MacBook Air battery that I just replaced still doesn't last
June 24, 2022 10:38 AM Subscribe
I have a MacBook Air (13", early 2015, i5) that had a bad battery. I just replaced it with an iFixit battery. After calibrating as directed, it was still running all the way down in less than 4 hours, so I reset the SMC, and that hasn't helped. Should I ask iFixit for an exchange and try another battery? Is there something else I should do?
Before replacing the battery, my old one ran down very quickly (maybe in minutes? under an hour, anyway), and would shut down without any warning at all. The battery indicator would often look fine with plenty of life left right before it would shut down unexpectedly -- the first sign that it was running low is that it would turn off. I'd have to plug it in, maybe wait a bit, and then restart. I think I'd seen some kind of "battery needs replacing" message at some point, but I just used it plugged-in only instead. I used it that way for months.
Eventually, I decided to DIY a battery replacement, and ordered this from iFixit. The repair seemed to go fine. They instruct you how to calibrate, and I did so exactly as directed. Then I checked the battery life, and it took about 2 hours to go down to 50%, just sitting on my desk without doing much of anything. That's much less than the 12+ hours of expected use according to Apple, and real-life reviews back then reported even better life than that claim.
iFixit's page said that in case of any irregularities, I should reset the SMC, so I did that. I have now had it on for about 3 hours, and the battery has gone from 100% to 27%.
Did I get a semi-dud battery, and should I get iFixit to ship me a replacement so I can try again? Or is that not really a thing that manifests this way, and do computers this age just do this even with new batteries? Is there anything else I should try?
I'm not too computer-savvy -- this was the first time in decades that I've opened up a computer to DIY anything, and I didn't know about SMC resets before reading about them on iFixit. So if there's more I should do, please give me simple instructions if you can. Thanks!
Before replacing the battery, my old one ran down very quickly (maybe in minutes? under an hour, anyway), and would shut down without any warning at all. The battery indicator would often look fine with plenty of life left right before it would shut down unexpectedly -- the first sign that it was running low is that it would turn off. I'd have to plug it in, maybe wait a bit, and then restart. I think I'd seen some kind of "battery needs replacing" message at some point, but I just used it plugged-in only instead. I used it that way for months.
Eventually, I decided to DIY a battery replacement, and ordered this from iFixit. The repair seemed to go fine. They instruct you how to calibrate, and I did so exactly as directed. Then I checked the battery life, and it took about 2 hours to go down to 50%, just sitting on my desk without doing much of anything. That's much less than the 12+ hours of expected use according to Apple, and real-life reviews back then reported even better life than that claim.
iFixit's page said that in case of any irregularities, I should reset the SMC, so I did that. I have now had it on for about 3 hours, and the battery has gone from 100% to 27%.
Did I get a semi-dud battery, and should I get iFixit to ship me a replacement so I can try again? Or is that not really a thing that manifests this way, and do computers this age just do this even with new batteries? Is there anything else I should try?
I'm not too computer-savvy -- this was the first time in decades that I've opened up a computer to DIY anything, and I didn't know about SMC resets before reading about them on iFixit. So if there's more I should do, please give me simple instructions if you can. Thanks!
The 12 hr lifespan requires that the computer be on and basically doing nothing. Any CPU activity is going to drain the battery really quickly - the processor is nominally 15W and can peak somewhat higher. The battery capacity, meanwhile, is about 75 W-h so if the processor is significantly loaded the battery capacity is at most 5 hours just based on the processor’s utilization alone, and the display will easily take it below 4 hours.
Note that Chrome is notorious for high CPU loading and will dramatically reduce battery run time if it’s open. Safari’s a bit better in that regard.
posted by doomsey at 11:05 AM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Note that Chrome is notorious for high CPU loading and will dramatically reduce battery run time if it’s open. Safari’s a bit better in that regard.
posted by doomsey at 11:05 AM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
In addition to what the others said, as time progresses, software grows to consume more resources. Meaning, the newer versions of the operating system and applications you use likely consume more CPU and other resources than what was current 7 years ago when that computer was new. I think via that mechanism alone, I'd expect the exact same computer and battery to have a shorter battery life than it did in 2015.
posted by primethyme at 11:09 AM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by primethyme at 11:09 AM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you!
doomsey, I am running Chrome, and I've heard before that it's a battery hog. But is it so much so that instead of Apple's "12 hours wireless web [or] ... iTunes movie playback," I'd get 4 hours of my computer just sitting there on my desk? I do have lots of tabs open in the background, but I'm not using them during this testing.
