RSS related or a Malfunctioning Battery
I have a 3 month old MacBook 2.0GHz Core Duo. It is of week 38 batch of MacBooks, according to the serial #. I’ve been having a problem where if I use the laptop on battery power alone it will shut off at around 20%, without a Low-Battery warning message. There is no way to prepare for the shut off and I would lose work. That was the problem 1 week ago. I’ve taken it to the ‘Genius’ bar and they suggested I update to 10.4.8 from 10.4.7. I’d already had all the firmware updates. So I updated to 10.4.8 and now my laptop shuts off sooner than 20%. Sometime 23% and sometimes 30%. This isn’t the Random Shutdown Syndrome of late as this happens ONLY when I’m running on battery.
I have uploaded a video to my YouTube page illustrating what is going on. There are 2 videos one showing what seems to be a Schizophrenic Battery and the other showing the MacBook shutting off. Here are the links:
Shutting off:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MthEMoC5Ac
Schizophrenic Battery:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7bSBUCmq8c
The first video shows the MacBook actually shutting off at around 23% battery power. It seems the battery status is not accurate or possibly the battery is malfunctioning as it should be telling me that the laptop will Go to Sleep and that I should save my work before it does so. When it finally does shut off it doesn’t go into Deep Sleep, which the Genius says it is doing. Why do I know this? Because you should be able to wake from deep sleep by pressing the keys, which is also what the Genius told me. I knew this already. I own a Pismo and iBook and I’ve never experienced this sort of problem. Also I know that it is not in Deep Sleep because if it is indeed in Deep Sleep why does it start up by pressing the Power Button? In the video, after it has shut off, I press the power button and the laptop starts up. (Indicating that it was indeed, off.) But shortly after starting up, it shuts off again, indicating that the battery is indeed out of juice.
I plug in to some power and start up again only to find that the battery power is in fact still at 24%. If the battery was dead then why is there still a charge left? I think the battery is malfunctioning. What do you think?
In the long sections where nothings moving I’ve sped up the video in order for it to fit into YouTubes 10 minute limit.
December 7th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
Had Apple on the telephone to me today who suggest I cant even turn my machine on; I have a PowerBook G4 with narcolepsy, which is similar to the MacBook problem when it flies off to sleep and cant be turned back on again no matter how many times I press the space bar: solution remove battery and restart. I believe my issue is also about the machine overheating. What to do? Don’t turn it on and wait for the technical cavalry to call. So it’s got narcolepsy and sun stroke. How much damage is this doing to the machine? I have also been advised to replace the logic board and topcase and potentially the fan also. Why not just buy a new machine? I have spent too much on this already for me to be convinced this is going to be the answer. The Apple people also advised me that the replacement technology did not guarantee the problem would be fixed.
December 7th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
So it sounds like a heat issue for you. I don’t think my problem, and I’m finding more people with my same problem, is even related to heat. It seems more like a battery problem since my shutdowns only occur when running off of battery power. Also the fans NEVER kick in and the MacBook isn’t even hot when it shuts off. It can be just sitting there doing the most simplest of tasks, like in the video - running iTunes or just doing email - 2 things that don’t, in my mind, use that much CPU. So I can’t picture any kind of heat sink expanding and touching other things and shorting out something. Other than this problem, which is more of a annoying convenience thing because I’d love to use my ‘portable’ laptop untethered, the MacBook is a pretty nice rig.
December 8th, 2006 at 12:49 am
amchalooo, i have the same problem with 2 Black MacBooks Core Duo, it shutdowns at nearly 20%, one is of week 19 and the other is of week 24, I have this problems since the last firmware update, this is a shame …
PLEASE APPLE, PUT A GOOD FIRMWARE THAT SOLVES ALL THIS ANNOYING ISSUES !
December 8th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
UNIX4ALL
Lets be clear. Your problems started happening after applying the Firmware updates? Because my issues were happening ever since I got the Macbook. My macbook is of week 38. From what I’ve gathered, updated macbooks started appearing after week 35. Applying all Apple Firmware updates and updating to OS 10.4.8 from 10.4.7 did not fix anything. Please be precise as to when the problems started happening to you so that I (WE) can track the problem accurately. Just want it to be clear.
December 9th, 2006 at 12:38 am
Yes, since applying the last firmware, my batteries are going to dead, one of them, with 80 cycles was at ~5100mAh, a super battery hehe, but from the update, now is at ~4500mAh and when its run out of charge shutdowns the macbook instead of going to sleep ( at 20% aprox ).
