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

Add me to the list, service battery warning and chaotic battery behavior.  It went from holding a charge for approximately 4 hours to approximately 50 min in a matter of a day.  Coconut tells me that the battery is very healthy, with only 280 cycles and still holding 80%+ of it's original charge.  Upgrading to Lion did nothing for the problem.  The Apple service center wants $45 dollars just to tell me what is wrong, and since it is 6 months out of warrenty, I don't see the point.  After a 100+ page forum topic with absoluetly no response or comment from Apple, it's safe to assume they would rather us waste our time and money at service centers than fix the problem.  I've been a loyal Apple user for over a decade, and this is the first time I'm truly disgusted with them and their lack of commitment to their customers.  

Spotlight is not the cause.  It runs minimally, anyway, if it is working correctly.  You'll know it's working by the pulsing of a dot inside the magnifying glass; most times it will not appear at all.  I've only seen that little dot appear for an extended period after doing major changes to my system, or the time Spotlight had screwed up and I had to reset it.

I have one older battery manufactured in 2006 with 216 cycles that is showing the "service battery" issue, although it shows 75% health.  Another very fresh battery (that was a free replacement for another showing the issue) does not show the service battery notation on screen.

The Apple Store connected my computer to their networked test system, and that showed an issue with the affected battery.  The diagnostic advised that the faulty battery may result in "sudden shut down," but that was all.  No warning of thermonuclear explosions or damage to the computer.  The battery is not bulging, and acts normally for a battery of this age and use --- 2:20 remaining from 100% charge.  The estimate of time remaining is bouncing around a little, though.

Perhaps the batteries or the monitoring software have been designed with very high specifications for normal operation.  Cupertino told me that this battery would be replaced under warranty if the machine was still under Applecare, which expired in March.

If you have an affected battery and your computer is still under warranty, take it and your computer to the Apple Store.  Cupertino can also read data off your battery via a System Profiler upload.

I have had the Service Battery problem for over a year now. I have just been leaving my Macbook plugged in and not using the battery, since my machine will do a cold shut down after a few minutes of it being unplugged. istat shows 19% health and 213 cycles. I have the Macbook unibody 5,1, bought in 2009.

I am also on Lion 10.7 and it is still giving me these problems.

I fixed my MBP!

This is what worked for me on my mid 13" 2009 macbook pro:

1- Power down your computer

2- Take out the battery/unplug battery

3- Unplug the magsafe (power adapter) from the laptop

4- Hold the power button down for five seconds

5- Connect the magsafe to the laptop, wait five seconds/ or until it turns green

6- Plug in your battery/put back in & lock it

7- Turn on the computer and sigh with relief

Note: If your battery is built in then you'll have to open your laptop by removing the cover screws and unplug the battery from the logic board,  you don't need to remove the battery, just unplug it. 

Warning: If your laptop is under warranty this could void your warranty also if you short something on the logic board while doing this procedure then you can kiss your laptop good bye, so be careful and you'll be OK.

I just did this today so not sure if the "service battery" message will return but I'll post here if it does...

I believe you are providing instructions on how to reset the System Managment Controller(SMC). Please see the official KB article here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

This may help with some system issues but if there is an actual fault within the battery then this will not correct that.

Well, the SMC didn't work for my macbook pro until I disconected the built in battery.

And if the service battery returns then mayby the battery just needs to be replaced.

Yes! Brand new battery!!

  Serial Number:          ˇSMB012

  Manufacturer:          Sony

  Device name:          ASMB012

  Pack Lot Code:          0002

  PCB Lot Code:          0000

  Firmware Version:          102a

  Hardware Revision:          0500

  Cell Revision:          0303

  Charge Information:

  Charge remaining (mAh):          3572

  Fully charged:          No

  Charging:          No

  Full charge capacity (mAh):          5195

  Health Information:

  Cycle count:          1

  Condition:          Normal

  Battery Installed:          Yes

  Amperage (mA):          -2200

  Voltage (mV):          11569

You will see that I'm running on battery at the moment, BUT, the machine has dropped out without warning several times with this new battery. At: 98% 85% 89% etc. The last time it happened (89%) I decided that I'd try restarting the machine without plugging into the mains. It started and ran up 'til the point of starting to run SL fully (after the blue screen). At this point it cut out again. I tried this a numebr of times with the same result. I then plugged in the mag connector which showed green for a second or two, then turned red. I immediately unplugged it and tried re-booting again. Complete success this time - and it's still running. 63% now!

It looks like a problem with SL doesn't it? Something to do with detecting the charging/not charging state which isn't working properly!

After the "service battery" indicator was on for several months in my battery made in 2006 with 217 cycles and 76% health... and the diagnostic at the Apple Store telling me Armageddon was nigh a week ago...  I noticed the notification suddenly disappeared today, and it's holding a charge just fine.  Then, after I started using it on battery, the indicator came on again.  Beats the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks out of me.

Model Information:

  Manufacturer:    SMP

  Device Name:    ASMB012

  Pack Lot Code:    0000

  PCB Lot Code:    0000

  Firmware Version:    0102

  Hardware Revision:    0300

  Cell Revision:    0100

  Charge Information:

  Charge Remaining (mAh):    3525

  Fully Charged:    No

  Charging:    No

  Full Charge Capacity (mAh):    4192

  Health Information:

  Cycle Count:    217

  Condition:    Service Battery

  Battery Installed:    Yes

  Amperage (mA):    -2586

  Voltage (mV):    11569

I have been having and on going problem that sounds just about the same as yours...I got my new Macbook pro in the middle of 2009 and by Nov 2010 My battery BLEW UP while still in the machine and I was working with my computer at the time. I heard a loud Pop noise and I felt a jolt on the desk (we live in California so I thought earthquake),  when I started to type on the keyboard the compture rocked as if it were sitting on an uneven surface. I shut down and powered off... to lift and look to find the battery cover buldged out but the battery was still attached. Scared me to say the least. I researched and called the near by Apple Store (1hr dr. away), got an appointment to take the machine into the store for service...I was told by the tech that the batteries were designed to blow up as a saftey messure....WHAT?? I had a friend with me and neither of us could believe what he was trying to convince us to believe...I finally got him to acknowledge how stupid that whole statement was and he replaced my battery-if that were true there would have been a disclaimer or caution notice somewhere with the product when I first got the computer....here is my 2nd rub...it is less than 8 months and now this "new battery" is only holding  a charge for a little over 1 hr. I've tried to maintain this battery according to the recommendations at the time I recieved it...(instructions from a different Apple tech)....I want to know this is not going to explode or have to be replaced again...this is way to much...

Great to know this, and here's a question from a real rookie.  What do you mean by "open up terminal"?  Thank you for clarifying for me. 

Terminal is an application program that can be found in the Utilities folder within the Applications folder. It is used to provide command line access to the Mac OS X system. See http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Terminal/2.1/en/5376.html

Battery Update 2.1 seemed to fix the problem but the battery has discharged tom lowe.  To explain: after OS X 10.6.4 to 10.6.7 the battery when from 3 hours - under 2 hours to under 1 hour  in a matter of week's  Then it stoped charging at all.  Now after downloading battery update 2.1 the PSU LED turns oringe for 15 seconds when the battery is put in but becuse there is not anoth charge it turns green not charging the battery.

So logic serjest that battery update 2.1 undose what update from OSX 10.6.4 to 10.6.7 dose.

Why would Apple not tell me this when I asked before my battery was bricked Perhaps to make more money out of my battery problem.

My wife and I just upgraded both of our computers to SL and both both are experiencing this same problem.  I just got a new battery for mine and it is telling me to replace it.  Crazy