And similarly, primethyme, that makes sense about getting less life now due to more CPU-intensive updates, but again, would that be enough to account for nearly non-use running down the battery in 4 hours, instead of the expected 12 hours of wireless web or movie playback?
Caek, I'd love some more help interpreting what I see in the three places you mention, if you're up for it. Chrome is listed as using significant energy, has a 7.34 under 12-hour battery use on the Energy tab, and Google Chrome Helper's % CPU numbers are hovering around 75-90 as I watch. Do those numbers explain whether or not the battery is functioning as it should, and it's just that I have to give up Chrome?
If I do give up Chrome for Safari, how much better could I expect? Like an extra hour, or lots more than that?
posted by daisyace at 11:16 AM on June 24, 2022
doomsey, I am running Chrome, and I've heard before that it's a battery hog. But is it so much so that instead of Apple's "12 hours wireless web [or] ... iTunes movie playback," I'd get 4 hours of my computer just sitting there on my desk? I do have lots of tabs open in the background, but I'm not using them during this testing.
And similarly, primethyme, that makes sense about getting less life now due to more CPU-intensive updates, but again, would that be enough to account for nearly non-use running down the battery in 4 hours, instead of the expected 12 hours of wireless web or movie playback?
Caek, I'd love some more help interpreting what I see in the three places you mention, if you're up for it. Chrome is listed as using significant energy, has a 7.34 under 12-hour battery use on the Energy tab, and Google Chrome Helper's % CPU numbers are hovering around 75-90 as I watch. Do those numbers explain whether or not the battery is functioning as it should, and it's just that I have to give up Chrome?
If I do give up Chrome for Safari, how much better could I expect? Like an extra hour, or lots more than that?
posted by daisyace at 11:16 AM on June 24, 2022
Response by poster: And bottom-line, given what you've all told me so far, does it sound like the battery I got from iFixit is fine, not defective?
posted by daisyace at 11:19 AM on June 24, 2022
posted by daisyace at 11:19 AM on June 24, 2022
There is a chance that the battery you got has been sitting on a shelf for a long time, which would definitely affect the life you get out of it. That being said, I've never found replacement batteries for Apple devices to be as good as the factory battery was when it was new, even from reputable manufacturers like iFixit. The cells they use simply just aren't as good as what Apple sources.
posted by zsazsa at 11:26 AM on June 24, 2022
posted by zsazsa at 11:26 AM on June 24, 2022
Response by poster: Oh, one correction -- when I close the window I'm using to compose these comments, Chrome sometimes is NOT still shown 'Using Significant Energy' in the battery drop-down.
posted by daisyace at 11:37 AM on June 24, 2022
posted by daisyace at 11:37 AM on June 24, 2022
I firmly disagree that the original 12-hour estimate would require the laptop to be idle. Unlike many companies, Apple generally does not provide unrealistic battery estimates and usually says what type of usage gets you that battery life, with a footnote going into more detail.
I agree that third-party batteries are unlikely to attain the original estimate. Only getting a third of it seems excessive though. It is likely that Chrome is seriously impacting your battery usage. Safari is significantly better but I’m not sure it’s possible to give a solid estimate as to how much you’ll gain. You could try running with Safari for a day or two and see how the battery does.
posted by tubedogg at 11:45 AM on June 24, 2022
I agree that third-party batteries are unlikely to attain the original estimate. Only getting a third of it seems excessive though. It is likely that Chrome is seriously impacting your battery usage. Safari is significantly better but I’m not sure it’s possible to give a solid estimate as to how much you’ll gain. You could try running with Safari for a day or two and see how the battery does.
posted by tubedogg at 11:45 AM on June 24, 2022
That laptop never got 12 hours for most people. More like six. They weren’t dishonest estimates, just…specific, and taking on no blame for the fans running beyond a baseline.
posted by michaelh at 11:54 AM on June 24, 2022
posted by michaelh at 11:54 AM on June 24, 2022
Safari should be good for an extra 30-60 minutes of battery over Chrome, is the rule of thumb.
posted by michaelh at 11:55 AM on June 24, 2022
posted by michaelh at 11:55 AM on June 24, 2022
In Chrome, click on the three vertically-stacked dots on the upper right hand corner. Then click "More Tools" -> "Task Manager." Click on the "CPU" heading to sort it by CPU usage. This allows you to see which page or extension is using the energy. You can highlight an energy-hog and then go to the bottom right and click "End Process." See how that goes!
posted by dum spiro spero at 12:08 PM on June 24, 2022
posted by dum spiro spero at 12:08 PM on June 24, 2022
Best answer: So, what you really want to know here are the raw numbers that show whether or not that battery is defective or not. What I would do is download CoconutBattery, an easy-to-use utility that gives you all the info you need about what's going on with your battery in an immediately understandable format.
