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

Same issue here, happening on both my White MacBook and my MacBook Pro 4,1 (79 cycles). Running Leopard off of an external drive doesn't have this problem. 10.6.1 didn't fix this like I had hoped it would.

Out of curiosity, has anyone here done a clean install of Snow Leopard and is still having these issues? I had originally intended to do a clean install, but wasn't presented with the option, and just did an update. I've been having battery issues since then, but I was curious if anyone tried an erase and install. Are you having these issues too?

Yes, I did a clean install.

I had the same message. I took the laptop to the Genius Bar. They ran their own tests and determined that the battery was bad. It had 288 cycles, and I was under Applecare. They replaced battery for free. How much better can one do?

In the face of no other experience they probably assumed it was the battery. But mine's only done 81 cycles and others have done more than 288. The common denominator is SL....

this is very weirdo...cuz actually my battery, has a better performance on my mbp, iStatPro says battery health is 84% while yesterday it was 77%, and sometimes drops to 65%...

it's also true that, the indicator changes while using the computer..i never experienced a sudden shutdown with no warnings...today my mbp, without running heavy tasks, wi fi on, browsing, no bt, lasted for more more than 4 hours, i updated to SL, no clean install, using an external iPod nano, restored with the SL image since my mbp has a faulty SD

Thanks for the confirmation about the clean install, Robert. I appreciate it.

Same problem—takes forever to charge under SL, won't hold a good charge and Service Battery warning. Battery info:


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): 1725
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 2145
Health Information:
Cycle count: 128
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 348
Voltage (mV): 12600

Your low charge capacity indicates that the battery is failing. The low cycle count suggests that the battery is defective. Bring it to a genius bar. If you are under warranty, or have applecare, you will probably get a new battery.

Under SL my charge capacity was around 3500, following rolling back charge capacity has increased to above 5000. SL is definately the culprit, as my battery and mbp are functioning as I would expect, charging correctly and discharging at around 5 hours. Would be interested to know if anyone who has replaced their battery nolonger experiences the issue.

nothing to say. just the same problem. i've tried to run on 64bit, reset pram/nvram and smc, battery calibration. nothing has changed.
Is snow leopard the real problem? I just hope that an Apple Genius answer us soon, saying if snow leopard is the real problem and (if yes) how to fix it.

I have an MBPro still with the original battery which I have logged since it was new. I am seeing the 'service Battery' tag since installing SL but 1. it only appeared after I did my latest calibration, 2. it went away for an hour or so (but came back) 3. it will not go away permanently; 4. I am holding at ~80% after 155 cycles - my time is still in XS of 2 1/2 hr - depending upon what I run.;5. .Minibat logger. has not indicated any step change in power or charge loss - above avg condition ; 6. iBatt2 still says that my battery is 'B+' and 7. no wild fluctuations are obvious

I believe that the 'new' battery control SW in SL has a bug - it reports a problem that does not exist.

Model Information:
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0001
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0102
Hardware Revision: 0300
Cell Revision: 0200
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 4327
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4327
Health Information:
Cycle count: 154
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 55
Voltage (mV): 12592

Oops - tagline should read OSX 10.6.1

Anyone have their Istat temps before and after snow leopard?

My post snow leopard temps are 127 deg F

*Anyone have this battery problem after buying a new battery?*

I am thinking of buying a new battery to see if that actually works
If it does not, I'll return the battery and if they don't give my money back, I'll take this up with my CC

Oddly enough, nobody at the apple store nor the apple care phone center bothered to check the serial number of my battery
Nor did the "genius" even test my battery

*OK - so correlations here are:*
1) ASMB012
2) Snow Leopard
3) batteryupdate.bundle is missing

= bad performance / erratic battery




Model Information:
Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 102a
Hardware Revision: 0400
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 2575
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 2945
Health Information:
Cycle count: 71
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -1791
Voltage (mV): 11835

PS -
also noticing my battery life indicator is jumping around
10 minutes ago it said 1:35
then says 1:37
a minute later says 1:30
few seconds later says 1:34