Leaving it plugged in.

So i got my new 13" MB last friday (4 days ago) and i've been doing my research on how to prolong the life of the battery. After 4 days, i am sitting on 8 cycles, so as you can see i am a relatively heavy user. For the last 4 days, i have been unplugging it when it is full and then charging it when it almost dies. Hoewever, at this rate, i will reach my 300 cycles in half a year.
My daily laptop usage would involve using it for a few hours at uni every day and then using it at night at home. After doing some research last night, i have decided that i will keep it plugged in while at home but use it on battery when i'm out and about. (Is this the right thing to do?)
My question is, when i'm at home and i put my macbook to sleep, should i unplug the mains? (Assuming that it is fully charged)
What about when i shut down before i go to bed - do i want to leave it plugged in over night?
I have also been making sure that the magsafe is plugged in fore connecting or disconnecting the mains. Is this neccesary?
Your input is greatly appreciated

It's perfectly fine to leave the computer connected to the AC adapter.
About Batteries in Modern Apple Laptops
Apple - Batteries - Notebooks
Extending the Life of Your Laptop Battery
Apple - Batteries
Determining Battery Cycle Count
Calibrating your computer's battery for best performance
Battery University

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Help I have a Macbook 2006 model and I like to play videogames on it, well when I leave it plugged in it gets the best performance, when its not plugged in its decent, so will it hurt my battery if I leave it plugged in at all times?

Help I have a Macbook 2006 model and I like to play videogames on it, well when I leave it plugged in it gets the best performance, when its not plugged in its decent, so will it hurt my battery if I leave it plugged in at all times?

No, it will hurt your battery, but it is not recommended by Apple. Additionally, since you have a model with a removable battery, you should calibrate the battery once a month if you leave it plugged in at all times.
Apple Portables: Calibrating your computer's battery for best ...
www.apple.com/batteries

If my computer is not fully charged but i'm shutting it down for the night, is it better to leave it plugged in or to unplug it?

If my computer is not fully charged but i'm shutting it down for the night, is it better to leave it plugged in or to unplug it?

Your computer will not overcharge, even when off. If the battery is sufficiently low, it will top off the battery and stop charging. By morning, the light will be green because it is done charging.
There is no need to disconnect the power when you shut it off. The SMC microcontroller will continue to supervise charging the battery, even when the main processor is shut down.
https://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

Leaving Drive Plugged In 24/7

I just bought a 1TB SeaGate FreeAgent GoFlex USB 2.0 drive (eventually will upgrade to FireWire) to use with Time Machine, and want to know if it's better to leave it plugged in to let Time Machine do it's thing every hour the Mac's plugged in, or just plug it in to backup occasionally. If the latter, how often to back up? Right now I use a 500 GB partition on a Western Digital drive for Time Machine, and only backup once a week, which I think is too infrequent.
Thanks in advance.

dave2889 wrote:
Thanks, read that, will bookmark for future reference. Thinking of getting http://dicksmith.com.au/product/M7678/powerware-700va-uninterruptible-power-supp ly
It doesn't say it's Mac compatible, but since that article said not to install software, the Energy Saver panel will do the job, it should work with Mac, right?
Probably. It does say it has a USB cable, but I'd be inclined to check with the maker to be sure.
Page 15 here says a USB cable is not included: http://lit.powerware.com/lldownload.asp?file=9120_man_engrevD.pdf
Is this something you can buy locally and return if it doesn't work?
Notice the only review wasn't exactly glowing . . .

HT4528 Is it better to leave iPhone plugged in overnight or unplug and turn off?

Is it better to leave iPhone plugged in all or turn off after 100%?

Neither will have harmful effects on the battery. I would leave it overnight so it is still 100% charged when you wake up.

Better to leave computer plugged in or unplugged when sleeping?

I'm wondering if it is better for the battery (i.e. will preserve the battery's life) to leave it plugged in (fully charged) or to unplug it and let it drain a little overnight. I've actually heard both. I know it makes sense just to leave it plugged in, but I've heard that it's bad for the battery to just leave it plugged in all the time, for some reason.
Just curious.

