MBP 2008 "Check Battery"

- Penryn 2.5" 15" MBP bought in April 2008
- Initial battery would shut down unexpectedly and have the "check battery" status in the "Power oane"
- Genius exchanged old battery for new for free in March 2008
- Now, new (Sony) battery exhibiting same symptoms
Can I expect a Genius to give me again another battery? Should I rather not waste my time and buy a battery on my own? If so there are many brands on Amazon. Anyone more reliable than the Apple batteries?
Thanks
Phil

Good morning.
I've got an early 2009 17" MBP with which i'm thrilled but in the last couple of days, the battery has begun to act strangely.
For no obvious reason I too get the *Check battery" message both in the menu bar and when I go into System Info. I've noticed the battery capacity which used to be at around 12000 mAh now hovers closer to 2000-3000, although the battery only has 145 cycles on it.
The most extreme case was this morning when I turned on my MBP. The battery read as 78% full which seemed right a I'd used it late last night. I then closed it and let it sleep for about half an hour. When I returned, the computer was turned off. I had to plug it back into the mains before it would start again. It then informed me the battery was at 0% and I once again got the "check battery" message.
I have trouble believing it could drain completely in half an hour.
Has anyone had a similar issue and if so, has anyone come across a fix?
All help appreciated.
Cheers.

Similar Messages

New 15-inch MBP (2008 MPB) battery drained to 84% in 15 mins. Help.

Hi there! I just popped in a brand new 15-inch MBP (square) battery into my 2008 MBP with Lion 10.7.4. It has drained to 84% in about 15 mintues. Is it a defective battery or a problem with caliberation? Thanks!!!

Calibrate it, and then you'll find out whether the problem is/was with the battery or its calibration.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

MBP 15" New battery or not?

my 19 months old MBP 15" (bought it in Feb '07) is unable to hold a charge for more than 25/30 mins at best. Admittedly I didn't calibrate the battery for several months of its life and it spends more time at home than out and about. Well it used to, now with a charge of 30 mins max I don't bother to take the MBP with me if I know I cannot plug it somewhere.
These are the reading in the system profiler:
Battery Information:
Model Information:
Serial Number: Sony-ASMB012-3624-28c1
Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 102a
Hardware Revision: 0400
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 1100
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 1156
Health Information:
Cycle count: 30
Condition: Check battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -1941
Voltage (mV): 12020
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 180
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 180
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 15
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 15
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes
Hardware Configuration:
UPS Installed: No
AC Charger Information:
Connected: Yes
Charging: No
I'm not really keen to shell out 100 quid for a replacement battery and wonder if the above reading are likely to worsen as time goes by.

See this article:
http://www.apple.com/support/macbook_macbookpro/batteryupdate/
It may apply to you even if you are out of warranty coverage.

HT3053 Can I run my MacBook Pro Late 2008 without battery forever? Is it bad in long term or anything? Does it make the system less stable?

Can I run my MacBook Pro Late 2008 without battery forever? Is it bad in long term or anything? Does it make the system less stable?
My battery got swollen (and I unfortunately noticed it very late and might have be running with it for months, which potentially explains all the crashes everyday and the trackpad not working anymore, the Apple test also says I have a bar of ram broken...) and I had to remove it because the back pannel did not close anymore... Can I still use my MBP normally forever that way? I was planning on buying a new mac anyway but maybe waiting for the next iMac upgrade in the year... Should I wait?

Other than the system shutting down instantly if you have a power outage, whcih could corrupt the OS. Nothing else bad will happen.

