MacBook battery status inaccurate

Hey,
The battery status in my menu bar keeps changing the time left until the battery drains every few minutes. For example it says 4:29 and after a few seconds it changes to 4:35 and sometimes 5:26 to 4:40 which is extra strange since the MacBook battery is suppose to last up to 5:00 hours.
Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.

The indicated time left on the battery depends on what you are doing with your MacBook at the moment. If you are using Airport online, watching a video, or are performing CPU-intensive tasks of any kind. the remaining time will be shorter than if you are simply reading or typing a letter on a word processor or if the MacBook is idle. This is normal.
Bob N.

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MacBook Battery Status

I've had my MacBook for about 20 days now (I think since June 17) and with istat I was able to find out that my battery has gone through 19 cycles and its health is 92% , is this bad? Should I calibrate my battery? I am just worried because I've had it for such a low period of time and the health has decreased significantly since I bought it. I appreciate everyone's help!
Btw: When I use my MacBook I usually charge to 100% then unplug it and use it until around 5% then charge to 100% etc. Any tips on what I'm doing wrong or what I should do when I charge it? Thanks

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
MacBook and MacBook Pro- Mac reduces processor speed when battery is removed while operating from an A-C adaptor
Battery University
The proper utility to use for your battery status is System Profiler in the Utilities folder. Open it and click on the Power entry in the sidebar list. This will display all the information about your battery.

My Battery status doesn't change on my MacBook Pro and then dies

Hi, I have a MacBook Pro that is maybe a year and a half old and is running Snow Leopard. Just recently (only yesterday) I realized that the batter status widget in the menu bar is lying to me. It always reads 3:35 (95%). And then it dies without a warning of low battery. It is extremely annoying and if not for the auto-recover function of Word, I would've had to rewrite an essay yesterday. Once I plug in the charger, the computer recharges. I think everything is working, it's just that the computer isn't notifying me about the battery status.
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Consider updating to 10.6.8

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Battery Information:
Model Information:
Serial Number:          9G95201YS4M0A
Manufacturer:          DP
Device name:          bq20z951
Pack Lot Code:          0000
PCB Lot Code:          0000
Firmware Version:          0042
Hardware Revision:          0001
Cell Revision:          0119
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh):          65262
Fully charged:          Yes
Charging:          No
Full charge capacity (mAh):          65262
Health Information:
Cycle count:          221
Condition:          Replace Now
Battery Installed:          Yes
Amperage (mA):          -1629
Voltage (mV):          8072

I closed the lid for about 10 minutes to do something and when I came back the status seemed to be working correctly (80%) and the health now seems normal. I made no other changes. I will keep an eye on it and post if it goes haywire again. Thanks for your help
Battery Information:
Model Information:
Serial Number:          9G95201YS4M0A
Manufacturer:          DP
Device name:          bq20z951
Pack Lot Code:          0000
PCB Lot Code:          0000
Firmware Version:          0042
Hardware Revision:          0001
Cell Revision:          0119
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh):          9833
Fully charged:          No
Charging:          No
Full charge capacity (mAh):          12217
Health Information:
Cycle count:          221
Condition:          Normal
Battery Installed:          Yes
Amperage (mA):          -1550
Voltage (mV):          7930

How to check the status of my macbook battery

How can i Check the kwality of my macbook battery??

Hi and welcome to Apple discussions,
Click on blue apple top left.
Then About This Mac.
Then More Info in the small window that opens up.
Finally click on Power in the left hand column.
If you are not sure what it all means copy and paste what it shows into a reply so we can see what is happening.
Regards from England,
Alan

Battery status icon meaning (?)

this seems like a dumb question, but i can't for the life of me find any apple document that explains what the battery status icons mean.
there's one with a lightning bolt and one that looks like a power plug.
i'm assuming that lightning bolt = charging and power plug means it's running off the adapter and the battery is fully charged?
i'm on a new macbook pro now, but the reason i ask is that in my old powerbook it was giving me both readings even while charging, so i'm confused...
probably due to faulty power adapter, which i've gone through like 4 of them....(due to them shorting out because they always seem to be on the wrong side of the computer from where i need to plug it in, and therefore causing connection problems due to the bend in the cord).
can anyone confirm what the icons mean?

thanks.
the reason i'm asking now is that i have a separate issue that doesn't seem to be a problem yet. my current magsafe adapter's green light seems to go out when it's fully charged, if i wiggle it, it comes back on. but in any case, it charges normally and the battery icons function as they are theoretically supposed.
i live overseas and have converted many of my friends to mac's in the last few years, but everyone seems to have the same problem with these chargers, that the plugs short out near where they connect to the computer, this is due to apple putting the power plug on the side of the machine. many times you have to plug it into a wall on the opposite side, and it bends the cord, and after time it starts to fail.
i don't think it's happened yet to this charger, but i wanted to make sure...i swear that i saw the "plug" icon in my battery status with my old powerbook as it was charging, and the lights didn't correspond to what they were supposed to be.
anyway, thanks!

