MacBook :: Maximizing Long Term Battery Life?

Dec 12, 2008

I have a MacBook and my strategy is to keep it plugged in as much as possible to avoid using charge cycles. If I use it down to 50%, then get home, I'll plug it in so I've only used half a cycle. Then when I'm just using it around the house, I try to keep it plugged in.

My friend has a completely different strategy. At the Apple Store, one of the salesmen told him that he should use it down to almost nothing and then charge it back up again. He would never plug it in at 50%, but wait until it is 10% or less. He gave me this analogy: if you have a bottle of milk in the refrigerator and you have a cow outside, you refill the bottle when it is empty. If you keep refilling the bottle when it is only half empty, that milk is going to go bad. He really doesn't understand how it works himself, but said something about the battery's memory? I never imagined that a battery would have its own little memory or something, but now that he mentioned it, it does seem reasonable.

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MacBook Pro :: Policy For Maximizing Overall Battery Life?

Nov 5, 2009

I just bought a 13" MBP which I know has some clever battery technology built in. I also know that the overall life of some rechargeable batteries is lengthened by ensuring they are regularly fully discharged and recharged instead of keeping them charged to a maximum at all times. Does anyone know whether the overall life of the MCP's innovative battery is maximized by adopting the same policy?

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MacBook Pro :: Maximizing Battery Life On Late 2011?

May 17, 2012

I know - or think I recall - that there was a user's tips article on maximizing battery life. When I'm outdoors with my MBP, I always have Photoshop CS6, InDesign CS6, Illustrator CS6, Acrobat Pro X, Parallels Desktop, MS Word and maybe a few 'little' apps running. I need these to get my projects done. I can usually get about 3 1/2 hours out of my battery but if I could get 5, I'd be happy. 

Can anyone point me in the right direction for the most current (at least 2011) user tip on the topic?

Info:
Mac OS X (10.7.4), 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD

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OS X :: Won't Find Battery Long Term Advice

Jul 19, 2009

I recently bought a 15 inch Macbook pro (yes, excited since it replaced my 7 year old Pentium 3 desktop), and I am wondering what the proper way is to allow my battery to last as long as possible in the LONG RUN (in terms of changing the battery and it losing its capacity). For much of the time, I have access to a/c outlet, so should I just leave the it plugged in as much as possible? Or should I only plug it in when the battery is used up and take it out when the battery is full again?

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MacBook Pro :: How Long Is Battery Life / Can't Find Info

Jul 28, 2010

I recently bought a Macbook Pro 15" i7. I was just wondering what kind of battery life you guys are getting
Right now it's showing 6:12 with 93 percent intel hd graphics, with Microsoft Word, iTunes, and Google Chrome on

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MacBook Air :: How Long Is Normal Battery Life For Late 2011

May 9, 2012

How long is normal battery life for late 2011 macbook air?

Info:
MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

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MBP Vs MBP Retina For Long Term Value?

Jun 30, 2012

I'm looking to upgrade from my current MBP to a higher performing one. I bought my current mid-2011 13" for basic use, word processing, internet, etc. I now work at an internet marketing and design agency though and it's not performing well enough for my needs.I run a fair number of programs (evernote, skype, ical, excel, word, itunes, firefox, and chrome with a bunch of tabs open at once) at the same time and my RAM (currently 4gb) is always maxed out right now. My current computer also won't handle photoshop, which I need to be able to use (not all day, everyday, but I do need to be able to use it). I'd like to be able to run Boot Camp or Parallels as well. I spent a few hours today researching and got it down to roughly 2 options. My main issue between the two is long term value, which one will work the longest/be worth the most in 3-4 years when I want to upgrade.

Option 1. Buy a 15" MBP 2.6ghz Retina with 16GM Ram upgrade. I know this is more than enough for my needs, I would mainly be buying this with the hope it would last a long time and so be worth it. My main problem with the Retina is the inability to upgrade so I feel like I have to make sure I get everything on the front end. (Cost $3k) 

Option 2. Buy a standard 15" MBP knowing that I could upgrade to a SSD and add more RAM when I need it. My thinking is that RAM and SSDs are only going to get cheaper so why not just hold out for if/when I need it.

