Power/battery problems rampant after EFI updates, Battery Update 1.3

Users continue to report significant power issues with portable Macs after the recent Intel-based Mac EFI firmware updates and Battery Update 1.3 for 15" MacBook Pros.

As reported yesterday, for some users this issue is remedied by applying the recently released Battery Update 1.3, which is specific to 15" MacBook Pros. For others, however, the battery update appears to be the problem. As such, and since the updates were released in quick succession, the process for determining which is the culprit remains somewhat murky.

MacFixIt reader Bill Cook reports that his battery died completely after the update, and was subsequently replaced by Apple. He writes:

"My battery died oon a first-gen MacBook after applying the patch. The solution was easy - the local Genius Bar replaced the battery free of charge without even a shred of difficulty"

Another reader Jeremy Johnson, reports significantly reduced battery life after the firmware update:

"Like the others, I updated the firmware and where I could get roughly 30 minutes of battery life (I'm waiting on a new battery from Apple) now I get roughly 5 before the computer shuts down. This is occuring with a full charged battery."

In a similar case, Tim Ruhther reports sudden shutdowns while operating from battery power after applying both the EFI firmware and battery updates -- a sign of an erroneous battery gauge and reduced actual battery life. He writes:

"I have one of the first C2D macbook pros and when i updated to the the new EFI and Battery updates i will get a random shutdown when on battery power. Thought this may be another issue with the updates. Also, could you let me know if you hear of this happening to other."

Interestingly, the last major MacBook Pro battery update from Apple (version 1.2), was designed -- in part -- to test for bad batteries. Apple indicated that exhibition of any of the following symptoms may indicate that battery replacement is necessary:

• "Battery is not recognized causing an 'X' to appear in the battery icon in the Finder menu bar.
• Battery will not charge when computer is plugged into AC power.
• Battery exhibits low charge capacity/runtime when using a fully charged battery with a battery cycle count of less than 300 (to determine cycle count, see Apple Knowledge Base article #305405)
• Battery pack is visibly deformed." (see this MacFixIt article for pictures)

At the time, we noted that, specifically, based on reader reports, the following occurrences may indicate a a hardware battery defect:

• Power lasts for only a few minutes: As described succinctly by one reader: "The battery was perfectly good (only 130 cycles) and could run for 2-3 hours before this update. Now it runs for 5-20 minutes and then my MacBook Pro dies completely."
• System does not run on battery at all, losing power immediately when the power adapter is disconnected

This Apple Web page provided instructions for getting your battery replaced if it suffered from one of the aforementioned maladies after the update.

We're not sure if Battery Update 1.3 is intended to have the same effect, or if users now experiencing problems always had bad batteries and never applied Battery Update 1.2. In this case they would, presumably now be experiencing the testing related failures.

Try calibration Before sending you battery in for service, however, you may want to try calibrating it, via the following steps adapted from Apple Knowledge Base article #86284.

• Plug in the power adapter and fully charge the battery.
• With external power still connected, allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for at least two hours.
• Disconnect the power adapter with the computer still on and start running the computer off battery power. Use your computer or allow it to idle until the battery is drained fully, and the system goes to sleep (save all current work and quit applications before this happens).
• When the computer falls asleep, turn it off by holding the power button and leave it off for 5 hours.
• Reconnect the power adapter and allow the battery to charge fully.
• Check for persistence of the problem.

You can also try an SMC reset as noted yesterday:

• Turn the computer off
• Disconnect external power
• Remove the battery
• Press and hold down the power button for 5 seconds and then release it
• Put the battery back in and reconnect external power
• Turn the computer back on

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com

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