macbook pro 2019 entry level battery issues

[shirleyyx]

23-08 I received my MacBook Pro 13" 265 GB silver from the apple online store, the macbook randomly shutdown when there was a good amount of battery left (44%).

I called apple and they have send me a new Macbook, it came in yesterday.

It has the same problem, unexpected shutdown at 44% and can only be turned on by connecting the charger. I contacted apple again and they said we have 2 options: we can exchange it again, but maybe you should try the MacBook Air instead since this is the second MacBook Pro not working properly (????). Of course I chose the first option..

Not sure if this is very bad luck with 2 macbook pro's or a consistent problem across this model? Apple will sent someone today to pickup my 2nd replacement and I'll receive my 3th replacement next week but I don't know what to do if it has the same problem.. I'm really disappointed.

First macbook: production week 25 June with SMP battery
Second macbook: production week 26 July with DSY battery

Any advice?

 

[0906742]

I contacted apple again and they said we have 2 options: we can exchange it again, but maybe you should try the MacBook Air instead since this is the second MacBook Pro not working properly (????). Of course I chose the first option..

They suggested the Air, wow?
I hope that does not mean they actually know what is wrong with these machines and it is something not easy to fix...

First macbook: production week 25 June with SMP battery
Second macbook: production week 26 July with DSY battery

Good that you mentioned battery brands. It seemed at some point it occurs only with SMP but later there were some having it with DSY too, but rarely.

Any advice?

Anyway, this is likely just software or firmware issue. Some have fixed it by doing SMC reset and it was working fine after that, but lately I have heard about the case where the problem came back again later. So hard to say if it is still just bad battery or what.

Another way might be OS update. Have you already installed the latest Mojave OS version it offer in auto updates when you go check there? If not, install it first before trying SMC, then use the machine a while and charge the battery fully and after this you may or may not see difference. In my unit something definitely changed in the way battery meter is working after this update but on the other hand mine never suffered from the unexpected shut downs. Also it seems that battery life is reduced after this update in my unit, so I'm not sure what it does actually or was that just coincidence. Hopefully they did not just solve weak battery issue by limiting how low it tries to run the battery as it definitely seems like part of the capacity is thrown away… For example in my unit before this update I get to use it about 1,5 to 2 hours before battery charge started to drop from 100% the first time, but now just after two hours of use after full charge battery is already down to 77-78%. Seem to get only about 4-5 hours of use with keeping battery still at the reasonable level (I mean not drive it empty but to about 30-40%).

Instructions for the SMC reset you find from Apple site, just follow the instructions for the T2 chip versions, but I suggest you first try that OS update and see if it fixes it and if not, then SMC reset. But again, the new unit should not be doing anything like this and you should not be required to do all kind of tricks to make it work as it should, and if you really should, it should come with instructions telling what to do exactly… So as this issue has not been confirmed by Apple and none of us really knows for sure what is causing it, you may also want to consider keep exchanging the machine until you get one that works as it should right out of the box. Mine did but you are not the first one saying went thru more than one machine and still getting the same issue. Because if it eventually turns out to be a hardware issue after all needing a trip to service center, it is not very nice for the new machine….

EDIT. also make sure that you try leaving the machine plugged to charger at least once for additional few hours (at least 2 hours, preferably overnight) even after it show the battery charge reached 100%.

 

[kayastv]

Here is my solution that finally fixed it for me. Have been going strong for around 1 month.

Just charging it 8 hours straight overnight then performing a SMC reset, I have gotten no issues after!

Battery ranges from 9-10 hours from 100% -> 0%. Doesn't shut down randomly anymore. I am quite happy. Will update if problem comes back.

 

[0906742]

Here is my solution that finally fixed it for me. Have been going strong for around 1 month.

Just charging it 8 hours straight overnight then performing a SMC reset, I have gotten no issues after!

Battery ranges from 9-10 hours from 100% -> 0%. Doesn't shut down randomly anymore. I am quite happy. Will update if problem comes back.

