Battery Time Estimation jumps around.

Sorry if this question has already been answered but is there a way to fix this problem?
I got this new MacBook for Christmas and I keep the Battery Time Estimation on my Finder bar. It often jumps around for example: It jumps from 7 hours to 5 to 4 to 6 and so on. It seems to always stay within 3 hours of what seems to be accurate. Thanks!

Absolutely!
I decided to put the "test" to practice this morning and unplugged my laptop from AC power. Immediately it read that I had 4hrs, 32mins of charge remaining, which translated to 100% of battery life. I turned off WiFi, set the backlight to 50% and just let it sit with nothing running and 15 minutes later it said I now had 6hrs and 14mins of charge remaining, which now translated to 99% of battery life.
I turned on WiFi, launched Mail and iChat, then proceeded to launch Safari and began opening various threads in the discussions to read/review. My battery percentage dipped to 98% and the life dropped to 5hrs and 02mins.
After another 10-15 minutes of reading the forums and looking at some other websites I decided to launch iTunes and download a podcast that publishes on Thursdays. After it completed downloading, my battery life now read 95% and I had 4hrs and 32mins to go.
I stepped away, came back about 10 minutes later to find I had 94% battery life remaining but had 7hrs and 18mins of life remaining as the computer had been idle the entire time.
So you can see how the time jumped from 4 -> 6 -> 5 -> 4 -> 7 in a span of less than one hour of various usage states. However, throughout the entire time the percentage indicator continued to slowly decrease from 100% to 93% where it now sits as I post this.

Similar Messages

Battery life percentage jumps around

Hi!
My macbook pro is about a year and a half old. I've never had a battery problem until about two weeks ago. I use the percentage display for how much battery life I have left, and when I unplug my computer, the number jumps around a lot. I've been unplugged for about an hour, and it has jumped from 80% to 30%, then up to 70%, and now it's at 50%. Also, the computer tells me I'm running on reserve battery power after at random intervals, even when the icon says I have more than half of my battery left. Sometimes it tells me I'm on reserve after 20 minutes, when my icon says I have 80% left; other times it waits an hour and a half when it says I have 30% left. I've recalibrated it, which didn't help. I'm a student, and generally only use Safari and Microsoft Word, though occasionally I'll play a DVD.
Does anyone have any ideas about how to fix it? I've been a devoted Apple user for years and I've never had any problems like this before!
Thanks!
-Kate

Be aware though that the battery % remaining will fluctuate on any notebook computer. I have a late 2009 MBP and this happens depending on what I do on the computer. I go to a website and the remaining time will drop. If I wait a few minutes and not touch the computer, the remaining time will go back up till I use it again. The remaining time shown will change depending upon how much power the processor is consuming at the moment.
I actually had two late 2009 MBP and this happened on both of them.
But yes, to the OP, the battery is old, and when you replace it, the remaining time will still jump around and it is normal.

Battery time estimation?

after calibrating my battery, i have noticed very little change in the accuracy of the time estimations.
my macbook is nearly brand new, a CD2, bought on feb the 17th (not quite 3 weeks ago).
in five minutes, as i sit here, it has gone from 100% charge with a time estimation of 3:23 to a 99% charge with an estimation of 5:38 to a 98% charge with an estimation of 4:35, and is currently on 97% with an estimation of 4:45.
why is it so inconsistent? is this just the way it works?
this is my first apple and my first laptop as well, so i have never had to deal with battery issues before.
like i said, i did calibrate my battery already.
is there something else i should reset?

Apple's claim of 6 hours must be the absolute best of conditions. The best battery, the best charge, and absolutely nothing going on. The computer has to just literally be on (no activity) and stay on for 6 hours to get that number. Totally inflated for sales propaganda.
In reality, I'd say that with just browsing and music playing you'd be lucky to get 4.5 hours with a good charge. That's a good amount of time and the MacBook is indeed efficient, but 6 hours just isn't realistic at all.

My wife and I both purchased iPhone 5's 14 months ago after being loyal iPhone users since the first model. However, our battery percentage began jumping around on both of our phones and they would randomly shutdown at above 50%. Can anyone else relate?

