[jaquarat]

i've heard you need to do some process when you first use it to ensure it has the maximum battery life thereafter - something like charging it up then letting it run all the way down...

is the battery already charged when i get it or do i have to charge it?

sorry in advance for possibly stupid questions!

[cpac]

not stupid.

You're right - you should charge/discharge the battery as completely as possible for at least the first few power cycles. The longer you adopt this habit, the better battery life you'll get (in my experience anyway).

That said, this is not like old school batteries with "memory" problems. Nothing disasterous will happen if you don't charge/discharge it fully the first time.

You can tell whether your battery is charged/discharged by pushing the button on the battery and looking at the number of lights that come on.

[tooki]

Lithium Ion batteries do NOT like being run down all the way -- avoid it when possible. (So don't run the battery down, and then leave it sitting, where it'll continue to lose charge. When you use it, charge it back as soon as you have the chance.)*

The ideal storage is a 40% charge level, at a temperature as close to (but not below) freezing as possible. But that's not practical for your primary battery.

Note also that LiIon batteries lose capacity from the second they leave the assembly line, so there's no point in trying to preserve it by using it less. (In fact, it appears they do need to be "exercised" now and then.


My advice, for a primary battery? Use it however is most practical for you. Anytime you connect the AC adapter to the PowerBook, it will charge it.

I just keep it plugged in, and if I take it somewhere and run it on battery, I don't think anything of it.

tooki

*P.S. With a new battery, such as what comes with your PB, you do want to calibrate the battery, by charging it, then running it down (as slowly as you can, so browse the web rather than watch a DVD), and then charging it again and running it down again. That programs the battery's capacity into its memory chip, and will give you optimal performance.

[jaquarat]

ah thanks!

[tooki]

Originally posted by cpac:
You're right - you should charge/discharge the battery as completely as possible for at least the first few power cycles. The longer you adopt this habit, the better battery life you'll get (in my experience anyway).

It should only be done on rare occasion to calibrate the battery. Lithium Ion batteries are permanently damaged by deep discharging. (A really bad deep discharge can actually kill the battery completely.)

tooki