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MacBook Pro Battery 'Service Battery' after Snow Upgrade

MacBook Pro Battery 'Service Battery' after Snow Upgrade

Way to many people are reporting this to just be failed batteries unless we all got them form the warranty program at the same time. I rather think its an issue with the upgrade.

Note that the KB fix did not help my machine so this needs more trouble shooting.
Any help would be great.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Sep 1, 2009 5:28 PM

1,559 replies

taz_79

Level 1

0 points

Oct 2, 2009 1:29 AM in response to blieux

I'm from Indonesia.... I've experienced the same like you guys after installing Snow Leopard several days ... "Service Battery" status ... come and go ... but after doing some permission repair using MacOSX 10.5.5 Bootable CD ... it become quite normal ... "Service Battery" dissapeared ... it can last for 2.5 - 3 hours ... while before only 10-30 minutes from 100% battery charged ... but charging need about 4 hrs to get 100% from 0% ...

But when I used Leopard 10.5.8 it can last 4 hrs ...charging approx only 2.5 hrs

it has been a week I haven't seen any "Service Battery" warning ...

Mine is MBP unibody (1 years old) ...

I think this is the temporary solution, until some Apple Genius will admit that all of this is about "software bugs". My suggestion, don't buy the new battery if you are out of warranty ... since maybe this SL maybe can kill your new battery sooner than expected ...

Oct 2, 2009 6:25 AM in response to tiefschwarz

Mine says its fully charged but it reads that its empty.
Battery Information:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.5 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 8 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP41.00C1.B03
SMC Version (system): 1.27f2

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 4279
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4279
Health Information:
Cycle count: 225
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 147
Voltage (mV): 12636

Oct 2, 2009 10:58 PM in response to blieux

Same here: I took it to the service, but I could not bring up the Service battery icon. Too bad. They tested it, of course it was al right. I still have 2 weeks left with my warranty. I do not know what to do. And yes sometimes it won't even work without power cable. It should be a software issue.

Model Information:
Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 4129
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4637
Health Information:
Cycle count: 181
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -1371
Voltage (mV): 11872

Oct 3, 2009 12:38 AM in response to blieux

I'm having a very similar problem with the battery on my MacBook Pro (later 2007). Since updating to Snow Leopard, I've been getting the Service Battery message, and my battery life has just been going crazy. While I can keep it about normal, it seems to need constant recalibration (once every 3 days or so). Otherwise, it'll sit charging at 99% for 5 hours or turn off at 40%... or both!

While my battery is getting up in age, it was working perfectly fine before the update. As many of you have described, I do not believe this is a physical battery problem, but a software/firmware issue with Snow Leopard.

Hopefully as more of us complain Apple with start taking this seriously. I'm getting concerned I might be harming my battery with all this.

Oct 3, 2009 5:08 AM in response to blieux

Ok I've posted my experience here before, but for those who can't be bothered to read the entire thread I'll post an update.

After upgrading to SL, the service battery warning appeared. I ran with it for a few days, posted and watched this thread, before deciding to use Time Machine and return to Leopard. Under Leopard, System Profiler reported battery condition as Normal, and the full charge capacity returned to around 5500. Four hours of websurfing use was again possible and battery charging time also returned to normal. So I bit the bullet again and re-installed SL. Initially the battery condition was normal, on running on battery this remained the case. First charge took an age and the Service Battery condition returned. Occasionally the condition would return to normal, but I could only manage 2-3 hours of websurfing use. Full charge capacity fluctuated between 3400 and 5400.

As I still have Applecare I spoke to an Apple representative. She appeared familiar with the problem and after 5 minutes agreed to dispatch a replacement battery. This battery is now installed and functions as expected. For the benefit of all here, I was tempted to downgrade and perform the SL installation again to see if the installation itself is responsible for the battery issue, however, I'll be on the road for the next 3 weeks and simply don't have the time. Perhaps someone else will, or someone can find out what exactly SL does to the battery subsystem during the installation process?

Oct 3, 2009 12:28 PM in response to blieux

same problem here with macbook pro late 2007. after sl 10.6(1) i get the service battery warning. i also noticed that all our macbook pro's it is difficult to charge to 100%. leverl is about 95-97%.

also look at the number of cycles: 12 !!

Model Information:
Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0001
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 2157
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 2349
Health Information:
Cycle count: 12
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -1406
Voltage (mV): 11863

i wait for a possible os update before replacing the battery as i see to many people with the same problem.

TK90

Level 1

16 points

Oct 3, 2009 5:55 PM in response to mgshoutman

Same issue here...Macbook Pro Early 2008.

Model Information:
Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 159
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 3586
Health Information:
Cycle count: 33
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 2530
Voltage (mV): 12088

Oct 4, 2009 8:44 AM in response to blieux

The way I "solved" this service battery issue was to completely charge the battery up to 100% until you see the green light on the power chord (this took a while because it kept hovering around 97-99% without ever getting to the full 100%). Then I unplugged the power chord and used the computer until it give me the warning about the power getting low (something about needing to save all of your files and shut down programs). Then I continued to leave the computer on until it went to sleep. Late at night I plugged the power chord back in and let it fully charge over night. The next morning I opened the screen up, and held down the command, option O and F keys while the computer was waking from sleep (this ran/reset something while the computer was waking from sleep). The service battery message is now gone and the battery seems to be holding a regular charge.

