Battery Issues 2015 Macbook Pro

[scottvsaunders]

Hey,

I am having pretty poor battery on my Macbook Pro (early 2015 retina 13) even though the tester program used (Coconut) shows that the battery is in excellent condition.

For browsing, typing etc without playing games or running intensive programs the battery lasts for just under 4 hours.

This is a massive different from the 8 hours that was promised upon sale.

Anyone got any suggestions?

Cheers

Scott

 

[redheeler]

Does this browser happen to be Google Chrome? If so try Safari instead, there is a difference in efficiency between the two especially when playing back web videos.

 

[scottvsaunders]

I have literally just made the switch to Chrome as my word PC is Windows based and it made sense to have a single place for passwords etc.

Cheers

 

[Sanpete]

There are undoubtedly nice things about Chrome, but energy conservation isn't one of them. You can check in your Activity Monitor (Launch Pad > Other) under the Energy tab to see what else is using power.

 

[scottvsaunders]

Sees that Safari is using more power than Chrome ?

unless . I am reading this screenshot right?

 

[Sanpete]

You're reading it right, but both those average numbers are low, maybe because you haven't been using them much over the last eight hours. And maybe it isn't Chrome causing your battery drain. Keep an eye on the numbers there to find out.

 

[Queen6]

Hey,

I am having pretty poor battery on my Macbook Pro (early 2015 retina 13) even though the tester program used (Coconut) shows that the battery is in excellent condition.

For browsing, typing etc without playing games or running intensive programs the battery lasts for just under 4 hours.

This is a massive different from the 8 hours that was promised upon sale.

Anyone got any suggestions?

Cheers

Scott

Chrome and Flash are big resource hogs on OS X; try Chrome Canary as it's often more optimised, personally I've had fair results. Flash try an extension that offers more granular control like Click to Flash or uninstall Flash. As others have suggested Safari is best optimised for Mac's.

Chrome brings it's own Flash onboard, so maybe worth looking to opt out. In many respects Chrome works for those that require Flash and saves on the need to instal Flash, which I don't recommend unless absolutely needed.

You should be seeing far better runtimes, I still have a 2014 high tier 13" rMB and it can certain do better, eking out as much as 10 hours with admittedly very carful use. 7-8 Hours for basic productivity & web browsing should be attainable.

n.b. Chrome Canary is installed as a standalone browser, with no effect on the regular Chrome installation.

Q-6

 

[ZapNZs]

Have you checked out 1Password? - it is a great cross platform App for OS X, iOS, Windows 7-10, and Android.

With Chrome, are you running many extensions? Specifically, are you running any adblockers, and are you using a version made before flash was blocked by default, or have you manually enabled flash on a modern build? Are you on v57?

I am using an older version of Chrome on one of my MBPs, and a while back I manually disabled the feature designed to reduce the CPU use of background tabs because certain videos would not load properly in the background. When I use certain video sites, just loading (not even playing) in the background elevates the CPU from around 3% to 10-15% utilization and it makes a huge impact on my running time. I run quite a few extensions as well which hurts it even more.


Finally, I am guessing you are already doing this, but are you watching your Activity Monitor to see if something else is causing the CPU to spike? I've noticed that when I use Chrome, WindowServer elevates slightly more than if I use Safari - I assume this has something to do with the efficiency of hardware acceleration, but either way I think it can also factor into battery life.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

What brightness are you running at? the numbers apple quote is for 75% brightness. This makes more difference to your battery life than almost anything else.

 

[Fishrrman]

My suggestions:
- Ditch Chrome
- Use Safari (or another browser other than Chrome)
- Don't set display brightness above 60% or so (unless you're in bright light)

 

[tivoboy]

I've recently just upgraded to a 2015 rMBP 15" from a 2012 rMBP 15" There were some features I wanted and got a VERY good price on a top of the line model. Didn't want the 2016 yet.

My 2012 daily driver wants a new battery, but manages to get 2.5-3 hours on battery, with a TON of Chrome and such, and I have apps that will kill the app in the background and the OS should do that as well.

with this new 2015 model (build august 2016) I'm getting about 2.5-3 hours MAX. This is with a bit of Safari and Chrome running sierra. I really thought with the 8700 mAh battery in there and brand new that it would yield more like 6-7 hours and I can't figure out the best way to optimize it. Are there actual battery ISSUES that one can address?

Looks like regular usage is 2100 mAh which seems like a lot and no wonder it won't last eight hours.

 

[Sanpete]

with this new 2015 model (build august 2016) I'm getting about 2.5-3 hours MAX. This is with a bit of Safari and Chrome running sierra. I really thought with the 8700 mAh battery in there and brand new that it would yield more like 6-7 hours and I can't figure out the best way to optimize it. Are there actual battery ISSUES that one can address?

Looks like regular usage is 2100 mAh which seems like a lot and no wonder it won't last eight hours.

Have you checked your battery condition (in About This Mac > System Report > Power)? If it's normal, what does the Activity Monitor show is using the energy?