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How to take care of my MacBook battery

How should I go about taking care of my new MacBook battery? Is it bad for the battery if my computer is plugged in most of the time?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Jun 10, 2007 10:18 PM

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6 replies

Jun 11, 2007 1:34 AM in response to Nicklaw

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! I looked through those pages, but they don't seem to mention anything about whether being plugged in often can damage the battery. Do either of you know anything about that? If I just leave my MacBook plugged in all the time is that going to hurt the battery life? Thanks!

Jun 11, 2007 10:04 PM in response to Kappy

The PC laptop that I owned before I switched to this Mac had lost literally all of its battery life. A technician told me that I had ruined the battery by having it plugged in even when the battery was fully charged. Based on that information (which apparently was grossly incorrect) I had some concerns about my new laptop. So I don’t really think my desire to be thorough in asking this question is unreasonable or silly. Thank you for helping to answer my question, I appreciate it.

Jun 11, 2007 11:11 PM in response to Nicklaw

I wasn't saying your question was silly. I was saying I didn't know where such silly ideas came from. Apparently whomever told you that information was indeed grossly misinformed.

Older NiCad batteries had what was called a "memory effect." If the battery wasn't allowed to fully discharge before being recharged it would develop a "memory" of the level at which it was recharged and treat that as the discharged level. Consequently recharging the battery before it was fully discharged would eventually cause the battery to show a zero charge after a very short time. However, the batteries could be re-conditioned. Lithium-Ion/Polymer batteries do not exhibit "memory effects."

How to take care of my MacBook battery

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