How to use plugged in all the time ?

[doggukan]

I have bought a m2 air recently and i will be plugged in like %80 of the time. Should i use optimized charging or this app ? which one is more efficient? i might play some games while connected but no more than 1-2 hours.

GitHub - actuallymentor/battery: CLI for managing the battery charging status for M1 Macs

CLI for managing the battery charging status for M1 Macs - GitHub - actuallymentor/battery: CLI for managing the battery charging status for M1 Macs

github.com

 

[chabig]

Don't fret about the battery. Just use the machine normally–plugged or unplugged won't matter.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Optimised Charging takes a few weeks to learn your routine and start working, but for some people including me it never worked. So I have used AlDente and more recently Energiza third party apps to do the same thing with more control. I am not familiar with the one you linked.

Note I haven't tried Apples OBC for a year or two now, so it may work OK now, but will never have the control of the third party apps, so I wouldn't use it now even if it does work.

 

[Mark.g4]

i use the aldente app, the free version allows you to set a charge level and drain the battery if you wish.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Don't fret about the battery. Just use the machine normally–plugged or unplugged won't matter.

I have a lot of empathy with this approach, and for years, before the always-plugged-in-at-100% became a "bad thing", my mostly plugged in laptops did just that.

Now that it is a known thing and recognised in all kinds of applications from Satellies and Electric cars to laptops and phones I find it difficult to ignore. The apps that give manual control are unobtrusive and cheap so I do it now.

I have used AlDente or Energiza on three MBAs and they have all had 99% or 100% (Apple number) after over a year of use, two years in one case. My 15 month old M2 MBA is still on 100%.

Personal choice of course.

 

[dandeco]

In most cases I'd use my M1 MacBook Air unplugged at first, and then in the evening I'd plug it into my CalDigit TS-3 Plus Thunderbolt dock. But for nearly a month and a half now, due to the built-in keyboard having issues from crumbs and particles, I would plug it into said dock and use it in clamshell mode a lot, and so far it doesn't seem to have affected the battery. A couple times though it'd crash, and I'd have to reset the SMC, so I'm not sure if I want to do this all the time before I take it to the Apple Store next Wednesday (I already have the Genius Bar appointment booked). But for now, as a temporary solution so I can still use it on battery, I downloaded Karabiner Elements and set it up so the built-in keyboard is disabled when my smaller Magic Keyboard is connected via either Bluetooth or the Lightning cable.

 

[sierrablue]

I bought my M1 Air Dec 2021 and still at 21 cycles 100%. It is plugged in 98% of the time with Al Dente keeping the battery at 50%.

 

[donawalt]

Aldente all the way! It allows you to set to a safer battery level (60%-80%), and if you are connected to power it doesn't keep charging your battery - it just supplies power to the laptop. So cycles are greatly reduced.

I use my MacBook Pro probably 14 hours a day, 95% of the time NOT on battery - as you can see from Coconut app, after almost a year of use its battery is pretty healthy and cycles are very low!

 

[Bacong]

definitely al dente.

 

[RedTheReader]

How to use your MacBook plugged in all the time? Well, this is kind of a secret, don't tell anyone or it might blow their mind, but… you plug it in there and use the machine.

 

[doggukan]

using that battery app from github. it stays at 80% while getting power from cable. thanks for all the info. i care about the batter just because for resale value it brings

 

[RedTheReader]

using that battery app from github. it stays at 80% while getting power from cable. thanks for all the info. i care about the batter just because for resale value it brings

Aw, fair enough. I was just busting your chops, anyway. It's not worth the effort for me but I understand that some people want to squeeze as much value out of the battery as possible.

 

[doggukan]

Aw, fair enough. I was just busting your chops, anyway. It's not worth the effort for me but I understand that some people want to squeeze as much value out of the battery as possible.

this was my first mac ever. i have used gaming laptops all my life because of portability (actually not portable, huge cant unplug etc.. lol)

now i dont care about battery after using it for 2 days. i watch movies on the couch i can unplug and play games do whatever i want and not worry.its been a breeze so i will just enable 80% limit while plugged and using it for dev stuff. using it portable makes me not even think about battery life or cycle count anymore. no fan noise beatiful screen and speakers. cant complain.