2010 Macbook Air Throttling when battery half empty

[jimmysofat6864]

For some reason, my Macbook Air is throttling and not running at full performance when the battery level is under 40 ish percent. I have iStats Menu and it seems like the CPU is peaking around 140 degrees compared to the 180-190 that I normally get when I use my computer at full load at battery percentages above 40. And the fans never spin up as well. And when the battery gets under 20 percent, the temperatures max out at 120 and the fans never spin up either. And the computer runs much slower and the lag gets worse. However, the moment I plug in my computer, the lag stops immediately and then the temperatures go back up to 180-190 like usual and the fans spin up.

I thought it was a battery issue because sometimes I would get a "service battery" message that occasionally goes away. I replaced the battery but I am still experiencing the same issue. Is this normal behavior or do I need to get another battery replacement? I know that macs tend to throttle when the battery is removed. It is a 2010 Macbook Air 2.13Ghz and I am on High Sierra.

 

[TheShortTimer]

I've not encountered this so far on my 1.4 Ghz 2010 MBA - although I did experience other problems due to a deficient battery. I recommend that you download coconutBattery and share the results so that we can then assess the battery's condition and determine whether it's the culprit. The free version is available here.

 

[jimmysofat6864]

I've not encountered this so far on my 1.4 Ghz 2010 MBA - although I did experience other problems due to a deficient battery. I recommend that you download coconutBattery and share the results so that we can then assess the battery's condition and determine whether it's the culprit. The free version is available here.

Have the results here. It's a third party battery and reports back to the computer as "normal". It's brand new so it's kind of odd to be seeing that. It's worth noting that the original battery that came with this computer also reported back as "normal" but sometimes said "service battery". Both batteries experienced throttling under 40 percent.

 

[TheShortTimer]

Thanks for sharing those results. Your battery has been in operation for longer than the one in my 2011 MBP and would appear to be in a much better state with 100% for both the design and charge capacity. Have you tried recalibrating the battery? Check out this guide and follow the steps - it might be helpful.

 

[jimmysofat6864]

Thanks for sharing those results. Your battery has been in operation for longer than the one in my 2011 MBP and would appear to be in a much better state with 100% for both the design and charge capacity. Have you tried recalibrating the battery? Check out this guide and follow the steps - it might be helpful.

I have calibrated my battery and it still did the same thing. It’s brand new so it shouldn’t be in operation for that long.

 

[Amethyst1]

Can you try running pmset -g thermlog in Terminal, once while on battery and once while on charger and watch it for a couple of minutes? If CPU Speed Limit is less than 100, that confirms throttling is active - if so, by how much?

 

[iluvmacs99]

For some reason, my Macbook Air is throttling and not running at full performance when the battery level is under 40 ish percent. I have iStats Menu and it seems like the CPU is peaking around 140 degrees compared to the 180-190 that I normally get when I use my computer at full load at battery percentages above 40. And the fans never spin up as well. And when the battery gets under 20 percent, the temperatures max out at 120 and the fans never spin up either. And the computer runs much slower and the lag gets worse. However, the moment I plug in my computer, the lag stops immediately and then the temperatures go back up to 180-190 like usual and the fans spin up.

I thought it was a battery issue because sometimes I would get a "service battery" message that occasionally goes away. I replaced the battery but I am still experiencing the same issue. Is this normal behavior or do I need to get another battery replacement? I know that macs tend to throttle when the battery is removed. It is a 2010 Macbook Air 2.13Ghz and I am on High Sierra.

I believe it is your 3rd party battery that is causing the throttle, because Apple firmware specifically allow CPU freq stepping only with an "Apple" new factory battery. When the firmware detects no battery or with a 3rd party battery that's not tested to be compatible with Apple's BD_PROCHOT handling of the CPU thermal protection scheme, then you will be throttled. EGOWay is an Amazon sold battery and so was my Husan battery. The only way to bypass this either to run Windows or Linux (I have Ubuntu on my MacBook Pro) and that will bypass Apple's throttle mechanism both with and without battery. Or else, find an original new Apple factory battery, which is probably impossible right now for the 2010 MB Air. On my MB Air 2014, I also have a service battery issue and throttle and my solution is that when it reached 20-40%, I then launch VirtualBox VM and run Ubuntu 20.04 and surf from there. That bypasses the throttle, but it gets hot and will shutdown without notice and so I run a separate auto-CPU Freq daemon under Linux to control the CPU right inside the VM. If I get a new battery to replace it, I would probably have to contend with the same spiel, though the new 3rd party battery will last longer.

