Thanks!

Is your battery one of the newer 8 hour batteries? If so, then it might be totally different than the ones mentioned here. I think Apple stated that they are going to last really really long, so it’s probably normal for your battery.

Sorry for the misunderstanding!

But yes, it is normal to be “over” the capacity like that. I was over when I got my new batteries.

Check your real numbers on your ‘about this mac’ > more info (system profiler) under the ‘power’ section, and you will see the true cycle count.

Coconut battery is a great tool to save your info and keep a running record of the battery capacity.

I don’t know why it messes up on the age and loadcycle like that.

Hey and good luck with your new Mac! Whoo hoo, enjoy!

I am looking back at my saved data, and I got my battery early 4/2008, and by 8/05/2009 it was 91%. It shot back up to 95% but then immediately dropped to 88%

It kind of fluctuated up and down for Sept through November, but didn’t go lower than 70% until mid December. That is when I had major issues and it just kept losing capacity.

I don’t think 90% is that bad for 3 months of usage. If you calibrate, you might gain some of it back. Again, like I said, it fluctuates a lot.

Just keep an eye on it.

It was losing quite a bit of capacity in December. On 12/1, it had 89% capacity. By 12/21, it was down to 63%

It was at that time, that my MBP died, and I sent it to be repaired (Nvdia graphics card problem which resulted in a new logic board)

When it came back from Applecare, I was shocked (and pleased) to see that the capacity was back up to 88%. I thought that maybe I somehow got a replacement battery instead….well, that was shortlived.

By yesterday (Jan 27) it was down to 50% (2794 mAh) so I called Applecare.

They think my problematic logic board/graphics card might have weakened the battery. I don’t care what the reason was, I am just happy to get a new battery!

yay!

So, my 2nd replacement battery is being shipped!

Especially with those batteries from 2 years ago which had many problems, 42% seems reasonable after 500 cycles. I’m the guy with the low cycle count (now it’s at 60) and my battery currently has 55% health, and the capacity fluctuates wildly (it has been at 45% and a few days ago it was 75%). I plan to use it until it’s really dead, and then I’ll get a shiny new one

It looks like we just posted at the same time!

I have noticed capacity fluctuates a lot. Keep checking. I lose % and then I gain a few days/weeks later.

Keep an eye on it, there is definitely a possibility that there is something else wrong, but then it might be normal.

I don’t think 42% is unreasonable, considering the age. But you might have received more life if you calibrated regularly.

But I think you are absolutely correct in your thinking that leaving the laptop plugged in all the time isn’t good for the battery, it’s always good to use it.

I just found this article over at apple as to what they consider a cycle:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1519

500 cycles does sound like a lot, but then the number might be off; Coconut is way low on my count. Right now, it says “5″ cycles, but on my About this Mac count, it states 93. Did you check the actual count on your About this Mac? See my comment #29 for instructions and a screenshot link.

It does say (on linked Apple article) that “A properly maintained Apple notebook battery is designed to retain up to 80 percent of its original capacity after 300 full charge and discharge cycles.”

So, that means after 500 cycles, it should be at hmm, maybe 60% – it might be hard to exactly pinpoint the correct calculation, because I am sure the higher the amount of cycles, I bet the capacity is lost faster.

But Brian, it is never too late to start calibrating. Follow the instructions carefully, and maybe after a few calibrations you might gain a few percentage points.

I gain and lose capacity constantly. It seems like directly after a battery use (and/or calibration), my % goes down some, but then suddenly I gain days later.

Right now I am at 90%, and I was down to 83% a month ago.

Don’t expect miracles, but you might gain a little bit. It’s worth a try!

Good luck, and come back and let us know if calibration helps out in your situation!

I have never actually “calibrated” the battery, though I do generally try to leave it unplugged when off, and let it run down then charge up when in use as opposed to leaving it sustained at 100% because I heard it was better to do. coconutBattery also says I have 500 Battery-loadcycles. I noticed in a comment above someone had 34 after a year… Is having a large number bad? I Thought leaving the comp. plugged in (which presumably reduces cycle count) was bad for battery life.

Does this sound reasonable? Or is the measurement wrong? Or is it just my bad luck? Or did I do something wrong with my computer (I’ve never calibrated the battery, though in general I try not to leave it plugged in, and let it run down to ~15% then charge it, etc.).

Sorry if this all turned out a bit rambly, I’m typing it in a hurry.

I think Lex might be right about more ram taking more battery, but I agree that it’s not much difference either way.

I remember my battery (when first calibrated) brought my numbers up higher than the original capacity. Then eventually, it gets lower.

I really can’t explain why yours is doing so well after all this time!! I hope you didn’t jinx yourself by talking about it!!! LOL

Oh and I get about 2-3 hours, but I work w/ processors and LCD full blast. I run everything like I would if it were plugged in.

current capacity: 5169
original capacity: 5020

bearing in mind, i have a macbook and not a macbook pro. as i would assume the macbook pro would use more battery power than a macbook.
honest truth, when it come to battery life, i was using neo office and running i-tunes last night which lasted for about 5 and a half hours after a full charge. one question i wanted to ask is that does having more ram within your system increase battery life?

regards, phil

Batteries don’t last forever, unfortunately. I guess we should be ‘grateful’ (Ha!) if they last longer than a year! Sad really.

Good luck w/ the new one!

They have a battery testing utility that runs off an iPod nano, and it reported it as bad. The System Profiler listed the condition as bad also, along with Coconut’s numerical feedback.

The new one is back up where it should be (3+ hours), and is hovering around 96% capacity the few times i’ve checked it.

I am linking to a screenshot of my current situation. I just calibrated last night, so my charge is low.

To compare the info displayed in Coconut, go to About This Mac>More Info>Power and look for Battery in the list of information. You can see how Coconut compares w/ my Mac info. It is off by the number of cycles. Coconut is too low.

I can’t imagine how a 2 year old battery can still be at 100%. You didn’t mention how long your battery life is. Can you still get 3-4 hours. If so, then you might have a magic battery, (and I am not being facetious) I would hang on to that battery for sure, because you are very lucky!!!

I recently installed coconut battery and my macbook is 23 months old, with 228 charge cycles. however the battery capacity is still at 100%. however, i might be getting false information from this software, lol.

I was down to 76% from low nineties the other day. I calibrated last night, and now I am back up to 93%

Calibration will help, but if the battery is 10 months old, you can’t expect miracles, especially if you never calibrated until now. know what I mean?

My battery is 6 months old, and calibration really seems to be helping. We’ll see for how long! I probably jinxed myself!

But don’t wait too long, once the year is up, it’s not covered (I think)

I’m trying to recalibrate, but may have to see about getting a new battery.

Thanks for the post and link to coconutBattery.

I guess I calibrate about every 3 or 4 weeks, or sometimes more, if the timing is right.

Right now, my battery capacity is @ 93% (5115 mAh) which I suppose is good… I dunno. I got the new battery in April, so losing 7% isn’t that bad I suppose.

Anyway, I do notice fluctuations in capacity. I have no idea if calibration is helping or not!

If the capacity is only at 1%, then it sounds like you have problems. You need a new battery!

If the charge is at 1%, then that is normal, and will take time to charge to 100%

Good luck!