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

Same problem here on a MB (early 2007). Battery only charges to 40%. Says Service battery, would be nice to have a fix on this sometime soon.

Good info. Plus I think I listed that a few pages back that the new OS uses more processes so with a bad battery to begin with does not help. Just get a new battery. Again its not an OS issue its the battery not being able to handle to the load. The new OS has a better user interface to notify of a bad battery. I am still trying to pin point what service or what about 10.6 makes the computer run "hotter".

Just ran coconut battery again and my battery capacity is actually greater then the original?
5642mAh vs 5600mAh

Interesting huh?

I would be truly believing this was a solo hardware issue if not for at least one person commenting that a new battery did not solve the issue and so many people having fluctuating max capacity values (ranging to and from normal to rubbish). Interesting that some have noted a higher than max original capacity reading also. I'm not qualified to state the cause of this issue - but simply suggest it may not be only hardware - there must be something else (and not simply a more sensitive sensing system in the new OS and higher power demands - otherwise the fluctuations should be less even if power consumption is greater).

Message was edited by: tgarcez

I had more or less the same issues less than a year ago, and got the battery replaced. I am on the 2nd replacement battery from Apple under warranty (first was replaced shortly before the 2 year warranty as very low capacity and low cycle count, 2nd due to fluctuating capacity).

I have a late 2006 MacBook Pro 15". I mostly run it with the back end lifted around 7 mm, to get little airflow under the machine. Mostly on power, but transported in sleep mode. I do cycle the battery approx monthly as Apple recommends.

Now I have a battery with capacity reported being anywhere from 1800 to 4600 mAh. One time, a few days ago, I ran it completely flat, it turned off when it said 0 mAh left (I wanted a full cycle/calibration). Next day I pressed power before charging it, it came up and told me 1200 mAh left. But it had just did a complete shutdown the day before with 9.6V and 0 mAh on the battery.

There is something completely wrong. Maybe it is a hardware problem ?

Since the problem is the same I complained about within the 2 year warranty (Computer killing battery early), I think I might be able to use the 5 year right to complain about fixed faults (send in my MacBook). Or at least I can use the 2 years warranty on the replacement battery to get it re-replaced with one that is hopefully working.

I could also sell my MBP and buy a new MB Pro, but I think it is too expensive considering how good my existing MBP is. I will not get much by upgrading apart from better graphics card and a faster bus, but losing ExpressCard (used for SATA), and one FW400 port

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): 2697
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 2936
Health Information:
Cycle count: 51
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 397
Voltage (mV): 12621

...add me to the list here! Can´t believe it! see battery info (in german) below.

I`ve experienced the same problems as everyone else posting here. the "check battery" sign appeared after installing snow leopard the first day it came out. I´m having sudden shutdowns all the time at about 61% capacity. Last week the sign suddenly disappeared without doing anything and instantly came back after restarting. Been there since and now it´s even gotten worse, sudden shutdown at about 75%. When charging, it still brings me back to a 100% though.

Under 10.5.8 no problems at all, with the battery lasting about 3,5 hours for one cycle.

the upgrade to 10.6.1 and 10.6.2 did not help at all. my battery has 91 cycles on it, coconutbattery is saying the following with cable plugged in and 100% load: current battery charge 3356 mAH, Original Battery Capacity 5600 mAH. so far so "normal" maybe after 21 months in use, but sudden shutdowns, COME ON!

