Quick Tip: Prolong Your MacBook Battery Life
Having a laptop battery that drains quickly is one of the most annoying things I can think of. I bought a laptop over a desktop so I could use my computer anywhere and expect the battery to last enough time to get a decent amount of work done. Whenever I find something that can increase my battery life, I get excited. I recently stumbled across a firmware patch for MacBooks that does just that.
The patch was released in March 2009, but I did not find it until just now. According to Apple: “This update improves the ability of MacBook batteries to maintain a charge when the system is shut down and not used for an extended period of time. For more information about this update, please visit this web site: About Battery Update 1.4.”
The products that were affected are as follows: MacBook (13-inch Late 2006), MacBook (13-inch Mid 2007), MacBook (13-inch), MacBook (13-inch Late 2007), MacBook (13-inch, Early 2008), MacBook (13-inch, Late 2008), MacBook (13-inch, Early 2009).
If you own one of the affected models and are interested in giving your MacBook’s battery life a boost, head over to the firmware update page and click the download link.
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Nick Onken on May 11th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
This is not for unibody Macbooks; I tried to run the installer and it said that this computer (the unibody Macbook) did not need this update.
Billy on May 11th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Don’t quote me on this, but I think this update solved the infamous MacBook screen flicker that I’ve learned to live with on my ‘road warrior’ 2006 MacBook (it only ever happened for the first few minutes after startup). I didn’t expect this, in fact I only installed it to breathe a tiny bit more life into a dying battery that gives an hour’s life at best.
Murphy Mac on May 12th, 2009 at 8:09 am
If Nick is right what about Unibody? Mine doesn’t do well when it’s not plugged in. My white Macbook holds a charge much better. I’m up to date, reset everything that can be reset. Losing at least 3% an hour while sleeping.
Ben in Taipei on May 13th, 2009 at 9:08 am
I tried this update on my MacBook (13inch, mid2007) but it didn’t change the battery status, which is : not recognized by the system, though iStat (and System Profiler) gives me only 91 complete cycles…
Could I get a free replace even if the warranty period is over?
I guess this issue is caused by a bad battery and not by improper use, so this should be taken care of, right?
Any comments or ways to solve this problem are very welcome!
Thank you all!
James Wu on May 14th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
@Ben in Taipei:
Out of warranty but under AppleCare? Apple replaces the bad/defective battery.
Out of warranty without AppleCare? You’ll have to buy a new battery ($129 USD).
Gps on October 29th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Not true… Only if battery is under 300 cycles… Even under applecare
Ben in Taipei on May 31st, 2009 at 7:52 pm
@James Wu
thanks for your reply. I’ll go with the $$$ then…
Dell laptop battery on November 13th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Good tips to extend Macbook Pro 13 battery,
any idea for Macbook PRO 15 17?
พระเครื่อง on November 16th, 2009 at 9:52 am
It’s very useful for me. Thank you.
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