Which is better for battery health?

[vasim]

Hello.
I have a question.

I work on my MBP M2 about 9 hours continuously per day. Which is better for battery health? To leave it plugged or work on battery and when the battery goes 20%, charge it and then remove the charger again?

Thanks

 

[steve62388]

Or get an app that lets you limit charging to 80%, like AlDente.

 

[vasim]

Or get an app that lets you limit charging to 80%, like AlDente.

And leave or remove the charger?

 

[steve62388]

Leave it plugged in if convenient. This way you’re not cycling your battery, nor are you holding it at a high charge (which is not good for it).

 

[vasim]

Leave it plugged in if convenient. This way you’re not cycling your battery, nor are you holding it at a high charge (which is not good for it).

Its ok, I am working at my home office. But after apply aldente?

 

[chabig]

Or get an app that lets you limit charging to 80%, like AlDente.

Even better, limit charging to 75%. 😉

 

[vasim]

But this software Al dente does not harm the battery?

 

[arw]

But this software Al dente does not harm the battery?

No, it just force stops the charging process at the selected percentage.
I‘m not sure how much below this value the charge can drop before it re-activates charging (still only up to the selected percentage).

Feature Explanation: Charge Limiter

General explanation With the help of the feature Charge Limit you can set which charge level your MacBook should hold when it is plugged in. The charge limit can be set in two ways. Either you move the slider to the desired position or you click directly into the percentage display below the...

apphousekitchen.com

edit:
1. The free version immediately re-initiates charging if the charge level drops even 1% under the selected value. Paid version has a “sailing mode“ where you can set the allowed range the charge level can drop before charging kicks in again.
2. M2 is not yet officially supported.

 

[PandaNix]

As someone who doesn't use it for work am I better off taking it off change until it's below 40%, then plug in and change to 80% and repeat? Or if I download Al Dente - am I better off leaving it plugged in?

 

[jav6454]

Or get an app that lets you limit charging to 80%, like AlDente.

No need, macOS will use Optimized Battery Charging to limit battery charge to 80%.

 

[vasim]

No need, macOS will use Optimized Battery Charging to limit battery charge to 80%.

No it doesn't. If you don't use Aldente the battery charges to 100% even if OBC is on

 

[smokesletsgo]

It does, but it will take some time to learn your usage patterns. Best way is to just use the battery, worst thing is leaving it at 100% charge for months or years.. Which will never happen anyway if you have Optimized charging enabled.

So all in all just do whatever you need to do, except maybe don't turn it off at 100% and leave it like that for long periods of time because then macOS won't manage anything, also never leave the laptop exposed to direct sunlight, heat is the ultimate battery killer.

 

[jav6454]

No it doesn't. If you don't use Aldente the battery charges to 100% even if OBC is on

It will charge to 100%, but after a while it will drop to 80%.

I know this cause several posters and myself have verified this behavior. I have no need for AlDente, nor would I push such app for something macOS does already.

 

[vasim]

It will charge to 100%, but after a while it will drop to 80%.

I know this cause several posters and myself have verified this behavior. I have no need for AlDente, nor would I push such app for something macOS does already.

So the simplest way is to check it. I will try.

 

[Fatus_Asticus]

If all you are going to do is play with it on power, always connected and you are good with the 80% limit the built in software is probably fine.

My issue with it is this, I don't know how that software reacts when my MBP gets disconnected for a day, 30 minutes, 2 hours etc and then reconnects. Does it just charge to 100% and play dumb while it relearns my habits or what does it do exactly?

With Aldente I sent my battery percentage to 65% and it floats to 45%. I have enough juice for 4 to 6 hours which is what I would get on a windows laptop and if I want to charge to 100% its as simple as a click. I have full control and it is so simple even my 9 year old understand how it works.

I have full control over the charging and I don't have to wait on some Apple algo to maybe figure things out for me.

 

[planteater]

Hello.
I have a question.

I work on my MBP M2 about 9 hours continuously per day. Which is better for battery health? To leave it plugged or work on battery and when the battery goes 20%, charge it and then remove the charger again?

Thanks

I work on my MBP M1 Pro about the same number of hours as you. I only use it on battery. I’m at 107 cycles and 98%.

Batteries don’t like to under and overcharge, but they also don’t like remaining at any constant charge, regardless if it is 100 or 80 percent. They need to work out and randomness is a good thing for them.

 

[jav6454]

So the simplest way is to check it. I will try.

Indeed. As long as Optimized Battery Charging is enabled, you will see said behavior.

 

[seadragon]

The problem with "Optimized Battery Charging" is that it doesn't kick in when you think it should. I've had my MBP plugged into power for a week straight at it's still holding at 100% charge.

I started a thread on it that died on the vine. There doesn't seem to be any consensus on how it works.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-battery-management-when-does-it-activate.2352243/