Macbook Pro Retina Not Working on Battery, but fully charged and cycle count is low

batterymacbook pro

I have an MBPR (15in) that is about 18 months old (no AppleCare). The battery has only 331 cycles on it, and Apple states it should last for 1000. The battery is fully charged, at 100%.

If I remove the power cord, the machine dies, like the battery is dead — it completely dies, no sleep.

Consequently, if it is powered off and I turn it on, and then unplug it pretty quickly (before much s/w is loaded) it dies, just the same — no sleep.

The light is green on the charger and the battery status shows 100%, but it also says it needs to be replaced. I tend to think the battery itself does not need to be replaced yet, but that something is preventing the machine from using the battery.

In About this Mac reports:

  • 7377 charge remaining (100%),

  • fully charged: yes,

  • charging: no,

  • full charge capacity: 7450.

Does anyone have any knowledge of issues with this? I hate to have to sink money in this very well cared for MBPR.

FWIW I have tried an SMC reset and PRAM reset, a few times, ea.

Best Answer

I can not repair your battery, but try to provide you with information to decide if the battery is EOL.

There are 3 conditions reported.

Replace Soon: The battery is functioning normally but holds less charge than it did when it was new.

Replace Now: The battery is functioning normally but holds significantly less charge than it did when it was new. You can continue to use the battery until you replace it without harming your computer.

Service Battery: The battery isn’t functioning normally, and you may or may not notice a change in its behavior or the amount of charge it holds. Take your computer in for service. You can continue to use your battery before it’s checked without harming your computer.

In About This Mac-- more info look for battery information such as:

Charge Information:

  • Charge Remaining (mAh): 2147 (it shows this at 40% remaining based on current consumption)

  • Fully Charged: No

  • Charging: No

  • Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4829 (this indicates the age, or the capacity of the Battery)---> on a new and healthy battery for my MBA that should be in the range of 7500 mAh, so I lost some over 2 Years of use.

Health Information:

  • Cycle Count: 480 (this is my battery on MBA 2012)

  • Condition: Service Battery :(

  • Battery Installed: Yes

  • Amperage (mA): -1458 (this is your current consumption)
  • Voltage (mV): 7612 (this is also a indicator of your battery health in how well can it keep the Voltage at load)

There is a circuit mounted on/in the battery, not part of your computer but part of battery, that reports battery information to your computer. That information is then used to present you with the battery conditions. If that circuit is faulty, you have to replace the battery, even if the battery it self is still in a good condition. There is no way to reset or repair that circuit.

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