MACBOOK BATTERY

[sunset]

I've been dealing with Apple on this issue since May and would love it if someone here has had some experience with this.

Leaving the laptop plugged in all the time, the battery gradually loses 'energy' over a period of days, down to 95%, then kicks in and charges back up to 100%.  After troubleshooting via Apple's tech support, they sent me a new battery.  No joy--same sequence.  It's also been calibrated according to Apple's directions as necessary.

They finally told me to go to an Apple Store or authorized Apple Servie center.  Went to the latter as we have one locally and they found nothing wrong with any of the wiring, etc., so they determined it was the logic board.  That was replaced.  AC adapter also tested OK.

The new battery they put in continued to do the same thing.  I was then sent to the Apple Store to have them do "a complete diagnostic of the system management controller".  The "Genius" told me it would take a couple weeks or more to do that, they might have to send it in to Apple and he was of the opinion that the battery's behaving normally so that it doesn't overcharge.  He also installed a new battery.  Eeeeek!!!

I'd love to hear from other MacBook owners that theirs does, or doesn't do, the same thing and this is 'normal', or not, so I could put it to rest.  Feels like one spinning his wheels and going nowhere...  

Thanks, in advance...  Laurel

[Jack W]

Laurel,

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to leave the Macbook plugged into power all the time.

The battery should be cycled thru the charge/discharge state as a standard practice.

On my powerbook G4, I run it off battery until it gets fairly low, then plug it in.

Apple recommends when you store the laptops for a short period, you should leave the battery about half charged.

They also recommend if you are putting it away for extended periods, you should remove the battery.

Also turn off Bluetooth before periods of short or long storage.

I also turn off Airport on my G4, except when I'm using it.

These things help the battery and the battery life.

Somebody else may come along with a better answer.

Anyway, these are the procedures I use.

HTH, Jack

[RNKIII]

Can only reply from our experiences with my wife's 14" iBook (OS 10.3.9)
It is left plugged in constantly (this for almost 3 years).  Only on battery for VERY short periods...
Yes, the level does go down sligtly over time, usually leveling off between 93-95%...  
When we remember, or by accident, we do discharge it to the point of automatic shutdown.... and then reconnect it and charge it back up to full power.

To this point, we have had NO problems with it at all....

my $.02 for what it's worth.

Bob K.   rnkiii

[jepinto]

Using a MacBook Pro, the battery charge shows 99% when it is plugged in all the time.  Never 100%.

Prior to buying the MacBook Pro, I read and read about battery discharge.  And discharging the battery was highly recommended once a month or so.

And then I remembered an old IBM laptop I used that was always plugged in, and that would never again charge a battery.  Or at least no battery I ever bought would hold a charge long enough to power the laptop for more than 10 minutes.

So, I discharge the battery once a month or so, as Jack does.  (Or I bring it home, and forget that the surge protector strip I use has "usb outlets" that don't power on unless the computer is powered on, and I don't turn on the computer because I have the MBP, and don't remember to look for the green light, and the MBP will shut down or go completely asleep when I get up for a coffee refill and the phone just rang for the 6th time, and I wonder "oh my goodness, has something happened to MY LAPTOP???" and then brain kicks in, and I think, oh, that's ok, I just did my monthly battery discharge...)

[sunset]

Thanks, everyone, for your thought-provoking replies and good suggestions.

In an effort to be as brief as possible, I left out the fact that it does get used on battery power periodically when we take it somewhere and it needs to be used for short periods of time.  Sometimes I take it to other parts of the house and use it on battery power, as well, so it really isn't plugged in all the time.  As I stated in the second paragraph of my first post, it does get calibrated as Apple prescribes, sort of.

Other than that, when it's being used in one place it's left plugged in.  I, too, read a number of Apple's 'articles' because this is my first Mac laptop and I wanted to know as much as possible regarding its use and care.

My main concern is regarding the battery losing power when it's plugged in--somehow that doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  It does sound like Bob's battery does the same thing and he doesn't seem disturbed by it so perhaps that's what it's supposed to do...

Appreciate everyone's input!  The Apple Technician said I should test the length of time the computer will run on the battery, just to make sure it's doing what its supposed to and not running short.  Will see what happens with that.  Am still learning to 'live' with it...