Is it better to keep my MacBook Pro charging (plugged in) while I use it? Or is it better to just go wireless and charge it at the end of the day overnight?
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Battery Question on MBP 14
- Thread starter Orangeman13
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Generally you want to avoid discharging the battery all the way. Most sources recommend keeping it in the 20-80% range when you don't need to go outside that range.
If you use a battery management tool like Al Dente you can keep the battery charge within a range that's believed to be just fine while leaving it plugged in. You can do that with Apple's built-in battery management too if you keep it plugged in all the time, but if you're moving it around or unplugging it often for other reasons, that doesn't work, because it recharges back to 100% each time it's plugged back in.
If you use a battery management tool like Al Dente you can keep the battery charge within a range that's believed to be just fine while leaving it plugged in. You can do that with Apple's built-in battery management too if you keep it plugged in all the time, but if you're moving it around or unplugging it often for other reasons, that doesn't work, because it recharges back to 100% each time it's plugged back in.
In previous hardware releases, it wasn't a good idea to leave a MacBook "plugged into the charger all the time", because this could lead to a condition where the battery starts to expand -- a fire hazard.
The latest MacBooks supposedly have software that will "automatically" prevent such over-charging, but... speaking only for myself... I don't really trust it.
My personal recommendation:
Don't leave the charger plugged in all the time.
At least once every 3 days or so, take it "off charge", and run from the battery alone.
Let it drop down to about 40% or so, then plug it back in.
My opinion only.
The latest MacBooks supposedly have software that will "automatically" prevent such over-charging, but... speaking only for myself... I don't really trust it.
My personal recommendation:
Don't leave the charger plugged in all the time.
At least once every 3 days or so, take it "off charge", and run from the battery alone.
Let it drop down to about 40% or so, then plug it back in.
My opinion only.