Tessa the Duchess Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Wonder if anyone can help? I have had my Mac iBookG4 for just over 2 years. When I first used it if I charged the battery up it lasted for 4/5hrs. Suddenly a full charge gives me 1 hour 30 mins, it has also annoyingly started switching off with no "you are running on reserve power" message Do I need a new battery? how long does a laptop battery last with medium usage? I have trawled the Apple support online help but can't find my problem there. I don't want to buy a new battery £60 if it is not the problem. Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Hi Tessa I know that a lot of the earlier Mac laptops had problems with batteries. We've got one at work that won't recharge at all now and has to run permanently off the mains supply. I think the issue is more around the laptop and how it recharges the battery rather than the battery being the problem - although I'm not 100% about this. Try ringing a mac supplier eg. Jigsaw or Gordon Harwood (GHC) and ask to be put through to their customer services desk. They should be able to advise you about it. Hope this helps. Jue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Jigsaws website is down at the moment so I can't get you their contact details but their website is http://www.jigsaw24.com/ Gordon Harwood Telephone Technical Support Ad-hoc product support for any caller who does not have GHC warranty/support entitlement. 0906 583 1606, charged at 60p/min (available 8.30-17.30 Mon-Fri, 9.00-16.00 Sat) Just spotted this too http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6606727.stm and this http://www.apple.com/support/macbook_macbookpro/batteryupdate/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted September 22, 2007 Author Share Posted September 22, 2007 Thanks Jue for the replies. My Mac is not one of the ones mentioned in the articles though. I will phone one of the support companies you mentioned, VERY expensive techie support! but if they can help me it will be cheaper than buying a new battery if it is not necessary. Thanks again. Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyhunnypie Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Hi - it's definitely the battery as they lose capacity over time. The best way to slightly increase the battery running time is to let it go completely flat every so often, then charge it. Like you do a mobile phone. Emma.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Thanks Jue for the replies. My Mac is not one of the ones mentioned inthe articles though. I will phone one of the support companies you mentioned, VERY expensive techie support! but if they can help me it will be cheaper than buying a new battery if it is not necessary. Thanks again. Tessa Hi It's probably worth ringing Jigsaw's sales line before anything else. Just say that you are thinking of buying one but you have heard that they have problems with the battery and see if you can get some information out of them. Hope you get it sorted Jue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lost-sheep Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 is it a memory batterey??? i managed to kill my phone by not charging the battery fully, memory batterys remember and always charge up to the same place so if you only charged it for an hour and a half then it will always charge to and hour and a half.... confusing or what? .... my explaining skills need a little practice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starboyhull Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 Most laptop / phone batteries will lose their charge much quicker after time. 2 Years isnt bad for a batty to be honest. £60 is quite reasonable too, my Dell laptop batteries cost £90 and I will need a new one soon...... As soneone else has said you really need to discharge the battery fully and then charge fully and so on.....Or the battery will become worse and worse. If you pm me I will see if there is anything we can do on costs, but Apple prefer direct sales so dont give very good margins on other IT companies...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted September 24, 2007 Share Posted September 24, 2007 Hi - it's definitely the battery as they lose capacity over time. The best way to slightly increase the battery running time is to let it go completely flat every so often, then charge it. Like you do a mobile phone. Emma.x I'd go with this. I've had this problem several times, worst was a lovely little Eavesham lappy that I had. Let the battery run totally flat a couple or three times and then fully charge - may help a bit. Otherwise you will have to buy a new battery or use it on mains all the time I'm afraid. At least, that's my experience. Its a b****r Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rona Posted September 24, 2007 Share Posted September 24, 2007 I know it sounds daft and I have only tried it on a mobile battery but if you put the battery in the freezer overnight and then fully recharge it, it gives it a new lease of life. It worked on my old mobile but can't guarantee it won't completely kill off a computer battery! (please don't blame me if it goes horribly wrong) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted September 24, 2007 Author Share Posted September 24, 2007 Thanks all for replies. As I bought a laptop because I was fed up with having a great big lump of a computer on my desk, and not because I am a jet setter I have made an executive decision to run it on the mains, and sorry to the polar bears if I'm causing polar melt down Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 25, 2007 Share Posted September 25, 2007 i suspect that constantly charging and recharging the battery would melt more polar icecaps than running off the mains - and add to landfill with the giant pile of spent Apple batteries you would accumulate Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
