Should I unplug my laptop as soon as it is charged

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Level 1

8 points

Should I unplug my laptop as soon as it is charged

I have heard it can damage the laptop to leave it attached to the power cord after it is fully charged. I turned it off last night fully charged, and unplugged it, only to find it almost out of power this morning. Which really raises two questions - why did it use up its battery if it was off, and should I leave it plugged in over night? I also see in Preferences that the scheduled start up will not work unless the laoptop is plugged in, which seems to contradict the idea that leaving it plugged in after it is fully charged is bad. Thoughts? Comments?

Posted on Dec 13, 2013 5:36 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 13, 2013 5:39 AM in response to NaomiLMartin

Nope, that is simply not true. You cannot overcharge it and charging simply stops once the battery is at capacity. All lithium batteries behave that way if they conform to industry standard smart battery system specifications.

You can unplug it and plug it in at your convenience, as often as you wish to or need to.

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Answer 2

Dec 13, 2013 5:45 AM in response to Michael Black

P.s many users simply leave it plugged in all the time, until they actually need to take it away and use the battery. You really do not need to worry about it.

However, it should not have used much power when off. When turned off, the battery will drain very slowly as it still has to power the basic system clock (modern laptops do not use separate button cell clock batteries, they just use the main battery). So if it drained to nearly discharged when off, something is not right.

That sort of behavour can happen with an old battery that has exhausted its normal operating life span, or it may indicate a bad battery. If this is a new machine, you may want to take it in to Apple and have the battery checked as it is a warranty item if defective. If it is an old machine, and the battery is 3+ years old or with a great many cycles on it, it may just be time for a new battery.

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Answer 3

sanjampet

Level 5

7,988 points

Dec 13, 2013 5:50 AM in response to NaomiLMartin

It is ok to leave your MBP plugged in, you want to run the battery down to about 20% once a month, then let it fully recharge.

As for the dead battery issue, click on the Apple logo in the menu bar holding the OPTION key, select System info and from the left column select Power and check the battery health condition, anything but normal coud be an issue, also check the number of cycles (if you have a high number of cycles maybe the battery will not charge or hold a charge and need to be replaced) and if it is charging when it is plugged in.

Try a different charger if that is possible (same type/model for your machine)

You can also try a smc reset:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

Follow directions for a battery you should not remove yourself.

If no joy, bring it into an Apple Genius bar for evaluation, bring your charger as well. The diagnosis is free.

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