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statics

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 10, 2021
3
0
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?..
 

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hallux

macrumors 68040
Apr 25, 2012
3,443
1,005
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.
 
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statics

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 10, 2021
3
0
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

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,460
9,326
Yes. If your battery health drops below 80% while it's still in warranty, they will replace your battery for free.


"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."
 
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MBAir2010

macrumors 604
May 30, 2018
6,975
6,354
there
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

macrumors 68030
Sep 2, 2015
2,988
2,255
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

macrumors 6502
Oct 13, 2009
479
451
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%.
 
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ISKOTB

macrumors 65816
Aug 6, 2011
1,029
219
Florida
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

macrumors 6502
Oct 13, 2009
479
451
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.

Screenshot 2021-03-13 at 12.09.22.png
 
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ISKOTB

macrumors 65816
Aug 6, 2011
1,029
219
Florida
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
 

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petsk

macrumors 6502
Oct 13, 2009
479
451
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.
 
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ISKOTB

macrumors 65816
Aug 6, 2011
1,029
219
Florida
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

macrumors 6502
Oct 13, 2009
479
451
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

macrumors 6502a
Jul 14, 2008
698
37
Arizona, USA
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

macrumors 65816
Aug 6, 2011
1,029
219
Florida
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.

macrumors 603
Aug 17, 2007
5,347
2,106
Chicagoland
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.
Screen Shot 2021-03-15 at 10.20.17 AM.png
 

ISKOTB

macrumors 65816
Aug 6, 2011
1,029
219
Florida
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.
 
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