MacBook Pro. BATTERY LIFE???? HELP

Discussion in 'Mac Notebooks' started by T Mack, Feb 26, 2008.

  1. T Mack

    T Mack New Member

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    My MacBook Pro is about 16 month's old now...
    Seems like my battery life just fell off the map......
    A full charge is only lasting 30 minutes or so.....
    Is this normal???????
    Is it time for me to buy a new battery??????
    what is the average life of he batteries????

    Thanks Riche
     
    T Mack, Feb 26, 2008
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  2. T Mack

    rpphoto New Member

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    Apple guarantees the batteries for 300 recharge cycles, so if you charge it every day it may be gone. You should try resetting the power manager, then fully drain and fully recharge the battery. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303319
    You can see lots of details about your battery if you go to About this Mac>More Info>Hardware>Power; the cycle count will show how many times you've charged your battery. Even if you're covered by warranty, the battery won't be covered if it's over 300 cycles. Here's my data I just copied as an example:

    Battery Information:

    Model Information:
    Serial Number: Sony-ASMB012-370d-cf98
    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): 4733
    Fully charged: Yes
    Charging: No
    Full charge capacity (mAh): 4733
    Health Information:
    Cycle count: 211
    Battery health: Good
    Battery Installed: Yes
    Amperage (mA): 149
    Voltage (mV): 12580

    Once they do go, they seem to go fast. My wife's battery just died, but her 14 month old MacBook is shared with my two teenage kids so it's probably being used 18 hours a day, and recharged constantly.
    Also, I've heard that it's hard on the battery to leave it in if you're running on AC current most of the time; supposedly, all the little micro charges will burn up the battery and shorten its life.
     
    rpphoto, Feb 26, 2008
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  3. T Mack

    T Mack New Member

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    HERE IS MINE: There are a few differences in mine and yours..... full charge capacity is small.. ??? how can i change any of this to make batery life better??

    Battery Information:

    Battery Installed: Yes
    First low level warning: No
    Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 2382
    Remaining Capacity (mAh): 1942
    Amperage (mA): -1262
    Voltage (mV): 11844
    Cycle Count: 169

    AC Charger Information:

    Connected: No
    Charging: No

    Hardware Configuration:

    UPS Installed: No
     
    T Mack, Feb 26, 2008
    #3
  4. T Mack

    rpphoto New Member

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    Have you tried resetting the power manager yet? Sounds like the battery has a memory problem, so I would try that first. Also, if you have an extended warranty, Apple should exchange the battery at no charge since you have less than 300 charges.
     
    rpphoto, Feb 26, 2008
    #4
  5. T Mack

    T Mack New Member

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    dumb question....?

    How do i reset my power manager?

    Thanks Richard...
     
    T Mack, Feb 26, 2008
    #5
  6. T Mack

    Spawn_Dooley Moderator

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    Resetting an Apple portable's System Management Controller (SMC)

     
    Spawn_Dooley, Feb 26, 2008
    #6
  7. T Mack

    rpphoto New Member

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    Thanks Spawn Dooley!
     
    rpphoto, Feb 27, 2008
    #7
  8. T Mack

    T Mack New Member

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    Well i did it.... should i look for anything??? better battery life??? Thanks Spawn
     
    T Mack, Feb 27, 2008
    #8
  9. T Mack

    rpphoto New Member

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    From what I've heard, you should now deplete your battery, and then let it fully charge again.
     
    rpphoto, Feb 27, 2008
    #9
  10. T Mack

    plass129 New Member

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    The article says it resets the NVRAM, does this contain anything that I should be worried about losing?
     
    plass129, Sep 4, 2008
    #10
  11. T Mack

    rpphoto New Member

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    You might have to reset your date and time; none of your files will disappear.
     
    rpphoto, Sep 4, 2008
    #11
  12. T Mack

    joe40 New Member

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    Where did you get the (less than 300 charges apple will replace info from?)
    I just called Apple. I have Apple Care. I have a 2nd set of batteries, my first pair was replaced during the Sony fiasco. This pair has about 200 - 260 cycles. One battery ios good for 1 hour with display on very low. The other battery is good for 2 hours +. Apple told me they will not replace it and that it is within spec since the charge capacity is 4400. Of course the capacity dips down to 3000 very soon after unplugging from the ac adapter, and it barely lasts an hour. They refused to replace it. I have a MacBook Pro 15 inch 2.16 ghz
     
    joe40, Nov 11, 2008
    #12
  13. T Mack

    rpphoto New Member

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    That's information I received from an Apple Genius at an Apple Store in Denver, CO.
    He confirmed the information with another Apple Genius guy.
     
    rpphoto, Nov 11, 2008
    #13
  14. T Mack

    Industrial Helix New Member

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    I'm having this same problem with my macbook pro, I'm at 156 cycles.

    I'm going to try the depower trick and see if it does anything. if not, how do I go about getting a new battery?
     
    Industrial Helix, Nov 16, 2008
    #14
  15. T Mack

    Ric New Member

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    Hi there,

    Apple store or another reputable company for your laptop battery !

    You can try Applecare, but I would be quite surprised if they give you another battery...but it's worth a try.

    If not I'm afraid you'll have to buy one.

    regards

    Ric
     
    Ric, Nov 17, 2008
    #15
  16. T Mack

    T Mack New Member

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    Well i just bought me a new battery finally!!!! My macbook pro is almost 3 years old now.. The battery was only lasting a half of an hour or so...

    My question is this...
    Do i need to do anything besides putting new battery in laptop and charging? Or do i need to reset anything?? Thank Rich
     
    T Mack, Nov 28, 2008
    #16
  17. T Mack

    Benjaminrobin@mac.com New Member

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    Lasts about 10 mins!

    Battery Information:

    Battery Installed: Yes
    First low level warning: No
    Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 998
    Remaining Capacity (mAh): 998
    Amperage (mA): 75
    Voltage (mV): 12570
    Cycle Count: 221

    AC Charger Information:

    Connected: Yes
    Charging: No

    Hardware Configuration:

    UPS Installed: No

    What happened to the guy who did the memory reset?
     
    Benjaminrobin@mac.com, Dec 8, 2008
    #17
  18. T Mack

    Benjaminrobin@mac.com New Member

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    sorry........resets the hardware power management functions?
     
    Benjaminrobin@mac.com, Dec 8, 2008
    #18
  19. T Mack

    T Mack New Member

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    I just bought a new battery it now lasts 3 hours...
     
    T Mack, Dec 8, 2008
    #19
  20. T Mack

    Benjaminrobin@mac.com New Member

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    How much?
     
    Benjaminrobin@mac.com, Dec 8, 2008
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