How to use plugged in all the time ?

[doggukan]

I have bought a m2 air recently and i will be plugged in like %80 of the time. Should i use optimized charging or this app ? which one is more efficient? i might play some games while connected but no more than 1-2 hours.

GitHub - actuallymentor/battery: CLI for managing the battery charging status for M1 Macs

CLI for managing the battery charging status for M1 Macs - actuallymentor/battery

github.com

 

[chabig]

Don't fret about the battery. Just use the machine normally–plugged or unplugged won't matter.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Optimised Charging takes a few weeks to learn your routine and start working, but for some people including me it never worked. So I have used AlDente and more recently Energiza third party apps to do the same thing with more control. I am not familiar with the one you linked.

Note I haven't tried Apples OBC for a year or two now, so it may work OK now, but will never have the control of the third party apps, so I wouldn't use it now even if it does work.

 

[Mark.g4]

i use the aldente app, the free version allows you to set a charge level and drain the battery if you wish.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Don't fret about the battery. Just use the machine normally–plugged or unplugged won't matter.

I have a lot of empathy with this approach, and for years, before the always-plugged-in-at-100% became a "bad thing", my mostly plugged in laptops did just that.

Now that it is a known thing and recognised in all kinds of applications from Satellies and Electric cars to laptops and phones I find it difficult to ignore. The apps that give manual control are unobtrusive and cheap so I do it now.

I have used AlDente or Energiza on three MBAs and they have all had 99% or 100% (Apple number) after over a year of use, two years in one case. My 15 month old M2 MBA is still on 100%.

Personal choice of course.

 

[dandeco]

In most cases I'd use my M1 MacBook Air unplugged at first, and then in the evening I'd plug it into my CalDigit TS-3 Plus Thunderbolt dock. But for nearly a month and a half now, due to the built-in keyboard having issues from crumbs and particles, I would plug it into said dock and use it in clamshell mode a lot, and so far it doesn't seem to have affected the battery. A couple times though it'd crash, and I'd have to reset the SMC, so I'm not sure if I want to do this all the time before I take it to the Apple Store next Wednesday (I already have the Genius Bar appointment booked). But for now, as a temporary solution so I can still use it on battery, I downloaded Karabiner Elements and set it up so the built-in keyboard is disabled when my smaller Magic Keyboard is connected via either Bluetooth or the Lightning cable.

 

[sierrablue]

I bought my M1 Air Dec 2021 and still at 21 cycles 100%. It is plugged in 98% of the time with Al Dente keeping the battery at 50%.

 

[donawalt]

Aldente all the way! It allows you to set to a safer battery level (60%-80%), and if you are connected to power it doesn't keep charging your battery - it just supplies power to the laptop. So cycles are greatly reduced.

I use my MacBook Pro probably 14 hours a day, 95% of the time NOT on battery - as you can see from Coconut app, after almost a year of use its battery is pretty healthy and cycles are very low!

 

[Bacong]

definitely al dente.

 

[RedTheReader]

How to use your MacBook plugged in all the time? Well, this is kind of a secret, don't tell anyone or it might blow their mind, but… you plug it in there and use the machine.

 

[doggukan]

using that battery app from github. it stays at 80% while getting power from cable. thanks for all the info. i care about the batter just because for resale value it brings

 

[RedTheReader]

using that battery app from github. it stays at 80% while getting power from cable. thanks for all the info. i care about the batter just because for resale value it brings

Aw, fair enough. I was just busting your chops, anyway. It's not worth the effort for me but I understand that some people want to squeeze as much value out of the battery as possible.

 

[doggukan]

Aw, fair enough. I was just busting your chops, anyway. It's not worth the effort for me but I understand that some people want to squeeze as much value out of the battery as possible.

this was my first mac ever. i have used gaming laptops all my life because of portability (actually not portable, huge cant unplug etc.. lol)

now i dont care about battery after using it for 2 days. i watch movies on the couch i can unplug and play games do whatever i want and not worry.its been a breeze so i will just enable 80% limit while plugged and using it for dev stuff. using it portable makes me not even think about battery life or cycle count anymore. no fan noise beatiful screen and speakers. cant complain.

 

[kagharaht]

I may try Al Dente. My wife new MBA 15 is plugged in all the time now. She doesn't really use it like a portable. So I've been unplugging it every weekend to let it use the battery. Then plug it back in when it's around 80% or so. So this looks like it would be better.

 

[x34]

if you are connected to power it doesn't keep charging your battery - it just supplies power to the laptop.

how's this called in the aldente app?
thank you!

 

[kagharaht]

I downloaded it at Macupdate and there are so many features. I don't need all that stuff I think. I'll just try the default free settings for now and see how it goes. I will still pay for the pro to support the developer once I am happy with it. So If I understand this, I left it at default 70%. Now I'm on battery letting it drain out to below that. When I plug it back in to power it will reach 70% and stay there and only use the charger to keep it running while the battery stays at 70%? How is that different from just leaving it at 100% plugged in?

 

[MikeDr206]

I’ll say that I’ve been satisfied with the built-in optimized battery charging on my MBA M1. I leave it plugged in 99% of the time, always on but with the screen closed (I have a dummy display adapter so the Mac thinks there’s an external monitor) so it can continually sync with my desktop (Resilio Sync if anyone’s interested).

When I check, the battery is at 80%. Before going on a trip, I’ll select the “charge to 100% option” so I’ll have maximum battery at the airport. During the trip the Mac usually charges to 100% as it’s sometimes used in battery and sometimes used plugged in.