Thanks for confirming my suspicion that if I replace my MB Air 2014 with an Amazon sold battery, I'll experience the same throttle as I have with my MB Pro with the Husan battery which I also bought from Amazon, unless I run Ubuntu to bypass the Apple's firmware.

 

[jimmysofat6864]

I believe it is your 3rd party battery that is causing the throttle, because Apple firmware specifically allow CPU freq stepping only with an "Apple" new factory battery. When the firmware detects no battery or with a 3rd party battery that's not tested to be compatible with Apple's BD_PROCHOT handling of the CPU thermal protection scheme, then you will be throttled. EGOWay is an Amazon sold battery and so was my Husan battery. The only way to bypass this either to run Windows or Linux (I have Ubuntu on my MacBook Pro) and that will bypass Apple's throttle mechanism both with and without battery. Or else, find an original new Apple factory battery, which is probably impossible right now for the 2010 MB Air. On my MB Air 2014, I also have a service battery issue and throttle and my solution is that when it reached 20-40%, I then launch VirtualBox VM and run Ubuntu 20.04 and surf from there. That bypasses the throttle, but it gets hot and will shutdown without notice and so I run a separate auto-CPU Freq daemon under Linux to control the CPU right inside the VM. If I get a new battery to replace it, I would probably have to contend with the same spiel, though the new 3rd party battery will last longer.

Thanks for confirming my suspicion that if I replace my MB Air 2014 with an Amazon sold battery, I'll experience the same throttle as I have with my MB Pro with the Husan battery which I also bought from Amazon, unless I run Ubuntu to bypass the Apple's firmware.

I didn’t know virtualbox could bypass system throttling because every app I tried from chrome to iMovie to rendering wouldn’t allow me to bypass system throttling so I’m surprised vbox/VMware can. The original apple battery sometimes shows “service battery” but it goes away which is kind of odd.

Would you think there is a third party battery that is compatible with the apple firmware so it doesn’t throttle or would that be tough to find?

 

[Amethyst1]

I run a separate auto-CPU Freq daemon under Linux to control the CPU right inside the VM.

I was under the impression this is not possible — only the host OS can do it. Can you provide some evidence that this is in fact possible?

 

[iluvmacs99]

I was under the impression this is not possible — only the host OS can do it. Can you provide some evidence that this is in fact possible?

Just based on my visual observation and how my MB Air was getting hotter running Ubuntu than with Mac OS Mojave did and also the battery life sucks. About 2hr less than when I'm only browsing with Mojave alone with the current older battery with no slow down. I'll do some more test, because I'm about to replace my MB Air battery and I'm already eyeing on a NOS (New Old Stock) MB Air battery being sold as opposed to the Amazon one. Now learning from another user that it does throttle makes me wonder I should stick with the real battery for just $15 more in my country. My MacBook Pro 2009 with the Husan works great under Ubuntu 18 getting 4-5hrs of batt life however, but I need my MB Air to run Mojave at full speed.

 

[Amethyst1]

Just based on my visual observation and how my MB Air was getting hotter running Ubuntu than with Mac OS Mojave did and also the battery life sucks.

Just running an idle VM sometimes causes VirtualBox to constantly use 100% of one core for me, which would readily explain the higher temps and worse battery life. I’m not convinced that throttling is actually disabled.

 

[iluvmacs99]

I didn’t know virtualbox could bypass system throttling because every app I tried from chrome to iMovie to rendering wouldn’t allow me to bypass system throttling so I’m surprised vbox/VMware can. The original apple battery sometimes shows “service battery” but it goes away which is kind of odd.

Would you think there is a third party battery that is compatible with the apple firmware so it doesn’t throttle or would that be tough to find?

I don't know if it bypasses anything. In Ubuntu and on battery power, it runs about 2 hrs less than under Mojave with the service battery sign on with my original battery which was from 2014. I know that it becomes unreliable when the power level is around 20-40% under Mojave, but with Ubuntu, it just tells me when the power is about to die without the unreliability. The fan goes on more with Ubuntu, so I know it's not being throttled like under Mojave does. And I don't have a new original battery to test my observation either. Which is why your thread is great, because now it confirmed that a knockoff battery can throttle the machine.

The only experience I have with a 3rd party is the Husan battery that I got for my Macbook Pro and it is definitely not in the same league as the original battery that it came with. Under Ubuntu 18, it gave me roughly 4-5 hrs of us at full CPU speed. Which is why I am already eyeing on eBay a NOS original Apple battery for my MB Air. Tempted to get that because I know it won't throttle my Air, but then NOS means it's an old battery so lifespan might be shortened as a result compared to a newer Amazon knockoff. It's going to be tough to find an original battery for your MB Air and if you did, it'll will so old that the lifespan on it would probably suck anyhow. The only way to over ride it is either running Linux or Windows as a dual boot system or dedicated system.