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With the latest update to iOS4 (4.01 is it?) I noticed something that's really bothering me.
Whenever I charge my iPhone via a wall jack, the battery status image, both on the lockscreen and up in the corner, is frozen. If I was in the red it will stay the same.
The only way I can see if the phone is charged is the fact that the small image up in the corner changes to show the wall plug as usual. However if I unplug the phone, it still shows an empty battery.
This is solved by rebooting my iPhone.
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Why is this happening and how do I solve it?

Hi,
I have the same problem with my now replaced iPhone 3G with iOS4...
I have this problem, when I charge my iPhone 3G with the charger, that was supplied with my iPad. And also the problem can only be solved, when rebooting the phone.
When charging, the symbol shows the "flash"-sign in the battery to show, that the iPhone is charging and the symbol changes to the wall-connector-symbol, after the iPhone has fully charged. But when disconnecting the charger, the battery-symbol still shows empty, until I reboot.
The problem occurs with the iPad charger, but it does not occur, when charging the iPhone inside my "JBL radial" soundspeaker-system.
So I think about a bug in iOS4
Regards,
Florian

IPod battery status in iTunes?

Don't know which iPod nano (how do I find out?) I have but I have been really frustrated trying to determine when it is fully charged after connecting to my MacBook USB port. I have an iPod Touch and iTunes displays an icon indicating charging status. But not for the nano. I know there is an icon on the iPod nano screen but it is so small and dim I can't see that without real effort. Any solution out there?

Hello shadowknightpaladin
If you are using the new layout and selecting your iPod shuffle to setup syncing, the battery charge should be right underneath your iPod shuffle name. Also you can see a charge if you bring the Sidebar back, then you can see it next the iPod shuffle name. Don’t forget that you can look at your iPod shuffle to see your charge status.
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http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5649
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Battery status icon in menu bar not changing

My battery status icon in my menu bar either does not change it's status at all, or takes a long time to change after I plug in, or unplug, my power cord.
I'm not sure what to even try. I've tried removing it from the bar and adding it back with no luck.
This seems to have happened since the latest Software Update for 10.6.5. I have Build 10H574.
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Chris

After charging, my indicator stays at 100%. The only way I've found to find out the real status is to put it to sleep, then wake it up again, then stare at it for about 2 or 3 minutes until it refigures the percentage. I got this battery as a Christmas gift and installed it 3 days ago. I calibrated it per instructions. This is very annoying. I can never quite relax because I'm afraid it's about to run down to zero.
I'm on a Macbook Pro pre-2008. My new battery came from the Apple store. It's my 3rd battery on this computer and I've never had this problem before. (I hope you find the answer. I rarely go to the Genius Bar, but I've been there twice this week for other issues--I feel like a knucklehead going back a third time so soon). If I find a solution, I'll try to post it here.

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I have had my MacBook Pro for a month now, and I don't know if I can trust my battery status indicator a the top of the MacOSX screen
It usually goes a lot shorter than the indicated percentage or the calculated battery life time.
I have another issue with this MBP.
Has anyone actually been able to use MBP for as close to 5 hours which is the battery life posted on the apple website?
I set my MBP to lowest backlight, no programs or widgets running, wireless and bluetooth off and kept it one for hours. The battery lasted a about 3hours and 49 minutes. Is there something wrong with this battery?