December 14th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
I am suffering from exactyl the same problem. My macbook shuts down without warning when reaching 18-22%. Without any sign of overheating. Im running 10.4.8 on a 2ghz duo with a 2131mAh capacity battery. I was thinking the battery is damaged or at least the battery status is shown wrong. You need the AC cable to boot the machine again after the shutdown.
December 14th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
i have exactly the same problem with a macbook pro core duo. it’s one of the first ones released and did not exhibit this problem until the last firmware update, as far as i can tell. it has had some funny sleep issues all along, but nothing like this. it shuts down without any warning at all, with ample battery charge left. it does not do this when plugged in. it is not related to heat either, since the fans are not typically running when it happens, and the case is not noticeably hot.
December 14th, 2006 at 7:46 pm
Just started having the exact same issues with my battery. To be sure, I just started running the RSS tool and things seem A-OK, so I assume it’s a battery issue, because I have no issues with the battery out and laptop plugged in.
Maybe Microsoft/Dell should have a switch commercial. =)
December 19th, 2006 at 9:42 am
Same problem here with a core duo MacBook Pro in every detail. Running 2ghz, 2gb ram, 10.4.8, 1.2f10 firmware. Will probably call Apple over the holidays to figure out what’s up.
December 19th, 2006 at 6:15 pm
What I need to try is to get my friend who has the same exact set-up as me and use his battery and see if the same symptoms come up. According to him, he doesn’t get any of the symptoms I’m getting. His battery level does go all the way down and he does get the Low-Battery warning. I need to find out what his build week is still.
December 26th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
my mbp 2.16 bought in April 2006 just started shutting down on battery power after about ten minutes use/sleep. Battery working about 1.5/2 hrs. I guess this started after applying most recent update. Horrendous!
December 30th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
I am running a MacBook Pro 2.0ghz Intel Core Duo machine with 2gb of ram and 10.4.8 with the most recent firmware. The computer will shutdown on battery power as desribed above except around 60-70% instead of 30%. In order to find out if the problem is related in anyway to something other than the battery itself, I swapped out the battery with a different one. So far on this new battery I am down to 71% power and have yet to shutdown. If I make it down to 0% I will make another post here to confirm that these shutdown problems are related to the battery itself and not to any other hardware (at least in my case). I’ll also post the model numbers of the batteries.
December 30th, 2006 at 7:08 pm
Well, I made it down to 0% and got the low battery warning. Since my girlfriend also has a MacBook Pro we just swapped batteries. When her MBP was using my battery it shut down at ~60%. I think I’ll call apple now and get myself a new battery. I will definitely buy the AppleCare given that I’ve now had 2 major problems with my MBP in the 10 months that I’ve had it (first, my left fan had died). It’s really nice to talk to tech support without having purchased the applecare. They won’t answer shit.
Anyhow, the model number of the BAD battery and the last 4 digits of the serial number:
Model #: A1175
Serial# last 4 digits: TY4A
The GOOD battery:
Model#: A1175
Serial# last 4 digits: WCRA
The good battery was the result of the MBP battery exchange program.
December 31st, 2006 at 6:43 pm
I have exactly the same problem, but my macbook pro 17″ fucks off after about 10 minutes.
January 4th, 2007 at 4:04 am
Ok an update on my battery problems. I haven’t brought the MB into the store yet. Still monitoring how it is acting and I have a new problem. The MB has now started to, after waking from sleep (either plugged-in or not) will display its remaining battery percentage. Ok. Got that? Now if I plug in to AC power to charge up the battery the percentage will just stay at the same percentage, sometimes it will go down a percent. To better illustrate what is happening I took several screen shots to show elapsed time and the “stuck” percentage.
http://blog.ianlucero.com/rssbattery/batterymalfunction.jpg
And it doesn’t seem to be charging up the battery either. Because I will leave it plugged in for hours and surely it would have charged up the battery. Nope. I unplug from power and it starts going down from there. So meaning, if the displayed charge was stuck at 38% it will stay there forever even though plugged into power and then when I unplug after hours of being plugged into power, it will actually be at 38% and lose charge from there.
Does that make any sense?
January 6th, 2007 at 4:41 am
Folks, I had two bad batteries (I have three, one I bought outright.) I cannot tell you if the battery I bought is the “good” battery today, or the warranty replacement, but the original battery died (the “X” in the menu bar and no LEDs,) and just today, the second died.
Both had this in common: Maximum charge capacity was about half the rated capacity in Coconut Battery despite repeated and careful calibrations. I studied the battery controller chip that someone else claimed was used (A Texas Instruments device,) and followed it’s recommendation for allowing the battery to sit for 5 hours discharged, and two hours once charged.