So which option do you think I should choose? If I go with option 2, is it worth it to upgrade to the 2.6ghz processor? I would get the 8gb RAM either way so it would effectively be a $300 upgrade.

Info:
MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.4)

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MacBook Pro :: Late 2008 15 Battery Life - Watching Movie From Hard Disk Use Less Battery Than DVD?

Nov 11, 2009

i just ordered a late 2008 macbook pro 15 with the dual GPUs (9400m and 9600m GT) and I'm a little worried about the battery life.

-What can I expect if just doing normal every day stuff (web surfing mostly?)

-does watching a movie off of the hard disk use less battery than watching it off a DVD? Is there a big difference?

I'm not a big gamer but would like to have the horsepower to play a game should one come out that I want. I'm also not a big traveler so battery times are only of average importance.

Basically, I'm asking if I made a good purchase considering I have only average concerns for both battery and game performance. They had the new 7 hour battery 15" macbook pro for the same price but it doesn't have the dual GPUs.

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MacBook Pro :: Battery Life Slightly Shorter After Calibrating Battery

May 4, 2012

I calibrated my MacBook Pro battery and then noticed that the battery life seemed slightly shorter after that. I calibrated it according to this: [URL]

Just wondering if I have done anything wrong...  

One more question... What do they mean by "At this point, save your work. Continue to use your computer; when the battery gets very low, the computer will automatically go to sleep." Does it mean that I have to use the computer until it just shuts down or should I shut it down once the "Low Battery" warning pops up?

Info:
Logic Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

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MacBook :: Good Battery & Terrible Battery Life?

Jul 16, 2009

I have a 13" 2.4 GHZ white macbook that I bought in march of 2008. About 4 months ago I all of the sudden started having problems with battery life. It was very abrupt. I used to be able to take my macbook and sit through 3 classes or more with no trouble in regards to batter life. Then suddenly the battery would drain within a few hours. It has remained that way since.

I've spent the last month or so looking around forums and other places to try and find someone with a similar problem and possible solutions. As a result I've discovered that my situation seams to be somewhat unique.

Using cocoanut battery I tested my battery's capacity and it remains at a solid 98%. How can my battery still be at 98% capacity and have such a short battery life? I also seam to be losing charge while my macbook is closed. How and why does that happen? If I leave my macbook closed for a day or two it can lose up to 25% charge just sitting there!

I've tried loads of things including turning off unnecessary things such as sharing and bluetooth and calibrating my battery, all with no avail.

What is going on?? My battery is too old to be eligable for a recal and I'm not paying $30 just to have a phone conversation with a "Genius". If anyone has any idea what's going on and any possible advice, I would greatly appreciate it.

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MacBook Pro :: Short Battery Life For Unibody Battery'

Apr 17, 2012

I am getting a very short battery life out of my "New" A1261 battery -  we're talking 2.5 hours tops.  I've recycled it a few times, but this is no where near the "7" hours that is quoted.

Info:
MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2008), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

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MacBook :: Battery No Longer Holds Long Charge / Worth Pursuing A Replacement Battery?

Jun 2, 2009

purchased a macbook Unibody back in October 2008 when they were released and use it heavily. The battery no longer holds a nice long charge - I get about 2 to 2.5 hours out of a full charge.

The battery has 149 cycles on it, which is obviously high (and correct, I use the hell out of it). With it still being in warranty, is it worth pursuing a replacement battery? Will Apple tell me to go take a hike with the high cycle counts?

