Macbook Pro Retina Recalibration Battery

Question

mrcvita Author

Level 1

0 points

Macbook Pro Retina Recalibration Battery

Hi All.

Since people say different things about it, could you please give me an answer with relevant evidence?

Do I need to recalibrate my Macbook Pro Retina battery every once a month?

Some say you should, some say you shouldn't as draining it completely will harm your battery.

I have only done it once and in fact when I drained it my mac did start acting funny. Once it got around 1% it started lagging pretty hard, and I could barely go from one part of the screen to another with my pointer.

Thank you in advance for your replies.

P.S. If you get here because you are looking for ways to increase your battery life on a macbook pro retina, you should try resetting your PRAM and SMC. That really made it better for me, and I tried this fix today, the 15th of August.

MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Aug 15, 2012 12:21 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

shldr2thewheel

Level 7

26,003 points

Aug 15, 2012 12:25 AM in response to mrcvita

apple states the the batteries are pre calibrated, and calibration is not necessary.

"Portables with built-in batteries

Current Apple portable computer batteries are pre-calibrated and do not require the calibration procedure outlined in this article. These computers use batteries that should be replaced only by an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

MacBook

MacBook (13-inch, Late 2009) and later

MacBook Air

MacBook Air, all versions

MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009) and later
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009) and later
MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012)
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009) and later"

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

Reply

Answer 2

Aug 15, 2012 12:28 AM in response to mrcvita

No you don't really need to 'calibrate' your battery - some Apple pubs recommend doing so for the older MBPs that had user replaceable batteries but that is no longer the case.

What you should do - if you don't use your battery off mains too often - is set a reminder to let it run down to about 30-40% charge every 2-4 weeks. That will keep the battery in optimum health. It's not a calibration, as such, where you're running your battery down to 0%, instead it's just a way to maximize health. You should never let your battery get down to less than 7-10% - just suck it up and plug it up.

If you're having battery problems the first thing that I always recommend is resetting the SMC. As you've done that, you should keep your battery healthy by not allowing it to die down completely and keeping it plugged in when you're near an outlet.

Good luck,

Clinton

Reply

Answer 3

mrcvita Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 15, 2012 1:36 AM in response to mrcvita

Thank you all.

Here is the strategy. Right now I'm always home therfore I will most often be plugged in. But i will also use the battery and let it discharge at least once every two days. Not discharge completely, never down 20%.

When I will start uni it will be perfect cuz I will go to lectures in the morning and bring it with me. That will force me to use the battery. Then when I am home I will plug it to recharge.

I have own this mac for about a month and I have gone down 10 % very often. In fact I was waiting to get down to 10% every time before recharging cuz i thought that would be the best way to preserve my battery.

Hopefully I haven't done too much damage.

Thank you again

Reply

Answer 4

Aug 15, 2012 1:38 AM in response to mrcvita

You're fine...Just don't let it go all the way down to 0% since that might do more harm than good to your Macbook Retina....

Just follow the advice given above and you'll do ok....

Good luck and enjoy your Retina...

Reply