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RoofusPennymore · Apr 20, 2002, 03:43 PM

On my Dual USB 500 running OSX I only get about 1 hour of battery life after a full charge. Is it just me or is this wrong?

kennethmac2000 · Apr 20, 2002, 03:52 PM

Originally posted by RoofusPennymore:
On my Dual USB 500 running OSX I only get about 1 hour of battery life after a full charge. Is it just me or is this wrong?

It's just you, although I imagine the age of your iBook's battery and the applications you are running on it may having something to do with it.

x user · Apr 20, 2002, 05:34 PM

Nope I get about the same, maybe 1.2 hours max. If you turn down the brightness on your screen it'll run more, but when I'm playing RTCW I need that brightness.

RoofusPennymore · Apr 20, 2002, 09:05 PM

Originally posted by kennethmac2000:


It's just you, although I imagine the age of your iBook's battery and the applications you are running on it may having something to do with it.

Well, My Lombard gets 2.5-3 hours consistently and I've had it longer.

x user · Apr 20, 2002, 09:28 PM

iTainums batteries don't last nearly as long as advertised, even in OS 9. The orginal iBooks batteries lasted much longer.

D'Espice · Apr 21, 2002, 06:34 AM

Maybe you should try "DeepDischarge". Helped my old battery in my PowerBook to cross the line between 3h and 4h

swoodnj2 · Apr 21, 2002, 08:11 AM

I've noticed a difference since installing and using Airport...

Steve W

Justin W. Williams · Apr 21, 2002, 08:35 AM

Originally posted by swoodnj2:
I've noticed a difference since installing and using Airport...

Steve W

Airport sucks battery. If you are on the road and don't need Airport, turn it off. It'll save some battery life.

RoofusPennymore · Apr 21, 2002, 11:21 AM

Originally posted by D'Espice:
Maybe you should try "DeepDischarge". Helped my old battery in my PowerBook to cross the line between 3h and 4h

Would you mind tell me more about how to do this?

SpeedRacer · Apr 21, 2002, 11:29 AM

Originally posted by x user:
Nope I get about the same, maybe 1.2 hours max. If you turn down the brightness on your screen it'll run more, but when I'm playing RTCW I need that brightness.

O/T... You're running RTCW on your iBook?! Is this is a 600 or 500mHz model? How's your FPS? RAM?

Speed

Dog Cow · Apr 21, 2002, 09:52 PM

I consistently get 1.5 hours in OS X doing average work(no CD or DVD but running iTunes). This compares to 3+ hours in OS 9. I really hope some of OS 9's energy saving features are implemented in the next revision of X soon.

dc

x user · Apr 21, 2002, 11:56 PM

Originally posted by SpeedRacer:


O/T... You're running RTCW on your iBook?! Is this is a 600 or 500mHz model? How's your FPS? RAM?

Speed

Um it's a 500 overclocked to 600 (but I ran with just 500). Settings all the way down, except for 32bit graphics. Framerates on MPtest2 are about 24-50 (outside, inside). If you mess with Beta 3 the SP mode is much more demanding, and almost impossible to play on the iBook.

ringo · Apr 22, 2002, 12:35 PM

Dunno if the batteries get better over time or the OS updates have helped, but my 500Mhz iceBook's battery life has actually increased since I bought it months ago.

I average about 2h20m using OS X and Airport now, this is really bizzare as I used to only get 1h 25m or so when the computer was new. Kill the brightness a little and turn off your airport if not in use.

Also, don't leave a CD in the drive if you're not using it. OS X will spin the drive every time you do anything with the finder (Every little bit helps, no?)

MrNo · Apr 23, 2002, 11:54 AM

That's weird. I get 3+ hours on mine with brightneww to the max, virtual pc running on it and doing some programing. Before 10.1.4 I used to get about 2.5 hours

IronPen · Apr 23, 2002, 12:50 PM

1.5 hrs? Wow. At work running the airport and various programs like Mozilla or Omniweb, Entourage, an IM, and the brightness at 60% or better, and I usually get at least 2hr 15min to almost 2.5hrs. This is the iBook 500.

Tristrami · Apr 23, 2002, 03:29 PM

I get consistantly 3 + hours watching a DVD or playing games on mine.

CheesePuff · Apr 23, 2002, 05:38 PM

With the brightness at 85% to 100%, I can get from 2.75 to 3 hours. This is an iBook 600.

Voch · Apr 23, 2002, 08:54 PM

I just timed my iBook/500/DVD that I've had since May 7th of last year running Mac OS X 10.1.4 with the LCD backlighting at two notches below max and using AirPort. It used to last about 50 minutes but now it's 1 hour 20 minutes (it always goes to sleep at about 46% battery).

I called Apple on it and they had me to a reset (hold the reset button for 30 seconds w/o AC or battery power), run a disk repair, and delete my com.apple.windowserver.plist pref file and reboot.

I'm not too happy about the time and have an incident open with Apple about this (I may call them tomorrow again). I used to really get about 3.5 to 4 hours (but that was running Mac OS 9.2.1).

Voch

nest18 · Apr 24, 2002, 07:19 AM

I use to have 2 hours on mine (500/66 384ram), Ram makes a big difference in the batterie life. But since 10.1.4 update I almost get 3 hours and I run VPC and photoshop in classic.

Don't know if you notice a difference since 10.1.3 but on mine it makes a change.