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MacBook Pro :: Battery Getting Hot / Battery Life Reducing

Aug 10, 2009

I've had this MBP for just over 8 months now, I'd intially purchased one in november, but the audio out used to give a crackle sound so they replaced the laptop. Moving on to the point - in the last week or so, I've noticed the MBP suddenly seems to get very hot and the fans turn on and thus suddenly becomes very noisy. I was using it on the bed so could appreciate that I may have been blocking the vents, but I've had it on a stand the past couple of days and it still seems to do it for no particular reason. The charger usually always gets ridiculously hot, but the MBP used to stay relatively cool, now the MBP gets hot independently of whether its being charged or not. Moreover, my battery life has gone from what used to last 4 hours, to around 2.25.

Cocunut battery gave the following stats:
Current Battery capacity: 4483mAh
Load Cycles: 222
Age: 8 months

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MacBook :: Downloaded The Battery Health Monitor - Macbook Battery Life ?

Dec 29, 2010

I have just bought a MacBook. I have downloaded the Battery Health Monitor and it says obviously that my current capacity is at 100%, with 5,791 mAh. I would like to know how many hours does this value correspond to, because it has certainly not been the highly announced 10 hours battery life

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OS X :: Battery Life Is Getting Shorter After Recharging / Replace The Battery?

Jul 11, 2009

My two year old macbook pro battery life is getting shorter after recharging. I only get about 40 minutes on a full charge when it used to be 3 hrs. Is it time to replace the battery?

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Windows On Mac :: How Is Xp Battery Life Compared To Windows 7 Battery Life

Jul 20, 2010

how is windows xp battery life compared to windows 7 battery life on mac using bootcamp?

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MacBook Air :: Rev B Vs Rev C Battery Life

Sep 5, 2010

I am interested in getting a refurbished Macbook Air. I was looking at the following two models:

Macbook Air Rev B., 1.86 GHz, 2GB RAM, 128 GB SSD for $1349 OR
Macbook Air Rev C., 2.13 GHz, 2GB RAM, 128 GB SSD for $1549

Other than the processor difference of 0.27 GHz, and based on reading the technical specs of each system, I don't see any difference between the two machines. The one piece of information that I couldn't find was the advertised battery life for the Rev. B unit. The Rev. C unit is supposedly rated for 5 hours of wireless productivity. Is the same battery used in the Rev B also or is the battery of lower WHr?

My needs are pretty simple - I would like to get the Air as a small and portable, easy to carry machine for rounds and writing up patient notes, consult notes, etc. It will not be my primary machine, but hopefully a worthy road-warrior. I will be using Windows for the clinical electronic medical record application, but other than that, all other use will be on Mac OS X. Based on this, would you recommend going with the Rev B or Rev C. Money is tight, and this will be a gift from one of my mentors, but I do want to get the biggest bang for the buck. If the only difference between the two machines is processor speed, I can't justify spending 200$ extra just for a 0.27 GHz gain.

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MacBook :: Battery Life ?

Oct 6, 2010

I have a 2007 White Macbook 2.4 Intel Core 2 Duo Laptop. I purchased it in June 2007 and this is my current battery health. Check the picture below, It's pretty amazing and I don't know how I did it. I'm on my computer almost everyday. Any idead on what I did to get such great battery life after three years? I know people with newer MacBook Pros that have terrible battery life after a year and a half.

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MacBook Air :: 1st Gen Air's Battery Life ?

Dec 6, 2008

I bought a 1st Gen Macbook Air in March of this year and I recently have noticed that my battery is not lasting as long as it should, so I checked iStat and it said that my battery life is at 86%. I also have a 12 inch powerbook G4 that still has the same battery it came with and the battery life is also 86% and it is more than five years old. Is this normal for the Macbook Air or should I take it into Apple?

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MacBook Pro :: Wants To Know About Battery Life

Jul 18, 2009

I have a quick question about the battery in early 2008 MBP. The laptop is 13 months old, with 273 load cycles, and it is already down to 72% of original capacity. I've read that it should still have 80% at 300 cycles. Is this normal, or is the battery dying faster than it should? I don't suppose there's anything I can do short of buying a new battery right??