Oct 4, 2009 9:18 AM in response to rocketeer61761

I will give this a try again. Apple seems to be a bit slow on this one. Posted a mo. ago with not even a phone call back to my upgraded service ticket. Sad

hK911

Level 1

0 points

Oct 4, 2009 9:55 AM in response to blieux

After upgading Snow for few days,i'm having a super battery for my MBP 😀,and i can't charge it 😀

Model Information:
Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 65336
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 65336
Health Information:
Cycle count: 138
Condition: Replace Now
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 10882

😀

Oct 4, 2009 11:36 AM in response to blieux

Hi guys,

I have been watching this thread since the beginning and decided to put in my two cents...

As soon as I upgraded to Snow Leopard, I experienced the same exact problems everyone else did. My battery said "Service Battery" all of the sudden and nothing I did helped fix it. I had just replaced my battery in February 2009 and only had 110 cycles on it, so this "Service Battery" message didn't make sense. I always calibrate my battery and do everything right, so when I saw this discussion I decided to follow it until I could find something that would work for me.

Using Time Machine, I went back to Leopard and my battery said "Normal". The only thing was that after unplugging it, my battery would drain very quickly. I also have iStatPro and it said my Battery Health was at 48%. That's not good at all, obviously. So I upgraded it again back to Snow Leopard and decided to make an appointment at Apple.

When I went to the Genuis Bar, the guy plugged in an iPod to test my battery and it came up as BAD BATTERY. He replaced my battery for free because I still have AppleCare and it was a defective battery. I asked him if Snow Leopard did this to my battery. He said Snow Leopard didn't do this, it's just that Snow Leopard told me about the bad battery whereas Leopard didn't recognize it. That's the only thing that made sense to me because Leopard still said my battery was Normal even when it wasn't. Either way, they are admitting to a flawed program if Leopard isn't able to recognize bad batteries.

Anyway, I just wanted to write my experience. I was hoping to be able to fix the problem without having to go to Apple because I am always so busy, but it ended up working out for me. I got a brand new battery, free of charge, and it hasn't said "Service Battery" since (and it's been over 2 weeks). Also, my iStatPro says that my battery health is at 100%.

So I know many people might not want to hear this, but I would suggest going to your local Apple store ASAP and get a brand new battery. Everything else on Snow Leopard has been working great for me since getting the new battery. If that changes, I will be sure to update on here.

Oct 5, 2009 6:52 AM in response to Christa1115

Thanks for the tip! I will give that a shot if I notice my battery draining quickly. Right now it seems to be acting normal, other than the "service battery" warning.

blieux Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 5, 2009 3:28 PM in response to blieux

OK, so today called apple to check on how much has been done over the mo of trouble shooting.

The call was my battery is 'old' and I am running World of Warcraft and Norton AV and with all that going if I don't plug it in (I do) I would have a short battery life.

Yea ... riiiiight so after going round and round this was the new trouble shooting conducted.

First a clean install of SL on the extra hard drive to prove the problem in 10.6 and 10.6.1 (this can be done the following way)

1. Boot with the SL OS CD in the drive and hold the 'option' key
2. Select the CD to boot from
3. In the menu at the top select 'Disk Utility'
4. Conduct a format of the drive
5. Install the OS (note it will be the main option when you exit Disk Util)

It fixed nothing same problem, gathers stats both times and sent a full upload to them.

Also they tell me the batteries have a 20% quality differential when made you could have the 100% best you can get or the 80% quality on right off the bat. Mine is 25% below the 80% line atm (this I think is a bit of a cop out to make sure they don't have to do much more with this problem but I really want to see it fixed).

Honestly if I had the feeling that buying a new bat would just fix me up I would do it but that's is just not the case, so not ready to drop the cash yet going to keep pushing.

Fact: The machine runs hot under the new OS
Fact: The machine last min in the new OS and hours in the old OS

These are just to hard to ignore as not a software problem, the only exception being that the batteries changed in hardware of some type and this is a compatibility issue of some type with the OS subsystem but that is still software.

More info on the way as this progresses but I fell we are on our own a bit as I told the tech just to look at how many people are having this problem and I got 'Well sir some people are Apple hatters and post poor / fake information to the forums so we like everyone to call, we don't use them' my reply was well then just turn them off but meh what do I know.

I hope these updates and steps are helping everyone along, they are built on sound facts i hope they can be lab duplicated. As a guy that has 3 Macs at the house well over 15 iPods in the family and 4 iPhones I am a MAC fan but I want to see you take care of me a bit as a tech. Of all the things to be broken, my laptop ... my laptop.

cheers if anyone has more suggestions let me know.

Oct 5, 2009 6:55 PM in response to blieux

Allow me to add to the list of entries. After being struck by the difference in battery live with Snow Leopard, I called Apple on this, and was told it was just my battery. With 21 pages of entries, they can't simply keep ignoring it...

iplejs

Level 1

0 points

Oct 6, 2009 12:20 AM in response to blieux

Update:

Still have the same issues.
Have calibrated the battery three times, and still when I let the computer run off the battery the computer suddenly shuts down at 20-30% battery left.
Today i checked Full charge capacity when the computer still was running, and it said 4162mAh. And when the computer died and i plugged it in, the Full charge capacity was now down to 3515mAh. (30 minutes apart)

So checked the thread, still no official Apple-reply so I called Apple Support.
The guy checked with his supervisor and could only tell me that I have to wait until Apple (eventually) releases a Battery Update-patch...

In Sweden there are no Apple Stores and no Geniuses to visit.
Only autorized partners, and they won't touch a non-warranty machine without charging by the hour or without Apple giving them a go-ahead.

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MacBook Pro Battery 'Service Battery' after Snow Upgrade