Hi, this is Gary with MacMost.com.
On this episode I'm going to answer frequently asked questions about MacBook batteries.
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So whether you have a MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro its got a battery.
You probably have some questions about how to use it properly, how to maximize its life,
and how to deal with any problems that may come up.
So let's start by talking about longevity.
How long should the battery last?
Well, it varies greatly.
Basically between five and ten years.
Some of the factors are environmental, how often you use it, and a little bit of luck.
After all a battery is just made out of a bunch of chemicals and sometimes some last
longer than others.
It's definitely not unheard of for a MacBook battery to last more than twelve years.
But it's also not impossible for it to fail after only about four years.
I'd say five to ten years for most users.
But for power users, that are cycling through the battery everyday, it's probably closer
to five years.
Now how do you see the condition of your battery?
You can look at this right on your Mac.
You want to go to Apple menu and About This Mac.
Then System Report.
Look on the left for Power.
The two things you want to pay the most attention to are Cycle Count and Condition.
So what is Cycle Count and what's a good number there.
Well, a cycle is when you start the battery at 100% and you use it all the way down to
zero.
That's one cycle.
You can do partial cycles.
So if you go from 100% to 50% that's half a cycle.
Then you charge it back up, use it again, down to 50% that's another half cycle.
Now a battery should last a certain number of cycle counts before it needs to be replaced.
But it depends on the battery.
Apple has a list on this webpage here that shows you the cycle counts that each MacBook
model should reach.
Now for Condition if it says Replace Soon, Replace Now, or Service Battery that means
you've got to get a new battery.
Now Replace Soon means you can probably wait a week or two until it's convenient for you.
But the other two really you should stop using the Mac now, make sure that backup is nice
and complete and up-to-date, and take it in for a new battery.
Now to get a new battery you've got several options.
The main one is to take it to Apple.
Take it to an Apple Store Make an appointment at the Genius Bar and tell them that you need
a new battery.
You can also take it to an authorized service center so you can look on Apple's website
and find one that's near you.
Now you could take it to another repair shop.
I wouldn't recommend it.
Battery replacements aren't that expensive as repairs go so it's worthwhile to make sure
it's done right.
If you're completely out of warranty and you go to Apple it's only going to cost you from
$129 to $199.
If that extends your MacBook's life from say six years up to ten years it's very much worth
it.
Now one thing people notice is that as they're battery ages it sometimes never goes to 100%
or occasionally, even after it's charged, it's immediately at 99%.
Apple says this is actually normal.
Remember that battery readings it's kind of difficult to actually read the amount of power
in a chemical battery.
So Apple says that sometimes a fully charge battery can show anywhere all the way down
to 93% instead of 100% and it still is perfectly fine as long as the Condition of the battery
is still shown as normal.
So batteries are covered by the standard one year warranty and by AppleCare.
So if a battery fails or shows Service soon or Service now in the first year just take
it to Apple and you'll get a new battery for free.
If you have AppleCare then you'll be able to get a new battery during the length of
AppleCare.
In addition if there's a special recall then you can also use it.
So, for instance, right now there are some Macs that are a few years old that are part
of a battery recall program.
You can get a new battery for free.
There are a lot of myths that are out there that are bad information about how to use
your MacBook's battery.
A lot of this dates back to before the current generation of batteries and for older laptops
and it has just been repeated over and over again by bloggers and news sites.
So one of those things is should you use your MacBook plugged in.
The answer is YES.
It's all about Cycle Count.
So if your MacBook is sitting on your desk have it plugged in.
Don't use the battery.
You won't go through those cycles.
It's perfectly okay to have your MacBook sitting on your desk charged up to 100%.
Basically use it plugged in when it's convenient and use it on the battery when it's convenient.
You won't damage your MacBook's battery by having it plugged in for a long period of
time.
Now this is a really bad one that gets repeated.
People say that if you're using the battery you should run it all the down to zero before
you plug it in and charge it up again.
That is just flat WRONG.
All you're going to do is run up your cycle count.
Where that probably comes from is the old technique of cycling the battery.
The idea here is that every month or so to have your battery charge up to 100% then run
it all the way down to zero and charge it up again and that this somehow calibrates
the battery.
It's just not something that needs to be done with modern MacBook batteries.
So what if your battery isn't lasting that long for each charge.
Maybe you're only getting an hour or two out of it.
Well, the usual culprit has nothing to do with the battery or the hardware itself.
But a lot of time has to do with apps.
You can click on the battery icon in the Menu Bar and it will show you which apps are using
the most battery power.
A lot of time there's an obvious culprit.
Somebody is playing a game or maybe you're rendering video or maybe you're using Chrome
and you have a bunch of tabs open.
Chrome is notorious for using lots of battery power.
Safari is much more efficient.
Other tips are to decrease screen brightness.
Go to your energy save preferences and lower all the settings for when you're on the battery.
Make sure you're not using apps that use a lot of power or things like a lot of tabs
in the browser.
Also think of any devices you have connected to your MacBook.
Anything can connect like an external drive, a camera, a microphone that is going to use
some battery power as well.
So what if you notice your MacBook is swelling.
You've got maybe a little bit of a bump on the bottom or the keyboard is starting to
bump up.
This could mean that the chemicals in the battery are now bad and this is very dangerous.
What you need to do is to stop using the Mac almost immediately.
Make sure you have a backup.
Make sure you're not charging the battery anymore.
Get is somewhere for service.
If the swelling isn't too much a repair center may be able to swap the battery out and you
can keep using it.
But if it can't be fixed then you still have to stop using that MacBook immediately and
have the battery properly disposed of.
So back to longevity.
How can you increase that longevity or maximize it.
First of all avoid using your MacBook when it's too hot.
Apple recommends that you only use it if it's 95 degrees F or or 35 degrees C or less.
I say don't even get close to those numbers.
Definitely don't charge it in a room where it's that hot.
I say don't charge it if it's anywhere near 90 degrees or more.
Also don't store it in a place where it's going to be hot and don't store it in a place
where the temperature is going to vary greatly.
Better store it say in the house than in a garage or a storage unit.
Apple has some advice if you're going to store your MacBook long term.
Anywhere more than a few weeks.
Make sure it's charged around 50% and have it powered Off.
Keep it in a cool place so less than 90 degrees F or 32 degrees C. Every six months or so
turn it on, charge it back up to about 50% and turn it off again.
Apple has plenty of advice and tips for getting the most out of your MacBook battery.
You can go to these URL's here to read more about it.