MBP Battery Charging Strategy

Hi,
I'm a college student and I just got a new MBP. I'm planning on using this computer for as many of my 4 years at college as I can, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to maintain my battery capacity. I will be using the laptop as my primary computer, so whenever it's in my dorm, it will be plugged in and running on AC at all times. When I have to go to class, I will sleep the laptop, wake it up in class, and then sleep it again, and take it back to my dorm room and plug it in again to charge.
My question is this: A "charge cycle," if I understand it correctly, is just one "charge"-worth of battery, right? For instance, say I get 2 hours on a full charge. If my class is only 50 minutes and I only use the laptop for 50 minutes of my 2 hours and then take it back and charge it fully, I have another 70 minutes left in that "charge cycle," right?
In other words...it's not beneficial to use my laptop unplugged in class and then WAIT until the battery goes all the way down to recharge it, right? As long as I have AC power I should use it (there's no memory effect or anything?)
I know about "cycling" the battery about once a month. I am doing that now as the computer is new and will do that monthly.
Thanks!

Hi,
Go to the following link for possible answers:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=5577845#5577845
Enjoy your new MBP.

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MBP battery/charger issue

So, I've been researching this a bit and don't particularly want to drop $130 on a new battery if I can solve the problem without that. I went to my profile and this came up, the computer is plugged into a wall outlet and if it comes unplugged it only lasts about a minute and the computer shuts down.
Battery Information:
Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 3530
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 3420
Amperage (mA): -1721
Voltage (mV): 11699
Cycle Count: 411
AC Charger Information:
Connected: Yes
Charging: No
Is the charger messed up or do I need a new battery? thanks!

seaexplore wrote:
Cycle Count: 411
Normal lifespan of a typical lithium battery is 400-500 cycles. Basically, your battery is old and you need to buy a replacement.

Low battery-charge causing MBP shutdown

Hi,
From last month when my MBP is working with the battery, even when I see that the battery charge is 15-20%, it suddenly shutdown without any popup informing me anymore about the fact that I’m using the residual energy. It happens EVERYTIME when working with the battery.
Any advice?
Thanks for the help.
Stefano

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1970 Apple Portables: Low power warning does not appear while running off of the battery

MBP battery drains in sleep when charger has no power

At home I regularly plug my MBP's charger into an outlet that's on a light switch. When I'm done working for the night, I put the laptop to sleep and then turn off the light. Usually (since I'll be leaving first thing in the a.m. and the charger cord is kind of in the way) I unplug the charger and stow it, but every now and then I just leave the laptop plugged in and turn off the light.
I've discovered that when I do this--leave the fully-charged, sleeping laptop attached to an adaptor that is not getting power--the battery drains until the point that the laptop goes into hibernation. So when it wakes up, less than 10% charge is left.
In all other respects I have no problem with the battery and resting overnight (unplugged) it only loses a percent or two of its charge.
Is this a bad adaptor, possibly?

George Krompacky wrote:
Csound1 wrote:
Sleep and hibernation are 2 different things, sleep requires power, hibernation does not, Apple and Oranges.
I'm not sure how that helps me figure out the problem. I suppose I'm still having problems expressing myself clearly.
You have expressed yourself very clearly. I got it from reading your original post.
The only thing I can come up with is somehow the charger or the Macbook is bleeding power back through the charger into the electrical lines.
There should not be any voltage at the AC prongs of the charger when it is connect to the MBP. The flow of current should only be one way. You can check this with good multi meter.

15" MBP battery holds no charge?

My C2D MBP literally holds no battery charge. If I unplug it it goes black within 10 minutes, no matter how long I leave it plugged in. The laptop was purchased new in Dec 06 so it wasn't in the recall period. When the computer dies though, I press the indicator on the battery and I still get 3 or 4 lights. what's going on?
Second problem, my POS superdrive. Won't burn anything and won't read most burned cds/dvds. Something about laserpower level comes up as an error when burning. And when trying to read burned dvds they just show up as blank dvds...
Help me. I've been so frusterated between my hardware and leopard lately that i've sworn off Apple forever.

My C2D MBP literally holds no battery charge.
Did the battery ever discharge completely and was left in that state for some length of time? That can permanently damage a Li-Ion battery, especially if it was older.
When the computer dies though, I press the indicator on the battery and I still get 3 or 4 lights. what's going on?
That could be due to a miscalibrated controller, but given the current state you describe, following the [calibration procedure|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284] is kind of impossible.
I've been so frusterated between my hardware and leopard lately that i've sworn off Apple forever.
Apparently not, cause you're still in these forums...

