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Yes, another battery thread

A

ashman70

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 20, 2010
994
21
I just picked up a 6 month old Macbook Pro 13", coconut battery says that the design capacity of my battery is 5770 mAh, but the current capacity is only 5088 mAh. My current charge is 4857 mAh and the maximum it is reporting is 5088 mAh. I have conditioned the battery once since I got it a week ago according to the doc on the Apple website. Is my battery bad, should I continue to recondition it? Will it get better or should I contact Apple support? Right now I have my Macbook in a hengedock and its plugged in, the battery is reporting 95% even though it says its fully charged.

Thanks

AM
 
How many cycles does it have? Sounds like a used battery, which I don't see as being an issue because you bought a used computer.
 
It reports 65 load cycles.

I realize its a used computer and if it is within the parameters for the number of load cycles it has gone through then I don't have a problem with it. I am just asking if everyone things its reasonable for it to be where it is for its age and cycles.

AM
 
i also have a question about my new MBP

i have the 13" MBP and just got it on saturday. (last week the 20th?)and the problem i had was i thought that you would have ot run down the battery and then charge, as this is the best way (i was wrong :( )

so after 4 cycles, my current battery capacity shows only 94% and this is after 4 cycles.
i read GGJStudios battery post, and it says it will fluctuate. but can anyone tell me why my MBP is already at 94%?
 
That isn't good; 65 cycles aren't many at all and the Lithium Polymers are not supposed to lose that much charge capability so fast. Is it an Apple battery?
 
Well its a current model 13" Macbook Pro, and as I understand it the batteries are not removable so I don't know how it could be anything but the original Apple battery.
 
They can be removed. Apple says that they are the ones to do it and otherwise you can void your warranty on at least the battery
 
Well I have to reason to believe that on a six month old MBP the original owner would have removed the original battery and replaced it with an aftermarket one.

AM
 
Then I'd discuss this with Apple asap; if nothing else they make note of it on your account and know issues began early giving you a better chance of a warranty replacement. If it is that low already, it's prolly gonna decrease fast
 
Thanks, I may just contact them after the holidays and see what they have to say.

AM
 
It's worth it. After recalibration my health on my 13 is 98% with over 150 cycles.
 
I think a lot of people are not putting logic into it.

Apple states: The built-in battery in the new 13-, 15-, and 17-inch MacBook Pro is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles.

1000 maximum load cycles is roughly less than 3 years.

1000 divide by 365 days in a year = 2-3 years.

2-3 years divide by 20% = 6-7% per year.

Apple states the battery is designed to retain up to 80%.

They are correct. About 6-7% loss per year.

This is my battery below. 6% loss with over 1 year of use. MacBook Pro 13" purchased Dec 2009.

2vwwco5.png


I've played intensive games on it. The only thing I never do is put it into sleep mode. I shut it off at night. Just like we need our rest, so does the battery(not sleep mode).
 
Battery capacity does not decrease in a linear fashion whatsoever.

Also, his battery has poorer health than yours and has been used 6 times LESS.
 
NickZac said:
Battery capacity does not decrease in a linear fashion whatsoever.

Also, his battery has poorer health than yours and has been used 6 times LESS.
Click to expand...

If it doesn't decrease in a linear fashion; how does apple come up with the assumption that it can hold up to 80% for 1000 load cycles. The math holds up.

Mine has never been in a car.

His battery could have been subject to vibration, a minor short circuit that is reducing battery life, or other various things. If he bought it online and fragile wasn't placed on the package; it could have been tossed around.
 
2097 said:
1000 maximum load cycles is roughly less than 3 years.
1000 divide by 365 days in a year = 2-3 years.
2-3 years divide by 20% = 6-7% per year.
Click to expand...
It's not a direct decline. It fluctuates both up and down.
2097 said:
I've played intensive games on it.
Click to expand...
What apps you run, including games, has nothing to do with battery life. Keeping the electrons moving by cycling the battery on a regular basis does.
2097 said:
The only thing I never do is put it into sleep mode. I shut it off at night. Just like we need our rest, so does the battery(not sleep mode).
Click to expand...
Batteries do not need rest. They are not human beings. They do, however, need to be used regularly.

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions: Apple Notebook Battery FAQ
 
GGJstudios said:
It's not a direct decline. It fluctuates both up and down.

What apps you run, including games, has nothing to do with battery life. Keeping the electrons moving by cycling the battery on a regular basis does.

Batteries do not need rest. They are not human beings. They do, however, need to be used regularly.

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions: Apple Notebook Battery FAQ
Click to expand...

I agree; its not a direct decline but its not an indirect one either. I didn't state exact numbers. I stated a range of numbers.

I've never cycled my battery and not going to. Games...especially wine games use a huge amount of cpu and heat up the whole bottom of the macbook pro..now high heat temperature has nothing to do with battery life?

Batteries are molecules...no? Everything on this earth is made of molecules and needs rest and work. You sound like a meat-eater that believes meat is the only source of amino acids while every living source contains amino acids.

Apply this law to batteries and to yourselves:

Too much energy expenditure without sufficient recovery eventually leads to burnout and breakdown. (Overuse it and lose it.) Too much recovery without sufficient stress leads to atrophy and weakness. (Use it or lose it.)
 
