How to Best Maintain MacBook Battery Health?

[TechnoMonk]

Considering that I often charge my MacBook, thereby increasing the charging cycles, I will keep it on the charger for most of the day, and use it on battery for the last few hours to slightly wear the battery as I've read that this is good for its health. Additionally, when I need to turn it off, it will be around 50%, which is optimal. Is this okay?

Why do you want to wear out your battery and increase charging cycles? Like many have said, even it is plugged in Mac OS will adjust the pattern to 80% and stop charging and won’t add to your cycle count . Remember Apple goes by charge cycles. You don’t have to worry about 50% unless you are going to shutdown and store your laptop for months without using. That’s official recommendation of Apple when not using your computer for months. I have 226 cycles with excellent battery condition after 2.5 years of intense use, and extensive traveling. I don’t unplug my MBP if I am working from home or anywhere unless I need to move around or can’t plug in to charger.
Computers are tools to get your work done, not add more work.

 

[iStorm]

You are overcomplicating this. Just use it as you normally would and don't worry about micromanaging the battery. You are wearing it out faster by doing unnecessary uncharging/recharging.

FWIW, I got an M3 MBP in November. It is plugged in nearly 24/7 and using optimized charging. Every two or three weekends, I'll unplug it and only use it on battery power when I'm away from home. My battery health is still at 100% capacity with only 9 charge cycles.

 

[BigBlur]

Considering that I often charge my MacBook, thereby increasing the charging cycles, I will keep it on the charger for most of the day, and use it on battery for the last few hours to slightly wear the battery as I've read that this is good for its health.

I don't think it's good to do this on a daily basis. Yes, it's good to drain and recharge...but it only needs to be done periodically. MacOS's optimized charging handles this for you. It will charge to 100% if it has been sitting at 80% for too long, and then drain back to 80% again.

Additionally, when I need to turn it off, it will be around 50%, which is optimal. Is this okay?

No! The 50% thing is for long term storage. You're just wasting charge cycles if you're doing this every day. If you won't be using the Mac for a few weeks or more, then yes...store it at 50%.

Like everyone else said, just use the Mac and don't worry about the battery. Chances are the battery will outlive your ownership of the Mac. If worst comes to worst, you said you use it at work where you don't really need the battery...so does it really matter if the battery ends up holding 12 hours of battery life instead of 20 after a few years since you'll be using it plugged in all the time anyway? Plus, the battery is replaceable if needed.

 

[Zupi]

I don't think it's good to do this on a daily basis. Yes, it's good to drain and recharge...but it only needs to be done periodically. MacOS's optimized charging handles this for you. It will charge to 100% if it has been sitting at 80% for too long, and then drain back to 80% again.


No! The 50% thing is for long term storage. You're just wasting charge cycles if you're doing this every day. If you won't be using the Mac for a few weeks or more, then yes...store it at 50%.

Like everyone else said, just use the Mac and don't worry about the battery. Chances are the battery will outlive your ownership of the Mac. If worst comes to worst, you said you use it at work where you don't really need the battery...so does it really matter if the battery ends up holding 12 hours of battery life instead of 20 after a few years since you'll be using it plugged in all the time anyway? Plus, the battery is replaceable if needed.

Okay then, I will do that. I'm a bit sorry for being misinformed and cramming 12 cycles in such a short time, but it is what it is, thank you for the information.

 

[MacCheetah3]

I'm a bit sorry for being misinformed and cramming 12 cycles in such a short time, but it is what it is

Nothing to be sorry or even anxious about. Your Mac is a tool err machine, an elegant looking machine but a device to accomplish tasks nonetheless. Is it logical to be upset when a towel begins to fray, gears wear down, a blade dulls? No, as you said, “it is what it is."

I stand by my post though will expand and elaborate on it for, hopefully, better clarification. Foremost, I’ll add this:

Tips for Extending Battery Lifespan​

Automatic battery health management.​

To reduce battery aging, built-in software and hardware systems are included to manage charging patterns and battery temperature.

• Optimized Battery Charging and Optimized Charge Limit adapt to your daily usage and preserve your battery lifespan over time. Optimized Battery Charging is available on all platforms as of iOS 13, watchOS 7, and macOS Big Sur. Based on your daily charging routine, it may automatically defer charging to 100% until shortly before you need to use the battery. Apple Watch Ultra can further reduce time spent at high states of charge by learning when to charge to an Optimized Charge Limit and when to allow for a full charge.
• Charging may pause temporarily while in extreme temperature conditions, and will resume once the battery’s temperature returns to its normal operating range. Starting in iOS 16, you may see a notification appear on the lock screen when charging has paused for this reason. Starting in iOS 16 and watchOS 9, paused charging information is also available in Settings > Battery.

Avoid extreme ambient temperatures.​

Your device is designed to perform well in a wide range of ambient temperatures, with 62° to 72° F (16° to 22° C) as the ideal comfort zone. It’s especially important to avoid exposing your device to ambient temperatures higher than 95° F (35° C), which can permanently damage battery capacity. That is, your battery won’t power your device as long on a given charge. Charging the device in high ambient temperatures can damage it further. Software may limit charging above 80% when the recommended battery temperatures are exceeded. Even storing a battery in a hot environment can damage it irreversibly. When using your device in a very cold environment, you may notice a decrease in battery life, but this condition is temporary. Once the battery’s temperature returns to its normal operating range, its performance will return to normal as well.

