MacBookPro Battery

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Aaroona

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#42009 28-Sep-2009 09:55

Okay, so I have the new gen Macbookpro 17. The other day I had to get the battery replaced because it was faulty (it only had 22 cycles on it). what was happpening, was the capacity (charge capacity) kept changing. So I took it across to the apple authorised place in Onehunga and had it replaced (the battery).

Now, im starting to see different capacities again on my battery. It isn't showing any errors yet, but just so you can see what i'm talking about look below;

as you cna see, the capacities change quite a bit, and this has me worried, because this is what my other battery was doing before it started faulting.

Any ideas?

josephhinvest

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#258968 28-Sep-2009 13:05

Hi Aaron,

I replaced your battery last week. :)
If you want to drop back in, we can re-run the battery diagnostic utility and see what is says.
Otherwise, I think it would be pretty normal for the capacity to change slightly each charge.
The changes that you've shown are across a range of about 2.5% variance, this is quite possibly within normal ranges.

Anyway, as I said, come back in if you're concerned.

Cheers,
Joseph.

Aaroona

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#258977 28-Sep-2009 13:19

jofizz: Hi Aaron,

I replaced your battery last week. :)
If you want to drop back in, we can re-run the battery diagnostic utility and see what is says.
Otherwise, I think it would be pretty normal for the capacity to change slightly each charge.
The changes that you've shown are across a range of about 2.5% variance, this is quite possibly within normal ranges.

Anyway, as I said, come back in if you're concerned.

Cheers,
Joseph.

Ohh! I thought I recognized you!

Unfortunately I can't just "drop in", since I live on the North Shore (Whangaparaoa to be exact) so it's a bit of a hike. Although I think Wired Dog (in Takapuna) can do it, which is quite a bit closer.

I think at this stage it will show no faults, but im just worried because this is exactly what that other battery did before finally showing the 'Service Battery' message. What also happened the day before I bought it in to you, was the Service Battery message just disappeared so I thought it corrected itself. Then it reappeared so I took it in and had it replaced.

I guess I'm just being paranoid, will just have to keep an eye on it for the time being.
I just thought it was weird that for being at only 4 charges, it dropped from 13107 mAh to 125xx mAh.

Thanks for the info. I might just sit on it for now since you've said it's entirely possible that it's normal for it to do that.

-Aaron

josephhinvest

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#259048 28-Sep-2009 16:52

No worries at all.
We've not seen many of these new machines yet, so I can't really be sure if it's normal either.
Perhaps one other thing you could do is to ring Apple Customer Relations, 00800 7666 7666, and just report that you are concerned about battery performance. They will record an entry against your serial number, and give you a case number. The if there are any issues in future, it will be logged in their system from this date.

Cheers,
Joseph.

Aaroona

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#259082 28-Sep-2009 18:27

Yeah will do.

Also, what would you call acceptable battery life on these new macbook pro 17's?

with the lower end graphics on,

wifi on,
bluetooth off,
screen brightness at 1/4.
and keyboard light off.

Goosey

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#259134 28-Sep-2009 20:56

changing the subject slightly... Im wondering where I can find out if my macbook 17inch battery could be replaced under apple care?

Aaroona

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#259136 28-Sep-2009 20:57

Gooseybhai: changing the subject slightly... Im wondering where I can find out if my macbook 17inch battery could be replaced under apple care?

you might want to start with telling us whats actually wrong with it, how old is it, etc etc etc.

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Goosey

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#259137 28-Sep-2009 20:57

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Manufacturer: SMP
Device name: ASMB014
Pack Lot Code: 0001
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0102
Hardware Revision: 0202
Cell Revision: 0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 458
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4724
Health Information:
Cycle count: 349
Condition: Replace Soon
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 3306
Voltage (mV): 11429

Goosey

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#259139 28-Sep-2009 21:02

macbook purchased in Feb/March 2007

Aaroona

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#259140 28-Sep-2009 21:06

Gooseybhai: macbook purchased in Feb/March 2007

Have you still got active AppleCare? Or is it out?

PS: Joseph is probably the guru you should talk to about that. Im not sure how the warranty works on a battery.

josephhinvest

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#259294 29-Sep-2009 10:17

Gooseybhai: Battery Information:

Cycle count: 349
Condition: Replace Soon

Typically Apple will replace batteries when the unit is under APP, but only if the cycle count is under 300.

For older (plastic) MacBooks and non-unibody MacBooks Pro, I believe 300 is the point at which Apple deem the battery to be Consumed, i.e. depleted after normal usage, and it would likely not be covered, even if still under APP.

For MacBook Air and new Unibody MacBook/MacBook Pro with non-user removable battery, the acceptable cycle count is higher.

Unfortunately I think it's unlikely Apple will cover your battery at 349 cycles.

Cheers,
Joseph.

Goosey

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#259506 29-Sep-2009 20:54

jofizz: Gooseybhai: Battery Information:

Cycle count: 349
Condition: Replace Soon

Typically Apple will replace batteries when the unit is under APP, but only if the cycle count is under 300.

For older (plastic) MacBooks and non-unibody MacBooks Pro, I believe 300 is the point at which Apple deem the battery to be Consumed, i.e. depleted after normal usage, and it would likely not be covered, even if still under APP.

For MacBook Air and new Unibody MacBook/MacBook Pro with non-user removable battery, the acceptable cycle count is higher.

Unfortunately I think it's unlikely Apple will cover your battery at 349 cycles.

Cheers,
Joseph.

Applecare expires in March 2010.... oh well. worth a try.