defective battery or just normal wear and tear?

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Level 1

70 points

defective battery or just normal wear and tear?

I'm kind of stuck here with this issue and wanted to see what some of you think. I have a 43 month old mid 2009 mbp that has exactly 100 cycles on its battery, and coconut battery is reporting only 72% capacity left in the battery. The energy saver control panel is reporting service battery. I took it into the apple store and they ran a hardware test on it that indicated the battery was essentially dying.

If I read apple's description for unibody mbp batteries, this battery is designed to have about 80% capacity after 1000 cycles, and not after just 100. LINK

I understand that over time (3 years for my mpb) the battery will lose some of its charge, but this battery is dying extremely quickly after only 100 cycles. Isn't this waaaay less than what it should be given the low number of cycles? I know people with 600 cycles and the same aged mbp who are at 91% capacity still.

I do run my mbp plugged in most of the time, but I also run it off battery at least 3 times a month to make sure that the battery doesn't run down fast over time. Unfortunately, that's exactly what seems to be happening. I believe the battery is defective, but I doubt apple will agree. Do you think the battery is defective given my description above? I understand not using the battery can wear it out faster, but I make a point of giving the electrons some flow a few times each month. The only way Apple will replace batteries - a consumable - is if they are defective.

Macbook Pro unibody 15'', Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Jan 8, 2013 4:07 PM

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Answer 1

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jan 8, 2013 4:22 PM in response to Jottle

Batteries are an unpredictable commodity. Out of 10,000 batteries the will be an average life span but still there will be a bell curve of a sort produced, some failing early and others later than the average.

I would say that three years is not great but it is also not bad. I have a 2006 MBP where the original battery lasted about 2 years. The current one is now at four, showing very slight signs of quicker discharge. I also have a 2010 MBP which is now showing the warning 'service battery'.

I also keep my MBPs plugged to AC most of the time. Quite frankly I never expect to attain the 'up to 1000 cycles' on any of the batteries. Four years or more on a battery will satisfy me.

Had your battery failed during the warranty period, you certainly would have been entitled to a gratis replacement. However under the circumstances your case, like your battery, is a weak one. (my apologies for the play on words, I could not resist) My response may be disappointing to you but I think it is realistic.

Ciao.

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Answer 2

Shootist007

Level 6

16,703 points

Jan 8, 2013 4:35 PM in response to Jottle

Didn't need to read farther then you first line "I have a 43 month old Mac".

Yes that is normal. All batteries last only so long whether they are used a lot or very little. In fact using it very little is as bad as using it all the time. Eventually, at some point, the battery will need to changed. You are at that point.

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