Macbook pro (Early 2011) battery.

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Level 1

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Macbook pro (Early 2011) battery.

I just got my 15 inch quad core macbook pro in the mail. I quickly calibrated the battery and fully charged it. It is advertised to get 7 hours when browsing the internet and it simply doesnt. When i am not touching my computer the battery says 8 hours, and i'm like ok thats awesome. So as soon as i load up any wed site, even a non flash no video website, the battery quickly drops to 4 to 3, and sometimes even two hours. I was wondering if this is normal because it sure doesn't sound normal. Thanks.

Macbook Pro Early 2011, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Mar 8, 2011 8:24 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 8, 2011 10:34 AM in response to zaccaz

I picked up one last friday and have been playing with it over the weekend after calibrating the battery. So far I've had no battery issues with it. The estimated time will jump all over the place depending on what you're doing. You should keep track of how long the laptop actually runs.

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Answer 2

zaccaz Author

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Mar 8, 2011 10:45 AM in response to Ernest Leitch

Thanks. I will continue to mess with it and survey the battery life. Also I did call applecare and they very quickly said that I should send it in for a replacement. Just thought that was strange.

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Answer 3

scottz74

Level 1

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Mar 8, 2011 11:08 AM in response to zaccaz

I have noticed some sites run background scripts that will result in additional battery usage. Try opening/closing websites 1by1 until you figure out which sites cause the problem.

I notice gmail+chat does a good job cutting my battery time to about 2.5hrs. I simply close it when on battery and I enjoy 3-5hrs of battery run time.

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Answer 4

MacRS4

Level 2

330 points

Mar 8, 2011 3:40 PM in response to scottz74

Some apps push you into the discrete graphics - they use more power and therefore reduce battery life. Check this app out - it enables you to choose which to use: http://codykrieger.com/gfxCardStatus

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Answer 5

zaccaz Author

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Mar 9, 2011 10:07 AM in response to MacRS4

Wow thank you so much. I installed the program and my battery life went up to 7:30 hours. Amazing. Problem solved.

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Answer 6

anp27

Level 1

10 points

Jun 27, 2011 6:22 AM in response to zaccaz

gfx Card Status is truly a remarkable app. I get incredible battery life (around 9-10 hours!) on my 2.3ghz Quad i7 15 MBP, especially if I dim the monitor. However, the battery life also depends on which sites you go to, as a previous poster mentioned. What's great about gfx Card Status is that this app also helps tame the heat on my machine.

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Answer 7

Aug 13, 2011 8:14 PM in response to Ernest Leitch

How can we calibrate the battery?

Thanks

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Answer 8

CKL2

Level 1

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Jan 6, 2012 2:52 PM in response to MacRS4

Can I use this app for a MBP 13"? I'm having similar battery issues. Just surfing the net and having a brower open on facebook most of the time, I get about 3-4 hrs max. However I realised that putting my laptop on sleep still drains the battery like nothing else. I can have it fully charged, and have it on sleep for most of the day then I only have 20% left.

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