MacBook battery health concern

[statics]

Hi everyone.

So i bought MacBook Pro 2020 13inch last year in the end of August and have been using it for my online school for quite a large amount of time almost every day.

Just few days ago i noticed how awful my battery health is. At 235 cycle count coconutBattery shows that my battery health is at 86.6%. Considering that my MacBook is just around 6,5 months old, it doesn't look good.

Can somebody give me some advice what can be done about this?

Is there a way for me to prolong my battery lifetime?

Currently I'm staying home. Can you suggest if its better to keep MacBook turned into outlet all the time or is it better to wait for it to charge and then continue working on battery power?

I have heard that MacBook batteries are supposed to maintain good condition for around 1000 cycles and I'm still nowhere near that number and if battery degradation would continue at this rate, at 1000 cycles battery health would only be at 43% if not lower... Maybe it's something that's covered under apple one year warranty?..

 

[hallux]

I have heard that MacBook batteries are supposed to maintain good condition for around 1000 cycles

I think you misunderstood. The 1000 cycle thing is that Apple won't consider a warranty replacement of the battery unless the battery health is less than 80% at fewer than 1000 cycles.

 

[statics]

I think you misunderstood. The 1000 cycle thing is that Apple won't consider a warranty replacement of the battery unless the battery health is less than 80% at fewer than 1000 cycles.

I think i understood correctly. That’s what i meant when I was asking. I wanted to know if apple would consider replacing my battery free of charge if it went under 80% health without reaching 1000 cycles within the one year warranty period

 

[chabig]

Yes. If your battery health drops below 80% while it's still in warranty, they will replace your battery for free.

If you see Service Recommended on your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro - Apple Support

Learn how to check the health of your battery and resolve charging issues.

support.apple.com

"Your Apple One Year Limited Warranty includes replacement coverage for a defective battery. If you purchased an AppleCare Protection Plan for your Mac notebook, Apple will replace the notebook battery at no charge if it retains less than 80 percent of its original capacity. If you don't have coverage, you can have the battery replaced for a fee."

 

[MBAir2010]

I think i understood correctly. That’s what i meant when I was asking. I wanted to know if apple would consider replacing my battery free of charge if it went under 80% health without reaching 1000 cycles within the one year warranty period

ask them, they will say yes or no.

 

[TheRealAlex]

Hi everyone.

So i bought MacBook Pro 2020 13inch last year in the end of August and have been using it for my online school for quite a large amount of time almost every day.

Just few days ago i noticed how awful my battery health is. At 235 cycle count coconutBattery shows that my battery health is at 86.6%. Considering that my MacBook is just around 6,5 months old, it doesn't look good.

Can somebody give me some advice what can be done about this?

Is there a way for me to prolong my battery lifetime?

Currently I'm staying home. Can you suggest if its better to keep MacBook turned into outlet all the time or is it better to wait for it to charge and then continue working on battery power?

I have heard that MacBook batteries are supposed to maintain good condition for around 1000 cycles and I'm still nowhere near that number and if battery degradation would continue at this rate, at 1000 cycles battery health would only be at 43% if not lower... Maybe it's something that's covered under apple one year warranty?..

I would suggest a free battery Diagnostic at the Apple store. No need for an appointment just show up when they open it’s faster. They will say you are normal. But go and establish a baseline so you are on file. And in 6 months when you are below 80% health they should do a battery replacement as a courtesy or with in standard warranty.

My 16” MBP while it was still in warranty fell below 80% at 9 months use and they replaced the battery no questions asked. Ran 1000% better since the new battery is fresh chemistry Lithium batteries chemically degrade over time even under no use.

 

[petsk]

If you are mostly plugged in, install the AlDente app from github and set the charge limit to 50%. That will prolong the battery health by a lot.

My MBP 16” went down to 86% at worst but has recovered back to a steady 96-98%.

 

[ISKOTB]

If you are mostly plugged in, install the AlDente app from github and set the charge limit to 50%. That will prolong the battery health by a lot.

My MBP 16” went down to 86% at worst but has recovered back to a steady 96-98%.

Your battery health was 86% and now it's 98%?

 

[petsk]

Your battery health was 86% and now it's 98%?

That's what CoconutBattery is saying. It recovered from multiple 88% drops, back up to 98%.

I got the machine in Dec 2019.
6 months later with just 40 cycles, the battery was occasionally down to 88%, 89%, 90%, 94% health.
Then I installed AlDente and have never seen those drops again, the health trend is upwards.
I only have 84 cycles on the battery as I mostly use it connected to power.

 

[ISKOTB]

That's what CoconutBattery is saying. It recovered from multiple 88% drops, back up to 98%.

I got the machine in Dec 2019.
6 months later with just 40 cycles, the battery was occasionally down to 88%, 89%, 90%, 94% health.
The I installed AlDente and have never seen those drops again, the health trend is upwards.
I only have 84 cycles on the battery as I mostly use it connected to power.

View attachment 1743136

I am mostly plugged in as well, I got 50 cycles and a 15% of battery loss. I didn’t think I could increase the battery health again. I will sure try it but you said you set it to 50% and unplug it how often?

Thank You

 

[petsk]

I will sure try it but you said you set it to 50% and unplug it how often?

I unplug when I need it, a few hours per week. The most important thing is not draining the battery completely, and not have it charged at 100% all the time. 40-80% charge level is recommended.

 

[ISKOTB]

I unplug when I need it, a few hours per week. The most important thing is not draining the battery completely, and not have it charged at 100% all the time. 40-80% charge level is recommended.

