Battery life dropped considerably on Mountain Lion.

Okay. I don't know how long apple is going to take to fix this but it is very frustrating. It has been 1 day. ******* 24 hours and my battery capacity has dropped from 94% to 92%. This is incredibly stupid. Apple, have you thought that your software might be damaging the hardware? Fix this now!

I'm suffering the same problem. Battery capacity dropped to 97% I doesn't load to 100% (no matter how long it is connected to the mains). Capacity is rapidly decresing when I start my MBP mid 2009 (2,53 GHz, 8 GB, 256 GB SSD). After only 30 minutes it drops to 43%!!! Fan is running absurdly high, my MBP get's so hot...could boil eggs... Only opened "core features" (Safari, Mail, Calendar and Addressbook). ...and yes: it was a clean and brandnew install of Mountain Lion on my SSD (Samsung 830) - NO MIGRATION...just plain new! Wanted to avoid transferring old "bugs" from Lion to Mountain Lion - helped nothing though...

Have to admit that I am quite disappointed with Apple this time... Please fix this!

@alwaysforever: yep, did a clean install on a brand new SSD that was attached as an external drive, then booted up Mountain Lion while the SSD was still not built in and started downloading a few apps if I remember correctly (only replaced the internal drive later that night). All the time, I was on battery and I remember that I was surprised the battery was dead so soon but didn't think much of it at the time... I did it on the side while doing some other stuff so I didn't pay much attention and cannot really remember the details, but for me it feels like whatever is causing this started to kick in immediately with/after the installation.

Hmm... still got the old Lion system on the original 256GB HDD and an empty 64GB HDD lying around. Maybe later today I'll try boot the old system to check the battery and also do a second clean install on the 64GB just to verify it's independent of any programs I installed or accounts I did setup (i.e. icloud, appstore, ...).

By the way, also got the call from Apple yesterday that others have reported here...

Yes I upgraded my few weeks old MacBook Air 13" to mountain lion and I'm afraid to say I have seen quite a drop in battery life too. Quite honestly the battery life on my MacBook Air battery life was amazing beforehand, now it is consistantly about 2 hours less than it was before, without any change in the way I am using it.

I might try using another browser like some suggest, although that will be a shame as Safari 6 is really nice. Hope this gets sorted soon.

Same here. did a fresh install of Mountain Lion on my 2009 MPB after experiencing issues after a upgrade from Lion. Unfortunately the problems stayed 😟

My system:

CPU: Intel 2.8Ghz Core 2 Duo

RAM: 8 GB 1067Mhz DD3

HDD: 500 GB SATA 7200rpm

Graphic Card: NVIDIA 9600GT/9400M

Installed software (same software versions used on Lion prior to clean install)):

• MS Office 2011 Pro
• Merlin
• Omnigraffle
• VMware Fusion

Results so far:

• system fans running approx 4400rpm (to 2000rpm on Lion)
• core CPU temp is 83C (to 60C on Lion)
• Battery consumption approx 40% higher (had my battery replaced under warranty less than a month ago).

I have the same problem. With my average usage Battery was draining for 5-6 hours, now max 1-2 hours 😟

And another one with that problem...

I read about this forum post in several Blogs and so I see a chance to get some help.

I´m running a MBP Early "11 i5 2,3GHz, 4GB Ram, 128GB SSD.

After I made a fresh install of Mountain Lion, I can run my MBP a maximum of 4 hours in normal use

OK. Let's be perfectly clear here for the people saying 'there is no bug' and for those saying it's the GPU/flash/Dropbox/incompatable apps etc.

• I have a Mid 2011 13" MBP, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD.

• This device shipped with SL installed, but qualified for a free upgrade to Lion (which I did).

• In Lion, my battery life (inc. SSD and extra RAM) was ~6-7 hrs from a full charge and has been this way for the last 12 months.

• When upgrading to ML, I did not use migration assistant.

• I did a CLEAN install of Mountail Lion from a Bootable USB I made from the App Store installer.

• There are NO incompatable apps on the system. All other Apps have been updated as required through the App Store.

• GPU switching does not apply for this model MBP.

• Flash is NOT installed.

• Disk is verified and permissions restored through CMD+R and Disk Utility.

• Single user mode doesn't make any difference.

• SMC Reset doesn't have any effect.

• PRAM Reset doesn't have any effect.

• Battery is healthy @ 93% and 451 cycles.

• The browser I predominately use is Safari, but using Chrome/FF etc delivers no noticeable difference.

• Mail is not constantly running. I only open it when I need it.

• Whilst this issue persists, I haven't been doing anything 'intensive'. I have stuck to light usage in order to gain a fair assessment of the problem.

• Spotlight is OFF.

• Activity monitor shows %idle @ 97%

• Battery life from a full drain then overnight charge to 100% is now ~3-4 hours. That's almost a 50% drop.

• I first noticed the battery life issue when using the GM more than a month ago. The GM was NOT a fresh install and also, as it was the GM, I knew I would do a clean install when the App Store version was available and therefore hoped it would clear up the problem. I also hoped maybe Apple would have solved it before retail release.