 

[iluvmacs99]

Just running an idle VM sometimes causes VirtualBox to constantly use 100% of one core for me, which would readily explain the higher temps and worse battery life. I’m not convinced that throttling is actually disabled.

I'm actually running down my MB Air battery right now just before I head out for work. I'll do more testing because @ less than 40% which I know will throttle my MB Air under Mojave and see if it throttles Ubuntu down. I set Ubuntu to run with 2 cores @ 100% btw and works well in multitasking with MacOSx programs.

 

[TheShortTimer]

The only way to bypass this either to run Windows or Linux (I have Ubuntu on my MacBook Pro) and that will bypass Apple's throttle mechanism both with and without battery. Or else, find an original new Apple factory battery, which is probably impossible right now for the 2010 MB Air.

It's going to be tough to find an original battery for your MB Air and if you did, it'll will so old that the lifespan on it would probably suck anyhow. The only way to over ride it is either running Linux or Windows as a dual boot system or dedicated system.

The battery is still manufactured by Simplo - they're the world's largest producer of batteries for laptops, tablets and smartphones and the company is among Apple's main suppliers for these products. I replaced the battery in my 2010 MBA with an OEM unit earlier this year and coconutBattery identifies the manufacturer as Simplo - exactly the same as in all my other Unibody MacBooks with stock, "Apple branded" or OEM batteries.

Providing that it's described as "Simplo" in the listing then there shouldn't be any problems: there certainly haven't been any for me.

 

[jimmysofat6864]

The battery is still manufactured by Simplo - they're the world's largest producer of batteries for laptops, tablets and smartphones and the company is among Apple's main suppliers for these products. I replaced the battery in my 2010 MBA with an OEM unit earlier this year and coconutBattery identifies the manufacturer as Simplo - exactly the same as in all my other Unibody MacBooks with stock, "Apple branded" or OEM batteries.

Providing that it's described as "Simplo" in the listing then there shouldn't be any problems: there certainly haven't been any for me.

They still make batteries but for my specific model it might be hard for me to find one. Checking eBay all I see are third party batteries.

 

[TheShortTimer]

They still make batteries but for my specific model it might be hard for me to find one. Checking eBay all I see are third party batteries.

Quoted from here.

Contrary to popular belief, Apple doesn't make batteries. Apple OEM's (licenses) their battery manufacturing to a supplier that stamps an Apple logo on them. These same manufacturers will sell replacement batteries without the logo.

The battery will be a Simplo unit but without the Apple logo stamped on it. This is what I have inside my 2010 MBA.

 

[iluvmacs99]

I'm actually running down my MB Air battery right now just before I head out for work. I'll do more testing because @ less than 40% which I know will throttle my MB Air under Mojave and see if it throttles Ubuntu down. I set Ubuntu to run with 2 cores @ 100% btw and works well in multitasking with MacOSx programs.

I've just ran a few benchmark tests and while the fan works a bit harder under Ubuntu while I was at work, my former observation based on heat and fan operation were incorrect based on the benchmarks I did. Throttling is not disabled under VM and so you are correct @Amethyst1. The good thing is now I realized, after doing the tests, that I need to focus in getting the proper battery for my Air and not a knock-off that I was planning initially in getting.

 

[iluvmacs99]

The battery is still manufactured by Simplo - they're the world's largest producer of batteries for laptops, tablets and smartphones and the company is among Apple's main suppliers for these products. I replaced the battery in my 2010 MBA with an OEM unit earlier this year and coconutBattery identifies the manufacturer as Simplo - exactly the same as in all my other Unibody MacBooks with stock, "Apple branded" or OEM batteries.

Providing that it's described as "Simplo" in the listing then there shouldn't be any problems: there certainly haven't been any for me.

I've actually sourced a "Simplo" battery locally as NOS I guess from Simplo itself for my MB Air, but this thread and my own tests now confirmed that I need to get the "Simplo" battery for my Air. Where did you get yours for the 2010 MB Air?

 

[TheShortTimer]

I've actually sourced a "Simplo" battery locally as NOS I guess from Simplo itself for my MB Air, but this thread and my own tests now confirmed that I need to get the "Simplo" battery for my Air. Where did you get yours for the 2010 MB Air?

I purchased it from eBay - after searching for "A1375 battery" and units that contained "genuine" and/or "OEM" within the description in order to filter out NewerTech (due to poor reviews) and Husan (because of the issues you've already highlighted) and I ensured that the price wasn't too cheap because that would've been a red flag. I paid £37.66 GBP but I've checked eBay today and other sellers have exactly the same unit available for a bit cheaper.