How long did it take to get from 88% back to 98% with AlDente app?
Thank You

 

[petsk]

How long did it take to get from 88% back to 98% with AlDente app?
Thank You

If you're battery is at a steady 85% I don't know how much it can recover. I'm not a battery expert. But at least you can stop or slow down the health depletion trend.

My battery was only occasionally down spiking. The recovery trend is about 8 months now and I haven't had any down spikes since I started using AlDante.

 

[desertman]

My MacBook Pro is less than 3 years old and has 248 cycles. It is mostly run connected to power. The battery capacity is down to less than 75%.

I just installed AlDente and set it to 65%. I hope I can report in some months that the battery has recovered at least to some degree.

 

[ISKOTB]

I am going to unplug it at home once a week or so. I was reading somewhere even if the battery stops charging, it degrades faster when it isn't being used but is fully charged or empty.

 

[Prof.]

I'm a wee bit concerned about my 16" MBP battery as well. I know coconut battery is not the definitive test, but for it to drop from 100% to 91% with 83 cycles is concerning.

 

[ISKOTB]

I'm a wee bit concerned about my 16" MBP battery as well. I know coconut battery is not the definitive test, but for it to drop from 100% to 91% with 83 cycles is concerning. View attachment 1744105

As soon as batteries are made, they start to lose their capacity to hold a 100% charge even when not in use. I think I read that a battery not being used can still lose up to 20% of its capacity in a year.
I recently noticed my battery health drop; I just installed AlDente and I set it to 80%. I always charge my MacBook, iPhone, and iwatch to 100% but I guess this isn’t always a good idea.

 

[dukebound85]

if I want to pay the 199 to replace my battery and it is not under 80%, willl apple do this or is that price only for batteries under 80%?

 

[macuser1232]

if I want to pay the 199 to replace my battery and it is not under 80%, willl apple do this or is that price only for batteries under 80%?

You can always pay to have the battery replaced. The requirement of 80% (similar requirement for iPhones) is only for having it replaced under warranty for free.

 

[DeepSix]

I really wish Apple would start using LiPo4 batteries in the rmacbooks. 3000 cycles before the capacity drops. Compared to 300-350 on most Li-Ion Polymer batteries today.

 

[Honza1]

Batteries are consumable item, which, as noted already few times, also ages, so protecting it at any cost is meaningless. Every battery is different and at least some of the degradation is not controllable by user behavior.
Also, the battery life you see is wild guess using imperfect measurements. Basically, max capacity you see is unreliable estimate. In order to make that estimate at least somehow reliable, you need to do calibration and then you get somehow more meaningful number. It gets less and less meaningful with time, until you recalibrate again. If you look at AlDente web site (https://apphousekitchen.com) there is lots of useful information on how batteries work and age. That is why AlDente has calibration routine available.
I use AlDente and set normal charge to 80% most of the time, unless I need more battery power (occasional travel) when I charge to 100%. My M1 MBP is used mostly with power charger, but I have no issues using it on battery any time it is convenient. I have 91 cycle counts with 2.5 years MPB age and 99% (Coconut battery value) of Battery capacity. I recalibrate using AlDente procedure about every 6 months or so... The comparison on the CoconutBattery web site is interesting. My battery happens to be extremely good compared to average, which is about 92% for my battery age and cycles.
But my prior MPB (Intel 2019) had worse battery capacity at comparable lifetime/cycles with same ALDente setup. It is lottery how well and long each battery lasts.

 

[throAU]

Batteries are consumable item, which, as noted already few times, also ages, so protecting it at any cost is meaningless.

Even more meaningless is not using your battery to try to protect it Dumb stuff like limiting charge to less than 80 percent to protect the battery you clearly do not use because you run all the time on AC power.

🤷‍♂️

 

[Aka757]

Even more meaningless is not using your battery to try to protect it Dumb stuff like limiting charge to less than 80 percent to protect the battery you clearly do not use because you run all the time on AC power.

🤷‍♂️

If you take a look at some used Macs for sale, you'll see loads that have been used primarily on power and not unplugged, but have waning battery health with 50-100 cycles. Limiting charge to 80% for users who primarily use power definitely maintains good battery health in the long run

 

[ignatius345]

If you take a look at some used Macs for sale, you'll see loads that have been used primarily on power and not unplugged, but have waning battery health with 50-100 cycles. Limiting charge to 80% for users who primarily use power definitely maintains good battery health in the long run

Modern Macs will do this automatically. Here's a screenshot from an M2 Air my older relative leaves plugged in all the time. No extra software running, no micromanaging necessary. Just leave your Mac to do its own thing and it will be fine. Lot of people on here who seem to want to make battery management into some kind of boring hobby. It's consumable part and the Mac is designed to use it strategically.

 

[Aka757]

Modern Macs will do this automatically. Here's a screenshot from an M2 Air my older relative leaves plugged in all the time. No extra software running, no micromanaging necessary. Just leave your Mac to do its own thing and it will be fine. Lot of people on here who seem to want to make battery management into some kind of boring hobby. It's consumable part and the Mac is designed to use it strategically.

View attachment 2465845

Yeah apps like AlDente are more legacy apps from before Apple’s optimized charging setting. The way I see it is AlDente is best for those who do use their machines on battery, but don’t necessarily need that last 20% of juice and would rather preserve battery health. If I recall Macs don’t have the in-built charge limit option that iPads (and maybe iPhones?) do.