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    MBPr 2015 - Battery draining fast

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by monocycliste, May 21, 2015.

  1. monocycliste

    monocycliste Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi,

    I've just acquire the basic model of the 2015 line Macbook Pro retina display. This is the second time I'm using it but the battery seems to be draining pretty fast, and I wonder if this is normal on the first few usage?

    Battery went from 100% to 90% in about 30-40 minutes. I had chrome opened with two tabs, that's it. Facebook & Soundcloud.


    It went from 99% showing 7h30 left, to 95% showing 6h00 left, now 89% showing 5h30 left.

    So is this normal on the first few usage or not? As I said, two tabs in chrome, that's it, apart from my VPN (PrivateInternetAccess). The "App using significant energy" shows Chrome, but no other.

    Thank you

    Down 2% in 2 minutes since I posted this thread

    If that can help

    Before going to bed last night, I turned off all opened apps, closed the computer lid and it lost 8% while in sleep mode (over about 9 hours)
     

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    Last edited by a moderator: May 27, 2015
    monocycliste, May 21, 2015
    #1
  2. roadracer247

    roadracer247 Notebook Consultant

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    Doesn't seem normal. Mine doesn't lose battery like that..
     
    roadracer247, May 22, 2015
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  3. Sladerade

    Sladerade Notebook Consultant

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    Download CoconutBattery and check your battery health and see where its at. Going based off of Apple's website the built in batteries do not need to be calibrated. Personally I run them down from 100% to 10% or less and then charge them up when I first get a new device. I usually don't charge it unless its below 50%. If its at 60%,70% etc. depending what I'm doing the rest of the day ill charge it to 100%. I use it plugged in all the time when playing games or editing photos. My battery is lasting perfectly fine.

    Google Chrome is a battery drainer. I use safari unless I'm watching videos where Google Chrome does a better job at block obtrusive ads in videos. I also have to be careful when it switches to the Nvidia 750GT that will take a toll on battery as well.

    Things to consider
    - screen brightness
    - wi-fi strength
    - other programs open
    - things downloading in the background
     
    Sladerade, May 23, 2015
    #3
  4. roadracer247

    roadracer247 Notebook Consultant

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    roadracer247, May 27, 2015
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  5. SeagateBoy

    SeagateBoy Notebook Consultant

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    Do you have flash running? flash takes loads of power, chrome does too but not as much
     
    SeagateBoy, Jun 29, 2015
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  6. mmoy

    mmoy Notebook Deity

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    If you have the battery icon up, you can click and hold and it will tell you about Apps taking significant power. For me, it's usually Firefox.

    I was at a Cafe a few days ago and was getting the same battery usage but I was using WiFi, a Bluetooth Mouse and an External Keyboard that uses up a lot of juice. I was also using VPN, had max screen brightness and was doing development work. I can change a few things to get battery life but I wasn't going to be there for more than an hour so it didn't matter.

    I think that the Activity utility will display power usage, maybe by process - and that may help in diagnosing power issues.
     
    mmoy, Jul 1, 2015
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  7. Stalvros

    Stalvros Notebook Evangelist

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    Does macbook in general drain battery faster in Bootcamp as compared to when it's running OSX?
     
    Stalvros, Jul 5, 2015
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  8. roadracer247

    roadracer247 Notebook Consultant

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    From my understanding, yes.
     
    roadracer247, Jul 5, 2015
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  9. tijo

    tijo Sacred Blame

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    Especially for the models with a dedicated GPU, since there is no graphics switching.
     
    tijo, Jul 5, 2015
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  10. KCETech1

    KCETech1 Notebook Prophet

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    in one word YES. if you do not have a dGPU you lose a bit less, only about 15-20% of your overall time. however if you do have a unit with dedicated graphics you can lose between 35-45% of your battery life to to no graphics switching and very poor APM drivers with bootcamp.
     
    KCETech1, Jul 7, 2015
    #10
    jaug1337 likes this.
  11. jaug1337

    jaug1337 de_dust2

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    I did not know of this sorcery... :0
     
    jaug1337, Aug 6, 2015
    #11