I´ve also tried installing 10.5.8 on my external usb- drive and system profiler is also saying to check the batt. So that didn´t help neither.

after some people reporting here, that they got new batteries and the problem still remains, I sure won´t be me a new one (guarantee expired this april anyways - great)

Anyone having problems with the "check battery" crap with a unibody MB or MBP?! just wondering, if the built- in batts are messing up the same way!?

my personal opinion is, it´s got to have something to do with SL and/or the specific battery SONY ASMB012, that almost all of you guys have in their machines.

hey apple, can´t be you´re not HEARING US!!

phil

Informationen zum Batteriemodell:
Hersteller: Sony
Gerätename: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0000
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware-Version: 0110
Hardware-Version: 0500
Zellen-Version: 0303
Informationen zum Ladezustand:
Verbleibende Ladung (in mAh): 3356
Vollständig geladen: Ja
Batterie wird geladen: Nein
Volle Ladekapazität (in mAh): 3356
Informationen zum Batteriezustand:
Anzahl der Zyklen: 91
Zustand: Batterie prüfen
Batterie ist installiert: Ja
Stromverbrauch (in mA): 0
Spannung (in mV): 12428

...add me too on the list. I've been following this forum for about a month and i was waiting patiently the 10.6.2 update but unfortunately nothing went good. Since i upgraded to S.L the health of my battery with 260 cycles scaled down from 82% Health (Coconut Battery and iStat Pro) to 48% within one month. Before installing S.L i was able to work with 4 applications running almost 3,5 hours... Now i barely have one hour with Finder running only. I DIDN'T experience random shutdowns until now but some times when my battery went flat, i pushed the power button and magically my MBP came alive with 29% of the battery left when previously went to sleep with 0% battery capacity left....!!!!!! Hmmmm Also one more FACT. When i'm charging with A/C power connected, i've noticed that for about one hour after system says that my battery is fully charged, the light of the cord of the charger remains ORANGE which means that it is getting more charge for even more time than i'm getting informed...

I'm adding the info from System Profiler

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0002
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0102
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0200
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 1801
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 2818
Health Information:
Cycle count: 280
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 961
Voltage (mV): 12534

Waiting Patiently for some kind of fix or sth...

Message was edited by: El lobo

Hi there,

two Macbook Pros more. My cousin told me about 3 weeks ago, his battery seems to be damaged. He has "Service Battery" and his Macbook Pro acts weird. About 1 Week ago, my MBP also shows Service Battery. Usually it had 87% health with 67 cycles. Then it had 80 and now I am at 60%.

I calibrated it and at the beginning (loading at least 2 hours) "Service Battery" dissapeared and Battery Health went from about 75 to 87% Health again. One cycle later it reappeared and as I wrote this I am at 60%.

I still have a few months of Apple Care left. But I really think this is a software issue. 87% health seemed realistic for my battery after 2-3 years.

I bought mine June/July 2007 ... my cousin in August. Coincidence? Battery damaged / too old?

10.6.2 didn't seem to solve the issue.

Battery Info:

Informationen zum Batteriemodell:
Hersteller: SMP
Gerätename: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0002
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware-Version: 0102
Hardware-Version: 0500
Zellen-Version: 0200
Informationen zum Ladezustand:
Verbleibende Ladung (in mAh): 3296
Vollständig geladen: Ja
Batterie wird geladen: Nein
Volle Ladekapazität (in mAh): 3296
Informationen zum Batteriezustand:
Anzahl der Zyklen: 67
Zustand: Batterie prüfen
Batterie ist installiert: Ja
Stromverbrauch (in mA): 0
Spannung (in mV): 12554

Regards
Sven Oliver

I also have this problem
Sony ASMB012 battery suddenly only holds about 30% capacity. I only have 44 charge cycles and my macbook shuts down spontaneously. Sometimes it won't start up again even though the battery shows that is is charged when the test button is depressed.

This is not good for so many people to be experiencing the same thing with the same model battery.
I have been using Apple products since the Apple IIe and currently own four Macs.
Do the right thing and replace all of these defective batteries.

It might not be a software issue since I have the same "Service Battery". I have a Core 2 Duo MacBook I bought early 2007 (manufactured late 2006). I had my original battery replaced a few months ago, from the Battery Exchange Program. I got the Service Battery message only a week ago, after the 10.6.2 update.

I went to the Apple Store and they replaced it again for free. The MacBook is out of warranty. The new battery, this is the 3rd including the original, says "Normal" now. No software/firmware changes have been done.

