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TMO Quick Tip - Prepping a Battery to Return to Apple
by , 7:30 AM EDT, September 11th, 2006 - Digg This
If the battery from your 12-inch iBook or PowerBook G4, or 15-inch PowerBook G4 is included in Apple's battery recall, you have to return the defective battery after the new one arrives. Before you package up your old battery, however, you need to make sure it is fully discharged.
One of the easiest ways I've found to drain the charge from a laptop battery is by playing a DVD movie in your computer. Disc 1 from The Fellowship of the Ring always does the trick for me. Of course, be sure that your Mac's charger cord is not plugged in.
You also need to calibrate your new battery for optimum performance. Check out this Quick Tip to see how. The steps for the MacBook Pro also apply to the MacBook.
if you have ideas for Mac related tips that you think other TMO readers might find helpful.
Observer Comments
OK, I totally don't get this. Why do you have to discharge the battery? Apple and the CPSC specifically want people to not use the affected batteries anymore. They instructed customers to remove them immediately and run on AC power until they get a free replacement. So there is only one other reason I can think of to discharge the battery. That would be to save on shipping costs by eliminating the weight of the charge in the battery. But Apple is paying for shipping, so why risk your property and life to save them a couple bucks? I wonder how many people will die watching Disc 1 of Fellowship of the Ring. Thoughts and prayers in advance.
I agree that there's a dilemma here - not supposed to use the battery, but supposed to ship it back empty. I understand charging transfers electrons to the battery of cells in a power pack, but I've never heard that charging appreciably increases weight. Certainly not to the level where it would increase shipping charges by a couple bucks. Or did I miss something in that long-lost physics class?
To get the best discharge I'll put in a long DVD with the screen brightness turned down all the way. When the screen is on, the drain rate sometimes triggers a shutdown before max discharge. Heck, I might just breadboard the battery pack to a light and see how long I can *read* Lord of the Rings.
Quoterezonate wrote:
I understand charging transfers electrons to the battery of cells in a power pack, but I've never heard that charging appreciably increases weight. Certainly not to the level where it would increase shipping charges by a couple bucks. Or did I miss something in that long-lost physics class?
Yahtzee.
Tue Sep 12, 2006 10:53 am Subject: Ship in a discharged state?
Well that contradicts itself wow every time I get a laptop or battery operated device from apple or any manufacture it has at least half a charge.....WOW I guess the with all the traveling on planes, trains, and trucks it must gain energy in motion. So the real reason would be make sure you discharge it because if you don't when it travels out to California it will get over charged and explode. ![]()
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