Calibrate your MacBook battery and obtain a better performance


Calibrate Your Battery for Optimal Performance

When using your computer on battery power, you'll notice the battery power indicator in the upper-right corner of your screen. Your computer knows approximately how much power your battery contains and how long it will last by using an internal process that tracks your battery power as it charges and discharges.

In order to keep this estimate as accurate as possible, it's occasionally necessary to recalibrate your battery. You should perform this calibration when you first use your computer and then do it again every few months. If you mainly use your computer on AC power, then you should calibrate the battery once a month to ensure accuracy.

Your MacBook will keep track of how much time you can operate your MacBook while operating on battery power. To keep your computer accurate, you should occasionally calibrate your battery.

Store Your Battery

There may come a time when you need to put your MacBook away for a while. If you're going to be storing your laptop for six months or more, you should use your battery until it reaches 50 percent power and then remove it and store it in a cool, dry place. If you store it when fully depleted, it's possible that the battery will no longer be able to hold a charge when you want to use it again.

Storing it while fully charged can also lead to a decrease in battery life. In many of the new MacBooks, the batteries are not user-accessible. To remove or replace your battery, you will have to take your MacBook to an Apple service provider.

Using your MacBook in very hot temperatures (above 95 degrees F) can permanently damage your battery's ability to hold a charge. Charging or storing your battery in these high temperatures will also permanently reduce the life and life span of your battery. Conversely, although storing, charging, and using your battery in cold temperatures may cause a temporary decrease in performance, once the battery returns to a normal temperature, you should regain any lost capacity.

Replace Your Battery

Unfortunately, your MacBook battery won't hold its maximum charge forever, and you may want to replace it before you purchase a new MacBook. When you start noticing that your battery life has significantly decreased, you'll want to look into having the battery replaced. Older MacBook models have batteries that can be replaced by the end user, and a number of companies produce compatible after-market batteries. New MacBook models have built-in batteries that need to be replaced by an authorized Apple service provider.

Your MacBook will let you know when it thinks your battery should be replaced. You can find this information by clicking the Battery icon in your taskbar or from the System Preferences > Energy Saver menu. Your MacBook may not always know what's best, however. If you don't notice a significant decrease in computing time while using battery power, you can probably hold off on buying a new battery until you really need one.

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Note: This article was sent to us by: Andrew Deloney at 11012010

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