Lion - Horrible MacBook Pro Battery Life

shiriajin wrote:

Lion is expected to launch on the Mac App Store this week.

I followed you up until this part...

I don't know if it was 8 or 10, but it's 2 or 4 now. I use it for work, so I do the same stuff on it all the time. This is a bug whatever it is, and it's actually burning power somewhere and "top -o cpu" isn't any help.

It's an unattributed cut and paste from MacRumors.com

You are right John. I should have mentioned where this piece was taken from but the problem was I forgot the website because I saved long time ago on a word document (I didn't save the link, just the contents of the page). I simply copied and pasted from that word document.

However, it worked for me and now I have two DVDs and one USB of my Lion.

Something weird just happened. I was reading a webpage. The estimated time on the battery was 1:35. I left the computer for less that 15 seconds, the estimated time on the battery jumped up to 2:55. Is that possible?

That SHOULDN't happen but you are not alone!

but i downloaded Lion from Ap Store. I have no idea where it stored te file. How do i choose the location where i want to store the file when i download from Ao store. Also i'm not worried about downloading lion again, only concern is i shouldn't be paying for it again, considering what crap they have sold me the first time.

I'm going back to SL, see you soon lion...

You downloaded Lion from the app store, this means that it is an application. It was in the application folder when I downloaded it. When it started the automatic installation, I didn't click anything until I copied the file to the desktop. I made a lot of changes on my MacBook (downgraded to SL then upgraded again to Lion just to make sure that Lion is a huge mistake that has some cool features) so it is not there anymore and I am not sure whether the installation file stays in the application folder. Check it.

shiriajin wrote:

Something weird just happened. I was reading a webpage. The estimated time on the battery was 1:35. I left the computer for less that 15 seconds, the estimated time on the battery jumped up to 2:55. Is that possible?

Yes.

What you have to remember is the time remaining for your battery is only an estimate, based on your current energy usage.

So for example, if you run something very CPU-intensive, you'll see your battery time remaining drop to a verly low level, but if that process completes, you'll see your battery life remaining timer go up.

Because of the way batteries work, the timer will also get more accurate as you get nearer to 0.

Forget about all these fixes. Snow Leopard always ran on the discrete graphics card (menu item started at login) and loads of processes (same ones) and applications open and still lasted at least 5 to 6 hours. Now with Lion all I get (with the same medium heavy use) is slightly over 2 hours (without discrete, etc.). What use is it, if you are not meant to run anything on battery power?

I agree that Lion has some very nice features, but at the moment it looks like it's made for Desktops (although MacBooks are the main seller).

MacBook Pro (early 2011), Lion 10.7

What is Mr. Jobs thinking about? People who use MacBooks are more than those who use iMacs. Besides, the main reason that people buy MacBooks is the battery life and then the reliable operating system (I mean SL). Lion kind of destroyed both features. MacBooks are now worthless.

This morning, I decided to monitor my battery (disregarding the estimate reading on the battery capacity). It lasted exactly 3:50 minutes (which means that I lost 50% of the battery life).

I still believe that the operating system is reading the battery wrong.

Finally gave up on Lion and reverted to Snow Leopard. I'm in an office full of Mac users and I was the guinea pig. I helped a bunch of guys avert the issues and problems I faced. Too bad. This is my first Apple computer in over 10 years and I thought Apple was something better than Microsoft, but now I see they are just the same, just packaged differently.

I don't blame you for feeling this way. I'm a lifelong Apple user from the 80's. Lion is disastrous as far as I'm concerned. Broken software; instability; odd functionality; dumbed down interfaces; hidden files; and of course, it's bloody hard on the hardware.

I'd go back to Snow Leopard in a nanosecond, but I can't find a way to put it on this new laptop. Lion is a sickly kitten, and it needs to go back to the vet.

i think you're right i test without any program running and wifi off (closed lid):

and with wifi on and safari running (closed lid):

maybe i can conclude for now that i don't have problem with the battery in lion

though with time & more testing we'll see

thanks LexSchellings!

Same problem here.

2011 MBP 17" 2.2Ghz i7 8GB.

SL gave a reliable 5-6 hours off a full charge, sometimes more.

After Lion upgrade I was getting 3 max.

Did an SMC reset and on the first charge got back to 5 hours actual usage time.

Recharged (no shutdown), disconnected the charger, showed 7+ hours. Used the machine for a couple of minutes and the projection fell back to around 3.5 hours.

Now, after a full charge, I see a max of around 4 and frequently closer to 3 hours.

I am charging now and when complete I will see what the projection is. I will then try another SMC reset and see what happens.

For those concerned about Apple's unreponsiveness on this (an aside: my colleague was told by Apple Care that 3 hours battery life with Lion on a 2011 MBP was normal becuase of the fast processor -- when he responded that he got 6 hours with SL on the same machine, the tech had no response), I will opine the following:

Everyone I know with an MBP running Lion has this issue.

There has to be hundreds if not thousands of Apple employees, inlcuding many senior ones, running Lion on new MBP's and they have to be seeing the same issue, so there is no way that Apple can be unaware of this.

As usuaul they won't acknowledge it as they don't want the sensationalist headlines, but I bet they are working on a fix. We just need to have patience, frustrating though it is...