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Why do I get such crummy battery life?

AHDuke99

AHDuke99

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Seriously? I just bought a new battery for my 2.16ghz Rev A MBP, and the max I get on my battery is 2:10 when I first unplug it. I've calibrated once, reset my SMC, and always have my screen on the first notch. BT is off. It's at 75% after 25 minutes of usage. Is this all I can expect? Apple advertises 4 hours and I know that;s never right, but half that? Really? I might as well buy a desktop if I can hardly use it in more than one class during the day.
 
Set your brightness to half, turn off bluetooth if you're not using it. If your laptop is set to High Performance mode, set it to Balanced.
 
My brightness is on its lowest level. My BT is off. It's also set to "better battery life" in energy settings. I don't know what "balanced" means.
 
Go into the System Profile and see what the battery's stats are.

Or use Coconut Battery.

ft
 
sn00pie said:
There is definitely something wrong with your notebook or the battery itself. Phone Apple.
Click to expand...

Would it matter that I replaced my internal drive to a 360GB one from Western Digital? I obviously voided my warranty, so I can't phone Apple unless they don't notice my larger than usual Hard drive... 😛

However, I've never had good battery life with this machine.

I am upgrading this summer once they go to the built in battery on the 15".
 
ftaok said:
Go into the System Profile and see what the battery's stats are.

Or use Coconut Battery.

ft
Click to expand...

Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 1
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: Sony-ASMB012-3a31-c37a
Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0001
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3485
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5461
Health Information:
Cycle count: 3
Condition: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -2492
Voltage (mV): 11562
 
AHDuke99 said:
I don't know what "balanced" means.
Click to expand...

Balanced means your computer will automatically shift between "Better battery life" and "Maximum Performance" based on usage needs. This is good if you need power on the go, but otherwise you will be just checking emails, so then it will go back to slow mode.
 
AHDuke99 said:
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 5
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 1
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: Sony-ASMB012-3a31-c37a
Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0001
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3485
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5461
Health Information:
Cycle count: 3
Condition: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -2492
Voltage (mV): 11562
Click to expand...

Your full charge capacity is better than mine (about 5000 on mine) and I have the same model you do. I would check what the heck is up with the negative Amperage on your status. That doesn't sound right.

I should also ask if the computer says 2:10 or if you actually get 2 hours and 10 minutes of life. That is just an estimate. I would also recommend using iStat to monitor your CPU use. If that gets jacked up due to certain Web sites, that'll kill battery time. If your HDD is spinning, that kills battery time. If you're using your DVD drive, same deal.
 
AHDuke99 said:
Would it matter that I replaced my internal drive to a 360GB one from Western Digital? I obviously voided my warranty, so I can't phone Apple unless they don't notice my larger than usual Hard drive... 😛

However, I've never had good battery life with this machine.

I am upgrading this summer once they go to the built in battery on the 15".
Click to expand...

you did not void your warranty ram and hd are user replaceable parts
 
Michael CM1 said:
I would check what the heck is up with the negative Amperage on your status. That doesn't sound right.
Click to expand...

Umm, This is pretty standard, it's just what happens when the Battery discharges. The measured current is negative because it's flowing out of, rather than into the battery.

If you must know, Current is a vector quantity, and current-meters (Ammeters) will measure both magnitude and direction of current flow.
 
drewsof07 said:
Interesting, what makes you think this will happen?
Click to expand...

I just assume it will. I expect all Apple laptops will move towards the longer, non-user replaceable battery.

Should I go to the Genius bar? I doubt my computer itself is under warranty as I never bought Applecare, but I just bought this battery for it. If I'm supposed to be getting more than 2 hours on a charge, something is wrong....

And I'm probably getting under 2 hours. The estimate says 2 hours 10 minutes, but I took it off the plug at 11pm last night, and it was dead by 1am.
 
Have you calibrated it yet, since you just purchased it? It is possible that it has been on the shelf for months wherever you bought it from (including the Apple store)
 
AHDuke99 said:
I just assume it will. I expect all Apple laptops will move towards the longer, non-user replaceable battery.
Click to expand...

I look forward to that happening. The "Non-User Replaceable Battery" is actually quite easy to replace, and by the time I would need to replace it (if I ever did), my warranty would be up.
 
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