"Service Battery" warning - what can be done?

Thanks, Grant. I have less experience with non-removable batteries and must've missed that admonition.

Actually, while I don't doubt that your information is correct, where did you see that noted in the article I cited? I checked again and can't seem to find any such disclaimer/note in the appstorm article about the Battery Health app.

Apple is careful to never use the word "calibrate" (in any form) on either of their two pages I linked to, as I know the official stance is that they don't recommend the practice. The closest they come to addressing the issue is a note on the first battery page:

If on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month.

They even provide a link to an iCal reminder for the task. Unhelpfully, though, they're circumspect about saying just how far the battery should be discharged.

Sorry. That warning is not present in the article I thought it was in. It is here:

Portables with built-in batteries

Current Apple portable computer batteries are pre-calibrated and do not require the calibration procedure outlined in this article. These computers use batteries that shouldbe replaced only by an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

from:

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

and here:

If your portable Mac has a built-in battery, you don’t need to calibrate the battery.

from:

OS X Mountain Lion: Calibrate the battery in a portable computer

.

My laptop has the same problem

Battery Information:

Model Information:

Serial Number: D8624450LFKDKRNA1

Manufacturer: SMP

Device Name: bq20z451

Pack Lot Code: 0

PCB Lot Code: 0

Firmware Version: 406

Hardware Revision: 000a

Cell Revision: 162

Charge Information:

Charge Remaining (mAh): 960

Fully Charged: No

Charging: No

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 5077

Health Information:

Cycle Count: 323

Condition: Service Battery

Battery Installed: Yes

Amperage (mA): -1378

Voltage (mV): 7344

please help i need to get this fixed within 5 days!!!!!

An appointment at the genius bar for an avaluation is free, in warraty or out.

If needed, most locations have batteries in stock and can replace them on the spot for the cost of the battery alone.

Hi!

I own Macbook Air mid 2012. I was very satisfied with computer and battery at first, but after updating to Mac OS Maverick, I got a Service Battery sign.

At first there was nothing different. But now i see the difference. Computer dies after 2 hours, not even that. After hour and a half dies. And doesn't matter if it says it has 50 %, 40 % or 25 % in battery status.

This is not acceptable that after two years of using a computer battery dies. Air has 470 cycles. Aren't this batteries made for 1000 cycles? CoconutBattery says it only has 35 % of design capacity. This is just not acceptable that that bad batteries are put in the computers with price tag of 1100 €.

Any suggestions what to do. Changing the battery would cost me around 200 € in my country..

mine states 5.2 hours remaining on 99% charge. The battery lasts 6 hours instead of ten now. However, the warnings started after latest osx update. I believe that it is OSX that is eating more battery, more probable than the battery being in need of service. the service battery warning is visible.

Basically, two frends i have with macbooks both had their macbook die on them because of battery swelling.

Apple is just ignoring this issue and using ulterior methods to fix the worst cases without giving away the truth of the fact that actuallly many macbooks are a health hazard because of faulty battery.

iPhone 5 too.

Its probably a serious legal issue and would damage their sales quota terribly, if the word got out that the batteries are faulty and dangerous to the health.

Bit the truth is there is a problem with the os which gives fals alarms off about the battery, and also, perhaps that Apple want us to change the batteries, but not because they need servicing, rather, because they are a danger to Apple's reputation and they want to clean the mess up without anybody getting wind of it.

IM 99% certain of that. This topic is severely moderated and blocked sometimes on Apple forums because of this. Hence, i dont know how long this post will remain here.

<Edited By Host>

You can install the ISTAT NANO widget in your widget "page" (or whatever), hover over the widget and click on Battery. This will tell you the Health in a percentage and mAh, as well as the cycles. Hope this helps.

I found out better way. Just restart press the D button and option and do a hardware check

I did so, the Macbook is fine, no hardware issues found.

It is the OSX that is faulty

Glad i didnt download Yosemite yet as that is apparrently even more buggy and a massive resource hog

I downloaded the developer preview version before its release and immediately decided not to upgrade to Yosemite.

Anyway thanks Kfenton ill check out that app even though i dont need it for this issue anymore

i had the same problem saying that "service battery" and now its gone. what i did is i didnt use my laptop for one whole day and i always put wet cloth under it so it will not overheat. try also the coconutbattery so you will know what temperature of your battery is. it helps a lot.

I think in asia the a/c runs the other way round but should not affect this.

Lithium Polymer batteries should not be stored on full power they shoudl be stored with 20% if shelved.However Litium Ion batteries apparently are different in that keeping them fully charged (as in using your mac always plugged in) doesn't harm them.

My Macbook Pro mid 2009 5.3 battery was doing fine up to now. One month ago it was it 136 cycles at 79% capacity 5144 mAh while today I was using it and it was at 17% then suddenly it's dropped to 3% and the Service battery warning appeared. I checked it's capacity again and it says 68% 4449 mAh 143 cycles.

Looks still good but why so sudden drop from 17% to 3% ?

http://ccbonline.coconut-flavour.com/index.php?bid=7a9cb10398f18e81245cd20b275bd 260

the same thing has happened to me.. when i first got my computer in 2013. i was so happy for it.. months later i made the mistake of upgrading to mavericks.. my battery life went from 6-8 hours to 3 hrs at 100% . it also made my computer crashed.. i had to get a brand new hard drive. yet mavericks and this stupid "kernel" task makes my 8gb ram run like 2gb.. which may have something to do with draining by battery, on a laptop i barely use. my ipad has more power than this thing... so off to apple again and use whats left of apple care such an inconvenience for a $1400 computer .. ugh.. if possible.. im going back to mountain lion because i don't trust yosemite to be better.

Actually, it is 1000, not 300.

The original poster wrote that he had a "Mid-2009 Macbook Pro." Apple started upgrading to 1,000 cycle batteries starting in 2009. All MacBook Pro's released that year were rated for 1,000 cycles, as shown on this Apple web page: Determining battery cycle count for Mac notebooks - Apple Support

They also switched the MacBook series over to the 1,000 cycle batteries starting with the MacBook (13-inch, Late 2009).

There was only a single MacBook Air release that year — the MacBook Air (Mid 2009), rated for 500 cycles.

I have some similar issues with the battery capacity, maybe have a look at my post Macbook Air Battery Capacity Issues. Thanks.