Battery Calibration...

[cloudblood84]

does it really make a BIG difference?....if so whats the best way to do it and how often?

 

[mad jew]

Calibrate monthly to make sure your computer doesn't over or undercharge your battery, which is harmful in the long run.

 

[dmetzcher]

I like to set a little monthly calendar reminder that says "Run iBook Battery Down to 0%", so that I'm reminded on the 15th of every month. Then, I just leave it unplugged that day and use it normally until it drains.

 

[shadowmoses]

It definatly makes a difference in the long run, I've seen people with iBooks leave there's plugged in most of the time and never calibrating and after about a year or two of this the battery totally depletes and holds very little charge...

SHadoW

 

[iSaint]

It definatly makes a difference in the long run, I've seen people with iBooks leave there's plugged in most of the time and never calibrating and after about a year or two of this the battery totally depletes and holds very little charge...

SHadoW

That would be me.

25% battery at 20 months old. About an hour's battery life. ugh...

 

[Zerocool84]

But how should we use the battery for daily use? I mean i understand the purpose of calibration every month, but what do you have to do daily so that the battery stays longer and have a good battery life after several years?

 

[mad jew]

Well, Apple gives this example of how a battery should be used on their notebook battery page.

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 on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month.

I plug mine in whenever I'm at my desk (near the charger) which probably works out to about 90% of the total time and about 70% of the in-use time (if that makes sense). I've had great usage out of my battery. It's almost two years old and still takes my G4 iBook past four hours, easily. By the way, these numbers are all just guesses, I haven't actually timed myself.

 

[dmetzcher]

That would be me.

25% battery at 20 months old. About an hour's battery life. ugh...

WOW. That's bad. At 14 months, I'm at 91% total capacity. Should be at least another year before I need a new battery, and I hope to have a new notebook by that time.

 

[Zerocool84]

WOW. That's bad. At 14 months, I'm at 91% total capacity. Should be at least another year before I need a new battery, and I hope to have a new notebook by that time.

dmetzcher...plz check private messages!
Thanks!

 

[iSaint]

WOW. That's bad. At 14 months, I'm at 91% total capacity. Should be at least another year before I need a new battery, and I hope to have a new notebook by that time.

Yeah I'm not quite sure the reason. I know in my first year of ownership I used it around the house a lot and kept it plugged in even when charged. I did calibrate when I first bought it. But, I'm sure I didn't keep a good regimen of monthly calibrating. When I get a new battery and/or a new computer, I'm going to make sure I read Apple's directions carefully.

 

[ero87]

When I tried a calibration of a MBP, it kept going to sleep when it only had approx 2 min. of battery life (and it was on "Best Performance.") It wouldn't just shut off and use all the battery.

Is there a way around this? Or is running it to "2 minutes remaining" good enough?

 

[mad jew]

Well, it shouldn't be sleeping at two minutes, but maybe the calibration fixed it. Does it still fall asleep at two minutes?

 

[ero87]

it's not an error, it says "You are running low on battery. MBP will now enter sleep mode to preserve battery" or something.

 

[ncook06]

Powerbooks, I don't now about iBooks, would stay asleep without the battery in or being plugged in. The MBP doesn't do this. I know from experience with both. This may be why you can't drain a MBP completely but old PPC notebooks can - data protection.

 

[Anthony8720]

When I tried a calibration of a MBP, it kept going to sleep when it only had approx 2 min. of battery life (and it was on "Best Performance.") It wouldn't just shut off and use all the battery.

Is there a way around this? Or is running it to "2 minutes remaining" good enough?

The macbook is the same way. I just let it sleep while im....um....sleeping, and then it is usually completely discharged by the time i wake up.