Applecare replaced battery says "check battery"

Hi
I took my Macbook Pro 2.4ghz Santa Rosa in for a Applecare repair 5 weeks ago because it would not boot from the battery and the audio port needed fixing.
The AASP repair shop diagnosed the battery was faulty on the spot and ordered the replacement 3 weeks later the computer was ready. They lost my power cable + brick and replaced it with a smaller used cable they had spare after arguing my case.
I finally got the cable and have checked the stats for the "new" battery and it says "check battery" here are the stats from System Profiler:
Model Information:
Serial Number: Sony-ASMB012-REMOVED-4eee
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): 2263
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 2356
Health Information:
Cycle count: 71
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -784
Voltage (mV): 11991
To see if i can fix this i've run the battery down and charged it up again and i've updated all the software including the most recent firmwire.
I've read that Apple will replace the parts with reconditioned parts in the Applecare terms but will they also do the same with batteries ??
I don't really want to go back to the repair shop i wasn't impressed with the service. Does anyone think that Apple Store will replace the battery with a new one on the spot or calling the help desk could be persuaded to send me a replacement ?
Thanks
David

In addition to loosing your power supply and replacing it with a lesser model, the numbers looks like you were given a used AND defective battery. The health of that battery is only 42 percent if it's for a 1" MBP, and much less than that if it's a 17".
We don't know your geographic location. If you are in the US, I would call Apple Consumer Relations and calmly relate the story. That AASP's status should be reviewed.

Check battery error with new and old batteries.

I came back from vacation last month, and the battery on my late 2006 Macbook would not charge. The Apple store said the magsafe connector was bad, and replaced it for $98. The next day I had the same problem, and when I took it back they said that now it was the logic board. None of the "geniuses" had any idea what was the failure was just swap parts until it works. I now have the "Check Battery" condition, and no idea what that means. I am sure that if I take it back to the Apple store they will say buy a new $100 battery, after all this one has three cycles on it! Dose anyone know what Check Battery means, and what conditions set this message, and how to clear it?

Thanks Carolyn. It appears that battery condition is set during a recalabrate only. It would be nice if Apple would produce a “white paper” on battery management for Li-ion batteries. There are no significant “trade secretes” in the management software that have not been reverse engineered long ago. Information as to what Recalibrating really does when it “Recalibrates”. What it means when Apple says the design life is 300 charge cycles. Information about how battery life is a statistical function, and may fail at 150 cycles, or may go 1000. What information the battery sends to the computer, and what the computer sends back. This would help eliminate the many posts on these forums, and people getting frustrated with the lack of information from Apple.

Battery condition says "Check battery"

I have a MacBook Pro 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, and am now on my third battery, which is now only 12 months old. The nice people at the Apple Store gave it to me at no charge because my first two batteries had such short lives. Currently System Profiler says "Check battery" and that full charge capacity is only 3368 mAh after only 43 cycles.
Why do these batteries not last well? Dying after only 43 cycles? I need to return to the Apple Store for a fourth battery?

Hi Mactrix,
I did try that, and unfortunately, without warning, the machine shut off as I was sending mail and Mail got corrupted. I've calibrated the battery before, and always got a pop up that warned me that the machine is now running on reserve power. After the "reserve" ran out, it would sleep. But this time there was nothing, just a "click" and darkness.
Took the machine to the Apple store, they hooked up an iPod nano running a battey test program which said the battery was bad, Because the people there are so nice, they gave me a new battery (because it had so few cycles on it). No wonder Apple support is rated so high.
Fortunately, I could restore Mail from TimeMachine - although there are some quirks I'm working on.

'Check Battery' at 73 cycles. Any warranty?

My Macbook battery seems to have gone kaput and my Macbook will only work if I have my power adapter plugged in. It seems like my battery is at fault, since most of the threads I've read here say that if it does say 'check battery', that means it's dead and can't be fixed.
So my question is, does Apple cover this or do I have to buy a new battery? I bought my Macbook about 2 years ago pretty much new from someone who never opened theirs. Not sure what kind of warranty is on this though.

