Fustbariclation

Q: "Service Battery" warning - what can be done?

My 15" Mid-2009 Macbook Pro is giving the 'Service Battery" warning. System information says:

 

"

Battery Information:

 

  Model Information:

  Serial Number:          W0934AD9777VA

  Manufacturer:          SMP

  Device Name:          bq20z451

  Pack Lot Code:          0

  PCB Lot Code:          0

  Firmware Version:          3

  Hardware Revision:          3

  Cell Revision:          100

  Charge Information:

  Charge Remaining (mAh):          4477

  Fully Charged:          Yes

  Charging:          No

  Full Charge Capacity (mAh):          4477

  Health Information:

  Cycle Count:          377

  Condition:          Service Battery

  Battery Installed:          Yes

  Amperage (mA):          -1157

  Voltage (mV):          12156

"

 

So it looks as if the battery is OK, but it is not charging properly. I obviously have to take it to be repaired - but what can they do? I understood that they can't replace the battery, so what are the options? It has only been through 377 charge cycles - that doesn't sound a lot to me - but is it? Shouldn't a laptop that's only just over 2 1/2 years old still have a perfectly good battery??

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.1), 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo - 4GB 1TB

Posted on Apr 17, 2012 12:45 PM

Close

Q: "Service Battery" warning - what can be done?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

first Previous Page 3 of 5 last Next
  • by kingmohd,

    kingmohd kingmohd Feb 1, 2013 9:08 PM in response to mdacre
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Feb 1, 2013 9:08 PM in response to mdacre

    thanks for your help , I'll take your advice into consideration

  • by Nooasis,

    Nooasis Nooasis Feb 18, 2013 3:00 PM in response to Dom_101
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 18, 2013 3:00 PM in response to Dom_101

    I bought a new battery for a MacBook at a Genius bar two weeks ago and was told it carried a 90-day warranty.

  • by mattmoreton1,

    mattmoreton1 mattmoreton1 Apr 3, 2013 11:21 AM in response to Fustbariclation
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 3, 2013 11:21 AM in response to Fustbariclation

    Hi Guys,

     

    I have the same issue as everyone on here it seems, here are my stats and it has only just started after mountain lion install?

     

    is this ok??

     

    Battery Information:

     

      Model Information:

      Manufacturer:          ML

      Device Name:          ASMB013

      Pack Lot Code:          1

      PCB Lot Code:          12

      Firmware Version:          11

      Hardware Revision:          002f

      Cell Revision:          bb18

      Charge Information:

      Charge Remaining (mAh):          3578

      Fully Charged:          Yes

      Charging:          No

      Full Charge Capacity (mAh):          3588

      Health Information:

      Cycle Count:          54

      Condition:          Service Battery

      Battery Installed:          Yes

      Amperage (mA):          -3

      Voltage (mV):          12571

     

    System Power Settings:

     

      AC Power:

      System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0

      Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0

      Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0

      Automatic Restart on Power Loss:          No

      Wake on AC Change:          No

      Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes

      Wake on LAN:          No

      Current Power Source:          Yes

      Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes

      PrioritizeNetworkReachabilityOverSleep:          0

      Battery Power:

      System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0

      Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10

      Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0

      Wake on AC Change:          No

      Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes

      Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes

      Reduce Brightness:          Yes

     

    Hardware Configuration:

     

      UPS Installed:          No

     

    AC Charger Information:

     

      Connected:          Yes

      ID:          0x0100

      Wattage (W):          85

      Revision:          0x0000

      Family:          0x00ba

      Serial Number:          0x00a0caf9

      Charging:          No

  • by shellybirch@mac,

    shellybirch@mac shellybirch@mac Apr 3, 2013 10:38 PM in response to Fustbariclation
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 3, 2013 10:38 PM in response to Fustbariclation

    I have the same problem... upgraded recently to mountain lion. Service battery message as well as the overheated buttons broke and poped off just before the message appeared. I had almost 4 hours battery life just weeks ago now I am at 1.55 hour for a full charge

     

    Battery Information:

     

      Model Information:

      Serial Number:          W0023PBU1BWZA

      Manufacturer:          SMP

      Device Name:          bq20z451

      Pack Lot Code:          0

      PCB Lot Code:          0

      Firmware Version:          201

      Hardware Revision:          000a

      Cell Revision:          158

      Charge Information:

      Charge Remaining (mAh):          3688

      Fully Charged:          Yes

      Charging:          No

      Full Charge Capacity (mAh):          3765

      Health Information:

      Cycle Count:          431

      Condition:          Service Battery

      Battery Installed:          Yes

      Amperage (mA):          -2785

      Voltage (mV):          11761

     

    System Power Settings:

     

      AC Power:

