Apple Battery Update 1.2 issued

Just a quick note from Sonny the Explody Battery: those with Apple laptops should take care to download the Battery Update 1.2 released by Apple today. We don't know for sure it alleviates any of the wierd issues people have been having with bloated, hazardous cells, but it's hard to imagine an update like this wouldn't be beneficial to the battery safety of each and every MacBook and MacBook Pro user. And, duh, make sure you've checked your serials against the battery recall -- don't be like Sonny.

[Via TUAW]

[Austin Kaak @ Apr 27th 2007 8:45PM]

According to the updater, this one "improves battery functionality." So maybe I'll get even better battery life now...? (fingers crossed)

[yoyo @ Apr 27th 2007 10:19PM]

anyone notice boot time slow down after this update? my macbook 2.0 (2GB Ram, 160GB 5400RPM HDD) is now taking about 50 sec to boot, WTF?

[jorge @ Oct 9th 2007 1:16AM]

what did finally happen with the black macbook boot time? did it get back to its normal time? still long? I have just installed that battery "update" and my MB is slow... drives me crazy... wath can I do? help!!!

[jeff.lautenberger @ Apr 27th 2007 10:26PM]

mine took about 40 seconds to boot on the restart right after the install, but i booted again later and it was back to my normal 10-15 seconds.

(MBP, 2.16ghz C2D, 1GB, 160GB)

[Pc_Madness @ Apr 27th 2007 11:52PM]

Apple's hardware always seem to take a very long time to reboot after an update, the larger updates can leave them sitting there for quite a few minutes the first time. :(

[Tom @ Apr 30th 2007 11:43AM]

Long restarts after an update are normal. What you are seeing is OS X's normal uncached startup time. After an update that touches drivers or other low level system files, the bootup process will trash the cache it had and regenerate it with the newer files.

For the battery update, the pause was also likely due to the power management system coming online, seeing the battery with old firmware, and updating it to the 1.2 level.

[Ignacio @ Apr 27th 2007 10:53PM]

What is more interesting news is this:
"For MacBook and MacBook Pro systems with Intel Core Duo processors, this program extends repair coverage on the battery for up to two years from the date of purchase of the computer."

Yay! (my MacBook is 13 months old)

[randy @ Apr 27th 2007 11:17PM]

Battery 'Health' status now shows 100% after this update. Previously it had ranged from 72%-90% on my 3 month old MacBook Pro.

[quik @ Apr 28th 2007 2:54AM]

This is the 2nd time my macbook has failed to restart after an update. Last time this happened was 10.4.9 update.

[Aaron @ Apr 28th 2007 3:29AM]

Mr. Block, you spelled 'weird' wrong. Maybe it was just an innocent typo, but just in case, remember: the "I before E" rule is bad, and oftentimes incorrect!

[Nick @ Apr 28th 2007 4:33AM]

*Wonders if Ryan uses the inline spellcheck function of Firefox*

[benjamin @ Apr 28th 2007 5:22AM]

i'm not the most techo intelligent person around, but if the problem is a battery cell, & thats a physical thing, how can a software upgrade fix it? & if it does, wouldnt that mean that the problem is not a battery fault, but a programming fault?

oh yeah,, Aaron,, weird, not wierd,, i before e has some exceptions, like freight,& a few others that i cant be a$$ed thinking of

[benjamin @ Apr 28th 2007 5:24AM]

aaron, i apologize,, miss read what you had written, you were saying exactly what i said..

(sorry)

[james stringer @ Apr 28th 2007 7:09AM]

So turns out last night my f***ing macbook stopped turning on when it wasnt plugged in to the ac adapter, just after my free apple care plan runs out. This didnt update didnt help one bit, still doesnt work, have tried everything, and its saturday, so I can't call. What do they do when your not covered by applecare and you ordered online? make you take it to the nearist apple store? or they send a box for you to send it back to them in?, because In NZ we don't have a apple store...(and if we do its at the other end of the country)...I'm F***ed...Further details if someone could help
Specs

:Core 2 Duo 2GHZ Blackbook
:2GBRam
:10.4.9

Symptoms

:Only turns on when connected to the ac adapter, battery shows 100%charged, and all lights lit when you check battery underneath, if you pull the ac adapter out while running, display dims(as its entering energy saveing mode) and turns of in about 3 seconds(does not sleep, actualy turns off)

Tried
:Have reset the PMU thing(hold down powerbotton for 5 seconds after taking batery out and disconnecting ac then swithcing on after connecting them again)
:Done that PRAM thing(Hold Command, option, p, and r at startup, waited for it to make the mac "Bing" 3 times)

[Optimus Rhyme @ Apr 28th 2007 10:30AM]

You will have to take it to the nearest Apple store as far as I know. The same thing happened to my Macbook, but I was in day 87 of 90 of my free phone support. Your battery is just toast, it happens, and you'll just need a new one unfortunately.

[Mat @ Apr 29th 2007 8:01AM]

You have a one year warranty, (unless you buy another 3 years any time within that 1 year) so you're not fucked, mmate. You had limited phone support, which means you can't call the apple number (which took you to Apple support Australia). What you have to do is ring the people you bought it from, and they'll tell you who does their apple technical support. Failing that, take it to Magnum Mac, they'll do the technical support for you.

Here's my specs before the update:

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4429
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 4348
Cycle Count: 172

[ssuk @ Apr 28th 2007 10:27AM]

Sonny should be the engadget mascot.

[dislodge112 @ Apr 28th 2007 10:30AM]

if a laptop bursts into flames on your lap and you burn to death... is that considered a security issue?

[Mat @ Apr 29th 2007 8:15AM]

And this is after the update:

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 4427
Remaining Capacity (mAh): 4349
Cycle Count: 172

Apple will replace if "Battery exhibits low charge capacity/runtime when using a fully charged battery with a battery cycle count (as shown in System Profiler) of less than 300."

How do I know what a low charge capacity is? 4427 high, low, or normal???

[Dave @ Apr 29th 2007 8:34PM]

Same thing as james stringer. This 'battery update' snuck past me the other day, now the computer won't turn on without the AC. For me the light on the magsafe flashes very faintly when plugged in then goes off. OS X reports 0% charge and "calculating..." indefinitely.

I just got off the phone with support and they asked me the usual questions on battery stats in System Profiler. The conclusion was that I send it in, but can't be without a computer for a while ;[

[Eleventeen @ May 2nd 2007 9:17PM]

Dave...I want to say that specs on the original series of non-recall batteries was around 5000 mah, so really it's not that bad, especially after 127 cycles. Lithium batteries of this capacity typically 'lose' about 10 percent of their maximum rated storage within 6 months of heavy use, and will typically stay at that level or lose storage much slower after that.