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jeddouglas

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 13, 2012
245
60
Inverness, UK
Had it for 4 years from new and just noticed after upgrading to MacOS Big Sur that battery service indicator warning is on. Battery cycles are only 289. Is this normal for so few cycles? If so can anyone recommend replacement battery in UK. Seems to be quite a few different ones on Amazon ranging from £40 up to around £80.
 
Had it for 4 years from new and just noticed after upgrading to MacOS Big Sur that battery service indicator warning is on. Battery cycles are only 289. Is this normal for so few cycles? If so can anyone recommend replacement battery in UK. Seems to be quite a few different ones on Amazon ranging from £40 up to around £80.
Yeah, that's way too few cycles to be showing issues... I have Early 2015 MBA as well. I bought it used about a year and a half ago, and it has 405 cycles on it, and coconut battery shows 88.1% of original capacity. I have a new battery actually showing up tomorrow that I ordered off iFixit, just because I wanted a brand new battery to see how it performs. Don't think they ship out of USA. I'm still on Catalina 10.15.7 and I don't think I'm going to update. It seems with every update, apple has tighter grip on what we can and can't do with OUR devices.. I swore I wasn't gonna go from Mojave to Catalina but did it anyway... prolly shouldn't have. Only reason I did really was I wanted dark mode.. I'm still kicking around going to Big Sur, but it's too early I think. I'm waiting for a while at least to see the issues get sorted out. Unless your battery was defective, or the machine damaged somehow(moisture/overheated at some point etc.) I wouldn't think it should have an issue like that. I'm guessing it's Big Sur incorrectly reporting.. I would let it run on battery until it shuts down, then fully charge it uninterrupted for at least 2 hrs after its 100%, then unplug and run it dead again, then fully charge uninterrupted again. Then see how it reports. If still bad, I would report feedback on it to Apple and let them know. If enough people complain they may look into it and provide a fix in an update.
 
What is the battery health according to coconut flavor?
See screenshot. I tend to use the Macbook plugged in to power most of the time. Could this have something to do with it?
Screenshot 2020-11-16 at 07.55.08.png
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Going slightly off topic, but battery issues aside, did you encounter any problems with the Big Sur install? I'm still in two minds about updating my 4gb / 128 gb ssd early 2015 MacBook Air. It't running Catalina without an issue, but I can't afford a new Air if Big Sur bricks it. Any insight would be appreciated :)
 
See screenshot. I tend to use the Macbook plugged in to power most of the time. Could this have something to do with it?
View attachment 1668961:
All laptop batteries will degrade over time, even if they are not being used.

The battery is just over 4 years old. I've had batteries that lasted to about 5 years before they needed to be replaced.

Keeping it connected to a charger at all times may or may not have accelerated its depletion.

At this point, I recommend replacing it. Upgrading to Big Sur and getting the replacement warning may have been pure coincidence. I'm surprised you didn't receive the warning around 75%.
 
All laptop batteries will degrade over time, even if they are not being used.

The battery is just over 4 years old. I've had batteries that lasted to about 5 years before they needed to be replaced.

Keeping it connected to a charger at all times may or may not have accelerated its depletion.

At this point, I recommend replacing it. Upgrading to Big Sur and getting the replacement warning may have been pure coincidence. I'm surprised you didn't receive the warning around 75%.
I think it was coincidence, I just hadn't checked the health previously when using Catalina and maybe missed previous warning message. I tried running without power this morning to see how long battery lasted. Was on a Teams call for about an hour which I know is heavy on the battery, then got about another 30 mins, battery was down at about 43% and then just died on me. Are you able to recommend suitable replacement battery?
 
Going slightly off topic, but battery issues aside, did you encounter any problems with the Big Sur install? I'm still in two minds about updating my 4gb / 128 gb ssd early 2015 MacBook Air. It't running Catalina without an issue, but I can't afford a new Air if Big Sur bricks it. Any insight would be appreciated :)
I did have a bit of an issue initially and got a blank screen after the install but just re-booted and all fine since. If anything it seems to be better than Catalina. I have 8gb/ 256 gb early 2015MB.
 
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I think it was coincidence, I just hadn't checked the health previously when using Catalina and maybe missed previous warning message. I tried running without power this morning to see how long battery lasted. Was on a Teams call for about an hour which I know is heavy on the battery, then got about another 30 mins, battery was down at about 43% and then just died on me. Are you able to recommend suitable replacement battery?
I know a lot of people are going to recommend getting Apple to do the replacement. I'm in Canada and it would cost me $169 + taxes for a battery replacement from Apple.

I also have an early 2015 Air and used a battery from Egoway on Amazon. It cost less than half the price of an Apple replacement and it has worked well for me. I didn't want to spend a lot on a MacBook that's almost 6 years old.
 
I did have a bit of an issue initially and got a blank screen after the install but just re-booted and all fine since. If anything it seems to be better than Catalina. I have 8gb/ 256 gb early 2015MB.
Thanks. I think it will be the 4gb in mine that might cause problems with Big Sur :(
 
I know a lot of people are going to recommend getting Apple to do the replacement. I'm in Canada and it would cost me $169 + taxes for a battery replacement from Apple.

I also have an early 2015 Air and used a battery from Egoway on Amazon. It cost less than half the price of an Apple replacement and it has worked well for me. I didn't want to spend a lot on a MacBook that's almost 6 years old.
Thanks, I can see that one in the UK Amazon site at £64. There is a cheaper one by BRTONG at only £38. Link is below:


Has anyone ever tried this make before?
 
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