      System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10

      Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10

      Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10

      Wake on AC Change:          No

      Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes

      Wake on LAN:          Yes

      Current Power Source:          Yes

      Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes

      GPUSwitch:          2

      PrioritizeNetworkReachabilityOverSleep:          0

      RestartAfterKernelPanic:          157680000

      Battery Power:

      System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10

      Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          10

      Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          2

      Wake on AC Change:          No

      Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes

      Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes

      GPUSwitch:          2

      Reduce Brightness:          Yes

      RestartAfterKernelPanic:          157680000

     

    Hardware Configuration:

     

      UPS Installed:          No

     

    AC Charger Information:

     

      Connected:          Yes

      ID:          0x0100

      Wattage (W):          60

      Revision:          0x0000

      Family:          0x00ba

      Serial Number:          0x00551c77

      Charging:          No

  • by shellybirch@mac,

    shellybirch@mac shellybirch@mac Apr 3, 2013 10:38 PM in response to shellybirch@mac
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 3, 2013 10:38 PM in response to shellybirch@mac

    also wondering if the foreign current in Indonesia has anything to do with it?

  • by rkleine,

    rkleine rkleine May 23, 2013 9:10 PM in response to shellybirch@mac
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 23, 2013 9:10 PM in response to shellybirch@mac

    A few days ago I had the same issue with the same battery on a Macbook Air 13" (Mid 2012) with Mountain Lion.

     

    One cause of this message is because the battery can't retain the 80% of the design capacity charge.

     

    I installed coconutBattery to check the "maximum charge" battery and "design capacity charge" I noticed that I the "maximum charge" was of 75% of the "design capacity".

     

    After calibrating the battery 3 o 4 times and use the notebook as normal I notice that the message "Service Battery" was gone.  I check again on coconutBattery and I can see that I have the 81% of "design capacity" (before has 75%) so I guess that my "Service Message" was because my battery couldn't retain the 80% of the design capacity.

     

    I hope this is useful.

     

    calibrating your battery:

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490

     

    coconutBattery:

    http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/

     

    I found this link usefull

    http://www.tuaw.com/2010/10/27/applecare-adventures-how-to-get-a-faulty-macbook- battery-replac/

     

    PD1: sorry for my poor English

  • by sterbk,

    sterbk sterbk Jun 12, 2013 8:07 PM in response to Fustbariclation
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 12, 2013 8:07 PM in response to Fustbariclation

    Hi, I have a similar question. My 3 year old 13 inch Macbook recently showed the "Service Battery" sign as well...how urgent is it to take my battery in right away?  Is it just a matter of shortened battery life (I mostly use my computer plugged into a power source) or are there other complications I should consider? I would appreciate any help on this because I am a college student with a lot of important material on my computer and I use my computer frequently. I have it backed up on an external hard drive, but I would like to know how much longer this battery will last me.

     

    Thanks!

  • by mdacre,

    mdacre mdacre Jun 12, 2013 8:57 PM in response to sterbk
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 12, 2013 8:57 PM in response to sterbk

    If you have a macbook (not pro) then you can quite easily buy a new battery at Fry's (for example) for around $60. I bought one for my old macbook so that I had 2 for long flights. It isn't the original Apple battery but who cares. If your computer is Macbook Pro then no, I would not worry too much about it.. although you say you use it plugged in most of the time, I would be unplugging it while you use it to help cycle the battery. It should give you better life of what is left of it. I would say if you are getting absolutely no life (under 15 minutes) then yes, it is time to replace.

  • by ferdnyc,

    ferdnyc ferdnyc Jun 17, 2013 2:49 AM in response to mdacre
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 17, 2013 2:49 AM in response to mdacre

    As JoeyR said on the first page of this thread, with LiIon batteries you generally don't want to cycle them. Each cycle the battery goes through reduces its useful lifetime. So, it would be a bad idea to unplug your laptop as a matter of course, in normal use. (Some people need to run off battery power, of course. But if you can have your laptop plugged in when using it, then for the most part, you should.)

     

    Anyone who wants to calibrate their laptop's battery, so that the battery meter is in sync with the actual battery capacity, should do so by following the exact procedure outlined by apple in their Knowledge Base article HT1490. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490 But that's an occasional procedure, and if all the steps are carried out properly it should be effective the first time it's done. At least as I understand things, it's not something that needs to be repeated multiple times to be effective, nor does it need to be performed frequently/regularly.

  • by elfy32,

    elfy32 elfy32 Jul 25, 2013 2:24 AM in response to Fustbariclation
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 25, 2013 2:24 AM in response to Fustbariclation

    So I just checked my battery and it seems its maximum capacity is now 30% of its original capacity. 937 cycles too. Time for a replacement then huh? :) How much do Apple charge to replace them in the UK? it's a mid-2009 MacBook Pro 17".

