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

Thanks for posting the link Bullet618- noticed it on my RSS after you posted. After waiting this long, I am so disappointed TUAW are treating us like we are all idiots. I have written a comment on that post, and I may just stop subscribing to their RSS now.

Yes, I have also replied to this guy, I can't believe what he was saying... anyway, I really really hope Apple takes care soon, as this is definitively an important OS issue.

Jose.

Yes- noticed your response too Jose. You were right- the post didn't mention the random shut-downs at all! We all want Apple to take note of our issues, and here's TUAW making a mockery of the whole thing! Unacceptable.

He also doesn't mention people's success from booting Leopard (10.5) from USB or the install disk. I think he just heard the subject, assumed he was an expert and didn't bother doing a drop of research.

Note the "we (technicians)" he wrote!! as if we were idiots! I am a computer technician literate for more than 10 years!!

Anyway, we shouldn't lose the plot, we need to focus in get the attention of Apple, as it is not said they read the discussions as general rule.

Does anyone know a good way to notify this formally to Apple? and I am not talking about going and spend a few hours in the closest Apple store with a "genius".

Jose.

Message was edited by: jmgomezg

Hi,

Same for me, I don't really care about the warning about the service battery, maybe it had some problems, but that doesn't explain why the battery lasting less than half with snow leopard upgrade, (like 2h-3h with leopard, vs like 40m-1h snow leopard), and agree, heats more. I know its not the battery cause I have windows 7 (bootcamp), and windows battery behavior didn't change after leopard upgrade. The mac its also shutting down without warning

I cant believe what TUAW posted. I was about to buy a new battery, thank god I read this forum.

Message was edited by: Puco

http://img604.imageshack.us/content.php?page=blogpost&files=img22/8996/screensho t20090922at742.png



http://img604.imageshack.us/content.php?page=blogpost&files=img22/4779/screensho t20090922at742c.png

Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3072
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 3072
Health Information:
Cycle count: 16
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12512

Battery drops from 54% to 2% instantly.

Apple is sending me a new battery, should arrive today.

Message was edited by: Ron21

Ron21, I suppose you were under warranty, right?

Anyway I believe a new battery is just a temporary fix, as from my suspicious, that new battery will run down again soon. If I'm right I'm sorry to those who had to pay for a new battery and I hope Apple will reimburse the money. And if I'm wrong, I will eat my fist and buy a new one myself, but I think it's unlikely to happen to be honest.

Jose.

Same problem, different scenario.

Same problem with the battery life reduced considerably and frequent unwarned shut downs.

So I tried the KB reset, after reading the first couple of pages of this thread, and strangely, it worked. It fixed my battery bar, and was showing charge and worked fine UNTIL I was done using my MBP and I closed the lid. When I opened it, the same problem. Battery meter says 0%, iStat says unknown...

But even with the 0%, I was actually able to use the MBP for about 30/45 minutes ... Also the led in the magsafe is very bright orange compared to the "regular" orange charging light. Battery cycle is somewhere in the 260 range but is less than a year old.

Don't worry too much about what Josh Carr wrote on TUAW. His conclusion is drawn up from guesswork, not empirical evidence. He extracts some problems stated here and tries to explain them with flawed logic. All of his premises suggest, but not conclusively support his conclusion that - granted this is implied - Snow Leopard can't be causing this error.
His main premise to consider however is in the title: "10.6 falsely reports 'service battery?' ... I think not". Now emphasize the word think. He thinks. Quite frankly this article says more about his way of thinking and the process he applies to get to a conclusion. Then again, it might be hard to think when your head is occupying something where the sun don't shine. That being his well equipped battery testing lab of course.

I'm sorry, but the flawed logic here comes from people speculating and not taking their computers in to have a tech check them out. ESPECIALLY people who are still under battery/computer warranty.

I contacted Josh Carr about this problem when I saw the thread and was having my own problems. He instructed me to take my battery in and have it checked out by a "genius" (I hate that title) and would not write a post until the DATA was in. In my case the battery was BAD even with 87 cycles and just over a year of use. I experienced the same symptoms as you all.

So here you are talking about flawed logic, what DATA do you have besides people reporting symptoms and a few reports of some ad-hoc and apparently temporary fixes?

My singular experience is that a new battery solved the problem. I've seen others where this also worked. So I'd say your case is not as air tight as the current location of YOUR head, occupying a space where the sun doesn't shine.

As I've stated before, I hope there's a fix but I'm not betting the farm on it. Apparently batteries are not important to many people here otherwise they would have gone out, bitten the bullet, and replaced it. If the trouble comes back within the year warranty you can have it replaced again and if it really is a problem with apple they will either make it right or have a class action lawsuit.

This forum only suggests a problem and a solution, it's not a scientific study.

I think there is a fine way to shut up Josh Carr (mouth) conclusion. People who downgraded to Leopard (or are using Leopard from external USB disks) could try to go where he points: "System Profiler - Power - Health Information" and see if there is some issue with the battery that is pointed there. If not Carr is terribly wrong and it is an issue in SL, else his argument could not be so wrong... or at least, he mantain the point... for the moment (I really think this cannot be happening to so many people).

splatnikG wrote:
My singular experience is that a new battery solved the problem. I've seen others where this also worked. So I'd say your case is not as air tight as the current location of YOUR head, occupying a space where the sun doesn't shine.

I'm not making a case. I'm pointing out that the way Josh Carr went to work in his post is rubbish and has zero value, since it lacks the proper funding to back up his conclusion. I'm not saying he is wrong even in his conclusion. His guesswork could have led to the correct conclusion despite his methodological failure.

I don't know what component is failing. Neither does my ASP ('Genius' - I love that term - is not available in my country), because the tests he performed on the battery lead him to believe that the battery was not in brand new shape, but not bad shape either. Actually what could be expected after 1,5 years of regular use, and taking good care of my battery, much like Carr suggests. He wanted to do some more elaborate tests with the battery and my MBP, which at the moment I had no time for. I made an appointment and see what he has to say. I'll post my experience.

Sorry no Apple Genius in this country.

My MBP went to sleep while I was actively scrolling a webpage, the battery was fully charged and the AC-power connected.

How weird is that.

Ok, I think maybe we should start another thread? cos I think some people is not getting the issue, is not actually the single "Service Battery" message, which annoys, but it doesn't matter, I understand now Snow Leopard alerts when the battery is old, the point is, first, the sudden lost of performance in batteries and secondly, and this is the most important, the sudden shut down with no warning at all when battery is still 50% or 60% or even 70% (seems random).

I don't know what else to do, I don't want to spend more money in a battery when mine should last at least another year or so, and I think this is a real issue, not coincidence, which I can even prove, booted from Leopard 10.5 DVD and worked fine for about 2 hours, then got the low battery alert, also installed clean Leopard in USB hard drive and same thing, work normally, but if in Snow Leopard, battery will last less than 30 minutes and shut down with no warning.

I encourage people to do so, just boot from the original Leopard 10.5 DVD, stay there for a while, you will see the battery icon on top right, see if it does something wrong. And wait until it discharges, see if you get the alert message. Do we need more prove?

If I go on my own to the Apple store, I am sure they will insist to get a new battery, I'm from London, is there many people from London here? Would be nice if a bunch of us go there, pacifically and politely, and ask for help, maybe that way we will get their attention.

Jose.