Macbook battery question

tres · 27 Jun 2010 at 22:01

Hi all,

Just replaced an older macbook pro's battery

What's the best way to look after it? Macbook isn't moved a lot so plugged in nearly all the time - is it better to charge then discharge? Or is it fine to leave plugged in?

Thanks

Gas Panic! · 27 Jun 2010 at 22:16

Ideally you'll want to unplug when the battery is full, and then plug it back in when the battery is almost empty. If you don't do this, you will suffer some loss of capacity (the electrons in the battery become stable and don't move about). Your call.

FWIW, I've left mine plugged in because I can't be bothered with the hassle of unplugging it/plugging it back in every few hours.

tres · 27 Jun 2010 at 22:35

Cool, thanks chief, i'll do that a bit then

Wingz · 27 Jun 2010 at 22:58

I leave mine plugged in until it gets to 97% then I would unplug it and use it till its at 18% then plug it back in, then would calibrate it every 2 months.

I've been doing this every since I brought it last year in April and the battery is still at 100% and battery capacity is averages around 4650mAh (Original Capacity is 4600mAh)

Gas Panic! · 27 Jun 2010 at 23:02

For comparison, I very, very rarely unplug my unibody MacBook, and my battery capacity now is 3991 mAh (original is 4100mAh). I've had it 18months.

So the deterioration is small, but it is there.

xarr · 28 Jun 2010 at 09:53

For the official line take a peek at Apples battery page below, it has a few good hints and tips.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

Gas Panic! · 28 Jun 2010 at 10:57

And this app is very, very handy: http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/