battery health at paltry 23%

I got my macbook around the fall of 2006. I have applecare.

is there anyway i an get a replacement battery (without paying a hundred some dollars for a new one?)

 

My battery health is something like 20 percent after only 56 cycles and 8 months of ownership.

Can someone tell me how this happened? Is it because I use Vista? I don't keep the system plugged in all of the time because I take it to classes often, but I can't do that anymore considering the battery only lasts something like 20 minutes on battery saver mode.

 

wow, that sucks dude. I've got more than 600 cycles, and it only runs osx tiger.

and yeah, my computer lasts about max 30 minutes even after it's charged 100%.

 

also, the battery health status yesterday was about 71%.

what are some of the possible causes of such a huge drop?

 

How do you guys find out the battery health? Thanks

 

in all your instances call apple.

we cant tell you what THEY will/will not replace for you.

you need to call, explain to them the situation, the %, and the cycles.

we cant help you.

 

You can use iStat Pro, that will tell you approximate battery health.

Have you guys tried calibrating, to make sure everything is showing as it should be?

But anyway, other than that, yeah...23% is a bit low, but at the same time since its been 600 cycles, it could definitely be wear-and-tear and hard to call as defective.

 

My battery says 91% health at 58 cycles. Is this normal?

 

I had found on Apples web site, as well as many reviewers of the batteries, that if your health drops below 80% within 300 cycles or 1 year of use it will be replaced for free.

I'm pretty sure your out of luck as you are very much out of warranty (unless you have apple care).

 

Battery health: 99%, Cycles: 57
MBP running 10.5.2, occasionally running Parallel's with XP Pro. I get around 2.5 - 3hrs of battery life, depending on what I'm doing

 

got a new battery.

cycle: 1

health: 100%

 

I'm at 42 cycles, 100% battery health. Then again, I haven't calibrated in a while.

 

Calibrated the battery.. now it says 93% at 59 cycles. Is this pretty standard? Had the computer since November and never even use the battery all that much (I usually plug it in without the battery).

 

I calibrated my MacBook battery the 2nd time I used it. Normally I am using the power adapter.
is it advisable to use battery more or using ac adapter is better?
how often should I calibrate battery?
My MacBook has 5 cycles in 1 month
Sorry for so Many queries

 

The less you use the battery, the longer the battery life. You can keep the MacBook plugged in like most of the time, but do use the battery maybe once a week or so.

 

thanks Sam for the info
what about calibration? How often to do it?

 

That's reallly up to you, but not very often. Maybe calibrate once every 30 cycles?

 

thanks Sam again
I am yet to see a more friendly n helpful guy than u on forums

 

Haha, no problems Kaushal, and you're very welcome . I just enjoy helping others out! I had help when I needed it, so I don't mind giving it back to others!