Hi Stikygum,
There's no right or wrong cycle count after a specific period of time. Apple's expectation is that at 300 cycles the battery should still be 80% of it's original full charge capacity. My understand (and this is rough estimation) is this is how Apple gets to that number:
300 cycles over 3 years (300/3) = 100 cycles per year
100 cycles per year over 12 months (100/12) = 8.333 cycles per month
~ 2 cycles per week
Again this is average, some users might be significantly greater than this (1 per day) or significantly less than this (1 per month). The important thing is that at least once a month you're cycling the battery. Some rough math would indicate you were putting a cycle on the battery about once every 7 to 11 days (give or take).
Apple's warranty (one-year) and AppleCare (three-year) only cover the battery if it's defective. But as you're past the one year and don't have AppleCare, regardless of whether or not the battery is defective (or depleted) you're outside of coverage. That's what I meant say.
It's very possible that you've got a defective battery but unfortunately without AppleCare (something that Apple offers you a 365 day window to purchase after you get the machine), you're not eligible for a free replacement.

HT3782 What does it mean "Battery Health" Check battery in the battery menu bar?

What does it mean "Battery Health" Check battery in the battery menu bar?

Check the full status by going to the apple in the left side of the menu bar, About This Mac, More Info, System Report, Hardware, Power and see what it says about the Cycle count, Battery Condition, Battery Capacisty, charge remaining.
Condition should be Normal or there is a problem
Ratio of charge remaining to cpacity should be close, round off, to the reported battery charge percentage.
Cycle count tells how many charge cycles the battery has been through, typical lifetime cycle count for a current generation battery is 1,000 cycles.

In 'about this mac' the battery condition says 'check battery'. Should I be worried?

Hey guys,
I've been looking at replacing a few parts for my macbook as it is getting a little old and beaten up now, and I don't have the money to buy a new one at the moment. I have just been searching through everything to see if anything is wrong. Mine is a white macbook from late 2009. So far I've had the bottom case replaced because the rubber was starting to peel off and was very scratched.
Now I am looking at getting my trackpad replaced (or fixed) as it is stuck down and doesn't click anymore. I've tried cleaning it incase there was something stuck in it, but hasn't worked. After some research I've found that this could be due to a swollen battery. I had a quick look at it when I replaced the bottom case but it doesn't look like it has swollen. So I checked to see the conditon of the battery and it says 'check battery'. I am only up to charge cycle 299 and there is no problem with charging it or its charge life (not that I've noticed anyway). Could there be another reason as to why it says this?

Firstly the trackpad could easily be due to the trackpad screw not being at the correct depth, easily fixable especialy if the tap to click works.
As for the battery check battery usually means the battery has become faulty in some way. You could try an SMC reset with your adapter plugged in. (Shift-Option-Command-PowerButton at the same time). Your battery should still work but 299 is way too little for a your year MacBook needing to be replaced.

How to checks battery life

How to checks battery life

If you can, visit an Apple Store or Authorized Apple Service Provider to get your battery checked, or contact Apple Support:
How do I arrange iPhone Battery Replacement Service?
Battery Replacement Service may be arranged through your carrier (except AT&T and Virgin Mobile) or Apple. Please do not send any accessories with your iPhone.
iPhone - Contact Support - Apple Support

Service Battery & Check Battery appear with original battery & new battery

My older MacBookPro, purchased in November 2007, is continuously showing "Service Battery" in System Preferences: Energy Saver & in the battery icon drop down menu. "Check Battery" appears in the System Profiler. I have recalibrated both of the batteries. I purchased a new battery in February 2010 I am having the same issues.
What am I doing wrong? Is this a problem with my MacBookPro?
Original
Battery Information:
Model Information:
Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 102a
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 1995
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 2028
Health Information:
Cycle count: 74
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12384
New battery purchased 02/2010
Battery Information:
Model Information:
Serial Number:
Manufacturer: NewerTech
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 8641
PCB Lot Code: 1a20
Firmware Version: ff14
Hardware Revision: 0011
Cell Revision: 00c8
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 348
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 3953
Health Information:
Cycle count: 115
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 2883
Voltage (mV): 11680

