Or should I only charge it when the battery is getting low? I've heard that when at 100%, the battery is longer used and this will extend the life of the battery. But I've also heard the opposite and that it'll confuse your battery and kill the hold time.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
When at home, is it ok leave my MBP plugged in all day, minus an hour here and there?
- Thread starter Star Nuts
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You don't need to use your battery when you don't need to. Just plug it in. You don't want a lot of cycles with your battery. (Just discharge/recharge once a month is OK.)
Last edited:
Use your MacBook pro as you would use your cell phone, do you keep your cell phone plugged in all the time ? If you working on a big project sure keep it plug just make sure the next day to use the battery. I wouldn't care to much about how many cycles, the battery hold 80% of it's charge when around 1,000 cycle and this from my 2009 info , maybe someone can correct me if apple has update this number
True, but they also mention (under the Standard Maintenance heading):
I take that to mean that if you're not really being mobile with your laptop, just discharge the battery at least once a month and it's ok to leave it plugged in.
I secretly think that he has some sort of bot running that scans all the new threads and replies with the pre-formated answers
Must have missed this one though..It's fine. I've left tons of my Mac laptops plugged in for YEARS with the occasional discharge with ZERO issues. I run a 2009 MacBook (the non-unibody one) as a server and I just unplug it every once in a while and drain it down to 5%. Battery still works fine and better yet, it's like a built in UPS.
As others have said, I recommend a monthly discharge and recharge to be on the safe side.
As others have said, I recommend a monthly discharge and recharge to be on the safe side.
As well as a monthly discharge down to 0%, I also let it discharge to 50% every 4 days or so if I haven't taken my mac out to uni with me for a few days.
Apple states that the ideal way to maintain your laptop's battery is to use it in the way it was intended. Run the laptop on battery power during the day when you are using it out in the field, then charge when you get home. Apple says that if you are NOT going to use the laptop in this fashion, to make sure you fully discharge and recharge your battery at least once a month.
I used my 2006 MacBook Pro 17" (bought in 2007) almost exclusively on AC power and guess what? The battery swelled up and blew itself out just three years later. With the sealed battery in my RMBP, I'm not taking any chances and have been running on battery power during the day without any problems.
I used my 2006 MacBook Pro 17" (bought in 2007) almost exclusively on AC power and guess what? The battery swelled up and blew itself out just three years later. With the sealed battery in my RMBP, I'm not taking any chances and have been running on battery power during the day without any problems.
Let's see if I can address a few of these:
- You can charge your battery anytime it's convenient, at any percentage between 0-93%.
- When the battery is fully charged, it will stop charging. It cannot overcharge.
- When your Mac is plugged in, it can, under heavy workloads, draw power from both your battery and AC power, causing your battery to stop charging or drain.
- It doesn't cause a problem if you operate your Mac plugged in, as long as you don't do it exclusively, as the battery needs to be used regularly.
- It's fine to put cycles on your battery. That's what it's designed for.
- You don't ever have to fully drain and recharge your battery.
- No, I'm not a bot. Yes, I am human. Yes, I do sleep occasionally.
- No, people don't search.