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Q: rMBP 15" Sudden drop in battery life

I have had the machine for about 6 months but over the last week I suddenly get less than 2 hours from a full charged battery. Any ideas anyone?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Jun 14, 2013 12:33 AM

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Q: rMBP 15" Sudden drop in battery life

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  • by judysings,

    judysings judysings Jun 16, 2013 11:36 AM in response to Swiggen
    Community Specialists
    Jun 16, 2013 11:36 AM in response to Swiggen

    Hi Swiggen,

     

    I'm sorry you are having issues with your Macbook Pro's battery.

    I would suggest resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

     

    Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

     

    Power

    The computer doesn't respond to the power button when pressed.

    A portable Mac doesn't appear to respond properly when you close or open the lid.

    The computer sleeps or shuts down unexpectedly.

    The battery does not appear to be charging properly.

    The MagSafe power adaptor LED doesn't appear to indicate the correct activity.

     

    1. Shut down the computer.
    2. Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
    3. On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
    4. Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
    5. Press the power button to turn on the computer. 
      Note
      : The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

    Another troubleshooting step would be to reset the PRAM as well: About NVRAM and PRAM

    Resetting NVRAM / PRAM

    1. Shut down your Mac.
    2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
    3. Turn on the computer.
    4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
    5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
    6. Release the keys.

     

    You can read more details by clicking on the two links above, but these would be two good troubleshooting steps to try.

     

    Below are some general tips for maximizing battery life:


    Mac notebooks: Tips for maximizing your battery charge

     

    I hope this information helps ....

    Have a great day!

     

     

    - Judy




  • by Swiggen,

    Swiggen Swiggen Jun 17, 2013 9:42 PM in response to judysings
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 17, 2013 9:42 PM in response to judysings

    Thank you but unfortunately I still have the same problem. The energy level reads 2:19 hours on a charge of 92% as I type. My screen is at about 70% brightness and I am using parallels.

     

    Any suggestions please?

  • by clintonfrombirmingham,

    clintonfrombirmingham clintonfrombirmingham Jun 17, 2013 10:47 PM in response to Swiggen
    Level 7 (30,009 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 17, 2013 10:47 PM in response to Swiggen

    Running any VM (and I, too, use Parallels Desktop to run Windows 7) is going to put a huge drain on your battery. The "7 hours" quoted by Apple is based on a 'perfect' scenario (only running wifi, surfing the Internet and avoiding videos, with perhaps an email client open and precious little else).

     

    If you're able, just test your machine on battery without running Parallels and see if your battery time increases.

     

    Clinton

  • by Swiggen,

    Swiggen Swiggen Jun 18, 2013 9:23 PM in response to clintonfrombirmingham
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 18, 2013 9:23 PM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

    I only have Safari and calendar open, brightness set to approx. 70%, no keyboard backlight. Battery register 90% full and gives a time 3:08.

     

    So not having Parallels running is definitely a help but it still seems very low to me.

     

    Is that normal. It seems low to me.

  • by judysings,

    judysings judysings Jun 26, 2013 11:10 AM in response to Swiggen
    Community Specialists
    Jun 26, 2013 11:10 AM in response to Swiggen

    Hi Swiggen,

     

    If you've tried the tips I posted above for maximizing your battery charge, and are still experiencing issues, I would suggest checking the condition of the battery.  The following links will show you how:

     

     

    Mac notebooks: Determining battery cycle count

     

    OS X Mountain Lion: Battery conditions

     

    Cheers,

     

    Judy

  • by imedgh,

    imedgh imedgh Sep 15, 2016 5:51 AM in response to Swiggen
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 15, 2016 5:51 AM in response to Swiggen

    I had the same problem and i fixed it.

    check in system preferences under energy saver than make your display turn off after 1 minute in battery , that's all.