Calibrating Macbook battery

So I had coconutBattery check for me my battery capacity in my 1.83 Macbook and it's at 93% after 13 cycles.. I don't know if this is too bad but I know people who have 99% with way older batteries.

Anyway I just have a question about the calibrating process:

3. Disconnect the power adapter with the MacBook on and start running it from the

battery. You may use your computer during this time.

When your battery gets low, you’ll see the low battery warning dialog on the screen.

Do I have to have my computer "on" until it's dead or can it switch between sleep and on states?

I guess Apple doesn't specify the correct way of doing this... but it'd be real nice if those with a nice healthy battery could share how they do it.

#422820

I've always had the computer on and active during that step.

It's normal to see 93% after a few cycles. The charge capacity fluctuates and it will eventually get higher again, and even exceed 100% at times.

#422834

Another question then, is it normal i already have 72 cycles with my MacBook? I bought it in August.. Am i doing something wrong?

#423502

I've got 14 cycles on my MacBook and the battery is still 99%

make sure the battery is fully charged before you calibrate it, and you're supposed to use it until the battery is completely empty, which forces the mac to go to sleep, leave it sleeping for 4 to 5 hours before recharging the battery.

That's basically what I did, I left it sleeping overnight and recharged it the next morning.

@fliz: that might be because you've been using it off battery way too often, otherwise I'm not sure, a cycle is a full discharge/recharge..

#423504

Another question then, is it normal i already have 72 cycles with my MacBook? I bought it in August.. Am i doing something wrong?

That sounds normal. I got my MacBook in late August, and I have 68 charge cycles with over 100% battery capacity. I use my MacBook on battery until it gets into the red zone, then charge it till 100% and run it off battery again. I don't run it off the power adapter much unless charging because Apple recommends not doing that often to keep the battery healthy and the juices flowing.

Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her MacBook Pro on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

A charge cycle is...

A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could listen to your iPod for a few hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle. Each time you complete a charge cycle, it diminishes battery capacity slightly, but you can put both notebook and iPod batteries through many charge cycles before they will only hold 80% of original battery capacity. As with other rechargeable batteries, you may eventually need to replace your battery.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/

#423542

Oh, ok.. Thanks for that dreamsindigital! I'm doing the same thing you do.. Let it run red, charge it completely and disconnect the power again..

#423553

%99 always...

I'm doing that 2 or 3 times per month.

#423692