Is a universal adapter ruining my battery?

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Level 1

8 points

Is a universal adapter ruining my battery?

Hi,

I've had my Mac for a little over a year now; I purchased it in August 2009 in the U.S. For the first 3 months, I used it in France with a European Mac charger to fit the adapters there.

After that, I used it in the States with virtually no problems. But now, I've been in Korea for over 4 months and I've been using one of those universal adapters that you can buy at any convenience store. I'm not sure if this is messing up my battery, but something is definitely wrong.

It first started when I was watching a movie on my laptop. The computer just shut off. I looked up possible problems on forums and thought it could be an issue with the fan. However, it shut off a few more times after that despite being on a hard surface and the fan working normally. It wouldn't turn back on until I plugged it back in (despite there being about 30% battery life left).

Then, today, it was fully charged and I started watching a movie and within 15 minutes, the low battery warning popped up. Shortly after, while plugged in, I was trying to log-in to my email and it went to sleep! The system profiler says my battery life is poor. I don't mind buying a new one, but I must know: is that universal adapter damaging my battery?

Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 1222
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 1327
Health Information:
Cycle count: 325
Condition: Poor
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 335
Voltage (mV): 12602

Thanks for reading. I'd appreciate any help I can get! 🙂

Macbook (13-inch, early 2009), Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Jan 3, 2011 6:57 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

First Magus

Level 7

21,299 points

Jan 3, 2011 6:13 PM in response to Elysabeth

Elysabeth wrote:
For the most part, I tried my best to charge it fully and then unplug it until it was low battery again.

Doing this every time you use your MacBook is the reason your battery has problems. Here are some tips to follow when you buy your replacement battery.

Also using the plug adapter as you described does not hurt anything. Apple sells these as a kit, Apple World Travel Adapter Kit.

You do not need to discharge your battery completely every time you use it. Li-Ion Polymer batteries like little charges instead of big ones. It is OK to leave your battery hooked to the charger most of the time. The only time I unhook mine from the charger is when I calibrate
or use it for a short time. You should calibrate your
battery every two months, if you use it unplugged regularly, to keep the battery fully functioning. If you use your MacBook infrequently it ís best to calibrate the battery at least once a month.

A cycle, Determining Battery Cycle Count, is a full discharge and a full charge of the battery. This can happen by using the battery for 20% for 5 days and charging each time you used the battery. This would equal a 100% cycle. Charge the battery after each use, don't let it get lower just because you didn't use up all the power at one time. Its best in little charges. Don't worry if every once in a while you have to discharge completely when you are not near your power adapter. It happens. A little care and the battery can last years. Anything over 300 cycles means you should start considering replacing your battery.

The following links have good information about the MacBook and MacBook Pro and the care of it's battery.

Wikipedia: Lithium-ion polymer battery

Determining Battery Cycle Count

Apple Portables: Tips for maximizing your battery charge

MacBook and MacBook Pro: Reduces processor speed when battery is removed while operating from an A/C adapter

Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters

Apple Portables: Calibrating your computer's battery for best performance

Apple Notebooks

Battery Replacement

Runaway applications can shorten battery runtime

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Answer 2

First Magus

Level 7

21,299 points

Jan 3, 2011 6:08 PM in response to Lima18

Lima18 wrote:
Think about buying a transformer, which you plug into the wall then you plug your laptop directly to > it. Thats what I'm going to do once I buy a new battery.

This would be a waste and no use to you. Your Macbook supply has a transformer built in and handles voltages all over the world all you need is an adapter to match the plug you need to fit. Apple sells these as kits, Apple World Travel Adapter Kit or you can use one like these, AC Plug Adapters

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Answer 3

Lima18

Level 1

8 points

Jan 3, 2011 10:16 AM in response to Elysabeth

I bought mine in 2007 and a month after buying it I moved to Peru and their outlets are the European style. I bought an adapter for a surge protector and plugged into it. However after about 7 months my battery went to a life of 10 minutes. Think about buying a transformer, which you plug into the wall then you plug your laptop directly to it. Thats what I'm going to do once I buy a new battery.

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Answer 4

etresoft

Level 9

56,662 points

Jan 3, 2011 5:20 PM in response to Elysabeth

Your battery says it has been discharged 327 times. That is about once per day. That will reduce the performance of any battery, regardless of the manufacturer. The only way to stretch that out is to drain it less frequently. Internally, Macs are no different than PCs these days. If you were watching lots of Flash-based video, however, that would drain the battery on a Mac much faster than on a PC because Adobe has optimized it for PCs.

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Answer 5

etresoft

Level 9

56,662 points

Jan 3, 2011 9:54 AM in response to Elysabeth

Your cycle count says your battery is pretty much done. How are you using it? If you have power available, you should use it. Otherwise, your battery will run out of juice in about a year.

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Answer 6

etresoft

Level 9

56,662 points

Jan 3, 2011 5:57 PM in response to Elysabeth

Elysabeth wrote:
So when I get a new battery, should I keep it plugged in at all times unless I need to go somewhere (i.e. work at a cafe, work on the go)?

Yes

I was told that leaving it plugged in and charged can ruin the battery, but when I look over the forums, there seems to be some mixed opinions about this.

I don't know of any mixed opinions. It will definitely not ruin the battery. It may reduce the performance and require you to calibrate it. But given how much you used your old battery, that shouldn't be a problem. Usually giving a battery a good into-the-red discharge every week or every month will keep it in good shape. My batteries tend to die right at about 330 cycles too. They usually last about 2 years. I'm on battery number 3 or 4 on my 2007 Macbook (and I had a 2006 Macbook too).

As for the movies I watch, for the most part, they are downloaded and on my hard drive, so I use Quicktime. But I can recall using Flash in the past.

I don't mind getting a new battery, as long as I know what to do to optimize its life 🙂

While Flash is the worst offender, any video is taxing for battery life, especially on a MacBook. I don't know about your model, but my old 2007 MacBook really has to work to do any video.

How much RAM do you have? Getting more RAM will help. That is one of the reasons why the iPad battery lasts so long - it doesn't need to run a hard drive.

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Answer 7

Elysabeth Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 3, 2011 4:27 PM in response to Elysabeth

I'm working from home mostly, so I use it plugged in (with the batter installed). However, there is nothing different that I've done in the past 3 months that I haven't done all year, yet the battery seemed to have died rapidly in the last 2 weeks or so. That's why I had an inkling that it had to do with the voltage.

For the most part, I tried my best to charge it fully and then unplug it until it was low battery again.

I'm bummed because I switched from a Sony Viao to a Mac for this very reason: the battery life. And as much as I love Apple, I have to admit that my battery for my Vaio lasted much longer than this (at least 2 years).

Thanks for the feedback.

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Answer 8

Elysabeth Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 3, 2011 5:37 PM in response to Elysabeth

So when I get a new battery, should I keep it plugged in at all times unless I need to go somewhere (i.e. work at a cafe, work on the go)? I was told that leaving it plugged in and charged can ruin the battery, but when I look over the forums, there seems to be some mixed opinions about this.

As for the movies I watch, for the most part, they are downloaded and on my hard drive, so I use Quicktime. But I can recall using Flash in the past.

I don't mind getting a new battery, as long as I know what to do to optimize its life 🙂

Thanks again!

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Answer 9

Elysabeth Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 3, 2011 7:30 PM in response to Elysabeth

Thank you for everyone's help. When I get a new battery, which is very soon, I'll definitely keep these things in mind. I'm a fairly new Mac user, so I guess you live and you learn, right? 🙂

My model is the 13-inch 2.1 GHz Macbook with 2 GB of RAM that was released in early 2009.

Thanks again!

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