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MacBook Pro :: Battery Life - Keeps Changing A Lot

Sep 9, 2010

I got my MacBook Pro on the 1st of September and I'm a bit worried about the battery life. At the moment the screen brightness is one bar and bluetooth is off, which is how I normally have it and the battery life time estimate keeps changing quite a lot. 5 minutes ago it said 5:11 left, and since then it's changed to 7:30, 7:58 and now it's saying 6:50 and is now on 95% and 8:03. I'm not doing anything differently and I don't know why it's doing this.

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MacBook Air :: Battery Life For The System - 13.3 Or 11.6 ?

Oct 20, 2010

Would be extremely interested in hearing about the battery life of the MacBook Air either the 13.3" or 11.6" from someone using it firsthand.

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MacBook Air :: Air's Battery Life Is Good?

Oct 21, 2010

Im a little confused, is the Air Battery life that good? I've taken the following claims from the Apple website. MacBook Air - Get up to 5 hours of battery life on a single charge on the 11-inch model and up to 7 hours on the 13-inch model. 13" MacBook Pro - The new energy-efficient architecture in the 13-inch MacBook Pro gives you up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge. I understand that Steve Jobs advised that they were using a better way to measure battery life for the Air that reflect real world usage better (WiFi Browsing I think?) so how does this compare to the MBP range? I guess the MBP battery claims were made using another older method, so any thoughts on how the Air's battery life compares to other PC's and Mac's?

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MacBook Air :: Battery Life On Prev Gen 2.13 SSD

Oct 29, 2010

Anyone give me a rough idea on battery life on the previous generation C2D 2.13 128 SSD model?

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MacBook Air :: For New Battery Life - Upgraded Ram 4gb ?

Nov 3, 2010

would like to say that is my first mac and I am loving it. I've got the new 13" 1.86ghz 128gb and the upgraded ram 4gb. Now I've fully charged it and left it on a further 2 hours or so, following the instructions for calibrating the battery. Now that I'm using the macbook, I'm noticing the battery going down fairly quick, already at 88% after 30mins of use. Is it supposed to go down this quick?

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MacBook :: 2009 UMB Battery Life With SSD

Nov 21, 2010

Looking into getting a SSD 128GB for my 2009 uMB but I am wondering if that helps extend your battery life because I am getting 3.5 to 4 Hours on a single charge now. I just wonder if I can get more than 5 hours out of the battery with an SSD, then I can use the external drive for everything else but OS and Applications.

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MacBook Pro :: Battery Life Gone Down The Tube

Dec 18, 2010

I have become incredibly confused and frustrated as to why my MBP battery life has gone down the tube. I've had it around release date with minimal cycles. I've tried:

1. brightness reduction
2. turning off wifi/bluetooth
3. items that auto log when computer is turned on where removed (such as adobe updater)

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MacBook Air :: Battery Life - Just 4 Hours?

Dec 21, 2010

How long are you guys getting out of your battery? I was mostly just using the Internet and only got 4 hours. Is that common?

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MacBook Air :: 2.0 Battery Life / Charging?

Nov 2, 2008

I was an early adopter of the MBA 1.0 and had to return it due to all the "Rev A" issues that plague Apple machines (just look at the new MBPs and MBs). The unit I had back then had about a 2-3 hours of use (vs. Apple's claimed 5) and it took FOREVER to fully charge the battery. Not to mention the core shut downs, ridiculously loud 6200 rpm fan, excessive heat, etc. etc.

I was wondering if any early 2.0 owners could comment on battery life or charging. Have they fixed this problem? Any 1.0 owners notice less batt. life now that Apple claims 4.5 and we have the nvidia chipset?

I'm sitting on the fence with trigger finger itching to get a new 1.8 SSD...

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MacBook :: Normal Battery Life ?

Jan 24, 2009

I have read a lot of forums and discussions about the Mac battery. The normal life should be around 300 Charges. Mine has already more than 722 and is about 2 years old, but still has 100% life with sometimes dropping to 96%.Has somebody else exp. this kind of long life of the battery ? How long can a battery actually last ?

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