What health does Apple give new batteries?

I remember a while back (around sept 07) I read that if the batteries health gets below 80% and its less then 300 cycles, Apple will consider it defective and give you a new one.

Because I keep my laptop plugged in most of the time(24/7) since school has been out, and I know keeping it plugged in while its connected to AC will drain the batteries health over time.

Right now when I unplug from power, I'm at 77% health with 216 cycles. I know that the health varies a few %, but I know its below 80%

Am I just remembering something thats not true, or does anyone else know?

Thanks in advance.

 

There is no harm in just calling them and asking...at worst you tried and were told no. At best you get a new battery.

But yes, any battery at less than 80% with so few cycles isn't doing so well.

 

Well a while back I had a low health battery. It was at 63% after only 90 cycles. I got it replaced, but it took some pressure from me.

I don't know if they'll let you trade it in with numbers so close to the limit, but there's no harm in trying.

 

Where do I find this info about my battery?

 

just picked up a new mbp today and had a question about apple batteries...how should i go about using mine...and what i mean is...once i unplug it and starting using the battery power...should i drain as much power as i can before plugging it back in...or does it matter if i hop to class use some power and plug it back in when i get home? thanks in advance!

 

Khris, you can see stats like iStat Pro widget and such!

Yes, I believe it is 80% at 300 cycles. But at 217 cycles, you are starting to near it, so I don't know what they'll say. Try it anyway, the most they can do is refuse!

 

Yea I'll be going into the apple store sometime soon, so ill see what they say when I go in.

Was kinda hoping that there was something listed somewhere so that I could use that as a negotiating point.

 

Apple replaces the battery if it within warranty, 1-3 years depending on if you got the APP and the type of product, it is within 80% of a the batteries intended full charge capacit, the cycle count is less than 300, and the computer is up to date.

If the computer is out of warranty, but was bought in 2006-2007 it may qualify for a free battery replacement. Call them to check this one, 1888MYAPPLE.

They're usually pretty lax on sending out batteries, so its worth a call even if you're out of warranty.

 

I just returned mine at 302 charge cycles, 1 year of age (last day of warranty) and 56%. If they don't take it back so be it - it had been pretty bad for a while, I just didn't have time to return it earlier.

Now I know my battery was relatively bad because it lasted only 2 hours or even less, and the machine tended to shut down while in sleep mode without first saving to hard disk. I calibrated a few times.

One thing I noticed is that the battery would indicate just over 50% capacity remaining when very low on charge (< 5%) but 82% when fully charged (100%). I thought battery health - e.g. the charge it can hold at 100% - was an absolute value. But my experience was that that is not so.

It's hard to tell what the "real" health of my battery was. I don't know if it was 56%. However I am pretty sure it wasn't 80% or anywhere near that.

Another thing I noticed with this battery: It seemed to be OK, showing for example 50% charge remaining. Then I would put it to sleep, wake it back up after a few hours, and charge remaining had dropped to 3%. It's normal for the computer to use a little bit of charge in sleep mode, but this was much more dramatic.

In the meantime, I bought a new battery and it's starting to fade already. I think the next one will be a Fastmac battery, they are guaranteed to stay healthy for a year.

 

orthorim, if you're within warranty I'd send your computer to Apple. There seems to be something wrong with your power regulation, and that's causing issues for your batteries.

 

Regarding Apple's Battery Recall, this is what we go by in Canada:

- 200 cycles or less (required)
- shows "X" when plugged into computer
- un-usually short run-time on battery (regardless of health)
- Shows signs of wrapping

This applies to both Macbook and Macbook Pro. If it's under warranty, customers are required to call AppleCare to obtain a Customer Satisfaction (CS) code and have the unit brought to a service point. If the unit is not under warranty (within 3 years of date of purchase), there is a CompTIA code that service point can use to request a new battery.

Apple still requires the notebook to remain in service point while new battery is being ordered.