I'll be leaving my MacBook Air at home for two years while I'm away. I don't believe my family will be using it, so I am wondering what steps I should take to make sure that the battery is still alive when I get back. Should my family charge it every once in a while, or is it alright to just be left in a closet for a couple years without being touched?
MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), Mid 2011
If you are going to be away for that length of time, operate the MBA until the battery charge remaining is close as possible to 50%:
Long-Term Storage
If you don’t plan on using your notebook for more than six months, Apple recommends that you store the battery with a 50% charge. If you store a battery when it’s fully discharged, it could fall into a deep discharge state, which renders it incapable of holding any charge. Conversely, if you store it fully charged for an extended period of time, the battery may experience some loss of battery capacity, meaning it will have a shorter life. Be sure to store your notebook and battery at the proper temperature. (See “Notebook Temperate Zone.”)
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html
It would be better to use it periodically, but if you cannot rely upon someone using it routinely then follow the above.
Thanks John!
Maintaining battery while away for two years
