Comments on: Check your battery’s health with System Profiler

By: Miraz Jordan

Miraz Jordan — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:55:04 +0000

The numbers are just a guide. What’s really important is whether or not the battery does what you need it to do.

3 hours is good. It’s when it gets down to 1 hour or less that I’d consider replacing it.

I hope that helps.

By: Alma

Alma — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:51:58 +0000

I can’t seem to find the “condition” of my battery in my System Profiler.

I am worried as after 3 hours my battery is low.

My cycle count is 848 and my Mac age is 56 months. Does this mean I need to replace my battery?

By: Miraz Jordan

Miraz Jordan — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:21:20 +0000

The lines “Remaining Capacity (mAh): 0″ and “Charging: No” suggest to me the battery is dead, but it may be a charger problem.

Your IP address suggests to me you may be in a place where you have access to an Apple Store and Genius Bar. I’d suggest you take the machine in to them. At the very least they could probably test whether a different charger will charge your machine and battery.

If you can borrow a charger or battery you could always try swapping things around.

I was having problems with my MacBook Pro suddenly turning off recently. A new charger fixed it!

I hope that helps.

Cheers,

Miraz

By: Bhaity

Bhaity — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:06:47 +0000

I’m trying to figure out if I have a problem with my battery or with my charger, but I don’t see “Health Information” under Battery Information. I’m using OS X 10.4.
My “Remaining Capacity” is at 0 but the cycle count is also at 0.. does this mean it’s totally dead?

Battery Information:

Battery Installed: Yes
First low level warning: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 3970
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 0
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 2912
Cycle Count: 0

AC Charger Information:

AC Charger (Watts): 65
Connected: Yes
Charging: No

By: Miraz Jordan

Miraz Jordan — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:00:36 +0000

Batteries are good for a certain number of cycles. How you use the Mac, how much and how often on battery and many other factors all affect battery life. You could maybe check with Apple to see if they can suggest ways to extend it.

By: The Cute Penguin

The Cute Penguin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:45:48 +0000

Oh, but my mac is only 2 years old but it is only 88 – 100 mins of battery. Why?

By: Miraz Jordan

Miraz Jordan — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 02:13:37 +0000

Does the System Profiler have a ‘Health information’ line near the cycle count? That should tell you a bit more. What about the maximum capacity?

At a guess though a cycle count that high suggests you may need a new battery before too long. How long does it last between charges?

By: Carolina

Carolina — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:41:41 +0000

i have 905 cycle counts my computer is from 2008 mac 10.4.11…does that mean it will die very soon?

By: Top 20 Tips for Apple users — Mac Tips

Top 20 Tips for Apple users — Mac Tips — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:00:18 +0000

[...] Check your battery's health with System Profiler [...]

By: Miraz

Miraz — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:44:51 +0000

Massimo: I’d say you’re doing pretty well on your battery with 1.5 hours for 376 charges.

My battery has 79 cycles and currently shows around 1.5 hours remaining.

The amount of time any on full charge gives you depends a whole lot on what you’re doing – eg reading, typing, playing music – and on what services you’re using – eg wireless, backlight and so on.

Apple suggest you fully discharge the battery around once per month and fully recharge it for best maintenance. There’s no problem with charging it fully.