Mavericks update. Is there a fix for the battery issue yet?
I made the mistake and updated to Mavericks. Is there a fix for the battery issue yet?
MacBook, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)
What battery issue?
19 replies
After updating to mavericks , I got a service battery warning and my battery is only lasting 4hr.
Did you take the computer in for a diagnosis or for service? Perhaps your battery is bad. Perhaps you installation of Mavericks is bad. Try the following:
Fixing a Mavericks Installation Problem
How to manage a failed OS X Mavericks installation | MacFixIt - CNET Reviews.
Try these in order:
1. a. Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
b. Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
2. Restart the computer in Safe Mode, then restart again, normally. If this doesn't help, then:
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the
COMMAND and R keys until the Utilities menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and
after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears.
Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
3. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
4. Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks: Reboot from the Recovery HD. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks from the Utilities menu, and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
If nothing changes then you probably have a battery problem.
Or it could be an issue with Mavericks...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5478677?start=0&tstart=0
My wife and I both have MacBook Airs and both of them developed this issue after upgrading.
I have exactly the same issue. I already have a new SSD in my MacBook Air after the old one borked just outside warrantee, thankfully Apple replaced it FOC.
When I got it back I was on Lion, then upgraded to Mavericks and got the dreaded service battery error. I only have 297 cycles and according to Apple's website:
"The built-in battery of your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air is designed to deliver up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles before it reaches 80 percent of its original capacity".
Clearly this is not the case with Mavericks!
Stop trolling, please. You aren't helping.
This doesn't help at all.
....excuse me? I thought this was a support 'community' not the Salem Witch Trials.
I've tried everything you've listed in this thread. Gone through all the technical support docs. Done a fresh install of Mavericks, repaired disk permissions, reset the NVRAM and SMC. I still have a problem with my battery that Apple doesn't seem to have addressed yet.
I'm a happy Apple fan boy and have always been impressed with their service, yet I've had more trouble with my MBA than any other product.
By posting in forums like this I'm hoping Apple might take notice of one of their customers, who's experiencing problems and tried ALL the solutions, and perhaps investigate an issue that a lot of people are having.
What I wasn't expecting was a response as blunt and unhelpful as yours.
Look above where you will find the help I posted. All you have done is post a complaint. Do your own topic, don't threadjack another's as it's impolite just like you are.
Can't believe I got booted from here for reporting a problem??
Anyway, here's some more info I found from someone who's fixed their problem. I'm going to try this and see if it helps.
My Mac Book Air 2012 , after the Maveric update, started showing service battery.
I ignored it, assuming it to be a software fault. But after 2 months, I realized that the battery life was also draining. So i checked online, but could not find much related to the issue back then. I found a post where they suggested me to do a battery calibration by Completely Discharging it and then charging it back to 100%. The warning went away for a while. Another month went by and I realized my Battery full capacity had dropped down to 71% after 260 charge cycles. And also noted that it was going lower after every charge cycle. ( Used coconutBattery for this).Apple service center were of no help as usual. Told me to pay Rs 11,000 (200$) for a new Battery. I refused, thinking to buy it when my capacity drops down to somewhere around 20% in the future.
Until then I decided to try everything else.
So I started with the Battery Calibration again. But this time did the following :
1) Charged the Laptop to Full 100% and then waited another 2 hours while plugged in.
2) Removed the Charger and worked on it till the battery dropped to 0% and went to sleep.
3) Waited for another 6 hours without the charger.
4) With the Lid closed (Laptop still in sleep), plugged in the charger and waited for it to full charge (Until the LED went Green).
5) Waited another 2 hours with the charger plugged in, without using the notebook.
Once all that was done, I opened the notebook. And the service Battery is gone.
The Battery capacity is stable again. 5-6 hours battery backup with safari and 35% brightness. (Decent for an 18 month old Laptop)
The Full charge capacity is now stable at around 78-82 %. Maybe if I had done this sooner the full capacity might have been higher. But I guess the damage was already done.
To keep the battery alive for as long as possible, I dont keep the charger plugged in beyond 100% for too long. Neither do I let the Battery go below 25%.
Its been 2 days, no Service battery till now. Everything is stable.
No battery life issues here. In fact better battery life under Mavericks, so it is not a universal problem.
And you won't catch Apples attention here. Use the proper feedback channels.
Pete
My experience with the service battery message:
I had the same problem after installing Mavericks on my 2011 MBA. Service Battery Message - Cycle Count 149, significant decrease in battery life down to 2.0 hours max.
Took to Apple Store - Because that is what the remedy for "Service Battery" per Apple. I was then lectured by a Lead Genius on what apple care covers and what it doesn't regarding battery issues. Was told that the battery was "close to failing but it appeared to be normal "battery wear and tear" - Left the store with "service battery" message still on.
Felt that something wasn't right - Called Apple Support - after 15 minutes and some diagnostic tests, Apple support told me that something was definitely wrong and set me back to the apple store.
More testing - got another Genius, said the battery was testing good and that they felt that we were dealing with a software issue - BUT - they were going to replace the battery to "rule it out".
Battery replaced under apple care, service battery message has gone away. Battery life seems to be back to normal. It's only been two weeks.
I still don't know if I have a software issue or if it was indeed a battery issue.
Did not work. So I took my macbook in to apple store. They did a fresh install of mavericks . Still getting battery warning.
Sounds like a faulty battery then.
Pete
Why isn't Apple fixing this issue? Mavericks update reduces the battery life and even claims battery needs to be serviced even though it is a newer battery. This same issue is causing power-on and restart issues to where we have to reset the SMC and PRAM/NVRAM to try to get our computers to come on. Apple needs to fix this issue, no matter what they say, it is a BIG issue and getting BIGGER with every mavericks install. My computer wont even power-on unless I fiddle with it for about an hour each time, trying to reset the SMC and PRAM/NVRAM, and hit the power button, nothing happens, then hold it down to power it off and then try again. This is uncalled for and I and many thousands of other people want this issue fixed NOW! We have been telling you about the issues since october of 2013 and you haven't fixed it. You are going to find that many people will leave your company and quit buying these macs, because they suck and the support for the issues that were caused by the MAC OS isn't even supported.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5478677?start=0&tstart=0
Mavericks update. Is there a fix for the battery issue yet?