Here's the Apple branded original that I removed because as you can see, it was well and truly knackered:

This is the replacement that I obtained from eBay.

Apart from the labelling, it looks identical to the Apple branded unit and is identified by coconutBattery as a Simplo product.

 

[jimmysofat6864]

I purchased it from eBay - after searching for "A1375 battery" and units that contained "genuine" and/or "OEM" within the description in order to filter out NewerTech (due to poor reviews) and Husan (because of the issues you've already highlighted) and I ensured that the price wasn't too cheap because that would've been a red flag. I paid £37.66 GBP but I've checked eBay today and other sellers have exactly the same unit available for a bit cheaper.

Here's the Apple branded original that I removed because as you can see, it was well and truly knackered:

This is the replacement that I obtained from eBay.

Apart from the labelling, it looks identical to the Apple branded unit and is identified by coconutBattery as a Simplo product.

So with your non branded battery did your computer throttle at all or was it back to normal? Also how do you know that it is actually a Simple battery and not a knockoff/counterfeit? Or did you order one and hope for the best?

 

[iluvmacs99]

I purchased it from eBay - after searching for "A1375 battery" and units that contained "genuine" and/or "OEM" within the description in order to filter out NewerTech (due to poor reviews) and Husan (because of the issues you've already highlighted) and I ensured that the price wasn't too cheap because that would've been a red flag. I paid £37.66 GBP but I've checked eBay today and other sellers have exactly the same unit available for a bit cheaper.

Here's the Apple branded original that I removed because as you can see, it was well and truly knackered:

This is the replacement that I obtained from eBay.

Apart from the labelling, it looks identical to the Apple branded unit and is identified by coconutBattery as a Simplo product.

Nice! Thanks for sharing this and it looks exactly like the unit I sourced locally and would never thought to search with those parameters on eBay, so that's what I'm going to get. When my Husan dies, I'll get the Simplo model for my MBP.

 

[TheShortTimer]

So with your non branded battery did your computer throttle at all or was it back to normal?

There has been no throttling at all with the unbranded battery. In fact the new battery solved many power management issues: previously there was a noticeable delay in powering up the MBA, it would fail to resume from sleep and was erratic with rebooting correctly.

Also how do you know that it is actually a Simple battery and not a knockoff/counterfeit? Or did you order one and hope for the best?

With the encouragement of a fellow MR member, I took a risk and it appears to have paid off. Subsequent research as to how and where Apple obtains its branded batteries in the first place (from Simplo and Dynapack) put my mind at ease.

One element of caution that I exercised was the avoidance of anything that appeared to be too good to be true in terms of pricing.

Nice! Thanks for sharing this and it looks exactly like the unit I sourced locally and would never thought to search with those parameters on eBay, so that's what I'm going to get. When my Husan dies, I'll get the Simplo model for my MBP.

You're very welcome - I'm just glad that it will save you from needlessly pursuing NOS or having to abandon MacOS.

 

[jimmysofat6864]

I purchased it from eBay - after searching for "A1375 battery" and units that contained "genuine" and/or "OEM" within the description in order to filter out NewerTech (due to poor reviews) and Husan (because of the issues you've already highlighted) and I ensured that the price wasn't too cheap because that would've been a red flag. I paid £37.66 GBP but I've checked eBay today and other sellers have exactly the same unit available for a bit cheaper.

Here's the Apple branded original that I removed because as you can see, it was well and truly knackered:

This is the replacement that I obtained from eBay.

Apart from the labelling, it looks identical to the Apple branded unit and is identified by coconutBattery as a Simplo product.

Just wanted to ask if you used iStats menu and monitored battery tempratures does it get stuck at one battery temperature range? iStats noted that my XINGLIT battery was stuck at 85 and 91 degrees respectively. If so then this might be the behavior of third party batteries.

 

[TheShortTimer]

Just wanted to ask if you used iStats menu and monitored battery tempratures does it get stuck at one battery temperature range? iStats noted that my XINGLIT battery was stuck at 85 and 91 degrees respectively. If so then this might be the behavior of third party batteries.

I'll have a look and get back to you.

 

[TheShortTimer]

Just wanted to ask if you used iStats menu and monitored battery tempratures does it get stuck at one battery temperature range? iStats noted that my XINGLIT battery was stuck at 85 and 91 degrees respectively. If so then this might be the behavior of third party batteries.

Here's my results from a session watching several 720p and 1080p videos from the battery:

The temperature remained static at 25 degrees. It might be worth checking with coconutBattery to see what the results are. I'm not informed enough to confirm whether this is an accurate method to gauge the battery. Perhaps others can clarify?