  • by dssquare85,

    dssquare85 dssquare85 Sep 27, 2013 5:00 PM in response to Fustbariclation
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 27, 2013 5:00 PM in response to Fustbariclation

    I have an Early 2011 13" MacBook Pro and just got this message for the first time. Here is the information from my System Information and I have also attached the snapshot of Coconut Battery:

     

     

     

    Battery Information:Screen Shot 2013-09-27 at 7.57.00 PM.png

     

      Model Information:
      Serial Number:    9G05205VAD3NB
      Manufacturer:    DP
      Device Name:    bq20z451
      Pack Lot Code:    0
      PCB Lot Code:    0
      Firmware Version:    201
      Hardware Revision:    2
      Cell Revision:    164
      Charge Information:
      Charge Remaining (mAh):    825
      Fully Charged:    No
      Charging:    No
      Full Charge Capacity (mAh):    4505
      Health Information:
      Cycle Count:    273
      Condition:    Service Battery
      Battery Installed:    Yes
      Amperage (mA):    -1247
      Voltage (mV):    10912

     

    Any insight?

  • by Coolangel333,

    Coolangel333 Coolangel333 Oct 9, 2013 8:42 PM in response to dssquare85
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 9, 2013 8:42 PM in response to dssquare85

    I got the same problem and this is an alternative for fixing it. I bought a MacBook Pro 13" Mid 2012 in Colombia and after 230 cycles (approximately) the battery performance began to drop (from 95 to 85%). After the 250 cycles, the battery performance dropped under 77% and the warning of "Service battery" appeared. I was very frustrated and I was about to take my Macbook to the technical service. The battery charge decreased from 7-8 hours to 5-6 hours before a complete year of use (!!). So, I tried different ways to increase the battery performance. These tips seemed to be useful:

    - Emptying the battery charge completely.

    - Charging the battery with the macbook turned off.

    - If you aren't going to use the macbook for more than one hour, don't simply close the laptop. It's better to shutdown it. I realized that the battery performance dropped 2-3% after a prolonged hibernation.

    - Don't interrupt the charge process. I prefer to do it overnight for avoiding incomplete charging cycles. After completing the charge, let the laptop connected two or more hours.

    A week ago, my battery only charged up to the 75% of the maximum design capacity. Now, it's over 87% and I still expect to recover a little more of charge.

    I hope that this information can be useful.

  • by fred121,

    fred121 fred121 Feb 28, 2014 9:05 AM in response to Fustbariclation
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 28, 2014 9:05 AM in response to Fustbariclation

    This will help

     

    if you fully charge your battery and then let it run down every time it saves battery life i use coconut battery and had 65 % life left.  i charged and fully uncharged with useage to 1 % battery life left then fully charged etc a few times and i now have 75% battery life using coconut battery.

     

    this is a cause and effect as if you leave the battery on charge too long or always leave plugged in like a desktop this problem will occur quicker regardless of charge cycles.

     

    DO NOT ALWAYS LEAVE YOUR LAPTOP ON CHARGE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (plugged in)

     

    ITS NOT A DESKTOP COMPUTER!!!!!!!

  • by ferdnyc,

    ferdnyc ferdnyc Feb 28, 2014 4:42 PM in response to fred121
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 28, 2014 4:42 PM in response to fred121

    fred121 wrote:

     

    if you fully charge your battery and then let it run down every time it saves battery life

    (Emphasis mine.)

     

    Well, that's incredibly poor advice. What you're advocating is to put the battery through a full charge cycle between each recharge, which will in no way "save battery life", in fact it's incredibly taxing on the battery.

     

    It's true that occasionally doing this can help preserve a lithium-ion battery's capacity (and, thus, the device's on-battery runtime) by "resetting" the charge circuitry's idea of "full" and "empty"; the Battery Health app calls this "calibrating" the battery and recommends doing it once every 1-3 months for best results, but certainly not "every time"!

     

    The best advice for anyone who wants to keep their battery in good shape, though, is to read and understand the information provided on Apple's pages about Lithium-ion Batteries, and Notebook Batteries specifically, rather than some random, shouty all-caps internet forum post. The latter page does offer the following advice:

    Standard Maintenance

    For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her notebook on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing.

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Feb 28, 2014 5:31 PM in response to ferdnyc
    Level 9 (61,170 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 28, 2014 5:31 PM in response to ferdnyc

    ferdnyc-

     

    I concur with your basic premises. BUT I would back away from Deep Discharge, whenever possible:

    It's true that occasionally doing this can help preserve a lithium-ion battery's capacity (and, thus, the device's on-battery runtime) by "resetting" the charge circuitry's idea of "full" and "empty"

    That is not necessary and is also destructive to currently-shipping Lithium batteries. The article you cited says that batteries that are not removeable "do not need to be calibrated".

     

    There is nothing more destructive to Lithium batterys than deep discharge. But keeping them completely charged for months on end will also shorten their lives somewhat.

first Previous Page 3 of 5 last Next