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

Atleast the message should be consistent! I did a normal restart today and then my battery was fine. when i was reading this thread i noticed my battery was at 91% and my battery's full charge cap was around 5500mAh. And now it's suddenly dropped to 79% and the service battery message is back
cmon apple, this is definitely a software issue. With so many people having similar issues suddenly it can't be mere coincidence!
If everyone's battery was fine with leopard then why has snow leopard messed it up?! My battery used to last for 3 hours or so on leopard, and now hardly an hour on snow leopard.

Well guys. I want to the second apple store. They did a battery test when the service battery ikon was up. The test did not show any problem, but they replaced it for free, so they knew something is bad. It sould be a really serious problem. Also with the new battery as half charged I could use my computer till 3 hours. With the old one it was less than 2 hours with 100% charge. Strange. I am happy. They will change it, if you push it hard (during the warranty time).

I am having the same problem since upgrading to snow leopard. My computer shuts down suddendly when it reaches 79-80%. I had 89%health and only about 20 battery cycles and now suddendly i also get the service battery message and in one day the health droped to 75%.

I will try to boot from an external HD that has 10.5 and see what is going on. I am really disappointed about this since the battery has very few cycles and was functioning normally before.

I don't know if it's related, but i got the same problem with the battery firmware update, included it seem in the 10.4.10 combo update.
the big thing is that you can't downgrade the battery update to 1.2 or 1.1 .
My battery was changed for free, but the Issue remain, and my computer goes to sleep without any warning, with a fresh system or not. The battery lost her capacity from week to week, the only way is to unplugg it, so it means running at half speed

Well, i booted up from 10.5.x and the situation is the same.... I think i am just going to order a new battery.... but i am not going to order one from apple... just a compatible one...

Crap spoke to soon.
Looks like I have only ruled out 1/2 the problem.

So with a new battery in the machine 0 cycle count I have developed a new version of this same issue. The machine now when using battery randomly turns off. This time was at 93% >.< Also on boot shows a battery symbol before the Apple logo. (Called back into the Apple line tonight left the details, updates soon)

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): 5454
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5659
Health Information:
Cycle count: 0
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 1180
Voltage (mV): 12537

**** it!
After previously having the "service battery' warning, I bought a new battery a couple of weeks ago (out of warranty period), and all was fine UNTIL TODAY!

"Service Battery" has now re-appeared!!!!

Last night, I was able to run on battery for a good 3 hours, so it seemed to be working just fine. However, with it showing just 10 minutes left, it shut off without warning. I didn't think too much of it as I had more or less had my 3 hours use out of it. But now I have just seen the warning again.

NOT HAPPY! APPLE PLEASE FIX SNOW LEOPARD!

Ok, so the update it simple and was a simple fix at this point. SMC reset should have been done after installing new battery.

So if your having odd shut downs after installing the new battery, run a SMC reset.

One other odd side effect of all the trouble shooting was the machine after the SMC reset booted with a folder and a ? in it. I had to go in to the System Preferences and reselect my boot disk (Maybe from all the USB OS installs).

cheers

I find it hard to believe that 10.6 would kill a battery. If anything the detection would be better, something I think 10.5 lacked. I also have found once you hit the 300 recharge area the battery is reduced significantly. I use my laptop so much I am on my 3rd replacement since I eat through them once year, so they are always covered pretty much. Apple has never had the best batteries once they switched from the older powerbook technology.

If it is still up after changing the battery, then it should be SL related stuff. I changed my battery, but i am on power cord for days, so I won't even test it for a while. Anybody called apple? Any official answer? Somebody said previously, Apple knew this problem and already admitted it.

Bluesummer said: "SMC reset should have been done after installing new battery."

THANK YOU! So, as I said in my previous post, I installed a new battery a couple of weeks ago after having the "Service Battery" warning and random shut-downs. Earlier, all of a sudden I had the same warning message for my new battery! I have now followed Bluesummer's advice, and done an SMC reset by removing the battery and holding the power button for 5 secs. The warning message has now gone once again. PHEW!! What the **** is going on with this? I have NEVER had this kind of issue before! This is crazy. Come back Windows XP- all is forgiven!

Hi all, I was having the same exact battery problems that have been mentioned. I went to the "Genius" today and told him the same story: Snow Leopard cut my battery life in half/battery meter isn't reliable. Told him I had tried SMC reset and calibration to no avail. I also showed him the stats from coconut battery: 92% health in leopard....down to 60%....then back up to 80....then down to 60%. He said "that battery is probably bad" and tested it via his ipod diagnostics which lit up with a big red "BAD". He knew nothing about the forums and said he would replace the battery since I was under warranty. We'll see how long this one lasts. I will say this is now my second replacement battery from Apple...

I hope there's a fix for this SOON...I did not have this problem before upgrading to Snow Leopard.

Too my mbp to the Apple store last night where they ran a battery diagnostic...a big red BAD showed up. Full charge capacity (mAh): 1301. Cycle count: 120. Battery only lasts 30 minutes

Unfortunately, my battery was out of the 90 day warranty (I received a replacement back in Jan2009 for a defective battery) so they wouldn't replace this. They said I could pay $100 for one from the genius bar but that would only come with a 90 day warranty..or buy it via retail for $129 and get the 1 yr warranty.

I ended up ordering online from apple.com since my company is part of an affiliate program with them... $119...after tax..$130 shipped.

Are you guys kidding me?! You are really paying to replace batteries that have clearly been compromised by Snow Leopard?! I am going to boot off of an external drive until apple fixes their crap.