Wow, pretty insane run times! Mine runs maybe 6 hours during my typical use at the most, and battery charge cycles increase about every 6 hours +/- 30 minutes of use on battery. But mine has already about 30 charge cycles, so I guess it is just weakening as it is aging.

Is your machine still experiencing issues with battery Full Charge Capacity dropping under high CPU load? Like when you run Cinebench and monitor battery with Coconutbattery during whole test run, does it drop at some point?

In my unit I had about couple weeks period where it stopped dropping FCC under high load but the problem came back after that. Also what happened when there was no FCC drop under load and after than was that Charge Cycle counting changed finally so that I get to use about 92-93% of battery until it increases (it used to increase about maybe every 50-80% before that) but what changed was that battery run times got much lower than they were in the begin with. I guess that SMC works in a way that it simply cuts part of the capacity out of the usable range, or simply that battery is weakening due to aging (already has 30 charge cycles).

Good to hear your unit has not suffered from unexpected shut downs after SMC reset, because I saw on some other forum mentioned that the problem just came back later on.

 

[fatalgamers]

Wow, pretty insane run times! Mine runs maybe 6 hours during my typical use at the most, and battery charge cycles increase about every 6 hours +/- 30 minutes of use on battery. But mine has already about 30 charge cycles, so I guess it is just weakening as it is aging.

Is your machine still experiencing issues with battery Full Charge Capacity dropping under high CPU load? Like when you run Cinebench and monitor battery with Coconutbattery during whole test run, does it drop at some point?

In my unit I had about couple weeks period where it stopped dropping FCC under high load but the problem came back after that. Also what happened when there was no FCC drop under load and after than was that Charge Cycle counting changed finally so that I get to use about 92-93% of battery until it increases (it used to increase about maybe every 50-80% before that) but what changed was that battery run times got much lower than they were in the begin with. I guess that SMC works in a way that it simply cuts part of the capacity out of the usable range, or simply that battery is weakening due to aging (already has 30 charge cycles).

Good to hear your unit has not suffered from unexpected shut downs after SMC reset, because I saw on some other forum mentioned that the problem just came back later on.

Hello 0906742,

I have read all your posts related the battery issue in the MBP 13 I'm having exactly the same issue, drops under cinebech goes to 4700 mAh on a brand new machine, battery manufacturer is DSY, and is my fourth machine, I already brought back 3 machine to my local shop here in France I'm so tired of that I think I'll just use the damn thing until it dies but it's pissing me off to pay 1700 euro for a machine with a faulty battery, even my local shop is tired of seing my face coming back with the machine to change it again, but I'm only asking for a machine that works as it supposed to, anyway as you can see it's brand new and the battery health is at 93 running CINEBENCH it goes down from 5180 May to 47xx mAh

 

[0906742]

This problem is really frustrating and only few peoples seem to be suffering from FCC drops under load. I've been asking that in this thread and just couple has reported seeing it, so I'm puzzled but at least in my unit, I think it is definitely battery related as battery run times have been degreasing steadily. Now just after about 30 charge cycles, I barely get just over 4 hours of use while keeping battery at reasonable level (I try to avoid going below 30%) until needing to charge again. Also seems to drop charge level 1-2% per day when powered off (not in sleep mode).

Also I have noticed that for some reason after major OS update, my unit does some kind of reset for battery data, since this FCC drop has again stopped.
Last time I experienced the same thing after previous major OS update and it was about two week without FCC drop under load until it came back like before but now just recently I did another OS udpdate and it stopped, but I think it will be the same as the last time and comes sooner than later back.
I decided not to do anything about it for now, since battery in my unit probably will fail sooner than later and if not, there is this 4 year extended warranty for the keyboard, so I guess you get new top cover (which comes with the battery) if the keyboard fails.

In my unit trackpad has been uneven from the new and does change depending on heat very minimal amount (like 0.05 mm or so but it is noticeable as it is around the same level as the aluminum chassis starting just below when cold and eventually just above it when warm). I'm starting to think it may be more or less battery related too. I keep close track on it, if it is keeps changing but so far has not changed.