2097 said:
I've never cycled my battery and not going to.
Click to expand...
Then how do you account for this, posted by you?
2vwwco5.png​
You can choose to never cycle a battery. Just don't complain if that battery dies a quick death and Apple refuses to replace it because it was not properly cared for.
2097 said:
Batteries are molecules...no? Everything on this earth is made of molecules and needs rest and work.
Click to expand...
People are made up of molecules, too. In fact, we're about 98% water molecules and wouldn't survive long without water. So, following your logic, since we need water, batteries (and computers) must, too. Try pouring 8 glasses of water on your MBP every day and see how healthy it is.
2097 said:
Too much energy expenditure without sufficient recovery eventually leads to burnout and breakdown. (Overuse it and lose it.) Too much recovery without sufficient stress leads to atrophy and weakness. (Use it or lose it.)
Click to expand...
You can make up all kinds of rules, sayings, anecdotes, witticisms, etc. that you like about batteries, rather than following facts that Apple makes painfully clear.

Too many people make up their own beliefs about batteries, rather than simply reading and learning the facts. It's up to you, but I would strongly advise everyone to not listen to anything you say on this matter, since you don't have any idea what you're talking about.
 
Last edited:
The top cause of battery death is age. Whether you use your battery or not, eventually it will serve no useful purpose.

The WORST thing you can do to a battery is use a small amount of it, say 80%, and plug it back in. Modern batteries have minimum memory but this still does have some effect. If you do that with NiCad or NiMH batteries they are dead ducks. It does throw batteries with minimum memory out of calibration which can harm battery life. On modern self-calibrating batteries such as the ones used in the unibody MacBook Pro, you will preserve the battery's longevity by recalibrating it as it will work more efficiently.

Lithium based batteries are only affected by computer heat in the most minuscule of ways; there is a common belief that the heat of a properly working computer destroys hard drives and batteries and that is not the case. The shift from NiCad and NiMH batteries to lithium based was partially due to its better stability at higher temps (and of course memory and longevity were reasons as well).



2097 said:
If it doesn't decrease in a linear fashion; how does apple come up with the assumption that it can hold up to 80% for 1000 load cycles. The math holds up.

Mine has never been in a car.

His battery could have been subject to vibration, a minor short circuit that is reducing battery life, or other various things. If he bought it online and fragile wasn't placed on the package; it could have been tossed around.
Click to expand...

The estimation by Apple is based on probability testing and averaging out the level of health after 1000 cycles. The math does not hold up due to a variety of reasons. Battery life is quantified by its current methods for simplicity and not perfect accuracy.

Yes, if you leave a lithium ion battery in a hot car that CAN harm it as temps of over 200 degrees F are common (and my Lord some people leave children and pets in their cars too). Leaving it in sunlight, liquid, etc. will harm it. Yes, a short can reduce the service life and running time. It takes a lot of shock to harm these batteries; many modern batteries are lined with Kevlar and Nomex which aids shock protection. There is a dry spiral-cell car battery called an Optima Yellow Top which can be dropped off of a multi story building, shot with a gun at point blank range, run over by a car, sit for years without a start, be fully submersed in water, and still work just fine. If it is not an Apple battery (which IIRC he said it is), then you are asking for a fire or are tying to turn your aluminum MacBook Pro into shrapnel.
 
wait i posted this above, yet no one has mentioned anything, so sry for the double post:

"i have the 13" MBP and just got it on saturday. (last week the 20th?)and the problem i had was i thought that you would have ot run down the battery and then charge, as this is the best way (i was wrong )

so after 4 cycles, my current battery capacity shows only 94% and this is after 4 cycles."

im thinking about calibrating it tomorrow, to see it, but still i was wondering, why has my battery capacity dropped so much? in just 4 cycles???!
EDIT: will this affect the calibration, as this was not done when the battery was at 100%?
 
Last edited:
shyam09 said:
so after 4 cycles, my current battery capacity shows only 94% and this is after 4 cycles."
Click to expand...
It's fine. If you read the FAQ I posted, you'll see that your capacity will fluctuate up and down over time. It's quite normal for it to be at 94% now. It may well be at 98% next week and 92% the week after, 96% the week after that, etc.
shyam09 said:
EDIT: will this affect the calibration, as this was not done when the battery was at 100%?
Click to expand...
No, you can calibrate at any time.
 
shyam09 said:
wait i posted this above, yet no one has mentioned anything, so sry for the double post:

"i have the 13" MBP and just got it on saturday. (last week the 20th?)and the problem i had was i thought that you would have ot run down the battery and then charge, as this is the best way (i was wrong )

so after 4 cycles, my current battery capacity shows only 94% and this is after 4 cycles."

im thinking about calibrating it tomorrow, to see it, but still i was wondering, why has my battery capacity dropped so much? in just 4 cycles???!
EDIT: will this affect the calibration, as this was not done when the battery was at 100%?
Click to expand...

To calibrate the battery you need to charge the battery to 100% and keep it there for 2 hours(reading may not necessarily say 100% because the computer wont charge anymore once it hits 100% until it drops below 95%) then you use the computer until the battery dies, computer will then go into a sleep mode. Close the computer and leave it alone for atleast 5 hours. Plug in and charge and you have calibrated the battery. Steps must be followed in the exact way I listed them.
 
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