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Once you start using your MBP differently though the accuracy can vary but should still remain "reasonably" accurate.
I personally find the times reasonably accurate altough for the most part I run off the percentage rather than time.
Has anyone actually been able to use MBP for as close to 5 hours which is the battery life posted on the apple website?
No-one will ever get 5 hours. As you note from the specs it's "based on usage" or more to the point, it's non-usage. Those time are achieved by having it on my not being "used".
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My battery status says check battery

Hi everyone
I have a macbook pro retina disp 13inch. i have a problem that based on battery bar menu it says me that check battery. I havent see this situation before. I made the last update from 10.9.1 to 10.9.2 and also made the security update called -002 then i started to see check battery quote in my battery info bar.
my battery options are like this;
Battery Information:
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh):          3073
Fully Charged:          No
Charging:          No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh):          5111
Health Information:
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Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed:          Yes
Amperage (mA):          -1132
Voltage (mV):          11365
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Did you try an SMC reset?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Indicators
After performing normal troubleshooting, these symptoms may indicate that an SMC reset could be necessary.
Fans
The computer's fans run at high speed although the computer is not experiencing heavy usage and is properly ventilated.
Lights
The keyboard backlight appears to behave incorrectly (on Mac computers that have this feature).
The Status Indicator Light (SIL) appears to behave incorrectly (on Mac computers that have an SIL).
Battery indicator lights, if present, appear to behave incorrectly (on portables that use non-removable batteries).
The display backlight doesn't respond correctly to ambient light changes on Mac computers that have this feature.
Power
The computer doesn't respond to the power button when pressed.
A portable Mac doesn't appear to respond properly when you close or open the lid.
The computer sleeps or shuts down unexpectedly.
The battery does not appear to be charging properly.
The MagSafe power adaptor LED doesn't appear to indicate the correct activity.
System performance
The computer is running unusually slowly although it is not experiencing abnormally high CPU utilization.
Application icons may "bounce" in the Dock for an extended amount of time when launched.
Applications may not function correctly or may stop responding after being opened.
Video
A computer that supports target display mode does not switch into or out of target display mode as expected.
A computer that supports target display mode switches into or out of target display mode at unexpected times.
Port illumination
The illumination around the I/O ports on a Mac Pro (Late 2013) does not activate when you move the computer.
Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
Resetting the SMC on Mac portables with a battery you can removeResetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your ownResetting the SMC for Mac Pro, Intel-based iMac, Intel-based Mac mini, or Intel-based Xserve
Additional Information
The System Management Controller (SMC) is responsible for many low-level functions on Intel-based Macs. These functions include:
Responding to presses of the power button
Responding to the display lid opening and closing on portable Macs
Battery management
Thermal management
The SMS (Sudden Motion Sensor)
Ambient light sensing
Keyboard backlighting
Status Indicator Light (SIL) management
Battery status indicator lights
Selecting an external (instead of internal) video source for some iMac displays
Note: Resetting the SMC does not reset, or otherwise change, the contents of PRAM, which is also known as NVRAM on Intel-based Macs.
Last Modified: Mar 26, 2014

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Hi all,
I have a macbook 13'' and sometimes I have a notification in the battery status saying it needs assistance. I already checked with coconuts and everything seems nice!! can anyone help me pls?

I have never saw a message that the battery "needs assistance". Please wait until your battery is fully charged, open your utilities folder, and click on system information. Click on power on the left hand side and copy and paste the information in your next post.

MacBook battery has an "X" through it.

Hi.
I bought a MacBook in late 2006. Used it as a secondary computer for a year and a half (about) until one day my battery had an "x" through it on the status bar. I have an apple care protection plan, so I called apple, and they said there was actually a recall on the battery, so they sent me a new one.
All was fine... Until... Just over 3 months after they sent me the new battery, my battery icon again had an "x" though it. The battery is not at all recognizable by the computer. (system profiler says no battery installed).
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I also tried the battery update, and no luck. Apple currently has my MacBook and is running diagnostics on the power/logic-board.
I hesitate to go buy a new battery, in fear that it will do this again, and apple will again tell me that they don't cover batteries whose capacity has depleted through normal use (of three months).....
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Call AppleCare and ask to speak to a Customer Relations person. Be sure you have all the documentation relating to your situation.
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So i have had my aluminum macbook for about 2 weeks or so and it has been plugged in for about the entire time(desktop replacement) and now i have noticed that the battery status has be stuck at 99%. Any tips?

Hi Joshua Conecoff: That is perfectly normal behaviour. Check out this Apple article for more details. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1909
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Battery status showing "not charging" when power adapter is plugged in

I just bought a brand new Magsafe adapter 60w for my macbook but it seems that when i plugged in to my macbook, the battery status showed "not charging". I have to disconnect and plug in again. This also happened when I used my previous power adapter, that is why I got a new one. Is this a common problem? Please advise what could be done.

Hi
Try resetting the SMC. This sometimes solves this type of problem, in fact, it's listed as one of the reasons why you should try this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
Bob

MacBook battery status inaccurate

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