not sure if this will help, but i will post my experience as well. i purchased the macbook 13" about 1 year ago. the battery had less than 100 cycles, and health was above 90%. within the last week, i noticed that my macbook shutdown without warning when the battery life reached about 25-30%. so before the computer reached that level, i plugged the power cord, but that caused the computer to shut down. i then noticed after turning the computer back on that "Service Battery" showed up on the menu bar. after reading the forums, i decided to take the macbook to an apple store. the genius took the computer and opened the casing. apparently, the problem was major dust inside the computer causing a malfunction. after cleaning it, the macbook worked perfectly.
so far, it's been about 5 days since i took the computer to the apple store, and no further problems to report. so before buying batteries, this might be help your issues. hope this helps!

Sporadic check battery message?

I have a 2010 Macbook Pro. Twice in the last 2 days I have gotten a "check battery" message in the power pull down menu, although I have seen no real decrease in battery life or had any problems. I brought my computer in to a Simply Mac store (there isn't an Apple Store nearby) and nothing happened when they tried to run the battery test. By that I mean...the test wouldn't even run. I needed my computer this evening and planned to bring it back and check it in tomorrow for a tech to look at, but again, the check battery message has disappeared.
Does anyone have any insight to what could be causing this, or anything I can do to fix it? Or do I just have to bring it in yet again and hope something can be done about it? I am covered by AppleCare for 2 more years, but don't want this to be a battery issue that isn't covered!

The model 6,1 Late 2009 and the model 7,1 Mid 2010 A1342 use an A1331 battery. You can replace it yourself or have Apple do it for you for $129. If you need it quickly make sure you order it from a U. S. seller. Orders from China can take two or three weeks.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=macbook++battery+a1331&_sacat=0&_odkw=macboo k++battery+a1342&_sop=12&_osacat=0
Here's installation instructions. You'll need a Tri Wing Y1 screwdriver in addition to the usual #00 Phillips screwdriver.
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-MacBook-Unibody-Model-A1342-Battery/1667/ 1

Battery Health: Check Battery

Mid-2010 Macbook Pro. I use the app Watts to alert me as to when I need to condition the internal battery, which is done on a monthly basis. Just yesterday, right before the regularly scheduled monthly conditioning reminder was seen, I happened to click on the battery icon in the menu bar. In the drop down window was a yellow triangle with an exclamation point in it along with the words "Battery Health: Check Battery". At first I didn't think much about it, as soon afterwards the Watts app kicked in to remind me of the upcoming conditioning.
The conditioning has been done as per Watts' suggestion but the yellow triangle is still there.
Clicking on it brought me to an Apple support page (HT3782) for the battery menu extra bar, where the exact wording of the alert on my Macbook is not seen nor mentioned. Just as a precaution I've followed the steps suggested *prior* to resetting the SMC (sleep, restart, shutdown). The yellow triangle remains.
What's a Macbook Pro owner to do at this point?

Current Battery Cycle count is 538. Full charge capacity (mAh): 4273.
The laptop was purchased in October 2010 with Apple Care. What puzzled me was not being able to verify the meaning of the particular message in the battery extra menu bar.
If in fact this installed battery is at its expected life's end and a replacement is warranted, it's a blessing in disguise, as it has never performed anywhere near its nominal estimated life: despite efforts on my part to monitor screen brightness, turn BlueTooth off, quit unused applications and turn WiFi off when connected to Ethernet I've never been able to get more than 5 hours' use out of a fully-charged battery.
Thanks, leroydouglas and mende1 for the prompt replies and suggestions!

Mac Book Pro info says to check battery, what should I do now?

Won't turn on without being plugged in and turns off like 5 minutes after being turned on
Charge Information:
Charge remanining (mAh): 2944
Fully Charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 3019
Health Information:
Cycle count: 811
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mAh): 0
Voltage: 12349

Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh):          3538
Fully Charged:          Yes
Charging:          No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh):          3568
Health Information:
Cycle Count:          1023
thats wat mine says

MBP 2008 "Check Battery"

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for