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How to prolong battery when Macbook Pro gets heavy use?

Hi guys,


I've got myself really confused on how I should best treat my rMBP's battery for maximum battery life. My 13" mid-2014 Macbook Pro is roughly 5 months old and has 127 cycle counts on its battery already. This is my only computer and I basically use it like a desktop, it gets heavy use daily. On the system report these are the stats at the moment:


Charge Information:

Charge Remaining: (mAh): 5564

Fully Charged: No

Charging: No

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 6053

Health Information:

Cycle Count: 127

Condition: Normal


Since buying it, I have mainly used it on the battery, as I thought keeping it plugged in all the time was bad for the battery. Most of the time, it has pretty much gone through a full discharge before I've recharged it (I'd usually let it get to 20% before plugging in and it has got into the red fairly frequently before recharging too). I stream a lot of content - Spotify for music and Netflix for movies as this is basically my TV as well. So, I guess my question is, taking into account the heavy use and streaming, how should I best look after the battery? Leave it plugged in (I'm mainly at home so always have access to power)? How low should I let it get before charging? Is having 127 charge cycles on such a young mac not the best reading? I've installed Coconut Battery to get another take on the reading but I'm not sure what this means. Here is the reading:


Curent charge: 5644 mAh

Maximum charge: 6050 mAh 93.4%

Design capacity: 6330 95.6%


The numbers for this keep changing as it's discharging as I type. The battery percentage according to the mac itself is 97% at the moment with 10:43 remaining on the battery, though this keeps fluctuating quite drastically at the moment. Can anyone offer any advice? Is the battery holding up pretty well or should I change the way I charge it?


Thanks!

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014), OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Aug 3, 2015 7:23 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Aug 4, 2015 4:43 AM

I keep my MBP usually connected to the charger BUT at least once per month I use it under battery power to about the 40% charge level. Then I recharge it. Lithium Ion batteries need to be periodically 'exercised' for maximum life.


Deep discharges should be avoided. That will shorten the lifespan of a battery. If you see a low battery warning, terminate the session or connect to AC. Never let the MBP shut down due to draining the battery.


Here are Apple support articles regarding batteries and their usage:


https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro/batteries_power/


Ciao.

3 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Aug 4, 2015 4:43 AM in response to Rachel Lucy

I keep my MBP usually connected to the charger BUT at least once per month I use it under battery power to about the 40% charge level. Then I recharge it. Lithium Ion batteries need to be periodically 'exercised' for maximum life.


Deep discharges should be avoided. That will shorten the lifespan of a battery. If you see a low battery warning, terminate the session or connect to AC. Never let the MBP shut down due to draining the battery.


Here are Apple support articles regarding batteries and their usage:


https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro/batteries_power/


Ciao.

Aug 4, 2015 4:05 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

Thanks for the advice OGELTHORPE, I'll definitely leave my MBP connected to the charger during my day to day use but I'll make sure to use it on the battery regularly as you've described to keep the battery ticking over.


I kept my MBP plugged in yesterday whilst using it, but I unplugged it and shut it down completely last night. This morning, I thought I'd check the battery readings to see if they had changed from yesterday, considering it had been plugged in all day. These are the readings this morning:


Charge Information

Charge Remaining (mAh): 5871

Fully Charged: Yes

Charging: No

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 6078

Health Count

Cycle Count: 127

Condition: Normal


Coconut Battery

Current Charge: 5816 mAh

Maximum Charge: 6067 mAh 95.7%

Design Capacity: 6330 mAh

95.9%


I'm using it on battery at the moment, just to see the readings, and the mac battery level currently reads 100%. Can anyone explain why these readings are different compared to yesterday's? Why has the full charge capacity reading given on the system report above changed? I would of thought that would stay the same, or decrease as the battery got older - not go up!


Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

How to prolong battery when Macbook Pro gets heavy use?

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