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Mallrat · Jun 8, 2003, 07:25 PM

Hello, I'm about to sell my ibook G3, 500 after I purchase a new Powerbook.

Question:

I never used this for school or for traveling... so for 99% of the time, I had it plugged in. I bought the laptop so I could take it to different places easily, but I always plug it into a wall when using it.

So I unplugged it and it say I have about 1 hour and 38 minutes of battery life on a full charge. I think Apple says they get 5 to 6 hours on a battery, but I know that is best case scenario and not close to real life usage.

So is my battery in good shape or is 1 hour and 38 minutes seem low. Any ways to check?

I want to know so I can comment on the condition of the battery when selling and for future reference.

Are there steps you should take when you purchase a new laptop to make sure your batter works better?

Thank you.

pat++ · 09:16 AM

Your battery will need to be replaced soon. After 2 years, this is normal. You should easily get about 4-4.5 hours battery life with a brand new one. My 500mhz iBook battery is also tired... I only get about 40mn. (like you, I'm using my iBook plugged to the Power supply 99% of the time)

mdc · Jun 10, 2003, 02:42 PM

i think i have a dead battery when i got my ibook 800 4 months ago. the battery life was always in the mid 3 hours, which was fine with me. but then last week it started to last around an hour and a half. i just got my brand new battery from them, and am busy calibrating it now.

brand new battery you are looking at 3.5+ hours

Uisce · Jun 10, 2003, 05:34 PM

My last iBook got a consistent 3.5 hours over the six months I had it. After 6mos I could get almost 5 hours if I ran the screen super dim, but who wants to do that?

Anyway, less than two hours is low - almost to the point where the computer isn't mobile anymore (always needs to be tethered). Depending on what you have turned on (Airport, screen brightness) your life may vary.

Stratus Fear · Jun 10, 2003, 05:48 PM

Originally posted by Uisce:
Anyway, less than two hours is low - almost to the point where the computer isn't mobile anymore (always needs to be tethered). Depending on what you have turned on (Airport, screen brightness) your life may vary.

Most PC notebook users (minus the Centrino users) must have fun carrying around that AC adapter all the time

Particle_Man · Jun 24, 2003, 03:15 PM

I can get 4 hours and 25 minutes with my screen brightness on the third bar in the popup graphic. I could probably get a bit more by spinning down the hard drive and turning off Airport but since I'm using those things it's not practical. With normal (100%) brightness I get right at three hours.

Sounds like it's time to replace your battery. I got mine replaced under AppleCare.

Sosa · Jun 24, 2003, 09:53 PM

After 10 months of use, including draining the battery once every 2-3 weeks, I'm getting 3.5 hours of battery life. So yes, 1.5 hours is low for a Mac, for a PC that would be good! In fact, I bet if you advertise the battery as lasting that long, PC users won't know anything's up!

ccsccs7 · Jun 25, 2003, 05:13 AM

I was about in the same boat as you (sans getting a new Powerbook). When I first got my iBook, I was able to get battery time (reported) of about 4.5 hours (without AirPort on it might have been more like 4 or 3.75 if I turned AirPort on, don't remember exactly). Like you, I stayed on AC. Late on I decided to use my battery--after all, I did get a notebook. Now, I'm fortunate to get about 1 hour 45 minutes (with Airport--I might be able to get 2-2.25 hours without).

I've had my iBook for about a 1.5 years.