HELP: Battery issue. 1000+ Cycles. SMC 1.6 update performed but still didn't fix it!!!

You can get the full battery information by going to the apple menu, About This Mac, More Info, System Report, Hardware, Power...there you will find the Battery Condition (said it instructs replacement), Charge Cycles (you said 1050), charge remaining, capacity, voltage. See what it says for capacity and voltage.

But it sounds like the battery has died and needs to be replaced. You would be better off taking the MBP to an Apple genius bar and have the techs test the battery to be sure it is dead and get info on a new battery.

If your battery has 1050 cycles, it is just plain worn out. No software fix will change that fact. You need a new battery.

walhan_qtr wrote:

ok. the reason I didn't think it was the battery was because it holds charge just normal. actually it performed great knowing the age of my Mac. I would think the battery health would drop down gradually instead of going from 80% to Zero in one day!

Not usually the case with Lithium cells actually. They tend to decay gradually at first, but as they age, the rate of decay seems to increase. And then, they can very quickly go completely over the edge from being still somewhat useful, to utterly useless.

So, with that many cycles, it's sort of chasing a ghost to try and find a software fix - the battery has just really given up that ghost.

I seem to have a similar issue, but the battery says it has 49 cycles, not over 1000… And the recent SMC update to 1.7 did not seem to fix it. What can this be? I have a MacBook Pro Early 2011.

Take a look at the battery condition per the path noted above.

Take it to an Apple store genius bar to have it tested and see if the battery.circuit is ok...if not you will have to get it replaced.

The projected cycle lifetime of 1,000 charge cycles is a statistical average...some batteries will fail sooner, some later. If yours has failed after only 49 cycles it may have been a really bad production item, or really abused such as kept a extremely low temp or high temp. High temperatures are really, really bad for Lithium-technology batteries.

ThePablick wrote:

I seem to have a similar issue, but the battery says it has 49 cycles, not over 1000… And the recent SMC update to 1.7 did not seem to fix it. What can this be? I have a MacBook Pro Early 2011.

How has the battery been used? Has it been exposed to extreme heat or cold? Has it been left idle for long periods of time (months or more)? Do you frequently drain it all the way down to the point the machine auto shuts off? Have you ever left it drained and sitting idle for long periods?

Ordinarily, with proper use and care, it should still be fine at only 49 cycles. But cycle counts alone are not enough to say a battery should be fine. Frequent deep discharges wear out a battery faster than shallow cycles. Long periods of non-use also age a battery rapidly. Leaving a very low battery idle for weeks or longer, so it drains completely, is almost always a death sentence for a Lithium battery, as is extreme heat (leaving it baking in a car on a hot sunny day, for example).

If you take it into an Apple store, they can test its capacity for you. If you have AppleCare extended warranty, and if they decide it has failed prematurely they may offer you replacement, alothough usually after a couple of years age and use, they will say no.

It’s been used since mid 2011 (since bought), no exposure to extreme heat nor cold. I use it almost everyday, so it was never idle for more than 24 hours. But it usually ran from adapter. I’ll take it to the dealer that sold it to me, as there are no Apple Genius Bars in my country. Unfortunately.

Hopefully the dealer will have a qualified tech to test the battery. 49 cycles is a really early failure, and if there has been good care taken as already discussed, it should not fail unless the battery had manufacturing faults...and that does happen, though not often.

Good luck having it tested.