TL;DR
To keep your MacBook’s battery healthy:
- Keep charge between 20% and 80% to avoid battery wear.
- Use Apple official chargers to protect your battery.
- Enable Optimized Battery Charging to reduce wear.
- Unplug after charging and let the battery discharge.
- Charge to 50% before storing to protect battery health.
Tried and Tested ✅: The methods and steps mentioned in this article have been tried and tested firsthand by Ojash Yadav on his MacBook Pro M3 and rechecked for errors on Hashir’s MacBook Air M2.
Maintaining a healthy MacBook battery can save you from a lot of frustration. I faced battery issues before, but after tweaking a few habits, it made a big difference. Here are some easy tips to help you keep your battery in good shape.
How to Keep a MacBook’s Battery Healthy
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In the post, I’ll share easy ways to keep your Mac’s battery in tip-top shape:
1. Don’t Charge Your MacBook to Full Capacity
Charging your MacBook to 100% every time can wear out the battery faster. To keep your battery healthy, try to keep the charge between 20% and 80%. This helps your MacBook last longer and prevents unnecessary strain on the battery.
2. Don’t Fully Drain Your Mac’s Battery
Letting the battery drain completely can shorten its lifespan. It’s better to plug in your MacBook when the charge drops to around 20%. This habit helps avoid issues like the battery not charging properly and keeps it working well for longer.
3. Use Apple’s Official Charger
Always use Apple’s charger for your MacBook. It’s made specifically for your device and provides the right amount of power, which keeps the battery safe. Non-official chargers can be inconsistent and might damage your battery over time.
4. Enable Optimized Battery Charging
Optimized Battery Charging learns your daily charging routine and slows down charging to ensure the battery spends less time at 100%. This intelligent feature prolongs the battery’s overall lifespan by reducing the stress associated with staying at full charge for extended periods.
You can enable this feature in the MacBook’s settings. Here’s how:
- Open System Settings from the Apple menu.
- Select Battery from the left sidebar.
- Click the i button next to Battery Health.
- Toggle on the Optimized Battery Charging option.
As I previously mentioned, it’s optimal to maintain your battery level between 20% and 80%. However, Optimized Battery Charging doesn’t prevent your battery from exceeding 80%, it postpones it.
Optimized Battery Charging feature doesn’t stop your battery from going above 80%, but it delays it to reduce wear on the battery.
5. Don’t Leave Your MacBook Constantly Plugged In
Leaving your MacBook plugged in constantly can cause overheating and make the battery swell. It’s best to let the battery drain and recharge it. Once your MacBook is charged, unplug it and wait until the battery drops to 20% or 30% before plugging it back in.
6. Half-Charge Your MacBook for Long-Term Storage
If you won’t be using your MacBook for a long time, charge it to about 50% before storing it. This helps protect the battery and prevents it from swelling or losing its charge completely. A half-charge keeps your MacBook ready to use when you need it again.
7. Close or Disconnect Power Hogs
Keeping an eye on high-energy apps and unplugging devices you’re not using can help your MacBook’s battery last longer. These simple habits can keep your battery healthy and make sure your MacBook runs efficiently for a longer time.
1. Adjust Display and Keyboard Brightness
Reducing screen brightness and turning off the keyboard backlight when not needed can conserve a lot of power.
- Lower Screen Brightness: Press the F1 key to reduce brightness or use the brightness slider in the Control Center.
- Kill Keyboard Backlight: Turn off the keyboard backlight using the F5 key or adjust it in System Settings.
2. Disconnect Wi-Fi and Bluetooth When Not Needed
Turning off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when not in use can save significant battery life. You can quickly toggle these settings in the menu bar or Control Center.
3. Close Resource-Intensive Apps
Certain apps use more energy than others. Use Activity Monitor to identify and close these apps to save power. If you have MacKeeper, you can use its Memory Cleaner feature to close background apps efficiently.
🔋Pro Tip: Stay Updated, Save Battery
Keeping your macOS up to date may not seem directly related to battery life, but updates often include important improvements in energy efficiency. These optimizations can help your MacBook run more smoothly, manage power better, and extend battery life in the long run.
How to Check Your MacBook’s Battery Health
Before you start fixing the issue, it’s essential to determine whether your MacBook battery is in good condition or if its performance is being affected. Here’s a simple way to assess your MacBook battery health:
- Open About This Mac from the Apple Menu in the top left corner.
- Click More Info.
- Click the System Report button at the bottom of the About window.
- Select Power from the Hardware list.
- Look at the Cycle Count to see the number of cycles your battery has experienced.
Typically, Macs have a battery cycle count of 1000. If yours is nearing this number, consider replacing the battery.
For a closer look at your battery’s health:
- Go to System Settings in the Apple menu.
- Click Battery in the left sidebar.
- On the right side, you should see the Battery Health status.
You should see one of the following four statuses:
- ✅ Normal: The battery is functioning as it should.
- ⏰ Replace Soon: The battery still works but holds less charge than when it was new. It might be time to think about replacing it.
- 🔋 Replace Now: Although the battery is working, it holds significantly less charge than before. It’s advisable to replace it immediately.
- 🔧 Service Battery: The battery isn’t working correctly and requires servicing.
If your device is still under warranty or you have AppleCare for Mac, battery replacement is free. Otherwise, charges apply at the Apple store.
Prolong Your MacBook’s Battery Life
From managing charge cycles to optimizing settings and staying updated with the latest macOS versions, each step plays a crucial role in sustaining your MacBook’s vitality. Remember, a healthy battery is the core of your MacBook’s functionality. Here are a few more tips to help you monitor your Mac’s battery health:
- if your battery indicator is stuck at 1%, try to fix it by restarting your Mac, resetting the SMC, or updating the macOS.
- If you’re getting “Service Recommended” for Battery on Mac, it’s time to replace the battery.
- A fast-draining MacBook battery can indicate poor battery health, outdated software, and resource-intensive applications running in the background.