Welcome to the Forums!
It's bad for the battery for the MBP to be run on AC power all the time. Li-based batteries need to be used to maintain health. Optimal use is 1-2 charge cycles per week.
It does not hurt to leave the MBP plugged in when the battery is charged - there is no risk of overcharging; in fact, your MBP will not initiate charging if the current charge is 95% or higher (this prevents overcharging and very small, frequent charges/discharges).
For more info, see these pages:
http://www.apple.com/batteries/
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html
Hope this helps...

Should i leave charge plug when it is fully charged?

Should i leave charge plug when it is fully charged? I read that my macbook pro with retina display (Early-2012) has 1000 charge-cycle. If i do not unplug it when it is fully charged, it won't count plus for charge-cycle. However, is it beneficial?
Thanks a lot.

You can leave it plugged in whether using it or not. It will not harm the battery:
About Batteries in Modern Apple Laptops
Apple - Batteries - Notebooks
Extending the Life of Your Laptop Battery
Apple - Batteries
MacBook and MacBook Pro- Mac reduces processor speed when battery is removed while operating from an A-C adaptor
Battery University
Apple - Batteries - iPod
Apple - Batteries - iPhone
Apple - Batteries - iPad
Apple Portables- Calibrating your computer's battery for best performance
Mac notebooks- Determining battery cycle count
How to Calibrate Your Mac, iPhone, or iPad Battery | MacBlend

Leaving iPod Plugged in

Hi,
I bought a new iPod classic and an accessory power adaptor to plug it into the wall. Is it okay to leave the iPod plugged in or should I unplug it when it's fully charged?
Sincerely,
Jim

When using iPod at home is it not alright to simply leave it plugged in to the usb 2 on the computer?
Will it not simply "trickle charge" and thus not shorten the life of the lithium battery?
I have read that leaving it in charge mode overnight is fine but what about indefinitely when based at home?

"charging not supported by this accessory". If I leave it plugged in, it charges, but I noticed that the charge doesn't seem to hold as long. What does this mean?

Why every time I plug my phone in using a USB cord or charger does it say "charging not supported with this accessory"? The phone will charge if I leave it plugged in long enough, but I noticed that it doesn't hold the charge like it used to. Is this the battery, or something else?

Hi CJ-
There are some chargers designed for thr original iPhone that are not compatible with the 3G and later models. Are you using the USB cable that came with the 3G? That cable, when plugged into a computer USB port, or, when plugged into the power cube / wall outlet, should charge the 3G just fine.
Due to the nature of Lithium Ion batteries, there are safeguards in place to prevent the wrong type of charger from supllying charge voltage to the batteries, and if the proper pins and resistance is not detected by the phone, the circuitry will block charging and give that message.
Therefore: If you are using a 3G compatible (oem, or otherwise valid charger), and you're seeing that "not supported" message, it could be the cable you're using, or it's the phone/circuitry detection in the phone that detects the cable / charger type.
And, if you are getting some charge, but it's not holding very long, it could be that it's a 3G, and the lifespan of the battery is near end of life. The fact that you're getting a charging not supported message is probably of more importance as to why the battery is not fully being charged.

[SOLVED] Leave headphones plugged in, switch output in software

Normally, when I plug in my headphones sound stops playing from speakers. I would prefer leaving them plugged in, but being able to switch between speakers and headphones using some software switch.
In pavucontrol, I do have separate Line Out and Headphones ports, but when headphones are plugged in they both control headphone output. Is this possible to do?
Last edited by silverhammermba (2014-08-23 05:17:39)

