Battery health is 78%, 479 cycles, 3 year old Macbook Pro 13" 2010. Time to purchase new battery?

Usually when the battery goes below 80% health, it is considered time for replacement. However consider recharging at about the 40 % level and use the power adapter when ever possible. Also post the equivalent from your MBP from System Profiler of this display from mine:

Ciao.

why not just use your macbook as it is until the service battery messages shows up.

i have 2010 Macbook Pro with 913 cycle count - 84% Battery Health and I still get almost 5 hours of normal use.

See image below.

wesdog13 wrote:

I have the service battery message. It comes on for a few days and then goes away again.

wow...i have a late 08 Macbook Uni with almost 1400 charge cycle count and have never seen such message. Still get 3 hours of use on that one.

try doing a SMC RESET - might not help - but you never know.

The so-called 80% thing was from Apple when they said that normally a battery should retain at least 80% of its charge by the time it reached 300 cycles. At the time the batteries had an expected life of 500 cycles. However, some of the newer notebooks from 2009 or so and later had batteries that could last up to 1000 cycles. I don't think Apple ever released an associated 80% number.

I believe the best indication one now has is what you displayed from System Profiler, namely, the Cycle Count and the Condition.

The Condition percentage is the Charge Remaining / Full Charge Capacity.

Kappy, greetings; The way I have it worded, I was not pronouncing the death sentence on the battery. That is why I requested the System Profiler image. I suspect there probably is more life left in the OPs battery. I also suspect he may be using it more under battery power than necessary, but then he may be in an environment where he is forced to. Lets see what the response is.

Ciao.

Most students don't have any money but start saving money for a new battery. I think you can struggle on for a while longer but there will be a day when it will say 'Replace Now'. Then there will be no option but to replace it.

Do not purchase a replacement on e-bay. Too many problems for sale there. I have seen on Amazon MBP OEM replacement batteries for sale (gray market?) at more favorable prices than Apple. purchasing from Apple, will give you a battery with a warranty which should not be dismissed casually.

Ciao.

It says service battery which usually means to charge it. But if it doesn't take a charge well, then you will need to replace it. When the battery is no longer servicable it will show the condition as "replace battery."

I noticed that when the battery heath is under 80% it shows "service battery". if its >80% it says "normal".

Now i have Current max: 4827 Original max:6500mAh Cycles:498 Age:3.8 years. Health 74.3%

I never got "replace soon" or "replace now" messages. just normal and service battery.

wesdog13 wrote:

I am a student so my computer rarely hits the charger unless its almost dead. Also I do a ton of video editing on AC power and leave it plugged in during long renders and editing sessions...Could it also be the fact that I almost never shut it down? I use it so much that I just leave it in sleep mode instead of powering off.

"...rarely hits the charger"...That's OK unless it means the battery is completely emptied almost every day. That would be hard on the battery and increases cycle count at a faster rate. Lithium-ion batteries last longer with shallow discharges, but if life as a student does not allow that, don't worry about it; the battery is there to be used.

"...leave it plugged in during long renders and editing sessions..." Leaving it plugged in is not a problem for battery health, but you must keep the battery cool when it is at or near full charge. It may become hot if the CPU/GPU is working hard.

"Could it also be the fact that I almost never shut it down?" This will not affect battery health. Remember, OS X is based on Unix, which was designed for servers which are intended to run 24/7 (never shut down). I have not shut down my MacBook Pro in over a month and it has 97% battery health after well over a year.

Overall, the worst things for Li-ion battery life are frequent deep discharges and being exposed to high temperatures.

Oh, and one more thing. If you are still getting what you feel is reasonable battery life, forget about the warnings and save your money. Replace the battery when it can no longer last as long as you need it to during a school day.

Purchase a battery only when you absolutely have to. Unless you are on the move when you are using your MBP, I'd suggest simply plugging in into the mains during usage.

Sounds like the battery appears to still have some life left. It's only down to 78% after 479 cycles. What is the battery health as shown in System Profiler under the Power section?

I was just adding on. I agree with you except for the remark, "Usually when the battery goes below 80% health, it is considered time for replacement."

Kappy, greetings: I don't know if the 80% figure is fact or not, but I did use the word 'usually'. Though not 100% successful, I do try at proper word selection for a given situation. 🙂

Ciao.