It seems like you have a new MacBook… and it is! But it feels like the battery is draining much faster. Maybe I’m charging it incorrectly? Do I need to charge it up to 100%? Or maybe it’s better to keep the MacBook connected to power all the time? Today, I’m gonna answer EVERYTHING about “How to CORRECTLY charge your MacBook”, you will not have to think about it anymore, and won’t kill your MacBook with… a regular charger. You might think that everything is very simple: if a MacBook holds a charge well – I’m gonna keep on using it, and if not, I’m gonna replace the battery.
Yes, in general, IT IS SO, but it’s important to understand one thing: why did my MacBook suddenly start to lose charge faster? And why now? Here lies the most interesting thing, because if you learn to understand the process of “How does one battery charge?”, you can increase its life, thereby simplifying YOUR life. Let me explain real quick the point of one painful topic: yes, the quality of the charger MATTERS! Using the original or certified Apple charger directly affects the speed and quality of the charge. For the first week or so, you will charge your MacBook with the original charger, this is just your only option, but then you will have a desire to buy a HUB or maybe a monitor that will power up your MacBook.
I would say, when it’s possible, in most cases – use the original charger or one of the chargers approved by Apple. Just go to the “Power & Cables” page and look for the one you like. The main advantage of a good charger is – several levels of protection against ignition or overload, and they are made of high–quality safe materials. There are many cheap chargers on the market that are UNLIKELY to do well for your MacBook. So, what’s the worst-case scenario of using the wrong charger? In simple terms, your adapter should give JUST ENOUGH OR SLIGHTLY MORE POWER than your MacBook needs. If you take an adapter that will give your MacBook SIGNIFICANTLY MORE POWER, then, worst case – either the power adapter or the port of your Macbook will fail. But if it’s LESS than necessary, then this will negatively affect the “health” of the battery because it will charge much slower… and that’s bad.
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It’s a deep and complicated topic, but to find the best power adapter for your MacBook, grab your previous power adapter and simply find a similar one, preferably the original one. You can check all this information right on the back of your power adapter, including its name. For example, one of my friends has been charging his MacBook with a HUB, and the capacity went down to 91% in just one or two months. This happened because he had lots of devices connected to this HUB, and as a result, the MacBook has been receiving less power than needed… in other words – it has been charging slower, thereby hurting the battery.
You CAN charge your MacBook with docks and monitors, but make sure it’s the right one and it’s from a trustworthy brand. For example, Logitech, Anker, and Dell are some good brands. And here’s an important thing! MacBook batteries work stably for as many as 1000 cycles. It’s not how I think, it’s pure facts. According to Apple, it is after this mark that the charge will begin to lose capacity more actively. But being able to monitor these cycles, you can increase the life of your battery. A cycle is when it goes down from 100% to 0% – this is one FULL cycle. If, for example, your battery went down 25% – so from 100 to 75 – every day for 4 days straight, and you’ve put it on charge every evening to 100%, this also counts as one FULL cycle. It turns out that the more often you charge the device, the better.
For example, one day the laptop was used so the battery went down from 100% to 50%, and then it was fully recharged. If the same thing happened the next day, then it counts as one FULL cycle – NOT TWO. In this example, the cycle may take several days. To access the information about your battery, hold the Option key, click on the Apple logo, and select System Information, in the Power section you will find very important data. Here you can track the Cycle Count, Condition of your battery, and Maximum Capacity. But why does the battery work this way? Apple’s lithium‑ion battery rapidly charges up to 80% thanks to the fast charging mode and then switches to a slower charging mode.
The time it takes to charge up to 80% depends on the type of device and its settings. If the battery temperature exceeds the recommended values, the maximum charge level can be limited to 80%. Thanks to this combined process, the device will be ready for work right away. And it also prolongs its life. Apple states the following: “Charge the battery when it’s convenient for you. There is no need to fully discharge it before recharging.” We are also advised NOT TO SKIP Software updates. It often includes advanced energy-saving technologies. Therefore, it’s important to make sure that you have the latest version of macOS installed. If the laptop is connected to the Internet, which is most likely the case, then macOS automatically checks for software updates every week. But this is quite obvious compared to the question of the environment temperature in which you’re using your Macbook.
The ideal operating temperature is in the range of 50 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s especially risky to use the device at temperatures above 95 degrees. This can lead to a decrease in capacity. In general, it is not very good to work at such high temperatures – here the question is not only about the health of your battery, but also your health. Also, at high temperatures, your MacBook will not fully charge. Therefore, the software can reduce the maximum charge level to 80% if the battery temperature exceeds the recommended values. In addition, even storing your Macbook in a hot room can have irreversible consequences. On top of that, if you use a laptop at very low temperatures, its operating time may also decrease, but in this case, it’s temporary. As the temperature returns to normal values, performance will also go back to normal.
