Best Practices for Longer MacBook Pro and Air Battery Life

One of the questions we get all of the time at Austin MacWorks has to be how do you get the best performance and make your battery last as long as possible in your MacBook Pro or Air.

The Basics of the MacBook Pro Battery and Battery Calibration

With care, your MacBook or Air battery can last for 3-5 years, or to look at it another way, about 1000 charges. After a while, the total capacity of your  battery may become diminished, often lasting an hour less than when your first purchased your machine. If you suspect that your battery has become diminished, you can download the application Coconut Battery to give you a better handle on how much your battery has become compromised.

Calibrate your Battery

Over time due to chemical reactions taking place in the battery, your battery can loose a bit of its punch. Recalibrating your MacBook Pro or Air helps your battery meter correctly read the state of your battery.

The Rule of Recalibration

First of all, charge your MacBook Pro or Air battery to fullest, and then leave it that way for at least a couple of hours. Once the battery is fully charged,  unplug your Mac, and set the Energy Saver settings to so the machine won’t shut off or lower the monitor brightness. The point here is to to drain the battery completely, then let your Mac sit overnight once it’s drained. The next morning, charge the batter again to 100 percent.

More Best practices for Longer Battery Life

The rule of thumb is that batteries are like muscles; you need to work em’ or loose them. Use your MacBook or Air unplugged at least once a day. One of the worst things you can do to your battery is to leave your Mac plugged in all the time, doing so will shorten and/or harm your Mac’s battery.

The Battery Rules

Recalibrate your battery once a month
Never leave your MacBook Pro or Air plugged in all the time
Use the Battery even a little bit every day