MBP battery won't charge

Hello!
I'm having trouble with the battery charge on my 15" 2.16Ghz 10.4.9 (and all recent updates) Macbook Pro.
A couple of days ago while using my MBP with the AC power attached my battery icon in the menu bar turned into an 'X' and on mouseover said "Battery not available" or "Battery not recognised" or something to that effect.
Today i used my MBP without the AC power and it died really quickly, without even a low battery warning.
I plugged it back into the AC power to charge and now the battery charge icon says 1:32 to fully charged and 0% charged so far, but the battery isn't charging - it's stuck on 0%.
I browsed the apple support site and tried several things, including reseting the Power management thingy (shut down -> remove battery -> hold down power for 5 secs -> turn on again) and that didn't help...
Any ideas?
Thanks!

Most likely you have an affected battery as described here:
http://www.apple.com/support/macbook_macbookpro/batteryupdate/
Your description matches two of the symptoms listed on the page. There are known issues with MBP batteries, and a two year warranty extension, also described on the linked page.
So, I would recommend contacting AppleCare or visiting an Apple Store for a replacement.
FYI (minor point), you don't have +"10.4.9 (and *all recent updates*)"+, since the current version of Tiger is 10.4.11. But that's not relevant here, as long as you have applied Battery Update 1.2 or 1.3. You can check that in System Preferences > Software Update > Installed Updates tab (click on Name to sort and look for "Battery Update").
Hope this helps...

How can I turn off battery charging when plugged in to power on a plane?

Hi,
is there an app that can turn off battery charging while plugged in?
I regularly fly from Australia to Europe (22 hours on the plane!) but the power outlet usually stalls when draining too much power
(e.g. 85 Watts for my Macbook Pro battery).
Any solutions available?
I used to just take out the battery, however, that is not possible anymore on the Macbook Pro.
Thanks for your help.
Christoph

But why turn off battery charging, makes no sense in this case. You either run off the battery or plug it in and run off the battery while it is charging.
The power draw won't change appreciably.
My bad power consumption will change
It would seem the best strategy would be to get on with a fully charged battery plug in the laptop and let it trickle charge as you use it. Given the length of the flight this should give you the longest use with the minimum amount of draw from the seat outlet.

Weird battery charging behaviour

Ok, I'll start by saying that this is a problem that has been coming and going for quite a while (definitely months, maybe years). But for the sake of illustration, I'll describe what happened today.
So last night I was using my laptop on the couch (not plugged in) and fell asleep. Woke up to a dead battery. No problem, I plugged it in and woke it up and was good to go. Several hours later I noticed that my battery charge was still at 1 or 2%, though clearly it was running just fine off AC power. Looking at the light on the power adapter, I thought it was completely off until I read a few support posts and found out that "dim green" is an option. Upon close examination, yep, dim green. System Information said the battery itself was ok (cycle count 153, condition normal) but not charging. Under AC Charger Information, it said Connected: yes, Charging: no.
Unplugging and replugging the adapter a few times didn't seem to do anything. There's no obvious gunk in around the terminals. I shut down and reset SMC, no change. Finally I just fiddled with the adaptor (unplug, replug, flip around, wiggle up and down) until the light turned briefly green, and then orange. Now it's clearly charging (up to 38% now, and battery icon has a little lightning bolt) although System Info still says it isn't charging.
Oh, hang on. I just quit and restarted System Info, and now it says it is charging! Huh.
Addendum: While adding tags I noticed that the light on the adapter is back to dim green. System info still says it's charging, and battery % charged numbers are still going up.
I'm guessing it's an issue with the magsafe adaptor, just not sure how you end up with a temporary situation where the laptop can run on AC power but can't charge the battery.
Oh, and in case it's relevant: I'm running a 13" mid-to-late 2009 MacBook Pro, the kind with a non-removable battery, though I did have the battery replaced (by a friend who is Apple-certified) less than a year ago. The AC adaptor I'm using is the one that came with the computer. I'm pretty sure the problem pre-dates the new battery (since it comes and goes, and because I spend a lot of time using the laptop at home while plugged in, I don't always notice).

I had this exact same problem with my mid-2009 MBP as well. My adapter (white connector) has suddenly stopped charging the computer and displayed a very dim-green LED instead of the normal orange or bright green.
I came to the conclusion that the adapter has been shorted out in some way (possibly due to old age) and that was the cause of this. Sure enough my local Apple retailer sold me a new adapter that everything has been fine ever since. I even enjoy the new design - the metal-tipped connector that faces sideways.
Unfortunately the adapter cost me $80, but was a small price to pay as opposed to replacing my laptop. Since this sounds like the exact same issue I faced, I would recommend you purchase a new MagSafe. Just make sure you get the right one for your model (should be a 60W MagSafe)
Hope this helps you out!

Any way to stop battery charging at under 100%?