Junipero XVII:

Wow, interesting feedback. Like yourself, I've had at least one battery replacement during the battery exchange program when I purchased my MacBook "Core Duo" early 2006. I am noticing some separation of the battery from the thin black plastic that encases my black MacBook.

I wonder if Apple is only replacing the batteries if you have the "Service Battery"message. My battery will only charge to 97% of its current capacity. Not 100%, although the indicator in the toolbar says "Charged".

Would you mind posting your Battery information from System Profiler? It would be interesting to see what model and battery stats that you have now that you've had a "3rd" battery.

Thanks,

-Erv

JCarncross:

With such a small number of charge cycles, I'd say you'd be a good candidate for a replacement battery as well. I'm unsure of exactly what make and model MacBook you have, or when it was purchased, however, not withstanding an SMC Reset, the random shutdown is definitely a problem.

I have the battery made by "DP" ASMB016, and while I don't have the random shutdowns, I don't get any of the power management capabilities the battery had before, where the operating system would give the appropriate warnings etc.

I'm pretty crazy about making sure I calibrate my battery every 2-3 months though, as I run it on A/C power in clamshell mode (lid down) more often than with the battery power unless traveling. That might be my only saving grace.

If you wouldn't mind posting all of your battery details from the System Profiler, we can see what lot your battery was a part of in addition to some other stuff. It could very well be a battery issue--time will tell.

-Erv

Rip1981:

Very interesting feedback on your battery as well. Thank you for posting your information from the system profiler.

I've had at least 1 battery replaced from the Exchange program when I originally bought my Macbook in early 2006. Within 12 months there was literally a recall at the time.

Given the relatively low number of charge cycles, and the tactical advantage of having some AppleCare left--if I were you, I'd head in and get that battery replaced.

Below are my stats. From what I can tell, our batteries (even my replacement one) came from a similar lot code. The only thing I know I've done differently is ensure to calibrate my battery every 3 months or so, as I run it on A/C more often than on battery.

I have nearly 200 cycles, and probably due to the care I take in calibrating it regularly has allowed it to survive at least this long. There are still issues with it. I've posted details on the "PSLog" details and the fact that somehow SL completely ignores the "Hibernate Free Ratio" setting in the PM Settings via the Terminal Window.

It essentially says when the battery reaches "x percentage" then hibernate. Either way, people getting less than an hour and random shutdowns, when previously they were perfectly okay is unacceptable now.

My battery never fully charges to its capacity, which according to the System Profiler is 4084 mAh.

Battery Information:

Model Information:

Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB016
Pack Lot Code: 0002
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 102a
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0102
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3950
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4084
Health Information:
Cycle count: 183
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12450

Ok, now I got it real bad; my MBP 17´ ver. 3.1, 2007, has now a bulging battery - very bulging. It´s been a while since I actually looked under it, but now the "stands out from the ground" while resting on a desk. For most of the time, I use the MBP when on the sofa and in my lap.
What would happen next; explode in my lap or burn my sofa? I´m glad I saw this, and took out the battery. Now it´s just mag-safe-time

I don´t know if SL is to blame here (guess not), but I have experienced great loss of batterytime ad sudden death after installing SL.
Now I see my batty is real dead...
Is this normal after about 275 cycles?

Yes. take it to an apple store. Its a manufacture defect/safety hazard. They should replace it even if its beyond the 1 year battery warranty.

I've been having troubles with my 3 year old Macbook Pro 15" Battery. I've had 233 charge cycles so far and I usually use my laptop while it is plugged in.

The other day I noticed the 'Service Battery' warning. I have been charging my battery and allowing it to run out completely, in an attempt to recalibrate it. Up until the time I installed Snow Leopard I was getting about 1 1/2 to 2 hours of battery life, which can be expected from a 3 year old computer.

When it eventually reaches 0% and it goes to sleep, I can wake it up and get another 50 minutes of usage before it shuts off completely and needs plugging into the mains.

This is so frustrating. Resetting PRAM and what not has done nothing to help my situation. Grrrr.

Help.....