Apple Explains Why You Might See 'Not Charging' When a Mac is Plugged In

[MacRumors]

If you have a Mac and have seen a "Not Charging" warning when plugging it in to power, Apple last week released a support document that explains why.

Macs running macOS 10.15.5 or later have a Battery Health Management feature to preserve the life of the battery, and occasionally, the Battery Health Management option will cause the Mac to pause its charging for calibration purposes.

Depending on its settings, your Mac might temporarily pause charging to help calibrate battery health management, a feature designed to improve the lifespan of your battery.

Apple says that when Battery Health Management is activated, "Not Charging" could be displayed and the charge level might be lowered temporarily, which is a normal function of the feature. Charging to full will resume based on usage habits.

When battery health management is turned on, you might occasionally see "Not Charging" in the battery status menu of your Mac, and your battery's maximum charge level might be lowered temporarily. This is normal, and it's how battery health management optimizes charging. Your Mac resumes charging to 100 percent depending on your usage.

Battery Health Management features are available on Mac notebooks that have Thunderbolt 3 ports and that run macOS Catalina 10.15.5 or later. The option improves the lifespan of a Mac's battery by reducing the amount of time that the battery spends at a maximum charge, which can cut down on chemical aging.

Battery Health Management works based on the battery's temperature history and charging patterns, so if you often leave your Mac charging overnight after using it during the day, the Mac might charge up to around 85 percent and sit there for a bit before charging to full ahead of when it's needed in the morning.

If you use your Mac while Battery Health Management is active, you might see the "Not Charging" warning that Apple mentions. Battery Health Management is enabled by default, but it can be turned off by checking the Battery Health Management option in the Energy Saver section of the System Preferences app once ‌macOS Catalina‌ 10.15.5 or later has been installed.

There are some other reasons that Mac users might see the "Not Charging" warning, such as when the Mac isn't getting enough power to charge the battery. In these situations, Apple recommends people follow the steps in its support document covering charging with a USB-C power adapter.

Article Link: Apple Explains Why You Might See 'Not Charging' When a Mac is Plugged In

 

[Apple_Robert]

Thanks for the informative article, MacRumors. I like what Apple has been doing lately with better battery management.

 

[NewYorkRanger]

Been noticing this more and more the last few weeks on my Late 2019 16 Inch MBP.

I was getting very paranoid about it and was thinking about taking my MacBook in to get it checked. This support document must be because they got tired of people reporting charging "problems" when it is a feature.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Thank you for the detailed info @apple.

 

[zorinlynx]

Some people tend to use their Macbooks at their desk all day, every day, only occasionally taking it out and about and using the battery. Is this feature smart enough to leave those Macbooks at 80-85% all the time?

 

[TheOldChevy]

Thanks for the info. The behaviour may be the right one, but I would expect the display to be such that we understand it (like having a specific icon in the menu bar).

 

[appleuser181]

Been noticing this more and more the last few weeks on my Late 2019 16 Inch MBP.

I was getting very paranoid about it and was thinking about taking my MacBook in to get it checked. This support document must be because they got tired of people reporting charging "problems" when it is a feature.

I've been getting this for a while now and even before this update (2018 Mid 2018 15 Inch MBP). It could be an actual problem that Apple is trying to portrait as a "feature" now lol The timing couldn’t be any better, they can just say it's a feature that comes with our new Battery Health Management option.
Again, I could be wrong here but I've seen the "Not Charging" indicator way before this update came out.

 

[bartszyszka]

How low can this get? I have a non-Apple USB-C cable and thought something was wrong with it when I saw this happening. Seems like it wouldn't be ideal if it decided to dip low for someone about to do some traveling and needing their laptop charged to the max.

 

[TheOldChevy]

How low can this get? I have a non-Apple USB-C cable and thought something was wrong with it when I saw this happening. Seems like it wouldn't be ideal if it decided to dip low for someone about to do some traveling and needing their laptop charged to the max.

Yes, the UI is not good. We need to know when it happens, and we need a way to by-pass it when we want to.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

This is a terrible UI decision on Apple’s part. It should at least say something like “charging paused for battery health”

 

[NoImDirtyDan]

My Macbook plugged in will fall to about ~90% and then charge back up every so often. I have it connected to an external monitor in clamshell mode. Not sure if this is part of the battery management as well.

 

[uofawildcats96]

I'd rather it just said it was charging; the vast majority of the world who doesn't read Apple support articles will probably just unplug and replug back in their cable to try to fix it, defeating the purpose of Battery Health Management.

 

[samelot628]

This is a terrible UI decision on Apple’s part. It should at least say something like “charging paused for battery health”

Agree. Maybe it should just say "Charging paused" to distinguish from other states when there is an issue with the battery or charger.

 

[farewelwilliams]

simple solution: add a health plus symbol in the icon.

 

[dannyyankou]

iPads also suffer from this sometimes

 

[kc9hzn]

Back when I had a MagSafe based MacBook, I noticed I went through a power supply about once a year over the five years I actively used the laptop. When the power supply was on the fritz, I’d see a similar message. The laptop was getting enough power to power the laptop but not enough to additionally charge the battery.

 

[mashdots]

Thanks for the informative article, MacRumors. I like what Apple has been doing lately with better battery management.

This is a terrible UI decision on Apple’s part. It should at least say something like “charging paused for battery health”

I agree with both of these sentiments.

 

[longofest]

It's weird. Apple has done without this kind of "battery management" crap for literally decades with its laptops. Now it appears, just as Apple is about to switch to it's on silicon.

How much you want to bet that Apple throttles its Apple Silicon chips when the batteries start getting old, just like it does with iPhone?

 

[27 others]

Yes, the UI is not good. We need to know when it happens, and we need a way to by-pass it when we want to.

You can turn it off.

 

[Bokito]

If you see this pre 10.15.5 it’s because your USB-C-to-something-different-dongle can only deliver 65 Watts, while your MBP takes 80.

 

[imnotthewalrus]

You can turn it off.

This was what I was going to suggest, but I have a 2015 MBP that doesn't have the management feature, I assume a toggle awaits those affected in system preferences>energysaver>battery.

 

[now i see it]

A simple toggle to automatically always stop charging at 80% is all that everyone wanted.

 

[Tagbert]

I wish that they would offer this on older models. I just had to have my MBP 2014 batter replaced for the second time. It sits on the desk plugged in all the time. I’ve tried to unplug it now and then but it’s hard to remember to plug it back in. Would love to be able to tell it to never charge about 80% Until further notice.

 

[Catman8976]

It's weird. Apple has done without this kind of "battery management" crap for literally decades with its laptops. Now it appears, just as Apple is about to switch to it's on silicon.

How much you want to bet that Apple throttles its Apple Silicon chips when the batteries start getting old, just like it does with iPhone?

They possibly will.

 

[B4U]

It is getting too confusing.
Plugged in, but does not mean it is charging.
Same with the iPhone control center's WiFi settings. Turning it off does not mean it is actually turned off. 😓
Why, Apple...Why??