Welcome to your new Half Priced MacBook!

First off, thanks for trusting us enough to buy your MacBook from us.  We know this is something you'll be using daily and counting on daily to help you through life.  Maybe you're using it for school, or work, or just to stay connected in today's world... either way, we're honored that you've chosen us to provide such a valuable part of your life.

We wanted to put together this little welcome guide for you with a few simple tips to help you get the most out of this and any MacBook.

Making your battery last longer (tip 1)

Run a calibration process 1 to 2 times per month.

This means unplug your MacBook & let your battery fully run down until it shuts off on it's own and you can't power it back on without plugging it in.   s

Even if it shuts off at any percentage above 0%, that's ok as long as it doesn't turn back on before being plugged in.  There is a microchip in the battery that needs to learn what 0% is and what 100% is and communicate that with the MacBook... 

TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BATTERY IS FULLY DRAINED OF JUICE...

TAP the space bar key
HIT the return key
PRESS the power button

Once you're sure the battery is fully drained, plug it in and let it charge until it's fully charged.  (it must fully drain to 0% and shut down and then fully charge to 100% without interruption on either end)

You can use it during this process, but what this does is it trains the microchip inside the battery and on your computer to know what 0% is and what 100% is.  

Doing this can get your battery to last hundreds of cycles longer and also gives you more life on a single full charge.  

Making your battery last longer (tip 2)

Another thing to make sure of is that you use the apple brand charger that we sent out with your MacBook.  You may have others around the house, and some may be ok to use, but you have to make sure you use one that is powerful enough to charge your battery fully.  

For example

If we included an 87 watt USB C charger with your with your 15 inch MacBook Pro, you can use any higher wattage charger (like a 96w, even a 140w charger block)

WARNING - if you use a smaller wattage charger, it will still charge your MacBook, but your battery will not get the full charge it needs, and instead of lasting 4-6 hours, it may only last 2-3 hours. 

This same thing can happen from using a cheap aftermarket charger that doesn't really have the proper power output.  

To locate the charger's wattage, this is where you look

Times when your battery will drain faster than normal

1. Initial setup of your MacBook

When you are first setting up your MacBook and it's creating your login account and starting to sync with iCloud, if you're running on battery, it will drain faster than normal, as it's doing more processes in the background.

2. Downloading or Uploading many files

If you're syncing a lot of new stuff with iCloud drive or Google drive, either uploading or downloading, that can eat up a lot of battery life.  

Also, if you're ever downloading an update to install from apple, that will really push through a lot of battery.

3. If you have external devices plugged into your MacBook

If you ever plug your iPhone or iPad in to sync files, rather than doing it via bluetooth or wifi, then that device will charge it's battery off of your MacBook battery, and so your MacBook battery will drain extremely fast to fill up the other device's battery.

4. If you have an Unruly app or program that's draining your battery & needs to be relaunched

The PROBLEM - I've had times where my battery that last about 5-8 hours, has only been lasting 1-2 hours, and I couldn't figure out why.  Apple installed this AMAZING FEATURE that shows you if you have an app that's eating battery power.  Sometimes that app or program just needs to be quit, and restarted, because for some crazy reason it decided to just kill your battery. 

For me it was the "Print Center"... YES, you read that right.  The little app that shows you what is in queue to be printed.  SOLUTION BELOW IMAGE

A few things that may worry you, but shouldn't

1. Your MacBook gets hot & you think it's overheating

Here are a few times when you should expect that your MacBook will get hot & you can know that it's doing what it's supposed to do.

A.  When it's plugged in & charging the battery - Power is flowing into the MacBook and this will cause the battery to get hot as it's storing more power for use without being plugged in.  Once fully charged it will start to run less hot.  

B. Whenever you're installing any updates from apple - this is downloading and installing major chunks of software and that takes a lot of processing power so the entire computer will run hotter, the fans will speed up to help cool it down.  

C. Whenever you're downloading a lot of things at once.  Example... the first time you sync google drive or apple's iCloud storage and it's syncing a lot of data back to your MacBook, then it may run a little slower and hotter. 

D. When you're running powerful editing software - like video, music, or photo editing when it's in production mode, this will take more power and can cause the computer to heat up.  

E. When your MacBook vents are blocked - DO NOT WORK LIKE THIS

***Another time it most likely will heat up, and also a time when you should make a change is if you're working in your bed or on your couch with a blanket blocking all ventilation from the MacBook bottom and side, then this can cause overheating that's not good.  

I also have this software downloaded on my computer to see how hot my macbook is running.  I've seen upwards of 170 degrees while charging the battery.  

https://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/

This same software can also warn you if you like to work on your couch with a blanket and you do block the vents, this will let you know when it's time to move around or get it off your lap for a few minutes to cool down. 

2 - What To Do If You See Service Battery Warning...

By default, Apple's system turns every battery over 500 cycle counts into service battery mode.  We believe this happens so they can get you into the store to start looking at new computers, because if your battery is charged up and down and taken care of as it should be, you can get 1000+ cycles out of it.  

Follow tip 1 & tip 2 for making your battery last longer at the top of this page, and your battery can get 1000+ cycles, even close to 2000 cycles and have a great daily life as long as you regularly run the calibration process outlined in tip 1.

Certainly, there are sometimes where a battery is bad when it says service battery, and there are times where a battery is bad even when it doesn't say service battery.  These instances are rare though, and following tip 1 & 2 up top will usually get your battery back to good health and lasting longer.  

EXAMPLE.. one of my friends was using a non-apple charger with her 13" macbook pro and getting about 2 hours of charge on a battery cycle when it should have been lasting 5-7 hours.  We simply switched her charger to the proper wattage apple charger, and within a few charge full discharge & full charge up cycles she was getting 5-7 hours of use out of a single charge.  

If you're not sure what charger you should be using, please open a live chat in the lower right hand corner, and we'll be able to help you figure it out

3 - SCARY WARNING when your computer restarts...

Certainly there are times where your computer does restart due to an issue, and typically those can be resolved with running some simple resets or updating software... if that's not the case, you're covered by our warranty & amazing customer support team via LIVE CHAT, text message, or email!

...however there are times where your computer dies due to the battery draining fully, and then when you plug it in and turn it on, you see the scary message below.  If you've just had to plug your MacBook in because it was dead, and you see this message, the you don't have to worry.  

***IMPORTANT NOTE - this would be a good time to let it charge fully and that would complete one of your calibration cycles for the month :) 

DID YOU KNOW WE OFFER UP TO A 4 YEAR EXTENDED WARRANTY?

Your MacBook already comes backed with 1 FREE year of The Internet's Best MacBook Warranty...

If you wanted to upgrade that to 2, 3, or 4 years extended warranty with all the same benefits, but much more time...

...just reach out within 60 days of receiving your MacBook to our LIVE CHAT or send an Email to support@halfpricedmacs.com and we'll get you setup with the extension of your choosing!

 

WE HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR HALF PRICED MACBOOK FOR YEARS TO COME!  WE'RE HERE IF YOU NEED ANYTHING AT ALL!