I've also heard that leaving you iBook constatly plugged even when the battery is fully charged, could alter the life of the battery. It's better to let it discharge and recharge at least once a week.

Eug · Apr 24, 2002, 01:58 PM

OS X.1.3
Battery state 98%
Airport off
Brightness mid
iBook 600 12"

I was able to get about 2 hours of DVD play time before the laptop shut itself off.

I don't think a deep discharge is a good idea since the iBook uses Li batteries not NiMH batteries.

By the way, RTCW seems completely unplayable to me on an iBook 600. But then again, I'm used to Quake III Radeon speeds on a PC.

Voch · Apr 25, 2002, 07:00 PM

Well, after calling Apple again about my battery life only improving slightly using their suggestions they're sending me a new battery. I had to give them a credit card number in case I fail to send the old battery back within 14 days (no problem). They also said that if this battery doesn't work then my iBook itself is possibly at fault they'd have to do more investigation but so far I (like Apple) am assuming that the battery is at fault.

So far I'm very happy with how Apple is handling this.

Voch
Loyal Apple customer since my Duo 230

[ 04-25-2002: Message edited by: Voch ]

turtle777 · Apr 29, 2002, 11:26 AM

Since noone asked before:

WTF are battery running times *so* different with different iBooks ???
Of course, apps running make a difference.

Actually, I have a hard time believing what some of you guys have stated as your normal running time !

When I turn down brightness all the way and without airport, I might get 2 1/2 hours (no CDs, of course...) (OS X.1.4)
Watching DVD: 1 1/2 hrs MAX !!!

I don't now, something is very strange about these battery running times...

-t

Voch · May 1, 2002, 08:03 AM

Well...I got my new battery last night from Apple and charged it overnight like they suggested. Works great! I only used my iBook full-blast (max backlighting, AirPort enabled) for about 30 minutes before work this morning and the battery only went down to 90% (Mac OS X said I had 3 hr 17 min left so I assume the degredation is not linear).

My old battery (on the way back to Apple via Airborne Express this afternoon) would have died in the amount of time I used it.

If you're having battery trouble and are still under warrenty: call Apple about it.

Voch

[ 05-01-2002: Message edited by: Voch ]

dooger · May 2, 2002, 07:22 PM

Voch,

I seem to be having the same battery issues that you have. I have had my iBook 500/66 for almost a year now and the battery life has become increasingly poor. My iBook too goes to sleep at around 40% everytime I run it down. I was just wondering what number you called and or who you talked to at Apple to resolve the issue. Also, since they did in fact send you another battery, what did you say to them.

Voch · May 2, 2002, 10:36 PM

Originally posted by dooger:
I was just wondering what number you called and or who you talked to at Apple to resolve the issue. Also, since they did in fact send you another battery, what did you say to them.

I initially called 1-800-SOS-APPL and told the rep that I was having battery trouble with my iBook. They connected me to a tech. I said that my battery was lasting on average about 45 minutes. They had me zap the PRAM and reset the power manager with and without a battery installed. Apple also opened an incident in their database for me (this number was used to reference the problem from then on).

The treatment only gave be about 10 extra minutes or so of battery life so I called them back a few days later. I asked them if this was "normal" for a battery to go this bad this quickly and the Apple tech said no. They sent me a new battery (recieved it via Airborne Express within a few days) and told me to return the battery in the same package (they had a prepaid ticket to return it in the box). They took a credit card number from me in case I failed to return the battery (it's in transit now...in case it doesn't ever get there I have an Airborne Express receipt saying I dropped it off so I guess I'm covered).

Here's some fire for the cynics of the message board. I do have the AppleCare extended warrenty for my machine. I've never bought it before in the history of owning Macs (Duo 230, beige G3). I hope that's not a factor but I doubt they'd do this if my machine was out of warranty (the original 1 year warrenty was within a few days of expiring when I opened this issue).

I guess what to do is not get mad and demand a battery but to be inquisitive. I first assumed that lithium ion batteries wear out after a year (this was certainly true with my Qualcomm mobile phone that's on 24/7) and that it was time to purchase another. Apple said that it was not so and I'm pretty pleased with their honesty..

Also: a few weeks before I had sent my iBook in for a few nitpick fixes that Apple also promptly took care of: loud hard drive (not replaced but they did something to make it like-new) and trackpad "zap" (replaced the trackpad...works great now). That took three days total from ship-out to recieve.

Voch

x user · May 2, 2002, 10:49 PM

I just bought a new battery for my iBook, and found that it lasted about 2.5 hours with everything on. Airport running. So I'm having the same problem with the battery wearing quickly. It seems over half the battery life was gone. Unfortuitly my warrenty has expired. So I doubt I can get a new battery. However this new one that I bought will suffice.

stefls · Dec 7, 2002, 07:21 PM

Originally posted by x user:
I just bought a new battery for my iBook, and found that it lasted about 2.5 hours with everything on. Airport running. So I'm having the same problem with the battery wearing quickly. It seems over half the battery life was gone. Unfortuitly my warrenty has expired. So I doubt I can get a new battery. However this new one that I bought will suffice.

Battery life decreased dramatically overnight on my oct2001 ibook (600). From 1h45 it went to 0h45. I tried some suggestions as written above to no avail. Buying a new battery is out of the question due to its incredible price (EUR 165 ex VAT, Netherlands).

Too bad this happened just after warranty expired. I'll try to call upon Apple's reasonability.

cheers,

Stefan