Research has shown that a battery kept at 40% charge will retain 96% of capacity after 1 year (at 25 degrees C), while a battery kept at 100% charge will retain only 80% of capacity after the same period of time.
Is there any way to control the maximum charge level, so that the battery stops charging after a certain point (say, 40%, or 75%). Thanks.

Lyssa wrote:
Do you have a link for the article you read that has this info? I'd love to read it!
Like the above poster said, you can't control how long the battery charges--unless you unplug the cord yourself.
I would like to mention something for you. My battery is 11 months old, and has maintained 98% of its original capacity. Within the next 4 weeks, it will hit the one-year mark, and I don't anticipate it failing on me before it has reached the typical lifespan of ~300 charge cycles. I wouldn't be surprised if it hangs on for another 100! It currently has 264 to its credit. I think my battery is doing pretty well--and I run off it for a few hours nearly ever day
Of course that's an expected outcome with most lithium rechargeable batteries. However - they do have their drawbacks including an inherent loss of total capacity from the aging process.
The best thing for your battery is to USE it, even if you're sitting at your desk much of the time. Unhook the power charger for 30 minutes, or an hour, then reattach it. If it doesn't seem to be working properly, calibrate it.
It all depends. Using a battery and charging it to near maximum by definition cut capacity because of some loss of the electrolyte solvent when it gets vented. In NiMH batteries, the solvent is water. It's a non-water solvent for lithium rechargeables. If it's not vented, it could potentially explode. Using a battery every day will result in noticeable loss of capacity. There's a balance to overuse and underuse of a lithium rechargeable battery. Apple recommends that a battery be partially drained at least once a month. My MacBook is set up with an iCal reminder to use battery power once a month.
The 40% you mentioned from the article is something I've heard before, but I believe it was mentioned in relation to storing your computer for an extended period of time(ie several weeks). If you wanted your battery to be healthy when you returned, you wanted to store it after you'd partially discharged the battery.
I've brought up the extreme case of first generation hybrid car batteries. They employ a different strategy for charging that takes advantage of an always present charging source (the internal combustion engine and generator). They take advantage of the extreme case where the battery is intentionally kept between 40-65% of charge nearly all of the time. Going a little bit under or over this isn't a big deal. This keeps it from the extremes of near max charge and near min charge; both tend to reduce battery capacity for different reasons. The electrical output is only a supplementary power source used during peak demand periods. I've heard of some original batteries from Toyota Prius taxis that have survived 400K miles of service; that probably meant 100,000-200,000 of the shallow charge-discharge cycles. The fact that only a small range is needed means that they can continue this use for a long time. It probably would have been noticeably degraded after maybe 1000-2000 20-100% deep discharge cycles. The total amount of energy drawn over the lifespan is many times with the small discharges compared to deep discharges. You're typically using 25% of the charge hundreds of thousands of times rather than 80% of the charge a few thousand times.

Yoga S1 Can we turn off battery charging?

I am a new user for the Yoga S1, but I was wondering if it is possible to turn off battery charging. I mainly use my laptop at a desk (so I rarely leave it unconnected from Power Plug). I know this is bad for the battery. On a dell that I own (Inspiron 14z) i can turn off battery charging when the laptop is plugged into the ac power plug. Is this possible w/ the lenovo yoga S1? The closest I've gotten to doing this was seeing an ability to turn off battery charging via BIOS, but that is only temporary (when comp is off and unplugged to switch out battery).
Any suggestions woiuld be greatly appreciated.

But why turn off battery charging, makes no sense in this case. You either run off the battery or plug it in and run off the battery while it is charging.
The power draw won't change appreciably.
My bad power consumption will change
It would seem the best strategy would be to get on with a fully charged battery plug in the laptop and let it trickle charge as you use it. Given the length of the flight this should give you the longest use with the minimum amount of draw from the seat outlet.

Adapter Light Always Red, Battery Charge Never Gets Past 99%

Hi.
My 2007 MacBook Pro's adapter is now showing only the orange/red light and never getting green. Also, the taskbar never shows 100% battery charge when the adapter is plugged in, but it does when you first remove the adapter.
My battery life is pretty short nowadays (never more than 45 to 60 minutes) and it's getting pretty hot near where the adapter connects. My fans seem to be running a lot more than usual, too.
Any ideas?

Do non-OEM batteries exist?
"Third-party" may be the better-understood term (I get "OEM" but others may not). Yes, there are some out there. However, one key item makes me nervous about them.
Other World Computing (OWC) sells an amazing number of Mac add-ons and replacement parts. It's my personal experience that they give excellent service after the sale, standing behind what they sell. OWC carries third-party batteries for Mac portables going back to the G3 Wallstreet, but they do not list any MBP batteries. This makes me think that they don't have confidence in what's out there.
Here is a site listing third-party MBP batteries (scroll down a bit):
http://www.global-batteries.com/index.php/cPath/1_12/sort/2a/page/1
Note that the prices aren't much less that what Apple charges, especially for the 17: model. I ordered a battery for a Wallstreet PowerBook from that vendor and it was identical to an Apple-branded battery yin every way except the sticker on it. It was a good battery, but I have no way of knowing if their MBP batteries are from the same vendor as the Wallstreet batteries.

