[closed] How do I kill my laptop's battery?

I have a horrible laptop battery and it is covered by AppleCare for another 180 some days. The health of the battery is 41% (not the charge percentage). It says replace now, but when I took it in the Apple Store, they wouldn't replace it until it totally dies or messes up my computer. So, with all that said, is there a way to kill my battery? Do NOT recomend putting it in the microwave or running it over. I want it to be dead but make it look like I didn't do anything to it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks -it holds less then a half an hour charge and sometimes says 'not charging' when plugged in

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asked Nov 11 '10 at 18:48

Matthew B
1.3k●52●62●82

closed Nov 30 '10 at 00:42

The question has been closed for the following reason "The question is answered, right answer was accepted" by Matthew B Nov 30 '10 at 00:42

5 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

Look at the manual. See how there's a list of procedures for battery care? Obviously the best way to wear the battery out quickly is to be inconsiderate of those procedures. One that comes to mind to me is using or storing the battery in very warm conditions (above 40 celsius is a common figure). This could cause the battery to explode which is dangerous, but can happen regardless of temperature. A cautious observer might notice that their battery degrades more quickly in warm conditions. If you charge your battery to 100% and then keep it in a warm area, it'll degrade quite significantly.

Some batteries prefer a deep charge/discharge cycle, such that you use almost the entire capacity and recharge it fully. In that case, you might find charging/discharging frequently but not near fully to be detrimental to your batteries health. Some prefer shorter, more frequent charge cycles. In those cases, you may find frequent, full charge/discharge cycles to be detrimental. A little known fact is that most batteries retain charge best between 30 and 40 percent, so whatever damage you do will be most significant outside of that range. Just disregard the instructions and you'll end up with a dud in no time ;)

answered Nov 11 '10 at 19:01

Seb
(suspended)

edited Nov 11 '10 at 19:02

Thanks! ..

(Nov 11 '10 at 19:06) Matthew B

Overcharge is probably the best method, so basicly use it on the power for extended periods of time and it be long before it only holds a few minutes of charge. (If you have 180 days left I'd give it 30 being used only on power and they should replace it)

answered Nov 11 '10 at 19:07

markd12
3.6k●91●114●152

Notebooks tend to have mechanisms to protect against overcharge these days. In some cases, this mechanism may fail. You'll start to notice the battery gets hot when plugged into AC for a long period of time. This can actually be quite dangerous. If this is the case, Matthew, I suggest informing Apple that your battery gets very hot (if it gets hotter than the battery care guidelines in the manual). They might fix your computer AND give you a free battery to replace the old one.

Thanks for raising this point, markd12 :)

(Nov 12 '10 at 09:03) Seb

It doesn't get hot though

(Nov 16 '10 at 00:35) Matthew B

If you usually run your laptop off AC power, then you could try running it continually off the battery. Plug in to charge it up and to use it while the battery is low, then as soon as it reports a "full" charge, pull the cord. Use it on battery until you get a critical charge warning and plug back in (or even waiting until it sleeps/hibernates if you want to chance it - it may die before reaching a safe point of the process).

Wash, rinse, repeat. Changing the "battery power" settings to be as high as possible (and the AC ones as LOW as you can stand) will further hasten the process by accelerating both charging and discharging.

Certainly having to use a PC laptop that way whilst the battery was on the way out (using it as a portable in 1-hour bursts then having it on standby whilst frantically hunting a power socket to recharge for a half-hour) sent it to complete ruin in short order. Li-Ion packs really HATE full-range ("deep") charge cycles. They're much happier being kept in the 15-85% range (which is what hybrid cars like the Volt aim for, only letting you use the last 15% at each end for emergency override). Taking it repeatedly 0-100-0 (or 5-100-5 etc) will hurt it badly.

For your next one, set the warning level quite a bit higher, maybe around 20%, to discourage behaviour that would cause similar early degradation.

To make it last a real long time, the advice seems to be to charge it to around 80% then remove it and run on AC power without the battery safety, unless you can find some way of forcing it not to charge higher. Keep the part-charged pack somewhere cool (10-20'c) but NOT in the fridge, and if you go a long time without using it (>1 month), reconnect for a brief maintenance re-juice. This sort of thing is only really for the hardcore cheapskate/eco warrior who's quite organised, however!

answered Nov 12 '10 at 06:17

tahrey
16●2

edited Nov 12 '10 at 06:18

Yep, hehe. For the record, I once left my Li-Ion mobile phone (which was 100% charged) on my window sill for a day, in full sunlight. It was 40°C that day. The battery never held charge again ;) After I realised where I'd left it, I was happy to return home to a house not burnt down.

(Nov 12 '10 at 09:02) Seb

0	Hey thanks guys I went to the apple store and they said that applecare doesn't cover batteries and so he put a new battery in and gave it to me for free. He said it was a gift. It would have costed 99$ so THANKS APPLE! answered Nov 30 '10 at 00:42 Matthew B 1.3k●52●62●82

-1

No - quite the opposite actually. Running solely off your battery and only charging when needed is how to PROLONG your battery's life. Leaving it plugged in 24/7 and running it off AC power is the best way to run it down.

By doing this (in a small way) you're making the battery lose its capacity for holding a large amount of charge. The MAIN thing however that causes it to run down is HEAT. Your battery will get HOT while charging, and while plugged in. Heat RUINS batteries fairly well.

Try that.

answered Nov 12 '10 at 12:16

Rizzy
4.4k●19●42●89

Wait how hot?

(Nov 15 '10 at 01:47) Matthew B

Actually, Rizzy, most recent notebooks these days have a mechanism that ensures overcharging of the battery doesn't occur, and that the notebook does in fact run straight off the mains while plugged in. Even the one I'm using now, which was built in 2003 can run, plugged into the wall, without a battery or while charging a battery.

(Nov 15 '10 at 05:11) Seb

I never said you "couldn't" run it without a battery. I was saying that if possible, run it off the battery and charge when needed. If you don't move it around much and only use it in one general area, then take out the battery and save it, and just run it off the mains.

I'm basically saying that by using the battery as it was "intended" to be used, makes it a happier battery. It prolongs the use. Constantly having that battery "charging" or "plugged in" will wear it down and take away its ability to keep a long charge. I know this, as the first several laptops (and their batteries of which some of those laptops received about 2-3 batteries) I ever owned, I had this very issue, because I didn't know any better. I have an Acer Aspire that's about 3 years old now, and the battery still give me 3 1/2 hours on a full charge - WITH WiFi...!

(Mar 17 '11 at 10:48) Rizzy

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