When I get back home and plug it in again, within a day or two the battery is back at 80%.

 

[kagharaht]

I’ll say that I’ve been satisfied with the built-in optimized battery charging on my MBA M1. I leave it plugged in 99% of the time, always on but with the screen closed (I have a dummy display adapter so the Mac thinks there’s an external monitor) so it can continually sync with my desktop (Resilio Sync if anyone’s interested).

When I check, the battery is at 80%. Before going on a trip, I’ll select the “charge to 100% option” so I’ll have maximum battery at the airport. During the trip the Mac usually charges to 100% as it’s sometimes used in battery and sometimes used plugged in.

When I get back home and plug it in again, within a day or two the battery is back at 80%.

So the new MBA 15” does this already with optimized battery setting? Ok I removed that app and will just let it do it in its own natively with the OS. I want to see that happening.

 

[saber32au]

How is that different from just leaving it at 100% plugged in?

It's due to the battery's state of charge.

Leaving a battery at 100% charge for long periods isn't ideal for the battery's longevity...

If you leave your battery plugged into the power socket for long periods, you're better off leaving the battery at a lower state of charge (ie 70% as per the default set in Aldente) and drawing all power from the power socket directly...

Does it matter? Well it depends on who you ask...

Some people don't care, as they'll sell/pass on/stop using the laptop well before they notice any ill effects...

Others do care. Typically these folks hang on to their gear for several years and wish to extend the usable life of the battery, or don't see the point in degrading their battery unnecessarily, or don't wish to pay for a battery replacement etc etc...

I use a similar app to AlDente for my windows laptops. Limit charge to around 50% when I'm plugged into the power socket for long periods. Works great, and has helped me extend the laptop's battery life for several more years...

 

[Jim Lahey]

AlDente Pro is the boss. Just the menu bar icon options alone are worth the cost to me because it means I can remove the macOS icon and use AlDente's excellent choices. It makes the whole experience feel seamless and OEM. Auto discharge in clamshell mode is also a boon for those using external monitor setups. As is maintaining limits after sleep and shutdown.

Regarding the merits or otherwise of even caring about this sort of stuff - goes without saying people are encouraged to believe as they wish, but claiming that batteries aren't better served by regulating their charge are objectively and verifiably false. Whether or not the user cares is of course their prerogative.

 

[kagharaht]

It's due to the battery's state of charge.

Leaving a battery at 100% charge for long periods isn't ideal for the battery's longevity...

If you leave your battery plugged into the power socket for long periods, you're better off leaving the battery at a lower state of charge (ie 70% as per the default set in Aldente) and drawing all power from the power socket directly...

Does it matter? Well it depends on who you ask...

Some people don't care, as they'll sell/pass on/stop using the laptop well before they notice any ill effects...

Others do care. Typically these folks hang on to their gear for several years and wish to extend the usable life of the battery, or don't see the point in artificially degrading their battery unnecessarily, or don't wish to pay for a battery replacement etc etc...

I use a similar app to AlDente for my windows laptops. Limit charge to around 50% when I'm plugged into the power socket for long periods. Works great, and has helped me extend the laptop's battery life for several more years...

Good point and information. Also about just letting Mac OS do the optimization, my wife said she had left it plugged in for several weeks and it's always at 100%. It does't do what it's suppose to do to optimize itself. Unlike what some has posted here. So I guess it's back to AlDente or the free open source one the OP Linked called Battery.

 

[Jim Lahey]

Good point and information. Also about just letting Mac OS do the optimization, my wife said she had left it plugged in for several weeks and it's always at 100%. It does't do what it's suppose to do to optimize itself. Unlike what some has posted here. So I guess it's back to AlDente or the free open source one the OP Linked called Battery.

Apple’s optimized charging is basically useless unless you have an entirely set routine or never unplug it. This helps pretty much no one who uses a laptop as God intended.

 

[saber32au]

It does't do what it's suppose to do to optimize itself. Unlike what some has posted here. So I guess it's back to AlDente or the free open source one the OP Linked called Battery.

Yep, stick with Al Dente or equivalent. If you plan to keep your laptop plugged into a power socket for long periods, set the charge level to anywhere from 50-70% (you can go higher or lower depending on how long you think you'd need to use the latptop whilst on battery).

For my work laptop, I set the charge level to 50% (when I'm working from the office or home). 50% charge gives me 2-4 hours (depending on task) of use, which is more than enough to see me through times where I need to unplug and move my laptop (ie for a random meeting, video conference etc etc). When I need to travel, I just charge the laptop to 100% and get on with my day.

 

[AlexJoda]

Yep, stick with Al Dente or equivalent. If you plan to keep your laptop plugged into a power socket for long periods, set the charge level to anywhere from 50-70% (you can go higher or lower depending on how long you think you'd need to use the latptop whilst on battery).

For my work laptop, I set the charge level to 50% (when I'm working from the office or home). 50% charge gives me 2-4 hours (depending on task) of use, which is more than enough to see me through times where I need to unplug and move my laptop (ie for a random meeting, video conference etc etc). When I need to travel, I just charge the laptop to 100% and get on with my day.

It is better to go from 70% to 30% than from 50% to 10% because 10% is as bad as 90% in regards to battery life…

 

[kagharaht]

Oh wow, I forgot to reinstall it and when I started to do it today, I wake it up and the MBA is doing the optimization thing. It’s 80% on its own and staying there. Pretty cool.