Battery Cycle Count Issue

[phenom13]

Hi there!
I bought brand new MBP 16 in May with 2 battery cycles count.
Couple times I used laptop unplugged (to test battery life), the rest of time it is plugged into a charger.
Now I got Battery Cycle Count: 12
Why does cycle count increase despite laptop always plugged into a charger?

 

[ISKOTB]

There is a new battery management feature that will try to keep the charge below 100% when your MBP is permanently connected to power. This is to improve battery life, you can disable it in setting and verify that you get 100%.

 

[ultrakyo]

IMHO best to leave the setting as is if you are plugged in most of the time. Battery detiorate faster at 100% charge.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Hi there!
I bought brand new MBP 16 in May with 2 battery cycles count.
Couple times I used laptop unplugged (to test battery life), the rest of time it is plugged into a charger.
Now I got Battery Cycle Count: 12
Why does cycle count reduce despite laptop always plugged into a charger?


View attachment 940742

You mean increase, not reduce? Your count is increasing.

It could be that the battery management is allowing the battery to drain a bit, then recharge it back to keep it healthy. Those could be adding up to recharge cycles.

Keep an eye on the battery indicator in the menu bar and see if you see it drop when it's plugged in.

 

[matram]

If you check for posts on "battery swelling" you will see that many user who have this problem have very few charge cycles but the battery has failed due to overcharging, deep discharge and / or temperature.

The battery life span in terms of cycles is not what you should be worried about. The battery will live longer by consuming some cycles to reduce deterioration.

 

[ISKOTB]

Yes sir it is the battery health management...this has been happening to everyone I think. I had like 15 cycles and now I am at 22 and I never unplugged my laptop for like 3 months now!?

I just noticed this in IOS 14/b4 as well Apple added an optimized battery charging feature

You mean increase, not reduce? Your count is increasing.

It could be that the battery management is allowing the battery to drain a bit, then recharge it back to keep it healthy. Those could be adding up to recharge cycles.

Keep an eye on the battery indicator in the menu bar and see if you see it drop when it's plugged in.

 

[Christopher Kim]

The battery life span in terms of cycles is not what you should be worried about. The battery will live longer by consuming some cycles to reduce deterioration.

Sounds like you've got your answer, but just another +1 that lots of battery issues over last few year MBP models where laptop was used primarily plugged in all the time with external monitor. Low cycle counts yes, but the battery was made to be used, not plugged in all the time. This is what prompted Apple to implement this battery maintenance program on the latest macOS version to allow the battery to draw down a bit, even when plugged in.

Don't worry about the cycle count. It seems like it's net-net better for the battery to give up some cycle counts to extend longevity of battery.

 

[phenom13]

Thank you guys for the replies.
Now I have 15 cycle count ( it was 11 cycle in August 5).

It so strange cycle count increase, despite my MBP always plugged in.

Also I noticed than MBP keep the charge level below 100% (97%-98%) when MBP is connected to power.

 

[yukari]

When a laptop is used, the battery drains even if it is plugged in all the time. The battery drains and keeps charging back up. Think of the battery as a bucket with a small leak. You constantly fill the bucket (plugged-in) but the water slowly leaks (battery discharges). When the total amount of discharge reaches a certain amount, the cycle count increases by one.

 

[clueless88]

i think that the battery cycle is a calculated/estimated number of complete battery discharge/recharges. For example, if one were to charge the battery from 50% to 100% twice, this would tally up to 1 cycle. It does not matter how low you bring the battery charge level or how frequently/unfrequently you charge your Macbook Pro, your system is dutifully calculating the number of discharge/recharge equivalents. Here is a link to Apple's explanation--battery cycle

With Catalina you can get to the cycle information by clicking on the Apple in the left upper corner, the "about this mac", then "system report", then "power". Looks like my Macbook Pro has expended 75% of expected battery life according to the number of cycles.

If one were to replace the battery of a long out of warranty Macbook Pro (2012), would one go with the Apple product (presently $129 at the Apple store with installation), or with a non-oem one? Does Apple sell just the battery--it seems an easy swap out?

 

[lambertjohn]

Disable the battery management feature and manage the battery health yourself (run notebook on battery a couple times a month down to 10%.) Problem solved. Been doing it that way for years and even the battery in my 2010 MBP has 86.3 % capacity left in it at 222 cycles.

Dmylrea hit it on the nail with his explanation, FYI.

 

[ISKOTB]

I think 10% is pretty low. The battery could fall into a deep discharge state. When the battery falls into this state it may stop being able to hold any charge.

Disable the battery management feature and manage the battery health yourself (run notebook on battery a couple times a month down to 10%.) Problem solved. Been doing it that way for years and even the battery in my 2010 MBP has 86.3 % capacity left in it at 222 cycles.

Dmylrea hit it on the nail with his explanation, FYI.

 

[Fred Zed]

It just proves to show that connecting it to power doesn’t bypass the battery cells. That’s my take away from reading this thread.