Battery Woes

[adamjackson]

I have the Rev.C 2.13Ghz MacBook Air. It's brand new from Apple and I got it mid-June. This problem has always been a problem but now I'm really frustrated and looking for confirmation that this isn't an issue specifically on my system.

The MacBook Air has great battery life considering its size. Wi-Fi off and power down is how I write my long chapters for my book w/ Page '09 in full screen mode. Battery is showing 5.5-6 hours of life. Perfect!

When the battery is at 2% I'll plug it in and it shows 3.5 hours remaining for a full charge. It does take that long. When it gets to 99%, it stays there for over 30 minutes and shows "30 minutes remaining" but at 11 minutes remaining it does "charged" and hits 100%.

My 17" Macbook Pro (june '09 w/ integrated battery) gets 8-10 hours of battery life on the same conditions but charges in 1.5-2 hours w/ no weirdness and a very accurate time description.

I've calibrated my MacBook Air once every 2 weeks since purchasing it and the MBP gets the treatment once a month (based on Apple's recommendations for a notebook that is constantly plugged in).

The Air still has this problem. Anyone else having issues with ridiculously long charge times? Is it due to the fact the MBA uses a 45 Watt brick as opposed to an 80 watt in the Pro?

This is long but I wanted to be specific. Thanks!

 

[GoCubsGo]

You answered one of your questions. The Air does take longer to charge because of the 45w power brick.

 

[Scottsdale]

You answered one of your questions. The Air does take longer to charge because of the 45w power brick.

But using an 85w brick isn't going to charge the MBA's battery any faster either. I tried all of those higher w chargers to no improvement.

When the MBA is newer, it takes several extra hours to charge. Mine will charge in less than three hours now that it's four months old. When it was new it took nearly double that time to charge.

 

[GoCubsGo]

That is very true. No matter the size brick you cannot decrease charge time.

 

[adamjackson]

You answered one of your questions. The Air does take longer to charge because of the 45w power brick.

I didn't answer my own question. I actually didn't know the answer and needed clarification.

But using an 85w brick isn't going to charge the MBA's battery any faster either. I tried all of those higher w chargers to no improvement.

When the MBA is newer, it takes several extra hours to charge. Mine will charge in less than three hours now that it's four months old. When it was new it took nearly double that time to charge.

Correct. I know that plugging in the larger power brick won't charge it more.

But mine was purchased after WWDC in June. I've had it for over 4 months now. So am I supposed to see quicker charges by then?

-------

Honestly, I'm looking for hard numbers (like the ones that I posted) to see if these factors are law or if my system has something wrong with it.

 

[NC MacGuy]

Four hours is about right. Two to get from 0-80% & then another two from 80-100%.

The original calibrating charge actually takes closer to 6 hours and change.