But there are several cool and simple optimizations that contribute to the effective use of energy. PLEASE DO NOT underestimate these 4 very important steps. The “Battery” settings panel allows you to adjust the power consumption level so that the MacBook itself knows when to switch to the best operating mode. If the laptop is powered by a battery, the brightness of the screen decreases automatically, and the remaining components are used more sparingly. If maximum performance is enabled, the battery drains faster. In general, consider that it does a great job for you. To increase the operating time, reduce the brightness of the screen to the minimum comfort level. The screen eats up a lot of charges… and your eyes! So, keep this always in mind – the battery can be replaced, but the eyes… a little more difficult.
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Disconnect all the external devices and close the apps you are not using. Remove the SD card if it’s not currently in use. That is, DO NOT load your laptop with what you DO NOT use! Leave only what is necessary at a given time. Let’s take the Kitchen as an example: when you eat something – put a pot on the shelf. And to easily keep your Mac clean, I recommend using a product called CleanMyMac. I’m a long-term user of this product, which is developed by a company called MacPaw. When I first launched CleanMyMac, it found GIGABYTES of files I didn’t need, it’s just useless junk – so things that are left behind when you simply use the system. And all you’ll have to do is to click just ONE button, and the app will do the rest of the work for you.
So, CleanMyMac not only increases your system’s performance, but also helps you increase the lifespan of your battery by reducing the load on your Mac, and thus it consumes less battery. It also includes Malware detection and a proper app remover. Simply dragging and dropping an app into the trash bin is usually NOT ENOUGH to uninstall it. Sometimes developers will give you a pre-made uninstaller, but other times you’re forced to delete it manually… which is not always easy to do, but CleanMyMac knows how to do it for you.
For example, you forgot to connect the Macbook to power and left for half a day. During this time, it managed to discharge to 0%, and you just wasted the cycle. When Wi-Fi is turned on, more power is consumed — even when you are not using it. You can disable this feature by going to the Control Center and clicking on the WiFi icon. But if it so happens that your beautiful MacBook needs to sit on your desk until the best moment, then there is also a trick, using which THE FUTURE YOU will thank you. When the battery is not in use for a long time, two factors significantly affect its performance: the temperature of a given environment (as I said), and the percentage of charge at the time the device is turned off. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you adhere to the following rules: * Do not charge or discharge the battery completely — it is best to charge it by about half. If you store the device completely discharged, the battery may go into a deep discharge state and lose the ability to hold a charge. If you store the device fully charged, this can lead to a decrease in capacity and, as a result, a decrease in lifespan.
- Place the device in a cool place with no moisture and make sure the temperature does not exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit. *
- If you don’t plan to use the device for more than six months, recharge it up to 50% every six months. And look, if you need to quickly browse the Web, send an email, or upload data, then in general do not worry about charging the battery. But if you have to do some serious tasks, for example, rendering a video, then, before you start using it, it is better to “feed” the battery to the fullest. Otherwise, it will not turn out positive, because simultaneous charging and discharging is not a useful exercise.
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Now, when you know the right and wrong ways to charge your MacBook, it’s worth considering something else important. Is it possible to use a Macbook ALWAYS plugged in? The short answer is yes, you can, and it will even be better for the battery. If you plan to use a Macbook as a “desktop” computer, in your office, for example, constantly working “plugged in”, allocate a couple of days a month to fully recharge the device from 0% to 100% – or to be exact – once every two weeks – let it discharge from 100% to 50% and back. Even the newest batteries require activity – that’s the way they work. Working ALWAYS plugged in WILL NOT affect the health of the battery if you perform a full recharge cycle from time to time. It will be much worse if you charge it up to 100%, and it goes down to 0% without recharging — it’s a waste of battery cycles.
Finally, before charging the battery, you don’t have to discharge it completely. The best value is 20-40%. However, you can always recharge the device to 100% EVEN at a higher charge. The main thing is to interrupt charging as little as possible and -try to charge the device at least up to 90-95%. And guys, it’s really hard to make tech reviews on a small channel like this, we have a team working on this content, so if you’re getting value, smash the Super Thanks Button and support us with a few bucks. Do not load yourself with a bunch of thoughts about the battery of your MacBook, just follow these simple steps from the video, and your battery will last you as long as possible.
Source: One Little Mistake That Shortens Life of Your M1 MacBook…
