MBA battery runs empty fast

[svandevecht]

hi,

I have a 2010-12 MBA, 13' 1.86/2gb/256ssd and face issues with my battery performance.. it runs empty in around 2.5 hours when easy emailing & browsing + skype. or watching a movie also drains it imm.

when I just got it, it should excellent figures, good really run it (on wifi) for 9-10 hours.. but few month later is is really getting worse.

coconut battery shows a 93% health, so that cannot be it?

I returned to the store and did not wanted to help me they tested some things and said it was fine.

now I see that SKYPE is a heavy processor user, even when not in use..

does any one else have this same issue? I bought it so I can work full day without charging it, but now it's empty before lunch!

PS: have latest updates & even have screen brightness on 50%

 

[miles01110]

It should not be a surprise that applications/activities that require increased processor load decrease battery life.

 

[vukmaxim]

hi,

I have a 2010-12 MBA, 13' 1.86/2gb/256ssd and face issues with my battery performance.. it runs empty in around 2.5 hours when easy emailing & browsing + skype. or watching a movie also drains it imm.

when I just got it, it should excellent figures, good really run it (on wifi) for 9-10 hours.. but few month later is is really getting worse.

coconut battery shows a 93% health, so that cannot be it?

I returned to the store and did not wanted to help me they tested some things and said it was fine.

now I see that SKYPE is a heavy processor user, even when not in use..

does any one else have this same issue? I bought it so I can work full day without charging it, but now it's empty before lunch!

PS: have latest updates & even have screen brightness on 50%

Do you use Skype 5, or 2.8.0
I am using 2.8.0 and no heavy processor usage when idling, from 0.0 to 0.4%

 

[maxylle]

that is same thing with out MBA 11 inches Sad but I'm not really bothered since I got my desktop mac and ipad. Honestly though I was spoiled with Ipad's battery life... wink*

 

[Onimusha370]

Skype is a horrible program to run on the air, temps shoot up to the 80's

 

[Boston007]

Skype is a horrible program to run on the air, temps shoot up to the 80's

Skype is a hog on any machine. I hate what they did to that program. It's a HOG, OINK OINK!

 

[SR71]

I have Skype open in the background (no video chat), Google chrome with 5 tabs, Twitter open, and Activity Monitor, and my temps are at 35°C and Activity Monitor shows Skype as using 0.0-0.3% of my CPU. Also, my estimated battery life is jumping between 9-10 hours, so no problems here. And aso, I'm running the latest Skype.

When video chatting, though, Skype uses about 10-20% CPU, but I haven't really looked at it that much.

 

[bcaslis]

...does any one else have this same issue? I bought it so I can work full day without charging it, but now it's empty before lunch!

Open Activity Monitor and set to processes for all users. You must have something using CPU causing a battery drain. See which process is using the CPU and that will be your problem.

 

[IngerMan]

I have Skype open in the background (no video chat), Google chrome with 5 tabs, Twitter open, and Activity Monitor, and my temps are at 35°C and Activity Monitor shows Skype as using 0.0-0.3% of my CPU. Also, my estimated battery life is jumping between 9-10 hours, so no problems here. And aso, I'm running the latest Skype.

When video chatting, though, Skype uses about 10-20% CPU, but I haven't really looked at it that much.

Dang SR71, That is a lot of diagnosis for owning your first Mac, 3 days now

 

[SR71]

Dang SR71, That is a lot of diagnosis for owning your first Mac, 3 days now

Hey now, I may have only had a Mac for a few days (4 now, so ha!), but that doesn't mean I can't make diagnoses.

 

[IngerMan]

Hey now, I may have only had a Mac for a few days (4 now, so ha!), but that doesn't mean I can't make diagnoses.

I just thought you should have more then 2 battery cycles on your machine if you are commenting on battery life, lol

I am glad to see you are enjoying the Mac experience

 

[SR71]

I just thought you should have more then 2 battery cycles on your machine if you are commenting on battery life, lol

I am glad to see you are enjoying the Mac experience

According to iStat Pro, I've got 27 cycles lol.

 

[bcaslis]

According to iStat Pro, I've got 27 cycles lol.

FYI, you can also use the Apple System Profiler software to see how many battery cycles and health.