My wife and I purchased iPhone 5's 14 months ago and both began having the exact same battery percentage issues where the phone would shutdown at above 50% and would only turn back on after getting plugged back in or waiting 5 minutes. We took it to the apple store and they said we need to pay $140 to have them replace our batteries in order to fix it. We have been loyal customers of Apple for years with a purchase of almost every iPhone model. However, I'm dissapointed we are not even able to get two years out of our batteries anymore without having to pay extra for it. I'm seriously considering other phones when we upgrade this year. Is anyone else having this problem and just as frustrated as me? Is this a systemic defective battery issue?

*Feedback*
"Use the form below to send us your comments. We read all feedback carefully, but please note that we cannot respond to the comments you submit."
http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html
We can complain about Apple's business decisions, but these discussions are user to user talk about possible solutions.
Here are the places to report bugs:
Get an account at
http://developer.apple.com/ then submit a bug report to http://bugreporter.apple.com/
Once on the bugreporter page,
   -- click on New icon
   -- See if you need to attach a log file or log files, clicking on Show instructions for gathering logs. Scroll down to find the area or application that matches the problem.
   -- etc.

Mouse & Screen Jump around at various times

If I left my mouse stand still the mouse cursor will jump around. Also, the screen will automatically switch screens moving to the left or to the right to a new screen or sit there half way. It's happening while typing this message. Also the mouse pad on the laptop is diabled at times.
Very frustrating as it is difficult to get work done with the mouse jumping around and screen moving in different directions.
Seems like the Lion Software is possessed

donnafr wrote:
I have the same problem. Brand new imac and I'm new to Lion and hate it so far. I'm trying to do painstaking graphics work and the window and/or cursor start leaping around. And I can't figure out any cause. It often happens when I've leaned back to look at the graphic so I'm not touching anything. Possession? Maybe. Faulty battery? No.
Sorry to hear that your cursor too has started "acting up." Commiserations. However, I'm glad to read that you've positively identified the fact that a faulty battery is not the culprit. Good on you! I can only reiterate that, when this exact same problem happened on my MacBook all those months ago, my battery replacement (free from Apple, because it was under warranty) stopped the problem.
Russel

My magic mouse is now jumping around every time I pick it up / put it down. It started in the last few days. Any ideas?

Hi all -
I looked around the forums and couldn't find an existing solution...
This afternoon, I started using my Magic Mouse again, after about a week without turning it on. The mouse now jumps around erratically and sends spurious click commands - menus pop up all over the place, links are clicked, apps opened, etc. Usually it takes the form of the mouse jumping 1-8" to the left, and it seems proportional to the impact - if I put it down normally, it jumps about 4" to the left. If I put it down a little harder then normal, it usually jumps to the upper left corner.
This ONLY seems to happen when I pick up the mouse to reposition it on the mouse pad. If I slide it smoothly along the pad, then there don't seem to be any issues.
It has been in my backpack, and was turned on (I realized this afternoon when I took it out), so I wondered if it might have been the batteries. I checked them, and they're fine. It also had trouble connecting, though, and I had to cycle both the mouse and BlueTooth on the MBP.
I also saw several posts here that said it might be the optics, so I tried blowing those out, but they look crystal clear.
Just to be safe, I also updated the Wacom tablet drivers to the latest, no luck.
MBP (July 2011) 15" i7, upgraded to 8 G RAM
Lion 10.7.4
Magic Mouse
Wacom Intuos 5 tablet
no external monitors
It's possible this started when I installed the Wacom drivers, since it 'feels' kinda like using a tablet in absolute mode, rather than mouse mode - but with the mouse hardware. I have not tried swapping out the mouse for another one, nor tried this mouse with another Mac. I can try those in the next few days when I get an opportunity, but figured I'd ask in the meantime.
I'm suspicious of either the Wacom tablet (but I can't imagine there would be a problem, as SO many people would have experienced it already).
I'm also suspicious that maybe something has been jiggled loose inside the mouse, but have no idea how to tell.
Can anyone save me a trip to the (distant) genius bar?
Thanks!
Aaron

hey try a smc reset
EDIT (smc reset
Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.)
if that doesnt help look at replacing the batteries in your magic mouse and try it then
if the issue still presists take it into a apple store and they can test it there to see whats up

