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What is the best way to take care of your battery?

K

kingneptune117

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2014
119
68
Hey all,

Just got a new rMPB so i'm looking for the best way to preserve my battery. I have heard so many different things...I've heard that you should discharge it all the way then recharge it all the way, i've heard to discharge to around 20% then recharge, I've heard keep it plugged in whenever possible...I've heard many things.

Does anyone have the official word on this? Maybe even something from Apple or a quality LiPo battery manufacturer? Thanks!
 
There are three main factors. Age of the cell (can't control), number of cycles (little control), and time at voltage (4.2 = 100%):

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

"Besides selecting the best-suited voltage thresholds for a given application, Li-ion should not remain at the high-voltage ceiling of 4.20V/cell for an extended time. When fully charged, remove the battery and allow to voltage to revert to a more natural level like relaxing after exercise."
 
Best way is to use your computer less. My advice: don't bother, anything you do will have only a minimal impact. Other than that, you can also do a forum search, this question is being asked every second week ;)
 
A couple key points to keeping your battery healthy.

1) be sure to never store your laptop in a cold car.
2) always run down your battery at least once per month. This means below the percentage your computer would normally shut down your computer
3) do a full charge after a full drain and don't interrupt it. On a mac this means not doing intensive tasks which can drop the charge wattage..

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I have been stretching my laptops battery for quite a while.... I still get 6-7 hours. It may also vary by laptop spec.. I've notice Lenovos and Asus laptop tend to not fully charge the battery and let it sit at 99% and the last 4-5 percent take 45 minutes to charge. This is by design to extend the life. I'll have to see if my Macbook Pro does this as well
 
My mac in nearly 4 years old, it was my first one and I too was paranoid about the battery and used to calibrate it every couple of months, (full discharge, wait a few hours full recharge)....

I might have done it once a year now at most for the last couple of years....

If I'm near a plug socket I normally leave it plugged in, but i wouldn't think twice about unplugging it to move to a different position..

After 1 year of caring, 1 year of caring a bit, and nearly 2 years of not caring at all about battery capacity, I am still at 91%

Based on that rate I reckon 7/8 years to get 80% capacity, and I use my mac pretty much every day for hours at time...

....IMO don't worry about battery life its not worth it :)
 
By not caring for it. Seriously.

My 2008 MBP is still on its original battery, never bother calibrating, never did anything special. Plugged it in and unplugged it, whenever, wherever. It still hold enough charge for 2-3 hours of browsing (originally could do 5-6).

My 2012 MBP is getting the same treatment and I can get a solid 7-8hours of light browsing on it after nearly 2years of ownership.
 
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