100%) think of it as building up stamina, like exercise.

Your Air is fine and you only need to worry if it falls off the cliff battery wise, because that's how lithium Polymer batteries work. In 10 full discharge / charge cycles the battery should reach it's factory potential as described in coconut battery.

Mine went from 94% to the full hundred after about 8 full cycles. But you can save each cycle in coconut battery's log file option to see the increase in potential charge if you wish.
 
Can any one confirm this, I just ported my previous MBA (running snow leopard) to my new air on first start, is this really an issue. What I like Mac is that it is supposed to be "just work", I really hate to wasting hours to re-install every program, setting and copy all files manually.


yongren said:
If you're coming from a previous Mac via Time Machine, especially Snow Leopard or earlier, better to keep the clean factory install of Lion and copy your files over manually. If you don't, you start with a system that is already cluttered from use instead of fresh and snappy as it should be. I made this mistake & ended up with a slightly annoying degree of sluggishness, graphical glitches, and the like. I plan on doing a clean Lion install as soon as I get the chance.
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riveting said:
Can any one confirm this, I just ported my previous MBA (running snow leopard) to my new air on first start, is this really an issue.
Click to expand...

It hasn't been an issue for me, I ported my previous MBP over using Time Machine at the start and it's been all good. I did keep my MBP pretty well cleaned up, so this perhaps may vary depending on how long you'd had the system and how much stuff you added/deleted over time.
 
Macman45 said:
On to your battery question: it Can take up to 10 full cycles for the battery to reach it's optimum, factory charge ( 100%) think of it as building up stamina, like exercise.

Your Air is fine and you only need to worry if it falls off the cliff battery wise, because that's how lithium Polymer batteries work. In 10 full discharge / charge cycles the battery should reach it's factory potential as described in coconut battery.

Mine went from 94% to the full hundred after about 8 full cycles. But you can save each cycle in coconut battery's log file option to see the increase in potential charge if you wish.
Click to expand...

thanks! The Air came fully charged, I was shocked. First time ever opening my Air. After 2 restart, battery power went down to 96% in 3 min. that explains now.

So, I'll have to do full cycles? I like to keep my computer charged.

btw, is there a youtube you can watch, I need something more interactive.
 
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kulimer said:
So, I'll have to do full cycles? I like to keep my computer charged.
Click to expand...
No, you don't have to do full cycles. You can charge or unplug your computer at any time. It's not good to leave it fully charged all the time. Read the Battery FAQ I posted in the 2nd post of this thread. It will answer your battery questions.
 
Macman45 said:
Get a case NOW!

Then just use it.....I'm waiting for my Speck case to arrive, so my new Air is living in a towel I'm determined to keep it scratch free
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After carrying around the MBA with spiral notebooks together, I totally agree. Those metal on the spiral notebooks are just haters.
 
riveting said:
Can any one confirm this, I just ported my previous MBA (running snow leopard) to my new air on first start, is this really an issue. What I like Mac is that it is supposed to be "just work", I really hate to wasting hours to re-install every program, setting and copy all files manually.
Click to expand...

It's not unbearable in the least—still the best computer I've ever had by far. And it's likely that some of my problems are due to Lion still being at a fairly early stage... however, I would still recommend manually transferring your files & settings if you have the time. Honestly it still shouldn't take that long with the speed of the Air's SSD
 
I had an iCarbons black skin on my 2010 MBA and I really enjoyed it. I felt that I didnt have to exercise extreme care with it because of the iCarbons. I ended up giving the 2010 MBA with the iCarbons skin to my daughter who plans to keep it the way it is. The skin still looks pretty much perfect.

I plan to get another iCarbons skin for my new 2011 MBA. I really like the black iCarbons skin.

Macman45 said:
Get a case NOW!

Then just use it.....I'm waiting for my Speck case to arrive, so my new Air is living in a towel I'm determined to keep it scratch free
Click to expand...
 
My battery remains at 98% no matter how I charge it, there's the result from istat:

Internal Battery
98% - Power Adapter
charged

cycles:1
health: 99%

Design capacity: 6700 mAh
Current capacity: 6631 mAh

amperage: 0 mA
voltage: 8314 mV

14 days left on the free istat.
 
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kulimer said:
My battery remains at 98% no matter how I charge it, there's the result from istat:

Internal Battery
98% - Power Adapter
charged
Click to expand...

Did you read the Battery FAQ (link in post #2 of this thread)?
Your battery health is referred to either as a percentage or in mAh and represents your current full charge capacity (mAh) as compared with the ideal full charge capacity (100%). Be aware that battery readings are not 100% accurate and they fluctuate up and down, so if your brand new battery health is somewhat less than 100% or if it fluctuates up and down over time (100%, 91%, 95%, etc.), don't worry. It will not only decline. For example, if your battery health is 92% one day, it could be back up to 97% a few days or weeks later. It is not a one-way fluctuation. This is completely normal.
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Battery capacity measurement of an in-use battery AFAIK is not an exact science, and a % point or two one way or another really doesn't matter.
 
have seen that, how do you know it's not for reals? or what if it is for reals?
 
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kulimer said:
have seen that, how do you know it's not for reals? or what if it is for reals?
Click to expand...

Of course it's true, it's on the Internet! :D

Seriously though, I'd say there are too many other things to worry about in the world than a modern computer battery. Just don't leave it plugged in 24x7x365, take it out of the house sometimes.

If you don't believe your battery capacity is appropriate when you reach the 11th month of your warranty, take it to Apple for a warranty claim.

Worst case, spend $100 in three years to replace it with a new battery from ifixit.com
 
kulimer said:
My battery remains at 98% no matter how I charge it, there's the result from istat:

Internal Battery
98% - Power Adapter
charged

cycles:1
health: 99%

Design capacity: 6700 mAh
Current capacity: 6631 mAh

amperage: 0 mA
voltage: 8314 mV

14 days left on the free istat.
Click to expand...

look at the current capacity, looks like this kid only had 6631mAh for dinner when he can have 6700mAh for dinner. Poor child, it's not daddy's fault though. It's mommy's fault. No it's uncle Steve's fault.
 
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kulimer said:
look at the current capacity, looks like this kid only had 6631mAh for dinner when he can have 6700mAh for dinner.
Click to expand...

What is the accuracy of istat in providing this number? How do you know it is really 100% accurate in measuring to 1mAh differences?
 
deeddawg said:
What is the accuracy of istat in providing this number? How do you know it is really 100% accurate in measuring to 1mAh differences?
Click to expand...
That's what calibration is for... to make those readings as accurate as possible. However, those readings are never 100% accurate, even with a properly calibrated battery.
 
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You don't need calibration for the new models!!!

Portables with built-in batteries
Current Apple portable computer batteries are pre-calibrated and do not require the calibration procedure outlined in this article. These computers use batteries that should be replaced only by an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

MacBook

MacBook (13-inch, Late 2009) and later
MacBook Air

MacBook Air, all versions
MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009) and later
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009) and later
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009) and later


source: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1490
dated on:August 04, 2011
 
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