Q: MacBook Pro Battery 'Service Battery' after Snow Upgrade

Welcome to Apple Discussions.

If the genius bar says No then escalate the issue. Contact Apple Customer relations and explain the problem. They have authority to order 'out of warranty' replacements if they assess that you have a faulty battery.

Neville

I had the 'service battery' message problem with my MBP after the upgrade to 10.6.4 and just wanted to add this info in case it might help someone.

I tried all the resets mentioned in the thread all to no avail. I wasn't getting any shortened running time on battery but I couldn't clear the warning message. One strange thing was the amps showing on the system info was negative, regardless of running either on power or on battery (full or charging).

I performed a calibration cycle (to the letter!) and still the message was there. I then disconnected the power ran it for 1/2 hour and reconnected the power and the message had cleared along with the negative amps value.

The battery has 208 cycles (runs mainly on power) and I have to admit to not performing monthly calibrations, but it still shows 84% health 4662mAH.

ih!

I want to know about that old battery issue..my white MB is Late2007 and i had a few battery problems is the past. I know that many of you had problems when upgrading to SL. I want to know if those of you who upgrade to SL with MB Late2007 (that needed battery update 1.4) have the problems with SL solved?..

thanks

Having the same issue, yesterday the battery showed 63 cycles, 4900 full charge, condition good, today i get check battery, full charge 3500, 63 cycles! it randomly shut down while showing 63% battery life left! it is a macbook pro 1,1 2.16ghz. It only has 63 cycles but the battery is older if not original this laptop has had little use! I guess I'll phone Apple tomorrow!

Apple says no! I escalated the claim they still say NO! "Because of the age of the laptop the battery has served its purpose and has had a long life" The battery only has 63 cycles and only developed a problem after the upgrade to Snow Leopard! Are you kidding me???

I am also having this battery problem... I have my computer plugged in alot..so not sure when it began .. but also recently updated software..
My laptop is not a year old yet.. certainly the battery life is longer than a year?

Welcome to Apple Discussions Pandies.

You are still covered but should also purchase the Applecare extended warranty if you've not already done so.

Have you done a first calibration of your battery ye? If not, do so before complaining to Apple. Instructions came with your computer. Be careful to follow these completely. If after this there is still a problem take it in for a check. Let's know the results.

Ripped Radio - you seem to indicate the the present battery is not the original, or might not be. Is this correct?

If it is the original I seem to remember that Apple have said that the battery in your model 'should last at least 3 years' in their advertising. For current models I've seen 5 years - with conditions attached. If my memory hasn't deceived me then you could be out of luck as it's true that batteries deteriorate with age, even though used lightly during that time. It's also true that batteries can deteriorate more quickly if not used as recommended in Apple's battery care postings.

Having said this 'genuine' replacement batteries also have a performance guarantee similar to the original provided there are no other factors present which could adversely affect performance, such as other components having deteriorated.

Neville

Same problem here.


Model Identifier: MacBookPro3,1
Processor Speed: 2.2 GHz

Battery Information:
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): 1156
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 3384
Health Information:
Cycle count: 58
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -1505
Voltage (mV): 11347

From the stats you've given the battery does need replacing though you can still run the computer on mains power. On battery you can only expect an hour or so of use. Unfortunately you are probably beyond warranty, even extended Applecare so it might only be possible to claim if your battery is a genuine Apple replacement which is not very old.

The same provisos apply as with some other users: Have you calibrated the battery at all/recently? If not I would advise doing so because recalibration gives more accurate stats on battery condition - usually.

Basically batteries older than 3 years are only warrantable if they have obvious manufacturing defects, and then only if you can present a very good argument to Apple. For your model Apple only claimed serviceability of the battery for about 3 years. Anyone getting more than this can consider themselves fortunate.

Neville

So, I've read a lot of the responses in this huge thread (almost 100 pages!), and it seems as if no one really knows what's happening with the "Service Battery" message. Well, I'll tell you what's happening:

Snow Leopard has new code inside the program which monitors the battery. It looks at things such as how many "battery-loadcycles" you've had and how much of the original capacity of the battery is still there, etc. If any of these seem outside of what the OS considers "normal" parameters, then it turns on the "Service Battery" message.

For example, my own battery is at 325 "battery-loadcycles" and at 74% of the original battery capacity (currently at 4044 mAh capacity with an original capacity of 5450 mAh). For some reason MacOS X thinks this is "not normal", and that I should have greater capacity at 325 loadcycles than I seem to have, so... on goes the "Service Battery" indicator!

I traveled all of the way to the Apple store and waited for my appointment with the so-called "genius". They rebooted my system, ran their diags (which told them the same information that Coconut Battery told me for free), and proudly announced that they wanted to replace my battery and charge me over $100 for the privilege! I said, "no thanks", and returned home.

I'll save you the trouble of making the same useless trip. Just grab yourself a free copy of Coconut Battery, look at your battery information yourself, and decide whether or not you think you need a new battery. If you do, replace it yourself for cheaper. If not, ignore it.

Hi Guys,

I have a 13" Mac Book late 2009 model, my battery indicator said "Service Battery". Info. below,

Model Information:
Serial Number: 9G9430G8G9LGA
Manufacturer: DP
Device name: bq20z451
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0103
Hardware Revision: 0002
Cell Revision: 0130
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 2797
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4317
Health Information:
Cycle count: 202
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 2131
Voltage (mV): 12323

I called up apple support in India, they said i need to go for a new battery, the laptop is 9 months old. Should i buy a new battery and is this the average cycle count before a battery dies. I have reset SMC and PRAM. Now the message is gone.

Regards
Srinivas

just upgraded my early 2008 MacBook pro to Snow Leopard.Computer runs hot, and now I am getting the service battery notification, and the battery lasts about half an hour when fully charged. So, more money on a new battery to resolve a software issue?

i wonder if everyone here knows that when we upgraded to snow leopard a new feature is installed with the operating system telling us the status of the battery. it might not have been the operating system itself that cause this problem, it might have been that your battery already needed service, it just happens that after the installation of snow leopard that it detected this problem. in my situation it is not the operating system itself, i run my windows 7 off boot camp and windows 7 also told me that a check of my battery is needed.

Welcome to Apple Discussions Srinivas.

According to my calculations your battery is at about 88% which I would think is a bit on the low side but still nominally within Apple's claimed performance range. Have you calibrated the battery at all? If not you should do so.

For your battery their claim is that it should still be at 80% after 1000 cycles. As you are not yet at or near 1000 cycles you have no warranty claim. However, it might be worth getting another battery if you are dependent on having the battery last more than say 3 hrs per charge.

I hope you have the Applecare extended warranty as this is helpful with potential claims though in India you might be able to get batteries more cheaply than here in Australia.

One further point. Most people recommend that you don't quote serial numbers in these pages - for your own security. Somebody else might quote your serial number to validate their own claim & there can be other fraud. Personally I'm not concerned about that very much.

Neville

I am experiencing the same problems with my machine after installing Snow Leopard. I am not a windows user so I do not have boot camp installed but after much frustration I loaded the computer from a Linux live cd (There are many distributions available but I decided to go with Ubuntu Karmic). And the battery problem is no longer there. Another bug I have found is that the left and right arrows on the keyboard do not function in snow but work correctly in Linux. Software problem definitely. PS I forked out the cold hard cash for a new battery which has not solved the problem. I have heard about work arounds by running leopard off an external drive and running battery update. It would seem that apple have forgotten to include the battery update in compiling the operating system.

I have a recording to do tomorrow and am worried that the machine will just die as it has decided to turn off occasionally with the AC adaptor plugged in. I have tried a fresh install again but to no avail.