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duoikari · Aug 15, 2006, 06:03 PM

hi, i was wondering if you could help me. I'm a new mac user, i have a macbook which i bought recently but i also have a pc.

I have noticed several people saying that the macbook has a large battery life and yet i just noticed that it has only 2:45 mins battery time. But i have heard that the macbook does have more. I have to charge the macbook up daily and i will need the macbook for college work so i want it to last longer then 2:45 mins. I also noticed that when i charge the macbook, it takes ages to charge and even when i am running it with the AC connected the battery takes a long time to charge up

I was wondering if there may be a porblem with the macbook, if not that i would like to know if there is a battery that has more life available.

mduell · Aug 15, 2006, 06:19 PM

Try running the battery to zero and see how long it actually lasts. 2:45 is only an estimate.

While you're at it, follow the procedures to calibrate your battery.

And of course, if you want better battery life, turn off wifi/bluetooth, turn the screen brightness all the way down, don't plug in any external devices, etc.

HouseSold · Aug 15, 2006, 06:30 PM

Originally Posted by duoikari

hi, i was wondering if you could help me. I'm a new mac user, i have a macbook which i bought recently but i also have a pc.

I have noticed several people saying that the macbook has a large battery life and yet i just noticed that it has only 2:45 mins battery time. But i have heard that the macbook does have more. I have to charge the macbook up daily and i will need the macbook for college work so i want it to last longer then 2:45 mins. I also noticed that when i charge the macbook, it takes ages to charge and even when i am running it with the AC connected the battery takes a long time to charge up

I was wondering if there may be a porblem with the macbook, if not that i would like to know if there is a battery that has more life available.

You need to condition your battery, at least monthly; let it run completely flat until it forces a sleep shutdown, then charge it fully. Do not be concerned if the final 4% are not full for awhile, because it's normal behavior. If you are a tekkie person, go to the Blue Apple in your menu bar and click 'About This Mac' and then in the left column, click power to read your battery MAH (milliampere hours). Most report here somewhere around 5000 MAH or above. This varies with battery and battery life. If you are using your MacBook while it is charging from flat, it will take longer than charging with it not being used; ie. sleeping or shutdown. I am going to get a MBP powerbrick and see if the extra 20W will help with a faster recharge.

Some report 5 hours with very reduced screen brightness, bluetooth off and just surfing in Safari. I have seen just under 5 hours personally on one of ours.

Mark types faster than I do.

duoikari · Aug 16, 2006, 06:21 AM

the only problem is with that is, i need the wifi on to pick up the internet from the router and i need the bluetooth on to pick up the wireless mouse i have.

I looked up apples website and there is an extra battery for the macbook but it doesn't say how much extra the battery gives you.

I have had my macbook for 2 weeks now and altho i do love it to bits, i find that this battery trouble is bothering me.

I have go into the system profile and this is what it says, personally i can't see anything that needs to be changed here.
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9803/screenpn1.png

mduell · Aug 16, 2006, 08:18 AM

The extra battery is the same as the battery you have. When the first battery goes dead, you swap in the second battery. It isn't like other laptops where you can install an additional battery in place of the optical drive or similar.

Your battery appears to be normal. Try turning down the screen brightness a notch or two.

pliny · Aug 16, 2006, 11:03 AM

I recently picked up a 13" white Macbook. I haven't calibrated my battery yet. Going to battery and checking time, shows 4:45 remaining. Pretty good. In fact for a nice bright screen, 5400 rpm drive and 2.0 ghz chip I'd say this is excellent battery life.

edit: my profile shows battery Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 5183

duoikari · Aug 16, 2006, 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by pliny

I recently picked up a 13" white Macbook. I haven't calibrated my battery yet. Going to battery and checking time, shows 4:45 remaining. Pretty good. In fact for a nice bright screen, 5400 rpm drive and 2.0 ghz chip I'd say this is excellent battery life.

edit: my profile shows battery Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 5183

then why is it we have the same laptop and yet yours has 2 more hours then what mine has.

pliny · Aug 16, 2006, 12:33 PM

Um, I don't know. Why don't you go get it checked out at an Apple Store or something. Here at MacNN no one can check it out for you.

amazing · Aug 16, 2006, 01:11 PM

The time estimate in the menu bar is notoriously inaccurate, it needs to be trained by calibrating the battery as outlined above. Calibrating just has to be done, no way around it.

After calibrating, it's up to you what battery-saving techniques you wish to apply. If you wish to extend your battery life, you have to make some sacrifices, namely turning off wireless and bluetooth (when you need them, they're easy enough to turn on), and turning your screen brightness down.

There's really no magic way to extend battery life without making some sacrifices.

In a couple of years, battery technology will have advanced to the point where more capacity can be packed into the same size as the present battery.