Aztec1998

Q: Why does my battery go down on my MacBook Pro Retina so fast?

Hey I've been to the Apple Store about the fact that my computer's battery doesn't last long. I've had it for 2 years and the over all health of the battery has gone down by 10%. I've formatted the computer and I'm aware that Chrome uses up loads of RAM and battery. I'm talking about when I'm doing light tasks that battery only lasts 4 hours even when I've done a fresh install of Mac OS X. Any suggestions? Thanks!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Feb 19, 2016 3:26 AM

Close

Q: Why does my battery go down on my MacBook Pro Retina so fast?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by KimUserName,Helpful

    KimUserName KimUserName Feb 19, 2016 5:38 AM in response to Aztec1998
    Level 4 (1,400 points)
    Notebooks
    Feb 19, 2016 5:38 AM in response to Aztec1998

    Try the following tech note. About Mac notebook batteries - Apple Support

     

    Also this program is helpful for monitoring your battery health. http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/

     

    Kim

  • by dwb,Helpful

    dwb dwb Feb 19, 2016 5:37 AM in response to Aztec1998
    Level 7 (24,162 points)
    Notebooks
    Feb 19, 2016 5:37 AM in response to Aztec1998

    There’s a program on your computer called Activity Monitor. Open it and click on the CPU tab. Then click in the %CPU column so that the services are listed in order of CPU usage from highest to lowest. Keep an eye on that monitor from time to time as you are using the computer. It will give you an idea of what processes are running hot, that is using a lot of CPU cycles. Keep in mind that what you consider light use may not be at all. For example, simply surfing the Internet reading a few blogs seems like light usage but if you use Chrome it isn’t light. Chrome is resource hungry even if it is sitting in the background doing nothing. Keeping an eye on the Activity Monitor will show you whether the “light” programs really are light. It can also reveal rogue resources you didn’t know you had.

     

    Just for reference, using my rMBP for surfing, email, and writing I can get 6-7 hours with no trouble. While I’m working the CPU usage may briefly spike over 50% or even higher but just as quickly fall back down. Anything that is consistently using more than 15% of the CPU is power hungry and helping drain your battery.

  • by Aztec1998,

    Aztec1998 Aztec1998 Feb 19, 2016 5:41 AM in response to dwb
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 19, 2016 5:41 AM in response to dwb

    Thanks for the detailed paragraph! I've disabled all of the startup items including the Adobe Cloud. I'm some how getting Kernel Task at the top.Screen Shot 2016-02-19 at 13.36.35 copy.jpg

  • by dwb,

    dwb dwb Feb 19, 2016 7:05 AM in response to Aztec1998
    Level 7 (24,162 points)
    Notebooks
    Feb 19, 2016 7:05 AM in response to Aztec1998

    kernel task is the lowest level of the OS and it isn’t taking up a big chunk. In fact what I see right now is a typical healthy computer. Keep an eye on it over the next few days as well as keeping an eye on battery usage. If you don’t see any processes jumping up and staying there for a lengthy period then it is time to look elsewhere if your battery life doesn’t improve. If you do see any processes going high and staying there make a note of them and let us know what they are.