When the battery charged fully in macbook pro and the charger (AC Adapter)

when the battery charged fully in macbook pro and the charger (AC Adapter) is connecting (Showing Green Lamp) to the macbook pro does that effect to the battery live of the macbook pro with Retina Display 15'' ME665
Also I want know the Best headphone compatible with macbook pro Retina that help me to Hear and Record ?
Notes ( the macbook pro 15" has just one port for the headphone usually it's tow for record and hear)
Best Regards,

The MacBook Pro charging circuit will charge the battery until it reaches 100% charge and then switch to power mode for the MBP. When the battery drops to 93-95% charge the circuit will switch back to charging mode to top off the battery charge again. You will not harm the battery or MBP by leaving it plugged in most of the time.
There are many good headphone/microphone combinations on the market, best really is more a function of how much money you want to spend. Check those offered in the Apple on-line store for features/price to see what would best fit your needs. You can also look at audio equipment suppliers, all the earphones need is a standard 3.5 mm plug.

External Battery Charger Absolutely Amazing

So I bought the external battery charger for 49$ (In Canada) and it is a spectacular addition. I no longer am stuck to a wall at any point!!!! Great price point even if it was double for what it yields. I once saw a band manager on a major european tour and he had employed this strategy brilliantly, always connected for his employers. Properly executed any buisness person can always be within reach (if they want to) or connectivity without being forced to remain in a stagnant location. I priced it out shortly after I saw this (about 5 years ago), with the phone I was using at the time and it was around 50$ then, and that was with a crappy, bulky external charger. This one is sleek (love the flip open case) compact, which give it the ability to store in a sleeve of any briefcase, suit jacket pocket or desk drawer. It also connects to phone if you want to top up both at the same time if you were going encounter an extended period of time without a power outlet. (Rarely happens these days but long travel and delays could force you to need a good deal of time with solid use without requiring an outlet, well if you want to conduct business or enjoy the luxury of correspondence with family.) If you do not want any of these stay away from this product ha ha. I will eventually buy a second one with charging cord for my office and with one at home and one at the office I am connected like the matrix. Thanks blackberry for a great accessory!!!!!!

My battery charger bundle should be delivered this week... can't wait to get it!
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Sloooww Battery Charging

Hi,
I've tried just about everything I can think of with my MacBook Pro 15" (late 2008 - replaceable battery).
It starts off charging fairly quickly - saying it would take 2hrs to charge the battery fully (from nearly empty). Sounds great - Amperage is 2100mA into battery.
But, it does - it keeps slowing down and taking longer and longer to charge. Eventually to 2hrs just to charge the last 10-15% at 300mA. It means I spend 6hrs or longer fully charging my battery.
Is this for real? Is this expected?
I've reset the SMC, I've tried going back to 10.5 and a clean install from the MBP discs.
Any other suggestions?
thanks,
j.

Before you noticed the slow battery charge time, how long did it take to charge the battery?

Apple employee: Does AppleCare covers a short-lifed MBP battery?

If AppleCare does cover, to what extent ? for example, will apple replace my MBP battery for free if it drops to 80% of the original capacity, in one year? any restrictions on the replacement, such as 300 battery load cycles?
Thank you, i hope to see definitive answers!

You're not very likely to get an Apple employee to answer here, as these are user-to-user forums. (It does happen on rare occasion, but it truly is rare.)
From watching the notebook forums here for a few years, I'd say this: Apple is vague on this subject. Your best bet, if you feel your battery isn't working as it should now or some months down the road, is simply to call AppleCare and negotiate what you can. Reports vary, and your mileage may vary based on who you talk to and how you present your case. (You can at least change who you talk to if you're not satisfied with the initial answer. Ask to speak to a supervisor or, if necessary, to Apple Customer Relations if you feel you're not getting the warranty service you deserve.)
Sorry I can't give more definitive answers, but it's one of those issues that doesn't have a definitive answer, unfortunately. You'll get a variety of responses from people here, all reporting different experiences. Ultimately, the answer is simply, "Call Apple and find out."
All that said, if the situation is extreme and obviously points to a defective battery, such as only getting one hour of charge from a calibrated battery that is only a month old, you shouldn't have a problem getting it replaced under warranty. But your question of where Apple draws the line in less extreme cases is what can't really be answered by people here.

MBP Battery Charging Strategy

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