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3 Hours Remaining, Yet Fully Charged

Hi,


I bought my Macbook in the summer, so it's fairly new. I've been very happy with my battery until the past few days. I noticed my Macbook heating up and the battery draining. I let it drain and left it dead for five hours then charged it. Here I am the next day, and it began at 99% and said there was 3 hours and some minutes of lfe in it. It's down to 89% under thirty minutes later, while I'm writing this, and now says it has 2:58.


I'm on 10.7.5, by the way. Again, fairly new.


Any info anyone can give me? Since it is under 5 months, it's got to be covered, no? Not fair. I spent 1200 bucks thinking this wouldn't give me issues mere months later....


😟


Thanks for reading.

Mac Pro

Posted on Jan 16, 2013 8:30 AM

Reply
17 replies

Jan 20, 2013 11:09 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

Hey guys...


So three days later, I've done an SMC reset twice. It seems to work for about a day. I noticed my battery count being really inconsistent, and ignored it, not willing to accept that there's still an issue.


Last night, at fifty percent, it read that I had a mere hour and a half left. After the SMC reset, I mean immediately after, it was fine. Full charged, it read eight hours.


I'm starting to think there is some kind of glitch going on with the battery display.


I haven't noticed any overheating. Is it time to take it to my local apple store? What can I expect? It's only five months old so I'm really not willing to pay to get a 1200 laptop fixed...


Any guidance is greatly appreciated!


Thanks.

Jan 20, 2013 11:29 AM in response to sami81

Battery life is a function of what applications that you have open and the stress they place on the CPU/GPU. In addition, the more stress on the CPU/GPU, the more heat is generated.


In the real world, if you get 60% - 70% of the Apple advertised figure, you are experiencing realistic battery life. If you use Skype or play games, battery life will decrease dramatically. The time left data reflects the load being placed on the electrical system at that given moment and can vary dramatically. I have little faith in it and monitor the percentile number.


Here are a couple of support articles that you may find helpful:


http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1446


It certainly would not hurt to make an appointment at an Apple genius bar and have your MBP checked.


Ciao.

Jan 20, 2013 11:32 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

Thanks.


The thing is, I barely use my MacBook to a large extent. I actually quit all apps before putting it to sleep. And also, I only use chrome, itunes, and Scrivener. AVG is always running. I don't play games at all. Which is why I'm surprised this is happening.


When it reads an hour and a half off 50%, does that indicate there is an issue?


Thanks for your reply. You're very helpful. =]

Jan 20, 2013 11:50 AM in response to sami81

With 50% battery level I would expect more time than 90 minutes in ordinary usage. However you have provided more information that may be germane to your situation. I am not familiar with Scrivener and it may or may not nbe a CPU glutton. What is AVG?


Post an image of Activity Monitor showing 'All Processes' and % CPU set from high to low values.


User uploaded file

Ciao.

Jan 20, 2013 1:34 PM in response to sami81

Things look normal now. The red in the CPU graphs show that the CPU was being stressed and that causes heat and lessens battery life. In your case the displayed percentiles may have been comparatively low but the graph told the tale. So do not be deceived by percentiles in the example that I posted.


Are you running Windows on your MBP? If so, that may explain some of your low battery life.


I suggest that you get rid of AVG. You do not need it.


Try another browser. Chrome seems to be a CPU glutton compared to other browsers. I generally use Firefox.


I also operate my MBP on AC power whenever there is an outlet available. Monthly, if I have not used it with the battery, I will run the battery to the 40% level to keep the battery active. My goal is to prolong the period of time before replacement is necessary. If you can do that, good. If not, well then that is what the battery is for.


Ciao.

3 Hours Remaining, Yet Fully Charged

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