The good battery is within 10% of the original charge, and will easily run the laptop for 3 hours or more. The two bad batteries would just make two hours of runtime before quitting and were not reliable about reserve power estimates.
Consequently, I believe that I have experienced packs which probably had faulty cells, and probably from the same batch. Warranty parts are not drawn from the retail shelf stock.
This problem aside, I have not experienced issues with RSS after the SMC firmware update. The laptop, with the exception of waking up without a login screen from time to time, works fine. I can understand the frustration of the community with this significant quality control issue, and it is a new experience for me after owning a Titanium Powerbook G4 (which has performed flawlessly for four years,) an iMac G4 15″, and the PowerMac G5 Dual that I’m using to type this message. I’ve had one bad iPod Mini where the click wheel malfunctioned, and now this Macbook with the RSS and the battery issue.
I get the impression that this project was probably rushed, along with the iPod Mini - and as a result a lot of details have exploded in the engineer’s faces, but overall I tend to believe the quality of the Apple line is at least as good as any of the other top brand machines. Obviously with this single focal point of a visible brand, it would seem otherwise.
And I agree that Apple’s customer care should be more proactive. I don’t relish heading over to the 24 hour apple store and waiting for an hour while my “appointment” comes up, nor do I want to haggle on the phone with a tech because I don’t have the extended warranty - I simply want them to ask for a diagnostic code, and send me the replacement battery.
Save the tough tech support for the Dell/HP crowd.
Bill
January 7th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Ok. My battery is finally dead. It is plugged in and installed but I get the no battery present icon (battery with x). My Macbook is only 4 months old and after 1 month after purchase it started to have problems and 4 months later it is completely dead. If I unplug the macbook from AC power it shuts off immediately indicating there is no battery powering the laptop. Here’s more screen shots:
http://blog.ianlucero.com/rssbattery/xbattery_dead.gif
I will be taking the laptop into the apple store to hopefully get a replacement battery.
ugh! fu(kin batteries!
January 9th, 2007 at 5:31 am
i recommend u check the battery for a secure fit. I know that a jiggling or not properly secured battery can cause problems
January 9th, 2007 at 5:59 am
Thanks for the recommendation but that was the most obvious thing I tried first. I took the battery out and reseated it. Didn’t work. With it installed I wiggled it around. Didn’t work. I don’t move my laptop around that much and have never dropped it so I don’t see how the battery could all of a sudden get misaligned with its connection. With the constant and persistent problems I’ve been getting with this battery I feel it is the battery. Never charging up when plugged in to rapidly (with in days) losing its capacity to keep a any sort of charge, this sounds like a defective battery.
January 14th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
My battery died on January 12th. I have a week 21 model. 2 weeks ago got the machine back from apple care after they replaced my keyboard and case around the keyboard (no more discoloration or oranging around it. They also replaced my logic board. The battery has an ‘x’ over it, just like this last guy was talking about.
January 14th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
I have a MBP from last February. My first battery died in June (instant discharge from 100%) and Apple replaced it for me. My latest battery (7 mos old, shows 112 cycles) has not decided that it wants to die when the % remaining is around 50-60%. Unfortunately, it wants to die with no warning. Went to the Apple store and had to buy a replacement. (Batteries are consumables, only covered for 6 months.) Asked them if 112 cycles and a new battery every 6 months was what I have to look forward to. They said “Absolutely not.”
I have been running Linux on Toshiba computers for the past 8 years w/out replacing one battery and with no downtime for service. I can’t believe that Apple expects customers to buy a new battery every 6 months. I had been thinking of switching my 90 or so consultants over from Toshibas to MBP’s. We are a unix shop and most would be comfortable it, but based on what I’ve experienced so far, I don’t think I can afford the down time and aggrevation.
I have purchased several Macs in the past couple of years for my family and myself and I am really disappointed in the quality of Apple’s hardware so far. I thought it was premium stuff. Turns out its mostly just premium prices.
January 23rd, 2007 at 6:54 am
My MB has just started with the battery problems, after purchase in June. The battery indicator has an x, the ac connector has a green LED and it is not charging. This is my first Mac, and I had been loving it’s ‘reliablity’, until now. Does anyone have any proven fixes?
January 28th, 2007 at 12:29 am
So it was the battery that was causing the headaches. Made an appointment this morning with the Genius Bar and it was a pretty easy swap. Just explained to the guy, \”Battery is in, I press the battery level indicator button, and nothing. \” He goes, \”Ah ha!\” Then explain the not powering up from the battery and if you plug in to power it starts up but with an X through the battery icon. So he pulls out another battery and puts it in and everything was back to normal. So he determined it was the battery and pulled out a brand new battery and put it in \”Voila!\” I would have been out of there in 5 minutes considering I was on time but it was a Saturday in downtown Portland at the Pioneer Place store and it was packed.
