Battery Life Opinions (for an iBook)

[diagonalman]

I use my iBook for everything, but most of the time use it at home. The battery is all but dead and won't hold a charge (from improper recharging).

Before I buy a replacement, I was wondering if, for regular at-home use, is it better to take out the battery altogether and run the ibook off the AC adapter? Then drop in the battery when it's time to head out the door?

How do other laptop only people work out their power management issues?

Thanks.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

I use my iBook for everything, but most of the time use it at home. The battery is all but dead and won't hold a charge (from improper recharging).

Before I buy a replacement, I was wondering if, for regular at-home use, is it better to take out the battery altogether and run the ibook off the AC adapter? Then drop in the battery when it's time to head out the door?

How do other laptop only people work out their power management issues?

Thanks.

You might want to try resetting the power manager and see if that helps. No, I don't remember how to do this, I believe it's some kind of wacky key-combo you press at startup or something. If you search Apple's knowledge-base you should find the article though.

I've heard of people that remove the batteries from their laptops while plugged into the wall and install the batteries when they want to take the laptop with them.

My last 2 laptops have been PowerBooks and I haven't done anything like removing the batteries while on AC power, and I haven't seen drops in how long I can go on a battery charge.

What I usually do though is at night when I put my PowerBook to sleep is I unplug it from the wall, so the laptop is kept alive by the battery. Then when I want to use it next I plug it in as it's waking up.

I don't know if this helps at all since you specifically asked about iBooks.

[diagonalman]

Good suggestions. Thanks!

[Escher]

diagonalman: Check out http://www.apple.com/batteries/ for detailed information on what to do with your batteries. As for your questions: No need to remove your batteries when you are plugged in. Your iBook's Power Manager will make sure that the battery is by-passed, as if it were physically removed.

bassplayinMacFiend's advice to unplug your iBook overnight is a bad idea. The Lithium-Ion batteries in current 'Books have a limited number of charge/discharge cycles. As the Apple site explains, emptying your battery 100% once or 25% four times counts as one cycle and thus has the same effect on the battery's lifespan. When you unplug your iBook at night, it will draw power from the battery and thus reduce its lifespan. So don't unplug your iBook at night.

Escher

[diagonalman]

Right! We have one vote for each side now! I'll check out the link. Thanks!

[usurp]

its not a good thing not to use your ibooks batteries. that would kill it. i think you should just use it normally. all batteries die sooner or later.

[diagonalman]

Check it, Apple says don't leave it plugged in all the time. If your laptop is your only computer (in lieu of a big bulky machine) and travels infrequently... how would you best manage the battery life w/o removing it while plugged in?

Plus, it would seem that resetting the power manager is recommended only for extreme cases.

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From http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

Standard Maintenance

For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her iBook on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing. If on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month. Need a reminder? Add an event to your desktop’s iCal.
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[bassplayinMacFiend]

diagonalman: Check out http://www.apple.com/batteries/

bassplayinMacFiend's advice to unplug your iBook overnight is a bad idea. The Lithium-Ion batteries in current 'Books have a limited number of charge/discharge cycles. As the Apple site explains, emptying your battery 100% once or 25% four times counts as one cycle and thus has the same effect on the battery's lifespan. When you unplug your iBook at night, it will draw power from the battery and thus reduce its lifespan. So don't unplug your iBook at night.

Escher

I probably use about 2% of the battery while it's unplugged overnight. Apple also says that partial charging is better for Li-Ion batteries than deep charging is. I don't know what's right or wrong, all I know is the batteries for my TiBook were fine after 2.5 years of regular use in school. My AlBook's battery is fine, but it's not even a year old yet so it should be.

Needless to say I'm curious as to what the best answer is since I'd like my battery to last for 3 or so years.

[Mac+]

My Ti550PB battery is dead now. What really irks me is if I am working for a minute after I pull the plug the whole computer just loses it and then I have to wait to find another powerpoint and reboot the whole machine. :grumble:

I am thinking of getting a new laptop toward the end of the year, (which means I'll finally get to use Panther and iLife '04 - on a much faster system than what I have here ... I should clarify that I do not use or own 10.3 or iLife'04 presently) so I think I'll just put up with this poor battery performance b/c it would be a waste of $ to buy a replacement at this stage.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

So, according to http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html , it seems that using your battery is better than not using it. According to this same page, an iBook battery should still store 80% of its original capacity after 300 charges.

diagonalman,

If your iBook's battery isn't holding any charge, that probably qualifies as an extreme case. This reset affects the battery more than the computer.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

My Ti550PB battery is dead now. What really irks me is if I am working for a minute after I pull the plug the whole computer just loses it and then I have to wait to find another powerpoint and reboot the whole machine. :grumble:

I am thinking of getting a new laptop toward the end of the year, (which means I'll finally get to use Panther and iLife '04 - on a much faster system than what I have here ... I should clarify that I do not use or own 10.3 or iLife'04 presently) so I think I'll just put up with this poor battery performance b/c it would be a waste of $ to buy a replacement at this stage.

That depends, what do you plan on doing with your TiBook once you buy a new laptop? If you plan on selling it, you'll get more $$ for one with a working battery. There are warranteed batteries for sale at www.ebay.com.au with a buy it now price of $115AUD. That's cheaper than Apple's cost of $129USD.

[Escher]

Check it, Apple says don't leave it plugged in all the time. If your laptop is your only computer (in lieu of a big bulky machine) and travels infrequently... how would you best manage the battery life w/o removing it while plugged in?

Apple gives you the answer in the text you quoted:

Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month.

So there's no need to "use your battery" every single night by unplugging your PowerBook. Surfing the Web from your couch every couple of weeks should be just fine.

An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her iBook on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing.

But by Apple's own cycle-logic, with which completely I agree, the commuter who uses her 'Book on the train every day would see her Li-Ion battery die sooner than the person who uses her 'Book on battery only every couple of weeks.

Bottom line: If you have a notebook, make sure to use your battery every now and then. But there's no need to force yourself to use the battery every day (or every night by unplugging).

I am thinking of getting a new laptop toward the end of the year, ... so I think I'll just put up with this poor battery performance b/c it would be a waste of $ to buy a replacement at this stage.

That's what I have done with every PowerBook I've had. When you add up $150 for a new battery, $80 for the new OS, $50 for iLife, etc., you might as well buy a new PowerBook. ;)

In the end, as others have stated above, all rechargeable batteries have a limited lifespan. Whether you use your battery every day, or once a month, it will die sooner or later. At that point you just have to replace it, live without it, or buy a new PowerBook.

Escher

[diagonalman]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I reset the PMU according to apple's web site. Apparently I have the dual USB model which does not have a physical reset button like some of the other models.

Instead it has a keystroke reset. SHIFT+CTL+OPT+POWER. I wasn't sure that it took. The only way I knew is that it reset the time/date, which apple said it would in the instructions.

My batt still drains 100% in about 10 minutes. Plus, it FULLY recharges (green light on the adapter) in about 10 minutes. I did the PMU reset twice with the same results.

Any other suggestions or is the batt is dead as a doornail? Would you think it was using the iBook in replacement of a DVD player for the better part of 1.5 years that might have killed it? Thanks.

PS: Pardon if this should have gone into the Genius Bar forum! My bad. :)

[DMBand0026]

This is me giving the last rights to your battery. In other words, it's dead. Sorry. Time to look into a new battery, either that or hold onto your machine for a while and use without the battery until they bump the iBooks again, and look into one of those.