HT3288 my track pad is jumping around all the time and constantly clicking i tried updating the firmware but the computer states all is up to date, the probleme comes and goes and I'm not shire what triggers it

my track pad will sudenly start jumping around the screen and clicking very rapidly, since te problem began it operates diferently from normal when ever it apears to be working correctly, specificly i can no longer grab items without removing the tracking finger from the pad before clicking to grab an item, if i do not it will procede as if i double cliked somthing, conversly if i disable the two finger tap double click i am unable to double click anything, sometimes whilst apearing to funtion normally it will scroll from side to side if i do not remove my thumb from the bottom of the pad, again these are during the rare instances its not jumping about the screen cliking, and reaking havoc on what ever im working on any help would be apreciated thanks.

You have some type of hardware problem. More then likely the battery is swelling and putting presure on the trackpad. The only thing to do is take to Apple and have them check it all out, replacing any parts that are needed.

Battery wrong estimation time.

Hi guys,
Since when after an update of upower, and battery estimation time started "working", I'm running into a problem that is completely getting me mad. When I'm on battery everything I do cpu-intensive makes the estimation time drop instantly causing sometimes (getting from sometimes to often) the laptop to be forced to hibernate even if the battery is still at high levels (had 1 min battery time with 94% left). This happens even when I boot up the laptop.
As you may imagine this is getting really annoying. Why the hell gnome-power-manager should trust the time instead of the percentage is still a big question to me.
Gnome only let me choose between hibernate and shutdown on critical level (that we know is not).
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
/matt
Last edited by mattmils (2011-09-02 14:51:26)

mattmils wrote:
I found an alternative way to handle this problem. I did a
gsettings list-recursively org.gnome.power-manager
At the end you can see a key named "use-time-for-policy" so I simply changed that behaviour:
gsettings set org.gnome.power-manager use-time-for-policy false
Thanks SternGerlachExperiment for trying to help me
Maybe someone else will find this solution useful!
/matt
Thanks matt for this solution. This used to work, but not anymore. use-time-for-policy is not present in org.gnome.power-manager anymore.
The above code gives a 'No such key found' response. use-time-for-policy is now present in org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power.
The following works
gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power use-time-for-policy false

IPhone 4s battery percentage jumping around

Noticed this morning my phone shut off with ~ 6% battery left. When I plugged in to charge, it only took a few seconds to come back on and it was it was already at 11%. It seems to be jumping around, any advice? Previously no issues with the battery.

Download iOS5.0.1 and install.
I suggest downloading the full file, rather than the update, and installing via a Restore. Details as follows:
1. Download the file from the relevant link here (thereese are links to Apple servers):
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/11/10/ios-5-0-1-now-available-for-download/
2. Connect the phone, right;clikc it and choose Back Up (you'll have to wait for any syncing to finish).
3. Option+Click (Mac) or Shift+Click (Windows) the Restore button in iTunes and choose the downloaded file from the window that opens
4. When asked, choose to restore from the most recent backup
Hope that helps

The cursor jumps around on my macbook pro. it happens all the time when i am typing and suddenly the cursor is at a previous spot and i am typing away. i am not using a mouse but i am also not accidentally hitting my trackpad. someone please help!

my cursor jumps around when i'm typing. it randomly lands in a previous part of the text. i do not use a mouse. i am decinitely NOT accudentally hitting the trackpad. it happens enough that i am starting to hate my fairly new macbook pro. i tried turning off bluetooth but it still happens. the strangest part is i cant find other complaints of this happening, at least recently. anyone have ideas?

If you have a fairly new Mac...
You are still under warranty. Call Apple Care. Make sure you get a case number as all repairs have an additional 90 days of warranty.
#1 - You have 14 days from the date of purchase to return your computer with no questions asked.
#2 - You have 90 days of FREE phone tech support.
#3 - You have the standard one year Apple warranty.
#4 - If you've purchased an AppleCare Protection Plan, your warranty last for 3 years. You can obtain AppleCare anytime up to the first year of the purchase of your computer.
Take FULL advantage of your warranty. Posting on a message board should be done as a last resort and if you are out of warranty or Apple Care has expired.

