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Conserving battery for a flight

ct2k7

ct2k7

macrumors G3
Original poster
Aug 29, 2008
8,382
3,439
London
Hello,

I'm going on a flight from the UK to Mauritius for a few weeks. The journey is slated to be approximately 12 hours, to a maximum of 13 hours.

I plan to have my MacBook Air (13" 2011) available with me for the duration of the flight. Hence, I require some advice on battery conservation.

Obviously, I will not use the MacBook Air for the full flight duration, or I hope I won't - I'll somehow need to sleep for a few hours, as it is a night flight.

Right, to the point - how can I conserve battery life for this flight?

I'm a web developer and may want to do some web development on the MacBook Air. I've installed an IDE with the lowest RAM usage available, and will hopefully work through some scripts. I've also installed Zend Server CE, for testing my web development. It installed Apache, MySQL and a few other Apache modules.

Thanks for any tips :)
 
Cynicalone

Cynicalone

macrumors 68040
Jul 9, 2008
3,212
0
Okie land
There really isn't much you can do that you probably haven't already thought of.

How low can you keep the brightness and still be able to work?

Make sure every app that isn't absolutely essential is quit even the ones in the menu.

Common sense stuff you probably have thought of.

What I do is carry an adaptor for the airplane, but this isn't an option on every flight.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB441Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDEwMQ&mco=MTA4NDE2Mjc
 
P

PraisiX-windows

macrumors regular
May 19, 2011
185
0
You could just buy one of those devices that enables you to charge it on the plane.

Whether or not they work on your particular plane, I don't know, but I suppose it would.

If you were already aware of this product though, just ignore this post.

You Can buy it as an accesory when pur hasing the mba.

Edit, i see someone beat mé to it, a shame these ipads are so slow to write from.
 
wordoflife

wordoflife

macrumors 604
Jul 6, 2009
7,564
37
The only things I can think of are to turn of WiFi, bluetooth, exit apps that you dont' need, keep the laptop as dim as possible, turn of Backlight keyboard, try to do "light" activities.
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
To make your battery last longer, turn off Bluetooth and WiFi, lower your screen brightness, shut down any apps/processes/widgets that you're not using, etc. For more tips, read the BATTERY LIFE FROM A CHARGE section of the following link. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
 
M

marrzie

macrumors regular
Mar 9, 2011
138
0
SR71 said:
Unless there's wifi onboard, disable all of your wireless connections - bluetooth, wifi, etc.
Click to expand...

wordoflife said:
The only things I can think of are to turn of WiFi, bluetooth, exit apps that you dont' need, keep the laptop as dim as possible, turn of Backlight keyboard, try to do "light" activities.
Click to expand...

GGJstudios said:
To make your battery last longer, turn off Bluetooth and WiFi, lower your screen brightness, shut down any apps/processes/widgets that you're not using, etc. For more tips, read the BATTERY LIFE FROM A CHARGE section of the following link. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
Click to expand...



In addition to all the other good ideas I would like to add a few of my own. Turn off wifi, turn off bluetooth, lower screen brightness, and finally shut down any apps or unnecessary processes that might be running.
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
marrzie said:
In addition to all the other good ideas I would like to add a few of my own. Turn off wifi, turn off bluetooth, lower screen brightness, and finally shut down any apps or unnecessary processes that might be running.
Click to expand...
That's what I just said, in addition to other things.
 
iStudentUK

iStudentUK

macrumors 65816
Mar 8, 2009
1,439
4
London
wal9000 said:
Yeah, but has anyone mentioned turning off wifi and bluetooth yet? He should probably also quit anything he's not using and turn down the screen brightness.
Click to expand...

That's really good advice. I'll just add that turning the screen brightness down also helps.
 
S

Steamrunner

macrumors member
Aug 9, 2008
91
0
One other thing you might like to consider is buying an extra battery.

And sine you're on a plane, you might as well turn off wifi and Bluetooth. You'll probably be fine with a low backlight level too.
 
ritmomundo

ritmomundo

macrumors 68020
Jan 12, 2011
2,041
587
Los Angeles, CA
Some airplanes (especially those designated for longer flights) have started to be fitted with standard outlets under the seat (actual outlets, not the special airplane ones). My last JFK-LAX flight on Continental had this. Check with your airlines - you might be able to plug your computer in and not worry about preserving the battery. :D

Continental Airlines - In-Seat Power
 
Last edited:
F

FX4568

macrumors 6502
Sep 6, 2010
315
0
I take 14 hrs flight every 5 months (chicago to korea)
I barely use my laptop, I am too busy watching the free movies offered and eating so much and reading my books :p
Trust me, I dont even sleep during flights and they are a breeze. dont worry just enjoy your flight and make sure you carry extra clothes and a passport :) (tooth brush is optional)
 
iStudentUK

iStudentUK

macrumors 65816
Mar 8, 2009
1,439
4
London
GGJstudios said:
Then your suggestion of buying an extra battery is pointless, since they wouldn't be able to swap them out.
Click to expand...

I think he was suggesting an external battery. An expensive, but effective option. Probably overkill unless the OP makes a habit of travelling for long periods away from power.
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
iStudentUK said:
I think he was suggesting an external battery. An expensive, but effective option. Probably overkill unless the OP makes a habit of travelling for long periods away from power.
Click to expand...
Since he said "extra battery" and not "external battery", it indicates another battery of the same type already in the MBA.
 
iStudentUK

iStudentUK

macrumors 65816
Mar 8, 2009
1,439
4
London
GGJstudios said:
Since he said "extra battery" and not "external battery", it indicates another battery of the same type already in the MBA.
Click to expand...

If you had posted that you would be saying the opposite "an external battery is still an extra battery". You can admit you misinterpreted, it's ok. :)
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
iStudentUK said:
If you had posted that you would be saying the opposite "an external battery is still an extra battery". You can admit you misinterpreted, it's ok. :)
Click to expand...
I didn't misinterpret; it wasn't stated clearly. An "extra" battery gives the impression of Mac portables that come with a removable battery, so you can buy an extra one and swap them out when one is drained. An "external" battery is clearly a non-Apple battery that isn't swapped with the internal battery. Either way, now it has been clarified.
 
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