Macbook M1: battery health drops?

Blasted_pingin · 2023-09-10T09:15:10.773Z

I bought my first Mac a year ago.
The battery health shows 84% (only!!) after a year of use.

Sometimes plugged, sometimes not. It was not used for months and i’m a bit shocked and disappointed. At that rhythm, it would need to be plugged all thr time soon. I’m not even sure the battery is removable.

Anyone had the same issue? Worth to use the warranty?

tdmusic · 2023-09-10T09:35:17.908Z

Not normal I don’t think. I have a M1 Max Pro bought 16 months ago and battery health says 96%.

I also use a mix of plugged and unplugged. The battery is not removable, though I think Apple can replace it.

Kammo · 2023-09-10T09:52:55.674Z

It is very likely that the battery is defective. It is not normal for it to drop to 84% after a year. Mine is at 94% after a year and a half. It is best to contact an authorized Apple service. The battery can be replaced. I’m not sure about the warranty, but I think they replace the battery for free if it drops to 80% or lower within a year. If it is out of warranty the battery is between $150-250, depends on the macbook model.

tdmusic · 2023-09-10T09:55:40.295Z

And re: warranty, if you are in the EU or UK, remember you have consumer protection for more than one year in the case of manufacturing defects like this. Apple are usually good at honouring this if you mention it. I don’t know if the US has an equivalent law

Mistercharlie · 2023-09-10T09:58:32.477Z

Blasted_pingin:

not. It was not used for months and i’m a bit shocked and disappointed

That could be the problem. Was the battery totally empty during those months? Li-ion batteries don’t like being completely full or empty.

victorcampos · 2023-09-10T09:58:45.304Z

Your post made me go check my battery and… It’s at 87% battery health after 19 months.

Blasted_pingin · 2023-09-10T09:59:31.919Z

Indeed I am in Europe and we get 2 years of warranty on electronic items.

I am not sure there’s an official threshold where one can declare the battery being defective.
In case of replacement of the battery, would you recommend to save data?

Blasted_pingin · 2023-09-10T10:00:36.328Z

I saw posts on other forums where people had a battery checked at 103%… It seems the check is not super trustable either.
87% after 19 months doesn’t seem super nice either.

synthbie · 2023-09-10T10:12:24.742Z

Try Coconutbattery. It’s an app that can tell you a little about the batteryhealth, and especially the charging cycles. Full charging cycles is not good for batteryhealth.

/thomas

krunchr · 2023-09-10T10:16:20.159Z

Coming December my MBA M1 is 3 years old. The current battery healthness is still at 97 %. But the most time I use it stationary via PD from my Dell display. Maybe 3 - 4 times per month I use it mobile.

Blasted_pingin · 2023-09-10T10:28:19.205Z

That’s Coconut which is telling me 84%…

I thought the tears where you have to stop charging at 80% and other stuff like that were behind us.

G0n35y · 2023-09-10T10:31:32.039Z

I had something similar with my old 2018 MBP15. The cycle count was also very low so even less excuse for this to happen.

Pretty sure it was over 3 years old by the time I took it into the store but they accepted it was a fault with very little push back and repaired free of charge.

With how they’re built this meant I got a new keyboard as part of the repair too so very happy in the end!

deeptropix · 2023-09-10T10:33:35.461Z

depends on usage. whether battery was often drained below 10% or kept charged at 90-100% or for prolonged time. also how many cycles has the battery comes into play too. I am on 2nd year of use and 1 year non stop plugged in (with very small breaks) i’m on 91%.

deeptropix · 2023-09-10T10:39:47.929Z

Maximum cycle count for i.e macbook air m1 : 1000
A normal battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at its maximum cycle count when operating under normal conditions. The one-year warranty includes service coverage for a defective battery. If it is out of warranty, Apple offers battery service for a charge.
source:

Apple Support

About battery health management in Mac notebooks

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

Apple Support

Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops

Learn how to determine the number of cycles your Mac laptop's battery has.

tdmusic · 2023-09-10T10:39:51.979Z

Having had a couple of laptops fail for various reasons I’d always recommend having a backup of anything you care about! Battery replacement should be safe in theory but things can go wrong. I use Backblaze personally which automatically backs up to the cloud so I don’t have to think about it.

g3o2 · 2023-09-10T11:04:45.495Z

One note of caution: keep your device charged between 20% and 85%. Avoid draining it below or charging it above. This will prolong the battery’s life.

My M1 Pro’s battery’s max capacity is 99% after almost two years, only plug it for charging.

deadfly · 2023-09-10T11:19:59.830Z

If you have any doubts you should get it checked at an Apple store. They are pretty helpful in my experience

waftlord · 2023-09-10T11:52:37.476Z

Can we get the science behind this top tip?

Claid · 2023-09-10T11:58:31.638Z

My M1 Macbook Air which I bought a couple of years ago and have absolutely ragged since I got it is at 88% battery health.

g3o2 · 2023-09-10T12:12:48.557Z

That’s what I got told by an energy advisor friend a few years back. Unfortunately, I have neither scientific reference to back it up nor any other data point besides my own.