Battery time wrong after upgrading to new conky

I use conky and have a section which tells me if the battery is active and if so what's the percentage and how long do i have left until the battery dies. It was working fine, with the right time estimation until i upgraded to the new conky version a few days ago and now the time estimation for the battery is all wrong. Now when my battery is like 90 percent full it tells me that there is only around 30 minutes left, but of course the battery will last for much longer and checking powertop estimate I still have around 4 hours left. Anyone having this problem after upgrading to the newer conky?
Vincent

I have a similar problem. There are a number of conky scripts that I use, and they can all be found at http://vredfreak.atspace.com/projects.html , for instance the gmail check, and the weather, and new arch updates. But after the last update it does not display the whole information, but only a part. So in the e-mail section it only lists "two and a half" and the archlinux new packages section only lists about 6. I have no idea how to fix this.

Mouse pointer jumping around since 10.10.3

Dear all.
Since 10.10.3 upgrade my mouse pointer is jumping around all over the place.
First i thought it was maybe a bluetooth issue (i am using magic mouse) so i disabled that.
But.. without active magic mouse, the mouse pointer still keeps jumping.
So now my macbookpro has become almost unworkable.
Anyone ?

There are several possible causes for this issue. Please take each of the following steps that you haven't already tried until it's resolved. Some may not apply in your case.
1. Follow the instructions in this support article, and also this one, if applicable. A damaged or defective AC adapter could be the cause, even if it's the right kind.
2. Press down all four corners of the trackpad at once and release. If there's any effect, it's likely to be temporary, and in that case the unit must be serviced or replaced.
3. Open the Bluetooth pane in System Preferences and delete all pointing devices other than the trackpad, if applicable. Disconnect any USB pointing devices. By a "pointing device," I mean a peripheral that moves the cursor, such as a trackpad, mouse, trackball, or graphics tablet. A plain keyboard is not a pointing device.
4. If your model has an infrared receiver for use with an Apple Remote, disable it.
5. Start up in safe mode and test, preferably without launching any third-party applications. If you don't have the problem in safe mode, but it comes back when you restart as usual, stop here and post your results. Do the same if you can't start in safe mode. If there was no difference in safe mode, go on to the next step.
6. Reset the System Management Controller.
7. If you're using a Bluetooth trackpad or mouse, investigate potential sources of interference, including USB 3 devices.
8. A swollen battery in a portable computer can impinge on the trackpad from below and cause erratic behavior. If you have trouble clicking the trackpad, this is likely the reason. The battery must be replaced without delay.
9. A defective peripheral device or a damaged cable can cause the built-in trackpad of a MacBook to behave erratically. If you're using any wired peripherals, disconnect them one at a time and test.
10. There's also a report of erratic cursor movements caused by an external display that was connected but not turned on.
11. If none of the above applies, or if you have another reason to think that your computer is being remotely controlled, remove it from the network by turning off Wi-Fi (or your Wi-Fi access point), disconnecting from a Bluetooth network link, and unplugging the Ethernet cable or USB modem, whichever is applicable. If the cursor movements stop at once, you should suspect an intrusion.
12. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine and/or external trackpad tested.

Touchpad pointer jumps around when connecting to HDMIt

Greetings,
I have been using the HDMI port of my Macbook pro retina for 1 year with my samsung LCD,
and yesterday while im connected through the hdmi my touchpad
is completely erratic, jumping around and self clicking.
Before i had no problem!
when i disconnect the Hdmi cable everything is fine again.
Pleast help, any ideas why suddenly my touchpad is behaving like this?
Many thanks,
Nico

