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Battery condition vs design capacity: MacBook M1 Air/Pro

B

bauskovich

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 19, 2020
6
3
Received my base MacBook Air M1 two weeks ago. Installed coconut battery on the first day with the attached daily results. The "battery health" indicator in the system preferences shows a maximum capacity of 100%.

- Any other users (both Air and Pro) experiencing a discrepancy between third party indicator and the built in system one?
- Is there a reason to worry that the battery appears to be anywhere between 95 and 100? (battery health is expected to be 100 on arrival and slowly degrade
- Any other thoughts are appreciated...

Screenshot 2020-12-19 at 13.01.16.png
 
Using ioreg from terminal, mine has never been 100% when I check.
"Temperature" = 3009
"AvgTimeToEmpty" = 715
"BestAdapterIndex" = 254
"DesignCapacity" = 4382
"IsCharging" = No
"PermanentFailureStatus" = 0
"Voltage" = 11695
"UserVisiblePathUpdated" = 1608671870
"CycleCount" = 7
"AppleRawMaxCapacity" = 4259
"VirtualTemperature" = 2769

Code: 
ioreg -w 0 -f -r -c AppleSmartBattery

Ironically I only check to compare to you folks, if I can go two work days on a charge, I'm not worrying about it.
 
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Zazoh said:
Using ioreg from terminal, mine has never been 100% when I check.
"Temperature" = 3009
"AvgTimeToEmpty" = 715
"BestAdapterIndex" = 254
"DesignCapacity" = 4382
"IsCharging" = No
"PermanentFailureStatus" = 0
"Voltage" = 11695
"UserVisiblePathUpdated" = 1608671870
"CycleCount" = 7
"AppleRawMaxCapacity" = 4259
"VirtualTemperature" = 2769

Code: 
ioreg -w 0 -f -r -c AppleSmartBattery

Ironically I only check to compare to you folks, if I can go two work days on a charge, I'm not worrying about it.
Click to expand...
thanks for this ^

"DesignCapacity" = 4382
"CycleCount" = 7
"AppleRawMaxCapacity" = 4226

Joelist said:
It's just poorly written third party software - System Preferences is going directly off of the firmware.
Click to expand...
The above terminal command exactly mirrors what coconut battery is saying right now, so it doesn't look poorly written.
 
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Here is my history from CoconutBattery. They have an update out that fixes a battery condition bug, btw.

I'd keep an eye on your trend to see if it continues to drop over time.
 

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KShopper said:
Here is my history from CoconutBattery. They have an update out that fixes a battery condition bug, btw.

I'd keep an eye on your trend to see if it continues to drop over time.
Click to expand...
I have the latest version installed, so shouldn't be the problem. Thanks for your data though, will def keep an eye out.
 
It is not CoconutBattery problem since ioreg command shows the same reading in mAh. Basically those apps like CoconutBattery simply do the math based on the readings os reports!
 
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Joelist said:
It's just poorly written third party software - System Preferences is going directly off of the firmware.
Click to expand...
ioreg -w 0 -f -r -c AppleSmartBattery and Coconut Battery are showing the same exact battery data on my Intel MacBook Pro's and MacBook Air, so I would say it is not poorly written software at all. I do not think it has ever been considered poorly written software.

:apple:
 
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SRLMJ23 said:
ioreg -w 0 -f -r -c AppleSmartBattery and Coconut Battery are showing the same exact battery data on my Intel MacBook Pro's and MacBook Air, so I would say it is not poorly written software at all. I do not think it has ever been considered poorly written software.

:apple:
Click to expand...
Agreed, just checked my old intel MBP and same readings from ioreg and coconut battery

Weaselboy said:
Coconut Battery is showing the correct amount and macOS is fudging the numbers shown in the menu bar. This is a known issue for years and nothing to worry about.
Click to expand...
That the percentage in the menu bar is off is a different story. This is indeed known (same case with iPhones for example). The point is that coconut battery is showing different data about the maximum charging capacity than the built in "maximum capacity" indicator in system preferences.

