Maximizing battery life
My Macbook Pro battery died today. I bought it in Feb 2009, before the models with the integrated batteries came out. Fortunately, despite the fact that it's out of warranty, the genius gave me a free replacement.
I asked him how I should maximize my battery life and he told me that I should drain and recharge the battery at least once every two weeks. He also said that batteries should normally be good for 500 cycles, but mine died at about 350.
I'm a little sceptical because while I never completely drained the battery, I would alway run it down to about 5-10 % before plugging it in again and rarely left it plugged in at 100% except if I was using an external monitor.
So what's the real scoop on keeping a battery well-maintained? There's a lot of conflicting information online, including one claim that you should never let the battery go lower than the 20% reserve power charge.
I asked him how I should maximize my battery life and he told me that I should drain and recharge the battery at least once every two weeks. He also said that batteries should normally be good for 500 cycles, but mine died at about 350.
I'm a little sceptical because while I never completely drained the battery, I would alway run it down to about 5-10 % before plugging it in again and rarely left it plugged in at 100% except if I was using an external monitor.
So what's the real scoop on keeping a battery well-maintained? There's a lot of conflicting information online, including one claim that you should never let the battery go lower than the 20% reserve power charge.