MacBook Discharging While Plugged in.

[Kinda_Evil]

Is this happening to anyone else? I have the 10th Gen 13" with the latest OS version (10.15.5) and the battery has been discharging while plugged in to the power adapter. I'm not doing anything taxing, just just browsing the internet with several Firefox tabs open.

Also should mention, this problem just started and didn't do this when I first got it. I've also made sure the power adapter is plugged in properly, changed outlets, and even tried a different port on my MacBook and nothing has helped.

 

[Gauss-Jacobi]

This has been happening with my brand my MacBook Air! I *just* got off the phone with apple support and they're sending me a new computer. The computer knows it's plugged in but just runs off of battery power, so strange. They didn't know what the problem was and since I only have one usb-c cable and the apple stores are closed there wasn't a way to diagnose the problem. I included a screenshot of my battery icon, does your's look the same? I wish I could provide more help than solidarity...

 

[duffyanneal]

I believe it is the battery health management that arrived with 10.15.5. If you disable the feature the battery discharge/charge cycling will stop. You probably haven't noticed yet, but with the feature activated the battery doesn't necessarily charge fully. The battery indicator will show 100%, but if you look at the actual charge with Coconut Battery it will not necessarily be at 100%.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251405858

How to Turn Off Battery Health Management in macOS Catalina 10.15.5

Apple in the second macOS Catalina 10.15.5 beta added a new Battery Health Management feature for Macs, which is designed to prolong the battery life...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Kinda_Evil]

This has been happening with my brand my MacBook Air! I *just* got off the phone with apple support and they're sending me a new computer. The computer knows it's plugged in but just runs off of battery power, so strange. They didn't know what the problem was and since I only have one usb-c cable and the apple stores are closed there wasn't a way to diagnose the problem. I included a screenshot of my battery icon, does your's look the same? I wish I could provide more help than solidarity...

I ended up resetting the SMC and it seems to have corrected the issue, at least for now. Your screenshot is exactly how my battery indicator looked, however!

 

[duffyanneal]

I ended up resetting the SMC and it seems to have corrected the issue, at least for now. Your screenshot is exactly how my battery indicator looked, however!

The cycling will start again unless you turn off the battery health option. My 16" and 13" MBPs both do this since the upgrade. I'm using the 13" tonight and it just finished a cycle an hour ago. It's very odd to see for sure.

 

[Ron21]

This is by design, it’s part of the new battery health management feature in 10.15.5.

You can disable this in System Preferences .

 

[Kinda_Evil]

The cycling will start again unless you turn off the battery health option. My 16" and 13" MBPs both do this since the upgrade. I'm using the 13" tonight and it just finished a cycle an hour ago. It's very odd to see for sure.

Thanks for that information! I wish Apple would tell us this stuff so we wouldn't get panicked...
Is it advisable to turn the battery health management off? I wouldn't want to screw up the battery if having this setting enabled is better, even though it is annoying.

 

[duffyanneal]

Is it advisable to turn the battery health management off? I wouldn't want to screw up the battery if having this setting enabled is better, even though it is annoying.

Yeah, Apple should have said something about the new behavior. If this is the cause of Gauss's issue Apple is spending money to replace a perfectly functional device. This type of battery health management has been available for years from other notebook manufacturers. If you stay plugged into the AC/mains most of the time it isn't good for the battery to stay at 100% charged. These type of batteries last longest at about 2/3 charge. Next time you get a new device powered by a LION battery check the charge level out of the box. It will most likely be very close to 2/3 +/-. If you do venture away from the power adapter on a regular basis you probably don't need to worry about cycling the battery.

 

[mrochester]

I’ve got this same issue with my MacBook Pro 15 2017. Except my problem has been happening for over a year now. Usually the only way to get it to start charging is to either restart the laptop or disconnect and reconnect the charging cable a number of times (itll Show this issue regardless of which USBC port I use).
I only started seeing this problem after my keyboard was replaced in April last year By Apple under warranty.

 

[duffyanneal]

I’ve got this same issue with my MacBook Pro 15 2017. Except my problem has been happening for over a year now.
I only started seeing this problem after my keyboard was replaced in April last year By Apple under warranty.

That's terrible to hear. Have you tried resetting your SMC? If your issue still persists I would reach out to Apple again.

Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

The SMC is responsible for managing power on your Mac. Resetting it can resolve certain uncommon issues related to power or thermal management.

support.apple.com

 

[mrochester]

That's terrible to hear. Have you tried resetting your SMC? If your issue still persists I would reach out to Apple again.

Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

The SMC is responsible for managing power on your Mac. Resetting it can resolve certain uncommon issues related to power or thermal management.

support.apple.com

Yes tried all that and spoken to Apple but they want to see the issue in person which is difficult because it only happens every now and then!