I bought my current laptop (Powerbook G4 1.667GHz) about a year ago along with the extension of Apple Care support. I had enough problems with my older laptop, that it made sense to have it on any new notebooks. Recently, my computer instead of falling asleep when its battery is drained, just lets the battery keep draining until the computer just shuts off. Not cool at all. I like to work outside where there’s no power, but I like the cushion that the computer falling asleep affords me.

Be sure to enroll

My first issue was that I didn’t enroll in the AppleCare. I just had a box. Luckily yesterday was the absolute last day I could enroll. So I enrolled,yesterday, and we were well on our way. I don’t want to imagine what trouble I’d have if I didn’t enroll, but apprently it’s a good idea to get that taken care of and out of the way before your computer turns 1.

Troubleshooting

My first lesson is I should call them as soon as I have a problem. I shouldn’t even begin to troubleshoot, they’re going to make you do it again, before they send you anything. This is fine, it’s what I expect. So in a day, I’ll find out if my battery is whack or not.

Verdict

Unfortunately, Apple left me disappointed. I was under the impression that a year old battery should work a little better, so they would gladly replace the battery if I followed their steps. Well so much for that. Today they told me how to tell how many charge cycles your battery has gone through. Apparently mine has gone through 390. I haven’t had this laptop for a year, that means everyday, at least once a day would have charged my computer and discharged it. I’m not doubting that the information isn’t true, but if I knew that effected performance, I would have left the thing plugged in more often. Of course Apple doesn’t advertise this.

I’m sure in a few weeks I’ll shell out another $129 for a new battery, and remember to callibrate it and follow all the advice Apple has to offer about it’s batteries, including not letting it discharge all the way. I’m not a happy camper, and it makes little sense for me to have purchased this protection. Of course if I didn’t have it, I’m sure my screen, or maybe the keyboard, or something would have gone to hell.

So the lesson here is charge your batteries before they go too low, and keep track of your cycle count. Here’s some articles.

Here’s a non-Apple specific article on battery life for LI batteries.