Battery

I bought a a MacBook Pro not so long ago, I charge my battery all the time. Before when I was disconnect it from the plug it would die in 30 minutes or so. Now if it disconnects my laptop doesn't warn me that it's dying, says it has 100% battery and turns off. What do you think this could be?

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Jan 12, 2009 11:35 AM

Reply
18 replies

Jan 14, 2009 6:21 PM in response to neuroanatomist

I am having this problem too. I tried calibrating last week and my battery still doesn't last longer than 45 min until my computer shuts down. The link to reset the SMC isn't available. I'm not sure what elseI should do? Some people on the discussions mentioned the cycle count and charge capacity but I'm not sure where to find that information to find out if I need a new battery. My computer is only a year old...should this be happening so soon?

Jan 15, 2009 6:17 AM in response to Steffers19

The same thing. But with its very low cycle count, your battery shouldn't be dead unless it's more than two years old or has been mistreated. How old is it? Do you keep your MBP plugged in practically all the time, and not drain and recharge the battery at least every two or three weeks? Has your MBP ever gotten hot enough to sleep or shut down spontaneously? Have you ever left it in a parked car in the sun in the summertime for a few hours? Left it unused for a long period (several weeks or months) with a drained battery or a fully charged battery? Any of these events and practices can cause permanent damage to a notebook computer battery, usually taking the form of a loss of full charge capacity. That capacity normally diminishes gradually over the battery's useful lifespan as its cycle count and chronological age increase, but Apple says a properly maintained notebook battery should retain 80% of its original full charge capacity after 300 charge-discharge cycles. Depending on which MBP model you have (it isn't the late-2008 unibody model, which can't run OS X 10.5.4), your battery is now somewhere around 15% of its original charge capacity after 1/4 of that number of cycles. So unless the battery has been abused, it's apparently defective.

Jan 16, 2009 9:06 PM in response to eww

My battery is going too. I feel like apple needs to be more clear on proper operating procedures. I do leave my laptop plugged in nearly all the time since my activities (video editing, DVD watching, video games) drain the battery quickly and I am usually just at my desk in my home next to a plug.

My report says this:

Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 2259
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 2259
Health Information:
Cycle count: 40
Condition: Check battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12415

Earlier today the capacity said 5330. I unplugged it and used it for 45 minutes before it shut off with no warning. Now the capacity is lower. I'm still under warranty. Apple told me to calibrate the thing, which didn't work of course.

Mar 27, 2009 10:04 AM in response to kmf447

Im having similar problems my battery wont last more then an hour. And sometimes it will shut off after only a couple minutes after being on its battery when i plug it back in it says 0% and wont charge.

Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 113
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 0
Amperage (mA): 350
Voltage (mV): 12466
Cycle Count: 273

Do i need a new battery?

Apr 11, 2009 8:34 PM in response to neuroanatomist

So I'm hoping some computer genie can help me out too! My battery will charge, and its now at 100% but no matter what % charge its at, it turns off when it gets unplugged. It makes a small click sound right before it shuts off. this is my comps info:
Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4837
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 4836
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12523
Cycle Count: 17

Which seems good compared to some of the others listed, but i've got no idea how to do anything to my SMC, and the link posted does not go anywhere. Does anyone have any suggestions besides buying a new battery? Is there anything I can try?

Apr 11, 2009 8:36 PM in response to gpotts

o I'm hoping some computer genie can help me out too! My battery will charge, and its now at 100% but no matter what % charge its at, it turns off when it gets unplugged. It makes a small click sound right before it shuts off. this is my comps info:
Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4837
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 4836
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12523
Cycle Count: 17

Which seems good compared to some of the others listed, but i've got no idea how to do anything to my SMC, and the link posted does not go anywhere. Does anyone have any suggestions besides buying a new battery? Is there anything I can try?

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