I\’m charging it up as I write this and conditioning it. I also took a snap shot of the power status in the System Profiler. I will take another snap shot as soon as the conditioning is over.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
My MBP (Mar 2006) has just started doing everything mentioned in the posts above - sudden shutdown, with loss of work when on battery power.
This is the first hardware problem I’ve had after using Macs for over 20 years. They’d better fix it, and better not expect me to pay for it…
February 6th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Here we go: The 15″ MBP Battery Replacement Program:
https://support.apple.com/macbookpro15/batteryexchange/index.html
February 20th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
My Macbook 2.0Ghz will not run unless the power cord is connected to it. There is an x through the battery icon. Just three days ago I ran it for a while alone and now it will not run without the cord, I have all the updates, what gives?
February 21st, 2007 at 4:57 am
As the original poster of this thread, I would suggest that anyone having problems with their “fairly new” battery (fairly meaning 2-6 month old battery) in either MacBook or MacBook Pro models, make an appointment with the nearest Apple store and get the battery replaced. At this point the problem is well documented. If for some reason the Genius people don’t believe or understand your explanation, show them this site and the numerous postings in this thread. They should be replace it for free. From how I went about showing them what was wrong and what wasn’t working, they replaced my battery as if they already knew of the problem. I understand that there is MacBook Pro Replacement Program as stated above. This is the same article I came across before bringing the MacBook. It sounds like the same problem is popping up everywhere with MacBooks as well.
Don’t hesitate to bring your MacBook in to the Genius Bar. It will be dealt with, hopefully, they will replace the malfunctioning battery with out too much fuss.
Good Luck.
February 23rd, 2007 at 6:41 am
Grrr… I’m a new mac user after being convinced that they are the best way to go and the biggest bang for my buck! However, I feel that I spent too much buck for no bang anymore…. I just purchased my MacBook Core Duo— yada yada yada around the second week of Feb, and now I am not able to use my mac without being plugged into the cord, woo hoo considering I bought a laptop to be able to roam around and not be connected. Is this really that normal a happening thing to everyone else?
April 27th, 2007 at 10:14 am
And for my MBP 17″??? wtf my battery just died. I trusted apple until now. they say that only for 15″ notebooks the battery will be changed, for free. wtf is this??? R they kidding us?
May 27th, 2007 at 4:26 am
I think this is hilarious (in a sad sort of way).
My iBook G4 has a horrible case of RSS-and has had this for at least a month. I merely assumed that my iBook was seeking revenge for all those times I had left it in sleep mode for days (yes, I’m horrible but I’ve already repented my iBook sins.). So, I’ve been letting it “rest” for a few days (shut it down and I don’t bother it).
ironicly, the shut down for me also happens around 20%.
this is all just too convenient to be a coincidence.
i think i’ll have to go scream at a genius.
Thanks for making me realize that there is an actual problem.
June 28th, 2007 at 2:53 am
same problem here. it began yesterday. 1 error message, 1 automatic shut down at 40%. plus today, it happened 2 times and now, if my cord isn’t plug the computer won’t start and if it is, i can start it, it says i have 5 minutes left on my battery that is suppose to be full. i have my MPB since 6 month.
i’m angry. since when apple produce shitty thing ?
i’ll change the battery.. for what.. a 6 month battery that is supposed to last… yeah to last the time of warranty !
June 28th, 2007 at 2:54 am
and it is a WCRA model…
January 1st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
I have exactly the same problem as described in the initial posting: MB (mine, 1.8 Ghz, white) shuts down without warning, sometime after 50% remaining, but never when connected by power cord. Occasionally, I can restart, but that is followed soon by a crash. Once restarted using power cord, the battery indicator says it has at least 20% power. Battery is 4H6224… (bought it in mid-2006, so is this week 24 of 2006?). Haven’t contacted Apple because I feel I can’t take the time, and I usually run my laptop with the powercord… I also do not get a very long running time (less than 2 hrs?). Have ordered a new battery now, maybe that will help.
February 17th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
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June 14th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
@ klawrenc
Did that solve the issue? I have just bid on a new battery myself, just wondering if it is worth the dough.
November 2nd, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Seems that Apple could not so solve this “sudden death” problem within 2 years.
Time for a change to another brand ….
November 13th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
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