[Sarc]

Hi,
Today I got my 12in PowerBook back from service, the battery finally died (it wouldn't last beyond 15 minutes) after exactly one year.
I was quite surprised, since my dad's TiPB for example is 2 years old and the battery is in excellent condition.

Anyway, I was wondering, how do I maximize the life span of my battery ?

My powerbook is plugged in ~90% of the time. With the old battery, when I unplugged it, I waited at least until it was at 50% before I plugged it in again. Is this the best way or should I waint until is completely drained ?

Thx.

[Madrag]

I have a tiBook 500, and the battery is almost three years old and lasts 2,6 hours!

The only thing I do to save the battery, is to remove it when I have the ti plugged-in (unless I'm charging it, of course)

Some people think this has no influence, but at least I feel like I'm doing something

[benwhanlee]

on the apple boards, it's been said a few times that heavy drain and recharge on your battery is what has the most effect on the lifespan. so the less you let your battery run down the better. of course, you will want to calibrate your battery now and again, but the more you drain it, the bigger impact that has on the battery. so keep it plugged in whenever possible.

one thing you can do is keep track of your battery capacity with capacity meter (download it at versiontracker.com) or a terminal command. this tells you how much juice your battery can hold.

this is all info that's been stated in other places, i don't really have any scientific knowledge of this so if anybody knows or thinks differently, please share.

[iPoder]

A simple research on the web will help you understand the topics.

Here is one sample link:

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

[mrtew]

My battery is shot on my Ti1GzPB after two years and I'm pissed. Apple covers them for only one year. Stupid Applecare. I want a new battery free. Applecare doesn't cover your computer if you drop it, if it's stolen or if the battery just wears out. Grrrrrr.

[Sarc]

Originally posted by iPoder:
A simple research on the web will help you understand the topics.

Here is one sample link:

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

Thanks, that link was extremely helpful.

[milhous]

also, here's apple's take on what should be done to prepare a new battery for use.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284

Calibrating your computer's battery for best performance
You can calibrate your iBook or PowerBook computer's lithium ion battery for best performance.

The battery has an internal microprocessor that provides an estimate of the amount of energy in the battery as it charges and discharges. The battery needs to be recalibrated from time to time to keep the onscreen battery time and percent display accurate. You should perform this procedure when you first use your computer and then every few months thereafter.

1. Plug the power adapter in and fully charge your computer's battery until the battery indicator lights turn off and the adapter plug ring goes from amber to green, which indicates that the battery is fully charged.
2. Disconnect the power adapter and use your iBook or PowerBook. When your battery gets low, you will see the low battery warning dialog on the screen. Continue to use your computer until it goes to sleep. At that point the battery has been sufficiently drained for calibration.
3. Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.



You have to fully charge and then discharge your battery only once to calibrate it. After that, you can connect and disconnect the power adapter when the battery is at any charge level.

Tip: When the battery reaches "empty", the computer is forced into sleep mode. The battery actually keeps back a reserve beyond "empty", to maintain the computer in sleep for a period of time. Once the battery is truly exhausted, the computer is forced to shut down. At this point, any open files could be lost. Therefore, it is important that you find an electrical outlet and connect the adapter before the forced shutdown occurs.