Fix 2012 Macbook Pro Battery Drain Problem

I’ve been using a desktop PC since my iMac failed. Moving from desktop to laptop computer is a bliss, now I don’t have to sit in my desk for hours. However, mobility depends on your Macs battery life. On paper the 2012 Macbook Pro with Retina Display should have no problem staying up for 7 hours. In my case the most battery life I can squeeze out is 5 hours. I never had a problem with it since I always work at home and never really go mobile, until it went down to 4 hours after upgrading to mountain lion. Until I discovered that I can actually fix the battery drain problem by resetting the PRAM and SMC (system management controller). Here’s how I did it:

Resetting your SMC on your Retina Macbook Pro

  1. Turn off your computer.
  2. Connect the included charger and plug it to a power source.
  3. On your Mac’s built in keyboard Press Left Shift together with Control, Option, and power button simultaneously.
    (your magsafe 2′s LED light may temporarily turn off)
  4. Releaase all the keys pressed on step #3.
  5. Turn on your Macbook Pro by pressing the power button.

Resetting PRAM on your Macbook Pro

  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Turn it back on.`
  3. Before your Macbook reaches the grey screen. Press Command, Option, P, and R keys all at the same time until it restarts.
  4. Keep holding the key combinations above, until it restarts for the second time, then third time.
  5. Release the keys and allow your Macbook Pro proceed with start up.

Doing the steps above allows my 2012 Retina Macbook Pro’s battery to achieve 8 hours and 36 minutes at full charge surpassing the 7 hour standard.It even doubles my results before resetting SMC and PRAM.

After fixing the battery drain problem, all I have to do now is to practice battery saving techniques specially when on mobile. Here’s some of my battery saving tip.

  1. Set your screens display to 45%

    or 35% with auto brightness enabled.

  2. Set your keyboards back lit to the lowest level. 1 stop or 2 stops just enough for the letters to show up.
  3. Restore energy saving settings to defaults.
  4. Check your Safari/Chromes tab for active Flash elements, and close that tab.
  5. Shut off freezing applications by pressing comannd, option, and esc keyps simultaneously. Select the app then click force quit.

Now I can open as much browser tabs as the 16gb ram can handle, as long as theres no Flash active. My current battery status is 5 hours and 12 minuts at 78%. Not bad eh?

Do you have other tips that should help lengten the battery life on the 2012 Retina Macbook Pro? Please speak out in the comments section below.

Thanks to Philmug user LeoCastillo and xxxJanXX2. More information on PRAM, and SMC on Apple Support Forums here and here..

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