There are several possible causes for this issue. Please take each of the following steps that you haven't already tried until it's resolved. Some may not apply in your case.
1. Follow the instructions in this support article, and also this one, if applicable. A damaged or defective AC adapter could be the cause, even if it's the right kind.
2. Press down all four corners of the trackpad at once and release. If there's any effect, it's likely to be temporary, and in that case the unit must be serviced or replaced.
3. Open the Bluetooth preference pane in System Preferences and delete all pointing devices other than the trackpad, if applicable. Disconnect any USB pointing devices. By a "pointing device," I mean a peripheral that moves the cursor, such as a trackpad, mouse, trackball, or graphics tablet. A plain keyboard is not a pointing device.
4. Start up in safe mode and test, preferably without launching any third-party applications. If you don't have the problem in safe mode, but it comes back when you restart as usual, stop here and post your results. Do the same if you can't start in safe mode. If there was no difference in safe mode, go on to the next step.
5. Reset the System Management Controller.
6. If you're using a Bluetooth trackpad or mouse, investigate potential sources of interference, including USB 3 devices.
7. A swollen battery in a portable computer can impinge on the trackpad from below and cause erratic behavior. If you have trouble clicking the trackpad, this is likely the reason. The battery must be replaced without delay.
8. A defective peripheral device or a damaged cable can cause the built-in trackpad of a MacBook to behave erratically. If you're using any wired peripherals, disconnect them one at a time and test.
9. There's also a report of erratic cursor movements caused by an external display that was connected but not turned on.
10. If none of the above applies, or if you have another reason to think that your computer is being remotely controlled, remove it from the network by turning off Wi-Fi (or your Wi-Fi access point), disconnecting from a Bluetooth network link, and unplugging the Ethernet cable or USB modem, whichever is applicable. If the cursor movements stop at once, you should suspect an intrusion.
11. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine and/or external trackpad tested.

Cursor jumping around on curve 9300

Hi, I've seen many people posting about this problem, but have yet to see a solution. The cursor on my Curve 9300 jumps around all over the place.
- The problem started before I did a software update.
- It is not from track pad over-sensitivity. I've used the device for several months without problems. I did change the sensitivity, just in case. The problem persists.
- I've pulled the battery several times, no effect.
- I upgraded the software version 6 bundle 2647, no effect.
- I've seen that some people have this problem when using the device in direct sunlight. Not relevant here - happens indoors or outdoors, and I am seldom if ever in direct sunlight (sadly).
If anyone could help me with this, I'd be most appreciative. Thanks.

yes if it is still under warranty sorry but seems there's nothing else we can do. i kept patient on using it for months while trying finding any possible soft repair but i get nothing
it is not that happy to hear that we can have new device since it comes with new PIN which means we lost all data.
good luck on yours

Battery timer skipping 17 ways to christmas.

so i just got my macbook pro a few days ago and i'm curious about the battery timer. it's jumping all over the friggin place. it'll say i have 8 hours left, then it drops down to 6. then, it jumps back up to 7, now it's down at 5 hrs 26 minutes . i'm going through in the calibration process, i just finished the AC plugged in "2 hour resting period" step and next is to let it drain all the way, rest, and charge it again according to what it says here on the apple site =\
will calibration fix this? it's kind of a pain. i realize that i'm using the computer, but i'm hardly doing much. i just have this webpage open, nothing else.
sorry if this is a noobish question, i just wanted to know if i should snap into panic mode or not :B

The estimated time remaining is just that, an estimate. It's based on whatever the computer is doing at any given moment, and it will vary as what the computer is doing changes. The computer is always doing some things that aren't apparent to the user, and one of those things when the computer is brand new is the Spotlight application indexing your hard drive — a processor- and disk-intensive operation. In addition, it always takes the machine a while to refine its estimates, and it also helps to have the battery properly calibrated. Because none of those things has been completed in your case, the estimates are currently useless. In fact they are pretty useless all the time, because if you start doing something more demanding, the six hours you were expecting to have five minutes ago will suddenly only be four hours, and if you stop doing whatever it is after an hour and a half, the estimate may change from 2.5 hours remaining back to four. So what I recommend to everyone who will listen is to switch from the time display to the percentage display in the menu bar. That at least is an actual measurement instead of a guesswork projection.

Battery Time Estimation jumps around.

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