when using without power cord (battery only) with battery charged - the computer simply turns off - anything unsaved is lost of course, no warning. seems to be when battery is about half or less but also when more demanding video action (MRI viewing). Any thoughts or solutions appreciated.
I just got my replacement battery. Installed it with no problems. I ran the laptop on battery till the low battery warning came at about 8% then it went into sleep at about 3-4%. So no more total shut down at 62% like before. Full charge capacity reads 5586 which I believe is normal and battery health reads good. I don't know how long this one will last but it least it solved the problem for now.
John
I have just spoke to Apple in the UK after the web battery replacement form refused to process my claim because the serial number of the battery did not fall in the group listed.. No problems. They asked me a few questions and agreed to send out a replacement. I just got notification that the battery has shipped after 2 hours of the phone call.... Thats good service I would say.
Lets just hope that it works and is not just a delaying tactic if there is a software issue
It seems that Leopard is affecting the batteries themselves. I've been getting random shutdown at 30-50%, and so I took my battery and gave it to my sister to use, who is running 10.4.11. Lo and behold, random shutdown at around 46%. This means that the batteries themselves are being affected, not just the OS.
Therefore, I think Leopard is messing up the batteries. I'm worried that a replacement will also be "corrupted."
Pappasbike: Could you keep us updated if you get any more random shutdowns? There seem to be a couple of problems conglomerated in this thread, but the most common issue is Macbook Pro users experiencing random shutdown after upgrading to Leopard.
It may be that batteries that went through the 10.4-->10.5 upgrade and subsequent 10.5 updates are the culprits. Therefore, it's possible that a new battery could solve the problem, in that it wasn't from Tiger.
--> Are there any MBP users that bought their MBP with Leopard installed (no drop-in disk) and are having these random shutdown issues?
I have just been through exactly the same experience as the other UK resident, my replacement battery is on the way and an email confirmation was with me within an hour of getting off the telephone to the support staff.
I am not sure what causes the problem but I can only add that I am still running 10.4.11 and my battery would run for 25 - 30 minutes before shutting down without any warning but when re starting on the mains the remaining battery power shows 80% remaining but the computer would not run on the battery at that figure. That would suggest that Leopard may not be the sole cause of this problem as my battery has only been used in this computer.
Sam Friedman wrote:
Pappasbike: Could you keep us updated if you get any more random shutdowns? There seem to be a couple of problems conglomerated in this thread, but the most common issue is Macbook Pro users experiencing random shutdown after upgrading to Leopard.
It may be that batteries that went through the 10.4-->10.5 upgrade and subsequent 10.5 updates are the culprits. Therefore, it's possible that a new battery could solve the problem, in that it wasn't from Tiger.
My previous battery which was the original one had 132 charge cycles, about 3700 for a full charge reading and battery health of fair. These are what the Apple rep asked about when I called and then sent the replacement. I think the low charge cycle number is what qualifies the replacement.
I've now dropped several times below the charge level-about 62%-where the the other battery caused the total shut down and everything is fine. I didn't often check the battery readings prior to installing 10.5 but I believe I did once or twice and everything was normal. So I'm ready to believe 10.5 does something to the batteries or they had a huge batch of bad ones!
John
I agree. Does anybody from Apple actually read and respond to these posts, or do they expect the loyal customers to solve people's problems for them? A strange way to run a company.
I have a similar problem with my battery - even though it shows more than 90% charge it shuts off within minutes if I unplug the mains power. I had the same problem 18 months ago (computer was only 6 months old) and they replaced the battery. This time they initially told me I was not covered as apple care excludes batteries but I objected and they have now agreed to replace it free of charge.
Under limitations apple care says the plan does not cover "consumable parts, such as batteries, unless damage has occured due to a defect in materials and workmanship". I would have thought this is a case of defective materials rather than naturally running out. My serial no is W8607... and not on their list for the replacement programme. I am pleased that they have agreed to replace my battery but I think it is a bit cheeky of Apple that I had to argue the toss with them first!
My replacement just came via UPS. I have booted from the new battery which is showing 33% !! and guess what..... it ain't shutting down as I type this. I cannot remember last time I saw it down at this level.. fingers crossed.
I would just like to say all my dealings with customer support have been excellent either in warrantee or out. I think if you talk to them and let them know you have researched the fault they are more than willing to do everything to help. Personally as a service engineer there is nothing more frustrating than finding that the customer has not even read the flamin manual!!! (RTFM the f can stand for what ever you want).
Thanks apple for your support and help with this problem.
I would suggest all suffering from this problem talk to customer services, if you answer just a few questions about what you have done and checked and it ticks all there boxes you will get a new battery
I was having the same problem as all of you, and now it is fixed. It does not have anything to do with Leopard--I have not upgraded yet. Recently my MBP (which is a year and a half old) started shutting down with no warning at as high as 93% of battery capacity! After reading all of your posts and trying various suggestions (getting rid of battery updater 1.3 and resetting the SMC--with no results), I decided to take it in to the Genius Bar. Within 15 minutes I was out the door with a new battery free of charge, and it works beautifully now. It now lasts almost 4 hours and I get a warning before it shuts down.
So here is the info I can share with all of you...
The Mac Genius told me that the battery updater is the culprit, but that it is supposed to do this. She said that Apple was aware that there were faulty batteries out there, so they designed the update in order to identify which of the MBP batteries would fail so that people could get them replaced. This has nothing to do with the recall--my battery did not fall under those serial numbers either so could not be replaced via the online form. And in fact, when you looked at the system profiler, my battery looked pretty good--it only had 35 cycles on it and still said the full charge capacity was at about 5400, so I was afraid they wouldn't replace it. The batteries are warrantied for 2 years (regardless of whether you have Apple Care), so if you are having this problem, it is easy to fix. The Genius didn't even need to see my computer actually shut down; she just swapped out the battery right there. I'm sure that if you can't get to a store and you call Apple instead, you will get the same result. It doesn't sound like anyone has been denied yet from all the posts.
I called Apple and spoke with Dusty after choosing MBP tech support. I'm an IT guy at a large University but was treated like someone after a free battery. My MBP shuts off and loses data after 3 minutes but he wouldn't honor what this page says and admitted as much. He said I had to take it in otherwise just anyone could call up and ask for a free battery and I should be grateful he wasn't going to charge me for the call. Sigh....