So, considering my issues, I can draw no other conclusion than that it must be an OS specific problem and has little or nothing to do with incompatable apps, SMC/PRMC resets, Spotlight, etc. The install is clean and no 'rogue' processes are running.

This is not an issue the end user should have to deal with. Battery life has almost halved, but nothing has changed system-wise. Lion gave me ~6-7hrs light usage, a clean install of ML gives me ~3-4hrs light usage.

This issue isn't people just jumping on the bandwagon, nor is it creating 'lemmings' as someone else rudely and condescendingly suggested. If hundreds (if not thousands) of users are reporting the same problems, then it's an issue. Simple as that. Taking the MBP to the Apple Store is pointless as there's nothing they can do with an OS level problem. I'm not a Noob. My computer isn't full of garbage and rogue/[k'd] apps. It's well maintained, organised and the software is all up to date.

It's pretty clear from this thread that the issue is in the software. Not workarounds, resets or clean installs.

Message was edited by: yantaialec for sp.

i agree with yantaialec, my MBA is well maintained, no backup issues, permissions checked twice before re-installing mountain lion, SMC, PRAM, done and re-done, anti virus with three antivuris apps, spotlight not featuring in activity monitor, software up to date, no rogue apps, outlook/pages/vlc all updated....

- it's a software issue - and yes when lion came along, there were problems, but fixes followed -- my recommended "work arounds" mean my MBA works without screaming -- but with mountain lions features disabled -- after a faultless clean re-install -- SMC, PRAM -- re-done -- it's a ML issue

-- as much as i hate microsoft, guys, we've all been "micro'd"

Having the same Probelm. Macbook Pro lasted 5 to 6 houres on Lion normal office work.

After installing Mountain Lion, it is down to 2:30. When on a skype video call, it only lasts 1 houre and 40 minites!

I would be happy to run a test or so of that helps, but it is not what one may expect from an Apple update...

As with many people here, having crazy battery life problems after install of Mountain Lion.

I am a developer and have had the various previews and they impacted negatively on battery life, but after all these are betas and I expect this.

However, installed the full release on a fresh, reformatted drive and the battery performance is much worse still!

It's a MBPro 15 with hires screen, Early 2011, 2.3GHz, 8GB ram, 750GB HDD

I am now getting just 105 minutes of light use (browsing, Word and Excel, no video or games, Mail) from a full charge. This is with cabled Ethernet connected, wifi turned OFF! and with graphics switching on auto, though it doesn't sound like it's switching on any graphics acceleration for what I am doing. Nor should it :-)

Last battery calibration rated210 cycles and 93% of original capacity. On Lion I was getting 5 hours plus of use.

I do use Dropbox for some files, and iCloud for mail, with regular Mail refresh/checks, but aside from that I can't think what could be using up the power.

Currently working through another calibration and will do PRAM, SMC reset and permissions verification once cycle complete.

Guys from Apple, this is my main portable working resource so I'm hoping you're hot on the case for a fix or can give me some suggestions! Otherwise I am going to have to borrow one of those Windows laptops from my partner and muddle through; the MBPro is a great piece of kit but right now it's not doing its job, and sure as anything it is the OS not the hardware.

apple have been in touch with me via email looking into a fix.

they sent me a dat capture app which records background activity that they will use to find the issue.

i can confirm this is definatley a software (OS) issue as the guy that was dealing with me said that an update will be issued via the app store as soon as they can work a fix.

good news. apple are on it... officially!

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The FIRST and MAJOR bug that everyone has is the fact that these MAC's in 2012 cannot tell us what is eating the battery life comparatively. Don't bother looking for it, you won't find it. We've had the problem (some of us) for over a year and nothing was found - although we've had half battery life for that long.

I think we can all conclude now it's not any specific program - there are people with brand new machines (MACBOOKS and AIRS) that have an issue with no 3rd party software on it.

The common theme is "half battery life"

So, it could be the fan, the GPU, some runaway process that DOES NOT SHOW UP in activity monitor. BUT THE BUG IN MY MIND IS - Apple does not know, which components it it's machines is actually eating up what elements of the battery. If they work backwards from that, I think we'll get closer to a cure. Until then, like for the last month (and over a year for some), we''ll all (including Apple) will be fluttering around in the dark !

My 2 cents and a different take!

Just wanted to add my name to the long, sorry list. I used my 17" MacBook Pro, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD last night from a full charge to 9% in under 2 hours! I never felt the need to time it before (under Snow Leopard, I skipped Lion) but I know it was more than double that, if not triple. My battery used to last so long, I never ran it down. This is terrible. Added to the Wifi woes I'm having (5Ghz unusable on several wifi networks I frequent) and this is a HUGE showstopper! Yes, I did a clean install. Please fix in 10.8.1, and please get it out NOW!

A poll at Engadget shows that over 7400 of nearly 17,500 respondents who've installed Mountain Lion (42 percent) say they've noticed a definite and discernible drop in battery life. A similar poll at RazorianFly suggests that the 2011 models are disproportionately affected, but that may be sample bias.

http://www.tuaw.com/2012/08/05/mountain-lion-bugs-chopped-battery-life-and-nonse nsical-save-a/

Interesting... I'm glad Apple are all over this now.