Mac laptops (MacBooks, Airs and Pros) outnumber desktops these days, and chances are you have one yourself. With all portable devices managing battery life is important when travelling. Here are a few things you can do to help your battery last longer:

Have the Computer Sleep Quickly: sleep mode is the best way to save power without turning off the computer. To adjust the sleep settings go to Apple Menu –> System Preferences –> Energy Saver and shorten the time for sleep mode.

Dim the Screen Brightness: the screen is one of the most power hungry parts of a computer. Dimming the screen brightness one or two notches can help gain usage time for any amount of charge.

Close Unused Browser Windows: web pages often have elements running in the background and can reload themselves periodically. To prevent unnecessary use of power, close any browser tabs and windows you aren’t actively using.

Turn Off BlueTooth if not needed: BlueTooth doesn’t use much power, but if you don’t need it turn this radio off via System Preferences –> BlueTooth

Recalibrate the Battery: after a few years of use batteries don’t charge as well as when they are new. To recalibrate and gain a bit more strength back, recalibrate your battery via this sequence of steps:

    • charge battery to 100% overnight
    • disconnect charger, set computer to Never Sleep
    • run the computer until it shuts off, let battery drain completely
    • reconnect charger and recharge battery to 100%

Don’t forget to restore normal computer Sleep settings when done.