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How much time can I safely use my Macbook with a dead battery

V

VillalobosChamp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 19, 2017
8
0
Mexico City, Mexico
Hello.

I wanted to ask, how much can I use my Macbook Pro safely without changing the battery that is already dead?

I'm a newbie on the Mac products, i got a 15-inch Mid 2010 Macbook as a birthday's gift for school uses.

It has been 2 years since I got it, and haven't got any serious problems (other than reset SMC maybe 5 times within this span or a total disk formatting due corrupted files). But now my battery is dead and can't use my computer without being plugged.

I tried to reset SMC as well as PVRAM to check it wasn't any other thing that prevented my battery from charging, but none worked.

I read what can happen if a dead battery stays for a long time, but I want to know how much time can I afford to use it without damaging the computer, since this is my work tool and there's no other available PC at home, and we can't afford a battery anytime soon.

Thanks for reading, I hope you can provide me some useful insight.


Cheers :)
 
If the battery is just uncharged,that should not be a problem,if the battery is broken,replace it immediately. If it's just dead from battery drain,just use the computer,it will charge while you use it.
 
There's no good way to give a timetable, as far as I know. The main danger I can see is from leakage, which old batteries can do. Checking on it once in a while, including watching for signs of swelling, might do, depending on how much risk you want to accept. The low-risk thing is to replace it, being careful not to damage something in the process.
 
I wonder if you could remove the battery and still operate the machine while plugged in.
That way you wouldn't have to worry about a faulty battery potentially damaging the MacBook.

But I don't know, maybe one of the mac-grognards around here know more.

Then again, if you're already busting open the Mac to get at the battery, you might as well replace it.
Replacement batteries don't cost a fortune, but it can be a bit of a gamble finding an authentic replacement.
 
I would open up the computer and try and take out the battery or at least unplug the cable for the battery.

I have an old 2008 black MacBook that I used without a battery in since about 2012. I don't use that computer any more but they can run without batteries installed.
 
ZapNZs said:
If you go to :apple: --> About This Mac --> System Report --> Power, what does it say about the battery?
Click to expand...

Replace now.
[doublepost=1492651809][/doublepost]
Ovedius said:
I wonder if you could remove the battery and still operate the machine while plugged in.
That way you wouldn't have to worry about a faulty battery potentially damaging the MacBook.
Click to expand...

JackieInCo said:
I would open up the computer and try and take out the battery or at least unplug the cable for the battery.

I have an old 2008 black MacBook that I used without a battery in since about 2012. I don't use that computer any more but they can run without batteries installed.
Click to expand...

boast said:
I would just remove it.
Click to expand...


I did, an works as normal, other than starting a process named rpcscvchost.exe everytime a power supply failure happens when I power on my computer.

If anything, the fact that the computer powers on as soon as I plug it to the MagSafe adapter just bothers me a little.

Ovedius said:
Then again, if you're already busting open the Mac to get at the battery, you might as well replace it.
Replacement batteries don't cost a fortune, but it can be a bit of a gamble finding an authentic replacement.
Click to expand...

Sanpete said:
There's no good way to give a timetable, as far as I know. The main danger I can see is from leakage, which old batteries can do. Checking on it once in a while, including watching for signs of swelling, might do, depending on how much risk you want to accept. The low-risk thing is to replace it, being careful not to damage something in the process.
Click to expand...


Of course I would like to replace the battery asap, but it isn't something I can do right now nor in short term. That's why I asked how much time can I use it
 
VillalobosChamp said:
Of course I would like to replace the battery asap, but it isn't something I can do right now nor in short term. That's why I asked how much time can I use it
Click to expand...
Nobody knows. It could catch on fire tomorrow (not that likely), leak battery acid all over your laptop and ruin it (somewhat likely) or it could just work fine for a long time (likely)
 
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VillalobosChamp said:
Replace now.
Click to expand...

You should be able to continue using the computer without harming the system. Visual inspection of the battery for changes in physical size is advisable.

I still recommend replacing it ASAP. Monitors are never perfectly accurate, and the service life of the battery has ended (i.e., the designers intended the battery to be replaced once reaching this point--it was not designed with the intent of being used for several years once having reached the end of service life.) It's a hundred bucks well-spent.

Should the message say "Service Now", pull the battery immediately. Should the battery begin to swell, pull it immediately. Dispose of it properly.

Given the age of the computer, it might be worth having an Apple Authorized Service Provider perform MRI on the system for a general health checkup.
 
I believe your MBP will be running at 1/2 speed, while the battery status reads "Replace now". The reason for this is that certain loads on the system(high CPU and graphics usage) can draw more power than the power brick/outlet can provide. So to prevent you from doing this, and causing damage to the system, Apple made the MBP run at 1/2 speed.

The battery can stop for any number of reasons. Like others, I would advise you to get it replaced. If you have ANY issues with the trackpad - unregistered clicks, erratic mouse movements, etc... that is a sure sign that the battery is starting to swell.

Just replace it, your computer will run a lot faster, and your less likely to cause a samsung like phone type incident.
 
VillalobosChamp said:
I did, an works as normal, other than starting a process named rpcscvchost.exe everytime a power supply failure happens when I power on my computer.
Click to expand...

Did you actually see ".exe" in the file name? That would be odd. OS X has a different mechanism for executables.
 
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