That might be worrying if new MacBooks ship with a around 95% battery condition (my previous MacBooks had a 100% capacity when shipped and only went to 95% after 6 months of using).
 
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My 2020 intel MacBook Pro was at 100% for many months, then it decreased to 99%, and then all of a sudden went to 95%. So I'm not sure how reliable these readings are.
 
It is pretty normal for new batteries to drop a small amount of capacity fairly quickly and then (typically) level off. I wouldn't get concerned unless the trend continues.
 
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After 2 charge cycles, we're at 99.9968%, or a rounded 100%.

That's 2 charge cycles after a week of ownership. Battery life is insane, and I'm not worried about the difference between 98.5% and 100%, like I would have been with an Intel mac.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
After 2 charge cycles, we're at 99.9968%, or a rounded 100%.

That's 2 charge cycles after a week of ownership. Battery life is insane, and I'm not worried about the difference between 98.5% and 100%, like I would have been with an Intel mac.
Click to expand...
Owned my M1 MacBook Air since Nov 17 (35 days). I'm at 98.8% after 15 cycles. I'm assuming that rate will slow down or at the same rate I'll be at 87% by this time next year.
 
jdb8167 said:
Owned my M1 MacBook Air since Nov 17 (35 days). I'm at 98.8% after 15 cycles. I'm assuming that rate will slow down or at the same rate I'll be at 87% by this time next year.
Click to expand...
Agreed, 96% after 8 cycles doesn't feel right.
 
I got my m1 mba today and when I check with coconut battery I see %98.8
Is that normal?My all mbps were above %100

BestAdapterIndex" = 254
"DesignCapacity" = 4382
"IsCharging" = No
"PermanentFailureStatus" = 0
"Voltage" = 11858
"UserVisiblePathUpdated" = 1610736803
"CycleCount" = 1
"AppleRawMaxCapacity" = 4330
"VirtualTemperature" = 3019
 
This discussion kjeeps repeating again, and again,... If you would search in Forums for every portable Mac (and PC for that matter) you will find this routine occurrence. It would be faster to give you answer and explanation. You could even avoid getting railed needlessly ;-)
There is no simple way to estimate battery capacity. Chips on batteries and computer firmware use complex formulas to make the best guess. Input values change all the time - especially early in battery life - and each battery is slightly different. These numbers vary a lot (especially early). So, they have limited meaning.
On my (Intel) MBP I have had about 5% variation between min and max in last ~6 months (as low as 95% and as high as 100%). That seems bit on higher side for variation, but each my Apple notebook had significant variations on this value and it had no impact on battery life overall.
But this has been rehashed here like 1000x times.
You have warranty, if the battery exhibits low capacity after being used for 10 months, it is bad battery and should be replaced under warranty. Day to day variation is going to drive you needlessly nuts...
 
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nameste said:
I got my m1 mba today and when I check with coconut battery I see %98.8
Is that normal?My all mbps were above %100

BestAdapterIndex" = 254
"DesignCapacity" = 4382
"IsCharging" = No
"PermanentFailureStatus" = 0
"Voltage" = 11858
"UserVisiblePathUpdated" = 1610736803
"CycleCount" = 1
"AppleRawMaxCapacity" = 4330
"VirtualTemperature" = 3019
Click to expand...
Hard to say if it is normal but seems to be rather common with MBA's.
Mine is also around that, sometimes gets to just above 100%.

My MBP was well over 100% (around 102% or so) even after using it for 1.5 years, so I don't think new machines should be like that but as I said, it looks common for this model for some reason.
 
this not funny anymore after 2 cycles I only charged when down to %40 and stopped at %80
 

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nameste said:
this not funny anymore after 2 cycles I only charged when down to %40 and stopped at %80
Click to expand...
Batteries are weaker in MBA for some reason.
Try turning off that battery management thing and charge it too 100% and let it stay plugged to charger for 2-4 hours more. It might go higher after that. Mine did but seems to be fading rather soon.
 
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