Battery calibration, MacBook Pro and others
Posted by otterman on 4 March 2009
My current battery arrived on 23 May 2007 and its capacity is currently 1840mAh, down from the 5,500. This can’t last me 30 mins unplugged so I’ve finally caved and bought a new one that’s still unpacked.
Now that I have a new battery, its time to run that calibration sequence again, tucked away in the Apple Knowledge Base: Calibrating your computer’s battery for best performance. I checked an old post which has suggestions about timing. So I’ll do this on Saturday or Sunday.
A note on standard maintenance:
For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her MacBook Pro on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing.
If you use a desktop computer at work, and a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month.
In addition to this, I’ve added the monthly reminder to discharge/charge the battery in iCal. It’s the usual drill with a new battery until performance erodes to the point you needn’t care anymore. Let’s hop this means more than a year. It would be nice to avoid Keynote quitting on me during a presentation if I ever forget to bring my power adaptor – especially since my spare is in the shop.
Update: calibration in progress:
John Larkin said
Hi Siva, please do not throw out the old battery. Save it for me. It has more capacity than the one I am struggling with at the moment. It is currently (no pun intended) holding a maximum charge of 1106 mAh
I could generate more power myself with a small wind powered electricity generator preceded by a nice bowl of oats suffused with warm milk.
Cheers, John
Otterman said
Hi John, its down to about 20 mins I think just about buffer when power is lost.
If yours is even weaker, buy a new one.