Battery drain when connected to monitor MBA M1

[DrSarah]

Hello Fellow Apple users,

I am noticing I am not having a very long battery life when I am connected to a external display.
When I use the MBA without, I have like 14+- hours but when I am connected with a display it will last +-4 to 5 hours.
I do use the laptop in clamshell mode and running It with Amphetamine (which is unreliable as dirt though but that's a different story)
without a charger.

Do you guys also experience this behaviour? I would really like to use the Mac all day at work without having the power adapter plugged and ruining my battery, even though they say it doesn't hurt it. (it does, did it 4 months with my MBP 2020 and battery capacity was 90% already).

EDIT: it happens on multiple monitors. A 1920 x 1200 at work and a 3440 x 1440 at home.

 

[jdb8167]

Hello Fellow Apple users,

I am noticing I am not having a very long battery life when I am connected to a external display.
When I use the MBA without, I have like 14+- hours but when I am connected with a display it will last +-4 to 5 hours.
I do use the laptop in clamshell mode and running It with Amphetamine (which is unreliable as dirt though but that's a different story)
without a charger.

Do you guys also experience this behaviour? I would really like to use the Mac all day at work without having the power adapter plugged and ruining my battery, even though they say it doesn't hurt it. (it does, did it 4 months with my MBP 2020 and battery capacity was 90% already).

EDIT: it happens on multiple monitors. A 1920 x 1200 at work and a 3440 x 1440 at home.

I don't understand why if you are plugged in to a monitor, you aren't also just plugged in to charging? Once I'm at a desk with an external monitor, I can't imagine not taking advantage of the desk to recharge. Not to diminish your problem but I suspect that Apple sees it as a low priority since most people using an external monitor will also be on a power adapter.

 

[DrSarah]

I don't understand why if you are plugged in to a monitor, you aren't also just plugged in to charging? Once I'm at a desk with an external monitory, I can't imagine not taking advantage of the desk to recharge. Not to diminish your problem but I suspect that Apple sees it as a low priority since most people using an external monitor will also be on a power adapter.

As i said it does matter. It degrades my battery. It did on my mbp 2020 in 5 months.

 

[toxotis700]

no it doesnt.... we all do the same and have no problems.
Maybe it was a coincidence

 

[TrueBlou]

Hello Fellow Apple users,

I am noticing I am not having a very long battery life when I am connected to a external display.
When I use the MBA without, I have like 14+- hours but when I am connected with a display it will last +-4 to 5 hours.
I do use the laptop in clamshell mode and running It with Amphetamine (which is unreliable as dirt though but that's a different story)
without a charger.

Do you guys also experience this behaviour? I would really like to use the Mac all day at work without having the power adapter plugged and ruining my battery, even though they say it doesn't hurt it. (it does, did it 4 months with my MBP 2020 and battery capacity was 90% already).

EDIT: it happens on multiple monitors. A 1920 x 1200 at work and a 3440 x 1440 at home.

Just out of curiosity, have you tried it without using Amphetamine? If not, give it a bash, using the built-in energy saving features in place of it, just to see what difference there may be.

 

[Internaut]

I did notice my battery seemed to drain a little faster when plugged into a monitor... Not a big problem for me because I can plug it in at anytime once the battery is between 20 and 70%. I wouldn't plug my laptop in simply because it's connected to a monitor on the principle you should look after your batter if you want it to be there for you when you need it.

Edit: I would add that my M1 Air is connected the monitor via a an unpowered USB-C hub (HDMI -> Hub -> USB-C and that gets a little warm.

 

[Damien M]

you need the powered apple usb c to cdmi plus usb with charging $69 or noname clone $10 from amazon or similar
or plug the charging cable in slot 2