The most important statistics will be "Design Capacity" and "Full Charge Capacity". iFixit guarantees their 2015 13" Retina batteries to have at least 6230 mAh of capacity, which, as a new battery, yours should be able to match.
If design capacity is lower than 6230 mAh by any appreciable amount, or the battery is listed with a "Full Charge Capacity" of less than 6230 mAh after just a few charging cycles, get in touch with iFixit to see if they'll replace the battery or have further troubleshooting steps.
Having previously been the owner of a 2015 13" Retina, I can assure you that under no circumstances did I ever, even shortly after the initial purchase or immediately after a battery replacement from Apple a few years later, see it last more than ~5 hours on battery. I know all about monitoring software power consumption, and that 12+ hour figure was always some best-case marketing nonsense. I think your battery from iFixit is likely within spec.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 12:12 PM on June 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
The most important statistics will be "Design Capacity" and "Full Charge Capacity". iFixit guarantees their 2015 13" Retina batteries to have at least 6230 mAh of capacity, which, as a new battery, yours should be able to match.
If design capacity is lower than 6230 mAh by any appreciable amount, or the battery is listed with a "Full Charge Capacity" of less than 6230 mAh after just a few charging cycles, get in touch with iFixit to see if they'll replace the battery or have further troubleshooting steps.
Having previously been the owner of a 2015 13" Retina, I can assure you that under no circumstances did I ever, even shortly after the initial purchase or immediately after a battery replacement from Apple a few years later, see it last more than ~5 hours on battery. I know all about monitoring software power consumption, and that 12+ hour figure was always some best-case marketing nonsense. I think your battery from iFixit is likely within spec.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 12:12 PM on June 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
Chrome is a battery hog in general, and background tabs can still consume a lot of power. As a test, you can try two things: (1) bookmark all those open tabs into tab groups and then close them, keeping only your active tabs open at any given time; and (2) try Safari as your daily driver (but also maybe don't have a million tabs open at once). Also if you're not running an ad blocker, get one ASAP.
BTW you don't need Coconut Battery to see your battery's charge capacity. You can get it from the System Information app, accessible by going to "About This Mac" in the Apple Menu, then clicking the "System Report…" button. It's under Hardware → Power.
posted by fedward at 12:42 PM on June 24, 2022
BTW you don't need Coconut Battery to see your battery's charge capacity. You can get it from the System Information app, accessible by going to "About This Mac" in the Apple Menu, then clicking the "System Report…" button. It's under Hardware → Power.
posted by fedward at 12:42 PM on June 24, 2022
So the short is, yes, moderate web browsing on modern sites, using Chrome, and some background operation is absolutely going to kick that machine down to about 4-6 hours and that is to be expected. It is simple math. 75W-h battery into a 15W average processor gets you 5 hours and that doesn’t even account for the display. The 12 h is probably “light web browsing” which means reading static sites and nothing else.
I have a 15” Macbook Pro and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten more than 2 or 3 hours out of it; it’s supposed to be good for 6 to 7.
posted by doomsey at 1:29 PM on June 24, 2022
I have a 15” Macbook Pro and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten more than 2 or 3 hours out of it; it’s supposed to be good for 6 to 7.
posted by doomsey at 1:29 PM on June 24, 2022
BTW you don't need Coconut Battery to see your battery's charge capacity. You can get it from the System Information app, accessible by going to "About This Mac" in the Apple Menu, then clicking the "System Report…" button. It's under Hardware → Power.
That's no longer the case. Apple has changed the way battery health is reported in macOS Monterey, and System Report -> Hardware -> Power no longer provides the specifics in mAh for a battery's Design Capacity or Full Charge Capacity, only a more nebulous "Maximum Capacity" percentage. (CoconutBattery still works fine.)
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 1:30 PM on June 24, 2022
That's no longer the case. Apple has changed the way battery health is reported in macOS Monterey, and System Report -> Hardware -> Power no longer provides the specifics in mAh for a battery's Design Capacity or Full Charge Capacity, only a more nebulous "Maximum Capacity" percentage. (CoconutBattery still works fine.)