MacBook Comfort Zone​

MacBook works best at 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C) ambient temperatures. Storage temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C).

Batteries - Maximizing Performance

Maximize the life and lifespan of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in your MacBook, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

www.apple.com

As noted, macOS has improved in battery management:

About Optimized Battery Charging - Apple Support

Use the battery status menu to resume charging if you need to have your Mac fully charged sooner.

support.apple.com

About battery health management in Mac notebooks - Apple Support

Mac notebook computers with Apple silicon use battery health management, a feature designed to improve the lifespan of your computer's battery.

support.apple.com

You could use AlDente, especially if it’s weeks or months between mobility necessity. However, if you do use AlDente, set the limit to 60% — obviously, you’ll need to remember to release the limit and charge fully before relying solely on battery. Additionally, every one to three months, perform a calibration:

1. Plug in the MagSafe power adapter and fully charge the battery.
— Allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for two hours or longer.
— You can use your computer during this time.
2. With the computer still on, disconnect the power adapter and continue to use your computer.
— When you see the Low Battery warning, save your work more frequently. Keep your computer turned on until it automatically goes to sleep.
3. After your computer goes to sleep, connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged.

Instructions are derived from iFixit.

Even if simply allowing the OS to manage charging, it’s still a good idea to perform a calibration every few months or so.

Yes, this recommendation is due to the storage recommendation:

The 50% thing is for long term storage.

Store it half-charged when you store it long term.​

If you want to store your device long term, two key factors will affect the overall health of your battery: the environmental temperature and the percentage of charge on the battery when it’s powered down for storage. Therefore, we recommend the following:

• Do not fully charge or fully discharge your device’s battery — charge it to around 50%. If you store a device when its battery is fully discharged, the battery could fall into a deep discharge state, which renders it incapable of holding a charge. Conversely, if you store it fully charged for an extended period of time, the battery may lose some capacity, leading to shorter battery life.
• Power down the device to avoid additional battery use.
• Place your device in a cool, moisture-free environment that’s less than 90° F (32° C).
• If you plan to store your device for longer than six months, charge it to 50% every six months.

Depending on how long you store your device, it may be in a low-battery state when you remove it from long-term storage. After it’s removed from storage, it may require 20 minutes of charging with the original adapter before you can use it.

Basically, if a battery is to stay at a static state-of-charge (i.e., charge level), ~50% is the sweet spot — which you already understood:

Considering that I often charge my MacBook, thereby increasing the charging cycles, I will keep it on the charger for most of the day, and use it on battery for the last few hours to slightly wear the battery as I've read that this is good for its health. Additionally, when I need to turn it off, it will be around 50%, which is optimal. Is this okay?

And the reason Apple (as well as other companies) primarily/only mention the 50% recommendation in storage instruction is because if a device/machine has a battery, it’s expected to be used to some extent. In other words, as long as the battery cells are ‘worked’/‘exercised’ at least occasionally, that’s sufficient.

With that said, I can condense my suggestion:

Keep your MacBook plugged in and allow macOS to handle things:

About battery health management in Mac notebooks - Apple Support

Mac notebook computers with Apple silicon use battery health management, a feature designed to improve the lifespan of your computer's battery.

support.apple.com

Every one to three months perform a calibration:

1. Plug in the MagSafe power adapter and fully charge the battery.
— Allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for two hours or longer.
— You can use your computer during this time.
2. With the computer still on, disconnect the power adapter and continue to use your computer.
— When you see the Low Battery warning, save your work more frequently. Keep your computer turned on until it automatically goes to sleep.
3. After your computer goes to sleep, connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged.

 

[Mike Boreham]

I would not have started using third party apps like AlDente and Energiza if Apples Optimised Battery charging had worked for me. I used Apple OBC for two months on my first M1 MBA and never saw the charge being held to 80%. It was always at 100%.

When I got my second M1 MBA and then M2 MBA I started with AlDente straight away because I had got used to the extra control it gave and the excellent battery health I had had on the first machine.

50% is indeed the recommended percentage for long term storage, but I think it is probably also the optimum for long term degradation even if being used…if you can live with 50% capacity. Battery degradation at 100% is due to the high cell voltage. When the battery is at lower charge the cell voltage is less so the degradation is less. 80% is compromise between optimum for life and reasonable charge for more usage. Microsoft Surface laptops have a BIOS setting for laptops used mostly plugged in, which limits max charge to 50%.

 

[MacCheetah3]

80% is compromise between optimum for life and reasonable charge for more usage.

I forgot to add that tidbit.

 

[xraydoc]

Another vote for AlDente Pro.

My MBP spends most of its life pretending to be a desktop Mac mini/Mac Studio, so being able to maintain ~80% on the battery at all times while docked is great. And 80% to 20% is enough generally to get me by when I'm using it as an actual battery-powered laptop. And of course I can charge it back to 100% any time I want if I'm traveling with it.

 

[ultrakyo]

Invest on AlDente Pro with sailing mode and set threshold at 50-70%. Calibrate once a month.