batterychargingmacbook pro
I am about to replace the old battery on MacBook Pro 13" Early 2011 (A1278) with a battery Model No: A1322 and I wonder if there are any special instructions on how the battery should be used for the first time?
Should it be fully charged for the first time? How many times should I do that?
What are the general recommendations for keeping the battery life as long as possible?
You do not need to disconnect your MacBook Pro's battery. Your battery will stop charging once it is full. Apple's modern batteries are much smarter than previous designs.
To get the most out of your MacBook Pro's battery, follow the Notebook Battery advice from Apple: unplug and use your battery until empty about once a month, then charge back up to full.
At the time of answering, Apple's advice read:
For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her notebook on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing.
If you need help following Apple's advice, use Battery Guardian; it is free and will remind you when to deplete your battery.
No. This A1322 model battery fits many MBP 13's, all the way back to 2009 version. Given the number of iterations and countries MBP have been sold, it's due to have different part numbers.
I also have a MBP 13' Early 2011 version. Two months ago I replaced the battery with a A1322 battery I bought online and I haven't had a problem.
Beware that:
If you are going to ifixit yourself, taking out the battery requires a special screwdriver. I got mine as a free addon from the vender.
Download CoconutBattery. It's a free app that gives you information like manufacture date (which I cannot find under System Information) and charge cycles.
Best Answer
The battery include a so-called "fuel gauge" chip that keeps track of the charge level, health status and individual cell balance. This chips is providing the battery level measurement that is displayed by OS X. As a result, you may install a new battery without consideration of its current charge level -- whatever the charge level actually is, it will be correctly reported by the battery chip to the OS.
As for all LiPo batteries, the main recommendation is to avoid regular deep discharges. There is no memory effect -- deep discharges degrade the chemistry and reduce the battery life, so try to keep your computer plugged as often as practical. An exception to this rule would be long-term storage of the computer. In this case, a charge level of about 50% is preferred (as per Apple recommendations).