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 1:30 PM on June 24, 2022
Uh, I'm on a 2015 MacBook Pro with Monterey, and and I see "Full Charge Capacity" for my (second) battery at 5190 mAh after a cycle count of 377 (which, come to think of it, is about how many cycles my original battery had before the OS told me I should replace it …).
posted by fedward at 2:10 PM on June 24, 2022
posted by fedward at 2:10 PM on June 24, 2022
Uh, I'm on a 2015 MacBook Pro with Monterey, and and I see "Full Charge Capacity" for my (second) battery at 5190 mAh after a cycle count of 377 (which, come to think of it, is about how many cycles my original battery had before the OS told me I should replace it …).
My apologies - while Apple removed mAh capacity reporting on Apple Silicon MBPs, it does appear to still be present when running Monterey on older Intel machines. So you're right - daisyace would be able to access the information in System Reports on their Intel MBP. That said, CoconutBattery is a safe recommendation to provide this information across the many configurations of macOS laptops out there these days.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 2:32 PM on June 24, 2022
My apologies - while Apple removed mAh capacity reporting on Apple Silicon MBPs, it does appear to still be present when running Monterey on older Intel machines. So you're right - daisyace would be able to access the information in System Reports on their Intel MBP. That said, CoconutBattery is a safe recommendation to provide this information across the many configurations of macOS laptops out there these days.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 2:32 PM on June 24, 2022
Response by poster: Thank you! A lot of these answers are very helpful. I EAT TAPAS put it better than I did that mainly I just wanted to know whether this battery is okay. The mAh looks fine, and I'm reassured that the life I'm getting from it isn't much less than what I EAT TAPAS got on the same device, and what others of you would expect.
On the other hand, CoconutBattery also shows that it's about a year and a half old. Isn't that a little on the aged side to be shipping out now, or is that normal?
posted by daisyace at 4:18 PM on June 24, 2022
On the other hand, CoconutBattery also shows that it's about a year and a half old. Isn't that a little on the aged side to be shipping out now, or is that normal?
posted by daisyace at 4:18 PM on June 24, 2022
CoconutBattery also shows that it's about a year and a half old. Isn't that a little on the aged side to be shipping out now, or is that normal?
I certainly wouldn't be happy about receiving a year and a half old battery, but with the battery supply chain issues worldwide due to COVID and the limited market for batteries specific to 7+ year old laptops, I'm not sure you're going to find any substantially better batteries out there, except possibly from Apple directly.
If battery life is a major concern, the 13" M1 Macbook Air and 13" M1 Macbook Pro both have remarkable battery life compared with their Intel siblings. Apple rated the 13" M1 MBP at "20 hours" of battery life, which I think is more marketing puffery, but my experience is that it's not hard to get a "whole day" of 12-14 hours of moderate use out of it. Upgrading from a 2015 13" to a 2020 13" was a revelation in regards to speed and battery life.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 7:51 PM on June 24, 2022
I certainly wouldn't be happy about receiving a year and a half old battery, but with the battery supply chain issues worldwide due to COVID and the limited market for batteries specific to 7+ year old laptops, I'm not sure you're going to find any substantially better batteries out there, except possibly from Apple directly.
If battery life is a major concern, the 13" M1 Macbook Air and 13" M1 Macbook Pro both have remarkable battery life compared with their Intel siblings. Apple rated the 13" M1 MBP at "20 hours" of battery life, which I think is more marketing puffery, but my experience is that it's not hard to get a "whole day" of 12-14 hours of moderate use out of it. Upgrading from a 2015 13" to a 2020 13" was a revelation in regards to speed and battery life.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 7:51 PM on June 24, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
A bad battery seems like a remote but real possibility. Before you try sending it back, however, it's worth investigating the possibility that your computer is under load even when you're not using it, which is running down the battery quickly. If this is what's happening, you'll have the same problem with the replacement.
In the battery menu in the status bar (the row of icons next to the clock), are any apps listed as using significant energy when the computer is idle?
If not, take a look in Activity Monitor. First change to the energy tab. What applications are having the most energy impact? You may need to update your OS to get access to this feature. Be on the lookout in particular for applications you don't actually run yourself, which run in the background (anti-virus software, software updaters, etc.)
If there's nothing suspicious there, which to the CPU tab, sort by % CPU, and then just watch for a bit. You'll see a lot of processes you don't recognize, there shouldn't be anything using ~100% of CPU for more than a minute or two.
posted by caek at 10:53 AM on June 24, 2022 [2 favorites]