I've already looked high and low and I just want to get something sorted out. What will degrade my white MacBook's battery's overall lifespan and dependability? Being plugged in while fully charged? Or NOT being plugged in while fully charged?
Choices:
- Your battery will last longer if you keep it plugged in even after it's fully charged.
- Your battery will last longer if you remove it from being plugged in when fully charged.
PLEASE, do not point me to a thread that has users arguing over it. That's always what I kept on getting when I ask this question but at the end of the day, my question still hasn't been answered. I just want a definite answer. Among the choices above, is it choice # 1? Or choice # 2?
The MacBook in question is I believe a 2008 model. White one.
Answer
Leave it plugged in.
In the end, what kills your battery is cycles. If you constantly empty it and recharge it, you will put load on the battery and eventually decrease its lifetime.
Modern batteries and chargers are well enough built to handle these kind of situations. That being said, it still doesn't hurt to re-charge occasionally, but you shouldn't do it all the time. Apple recommends doing this at least once a month.
I can only speak of personal experience:
In our household there's a white MacBook that is constantly plugged in and only occasionally taken to the library. It lasts for more than four hours without needing to be charged, and it's now more than three years old. There was no harm done and the battery still has less than a hundred cycles.
However, my MacBook Pro—which I've been constantly charging and recharging by taking it to lectures and then plugging it in again—has lost its battery capabilities after 400 cycles, and I had to buy a new one, more than a year ago.
Both MacBooks are used almost 24/7 and were purchased on the same date.
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