$ amixer -c PCH
Simple mixer control 'Master',0
Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Limits: Playback 0 - 64
Mono: Playback 64 [100%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Headphone',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 64
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 62 [97%] [0.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Playback 62 [97%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'PCM',0
Capabilities: pvolume
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 255
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 255 [100%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: Playback 255 [100%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'Front',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 64
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 64 [100%] [2.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Playback 64 [100%] [2.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Front Mic',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Front Mic Boost',0
Capabilities: volume
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: 0 - 3
Front Left: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'Surround',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 64
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 62 [97%] [0.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Playback 62 [97%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Center',0
Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Limits: Playback 0 - 64
Mono: Playback 62 [97%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'LFE',0
Capabilities: pvolume pvolume-joined pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Limits: Playback 0 - 64
Mono: Playback 62 [97%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Side',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 64
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 62 [97%] [0.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Playback 62 [97%] [0.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Line',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Line Boost',0
Capabilities: volume
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: 0 - 3
Front Left: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958',0
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [on]
Simple mixer control 'IEC958 Default PCM',0
Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined
Playback channels: Mono
Mono: Playback [on]
Simple mixer control 'Capture',0
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 46
Front Left: Capture 34 [74%] [18.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Capture 34 [74%] [18.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Capture',1
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 46
Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [-16.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [-16.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Capture',2
Capabilities: cvolume cswitch
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 46
Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [-16.00dB] [on]
Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [-16.00dB] [on]
Simple mixer control 'Auto-Mute Mode',0
Capabilities: enum
Items: 'Disabled' 'Enabled'
Item0: 'Enabled'
Simple mixer control 'Digital',0
Capabilities: cvolume
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Capture 0 - 120
Front Left: Capture 60 [50%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: Capture 60 [50%] [0.00dB]
Simple mixer control 'Input Source',0
Capabilities: cenum
Items: 'Front Mic' 'Rear Mic' 'Line'
Item0: 'Line'
Simple mixer control 'Input Source',1
Capabilities: cenum
Items: 'Front Mic' 'Rear Mic' 'Line'
Item0: 'Front Mic'
Simple mixer control 'Input Source',2
Capabilities: cenum
Items: 'Front Mic' 'Rear Mic' 'Line'
Item0: 'Front Mic'
Simple mixer control 'Rear Mic',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 31
Mono:
Front Left: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
Front Right: Playback 0 [0%] [-34.50dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Rear Mic Boost',0
Capabilities: volume
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: 0 - 3
Front Left: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
Front Right: 0 [0%] [0.00dB]
I'm not sure why they're starting at 2. I have two USB microphones, would that do it? /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf has
options snd_usb_audio index=-2
which I don't remember creating and no package owns it. Beats me.

I work from my truck. I use my iPhone almost continuasly. Is it ok just to leave it plugged into the charger all day? So the battery is fully charged when I leave my truck.

I work from my truck. I use my iPhone almost continuasly. Is it ok just to leave it plugged into the charger all day? So the battery is fully charged when I leave my truck.

Yes. Charging automatically stops when your battery is full, & you can't overcharge.

Leave iPod plugged into usb on PC ?

Hi, this is my first iPod video, I have the new 30GB.
Anyway, do I just leave it plugged into the computer all the time when not in use? Even when itunes is not on the ipod flashes the "Do not disconnect" and the backlight stays on.
Is that ok?
Should i ejected it when not in use?
thanks in advance for the help.

Yes, there should be no harm done to your iPod leaving it plugged in all the time. I would though, let the battery discharge once and a while.
Hope this helps

Does it harm the battery to leave it plugged in overnight to recharge

Does it harm the battery to leave it plugged in overnight to recharge?

No. Charging automatically stops when the battery reaches capacity.

Leave mac plugged in on sleep mode?

i just recently bought a macbook and have been reading about battery cycles and what not. just a quick question though.. is it better to leave my mac plugged in overnight while on sleep mode or should i just unplug it and plug it in again in when i use it the next day?
also, do i need to turn off my mac at night or is it safe to just leave it on sleep mode when i go to bed?
thanks!

No problem! Thanks for the star
Personally, I like to make sure my computer is sleeping before I head to bed, just in case; I've had a couple occasions where it didn't go into sleep mode properly & the fan kicked in at high speed due to excessive heat.
~Lyssa

Is it safe to never turn your pb off and leave it plugged in

Just wondering,
is it safe to never turn off your pb and have it plugged into the electricity most of the time? Will my battery run out quicker or anything stuff up?
cheers to you all

David
For the most part it is fine to leave your PB plugged in all the time. However, for lithium-ion batteries, it is advisable to do two things every so often:
1. At least once or twice a week, use your PB on battery power. This maintains some electron flow in the battery. You don't have to drain it, just use an appreciable percentage, say 25% (arbitrary number).
2. Once a month, completely drain your battery until the computer goes into sleep mode and then charge it back up to full.
You don't want to necessarily perform the second step too often as this will increase the cycle count on the battery, leading to faster than normal wear on it. Of course, I wouldn't NOT use the battery just because of this either.
Have a look at the middle column on this chart for some useful info:
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-23.htm
And have a look at these knowledge base articles:
http://www.apple.com/batteries/
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html
Ernie

Leaving it plugged in.

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