MacBook Pro 16-inch Battery/Charger Problem (?)

[MitchellvB995]

Hello,

I recently got the new MacBook Pro 16-inch full stock spec version (i9, 1TB, 5500M). I am however, running into a few 'issues', that I want your opinion about.

The 16-inch MacBook I currently have is already the second one, because the first one didn't want to start without being connected to a charger. It was only charging with, according to coconutBattery, 2-6W.

Now, the new one, is charging with 30-50W, which still seems a bit weird because there's a 96W (actually 94W) charger in the box.

I am currently playing Rocket League and I noticed that the battery discharged itself within 1,5 hour to 60%.

I am not sure what is going on and I would like to know your opinion. Should I go back to the store and trade it in again? Is it normal that the MacBook is charging slowly?

 

[chabig]

All of that detailed data is nothing more than ********. Pay no attention to it. Your machine is managing its own details. I hate bringing up car analogies, but I must--do you monitor your ignition timing, valve operation, engine temperature, fuel flow, stoichiometry, or do you let the engine computer do it? Treat your personal computers the same. Trying to look for problems in the weeds only leads to or amplifies OCD and is a waste of time.

 

[miroki]

The charger supplies power to MacBook as well as the battery at the same time, that’s probably why you see only half of the juice goes to batter. If your charging time is in the ballpark of 2.5 hours, I’d say it’s fine. Under load, MacBook requires the full attention of the charger. When under max load, power is drawn from both the charger and battery. This behavior is by design.

hope this answer will give you some peace of mind

 

[Honza1]

I would be really surprised, if the battery (100Wh) could take more than 30-50W and not destroy itself. These batteries can take max charging current only when nearly empty, but as they fill up, they charge slower and slower. Charging them too fast damages them and reduces their life. This is rarely discussed in notebooks forums, but if you would look in Tesla (or EV in general) forums, there is lively discussion on Li-ion battery charging methods and capabilities.
As noted above, MBP+PowerSupply are designed to work together and supplement each other as needed. It is all controlled very well. If your battery charges in 2-3 hours with MBP powered down, you are fine. Note: if you play heavy load games or use some other serious CPU/GPU load, battery may take lot longer to fully charge...
You should ignore it. For your own sanity.

 

[MitchellvB995]

Thanks for your responses.

I now feel comfortable by seeing a charging power between 30-60 Watts, as the MacBook indeed needs its own power.

What I still don't like is the fact that my MacBook is discharging from 100% to 0% in about 3-4 hours while playing Rocket League. I am just not sure if you could call this "It's designed to do so".

 

[matram]

In my experience that is what you get when the dGPU is active.

Time on battery specified by Apple is always with the integrated GPU.

"There is no such thing as a free lunch".

What I still don't like is the fact that my MacBook is discharging from 100% to 0% in about 3-4 hours while playing Rocket League. I am just not sure if you could call this "It's designed to do so".

 

[MitchellvB995]

In my experience that is what you get when the dGPU is active.

Time on battery specified by Apple is always with the integrated GPU.

"There is no such thing as a free lunch".

But you have a 16-inch MacBook Pro yourself, right? Is your battery also charging from 94%-100% in 40+ minutes (calculation)?

 

[delegagtor]

I have the same problem with my 16 inch MBP. Playing Dark Age of Camelot via Crossover, or running a VirtualBox VM with a heavy database workload, it discharged from 100% to 0% in less than 2 hours even when plugged in, and when it gets to zero it shuts down. This cannot be expected behavior yet Apple support tells me there is nothing wrong. To me they will be looking at a class action suit unless this is fixable.

 

[jerryk]

I have the same problem with my 16 inch MBP. Playing Dark Age of Camelot via Crossover, or running a VirtualBox VM with a heavy database workload, it discharged from 100% to 0% in less than 2 hours even when plugged in, and when it gets to zero it shuts down. This cannot be expected behavior yet Apple support tells me there is nothing wrong. To me they will be looking at a class action suit unless this is fixable.

The 100W limit of USB-C may be causing your issues. Most 17" gaming laptops come with 200+W charger. This is required to drive the GPU, CPU, and fans while under high load AND charge the battery.

Bottom line, MacBook pros are neither gaming or workstation class laptops.

But, before you proceed. Make sure you are using the 100W cable that came with the laptop and the apple power supply. USB-C cables need to be certified to send more than 60W of power. The cable that came with the MacBook Pro is. A random USB-C cable may not be, and if use will limit the power supply to sending no more than 60W (3A @ 20V) of power. With a certified 100W cable the charge will send close to 5A @ 20V.

 

[delegagtor]

I was using the Apple 96w adapter with the Apple cable. I actually have 3 adapters (home, office and travel) and tried all of them.

 

[delegagtor]

FYI I finally diagnosed this and the problem turned out to be crappy third party (or maybe counterfeit) cables. My Apple brand cable (doesn't have to be the super expensive Thunderbolt 3, just the regular Apple USB charging cable) delivers 94w while the third party USB-C cables that came with an 87w power supply only deliver 60w. Change your cables and see whether that helps.

It would also have helped if the Apple 96w charger actually came with a cable. It was the extra cables I purchased for my second and third chargers that were the problem.

 

[jerryk]

FYI I finally diagnosed this and the problem turned out to be crappy third party (or maybe counterfeit) cables. My Apple brand cable (doesn't have to be the super expensive Thunderbolt 3, just the regular Apple USB charging cable) delivers 94w while the third party USB-C cables that came with an 87w power supply only deliver 60w. Change your cables and see whether that helps.

It would also have helped if the Apple 96w charger actually came with a cable. It was the extra cables I purchased for my second and third chargers that were the problem.

Look for IF-Certified cables if you want up to 100W of power to come out of these higher power power supplies.

USB-C is not a simple wire to wire connection. There is logic throughout Power Supply to Device connection. This allow you use the same charger with anything from a phone to a laptop, and the amount power deliver varies in voltage and amperage so you don't fry anything. The power supply, cable, and system negotiate to determine that maximum amount of power that can be supplied to the system safely over the cable. This is part of the USB-C Power Delivery (PD) specification.

My strategy is to always buy an IF-Certified cable that can support 100W of power and let the Power Supply and computer determine the limit. It eliminates the cable as the reason you only get 60W of power.

 

[Daniel Snow]

Thanks for your responses.

I now feel comfortable by seeing a charging power between 30-60 Watts, as the MacBook indeed needs its own power.

What I still don't like is the fact that my MacBook is discharging from 100% to 0% in about 3-4 hours while playing Rocket League. I am just not sure if you could call this "It's designed to do so".

Did you figure this out? I am having this issue as well. Just working in adobe software drains the battery while plugged in a couple of hours. This renders the laptop completely useless. I am using all original cables.

 

[MitchellvB995]

Did you figure this out? I am having this issue as well. Just working in adobe software drains the battery while plugged in a couple of hours. This renders the laptop completely useless. I am using all original cables.

Hey,

I drained the battery while connected to the charger to about 1%, then disconnected the charger and let it drain the remaining percent. After that, I made sure the MacBook wouldn't turn on so I left it a night alone. Then I charged the battery to 100% and after that, I was able to play Rocket League without draining my battery - in other words, it now charges to 100% or stays at 100%.