You have tried charging your unit long? Keep it plugged in charger few hours after it has reached 100%. It has worked for some peoples for unexpected shutdown issue but it did not made any change in my FCC drop under load issue.

 

[fatalgamers]

Hello

i managed to fix my last unit before exchanging it by letting it charge for 8 More hours and it was working fine but i changed it under 15 day period by a new one, because i wanted one that works fine right from thé start now i regret my old mbp because this one have a crappy battery 92% health under cinebench thats incredible Its new with 2 Battery cycle
I will keep it since is my fourth exchange they wont do a fifth lol
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Hello

i managed to fix my last unit before exchanging it by letting it charge for 8 More hours and it was working fine but i changed it under 15 day period by a new one, because i wanted one that works fine right from thé start now i regret my old mbp because this one have a crappy battery 92% health under cinebench thats incredible Its new with 2 Battery cycle
I will keep it since is my fourth exchange they wont do a fifth lol

Your drops in cinebech stopped ? Or they cameback i think thé more thé battery drops under heavy load thé more she is ****ed lol

 

[0906742]

Your drops in cinebech stopped ? Or they cameback i think thé more thé battery drops under heavy load thé more she is ****ed lol

Yeah it stopped but came back after two weeks. Now again the same thing after I installed the latest big Mojave update but I’m pretty sure it is again only temporary. Looks like OS update does some kind of partial SMC reset or similar to battery data.

Yeah, I agree these huge FCC drops under load are usually sign of a weak battery. You often see that in old worn batteries. For example my iPhone X does that under load and it has terribly short running time under even slight load. Another iPhone X other family member has does not do any FCC drop under load and it easily runs 1-2 days longer than mine between charges. So it was definitely frustrating to see that happening on my brand new MBP. Also seems that not many peoples are having this FCC drop under load issue with their units.

 

[fatalgamers]

Yeah it stopped but came back after two weeks. Now again the same thing after I installed the latest big Mojave update but I’m pretty sure it is again only temporary. Looks like OS update does some kind of partial SMC reset or similar to battery data.

Yeah, I agree these huge FCC drops under load are usually sign of a weak battery. You often see that in old worn batteries. For example my iPhone X does that under load and it has terribly short running time under even slight load. Another iPhone X other family member has does not do any FCC drop under load and it easily runs 1-2 days longer than mine between charges. So it was definitely frustrating to see that happening on my brand new MBP. Also seems that not many peoples are having this FCC drop under load issue with their units.

Im tired of bringing all my machines back to the store and i think thé store is also tired of seing my face lol
I Just brought the fourth unit today I will let it chargé overnight and see if it also solve thé FCC drop problem.
If its software related maybe catalina will solve it once for all.
Why didnt you tried to exchange your machin within thé 14 day period ?

 

[0906742]

Why didnt you tried to exchange your machin within thé 14 day period ?

It took me some time until I tested that for the first time and battery running times were somewhat better when it was new, so I was not paying attention to it. Also I was pretty happy with the display so I did not want to take a risk to end up getting one with considerable worse panel. I’ve seen too many times that trying to exchange a product with some problems to new unit just causes that you get another problems with another unit.

I assume you did not have FCC drop issue with your previous units you returned?

 

[fatalgamers]

Yeah i see, you wrote that DSY batteries were better than simplo but i think is not my first 3 unit were simplo and i’ve had no fcc drop with them this fourth one is DSY and it goes down to 4500 mah( 93% battery health) cant take it anymore i’ll make a scene in my local store and tell them to give me a unit that work normally
I gave them my money and this apple **** is expensive so im pissed

 

[0906742]

It looked at one point like battery issues with unexpexted shutdowns were with Simplo but it little later turned out it was not. I think this FCC drop issue is totally different than the unexpected shutdown issue and is likely just due to weak battery and is not just feature of certain brand battery. Just like you said you saw no FCC drop issue with your prevoius 3 units backs up that assumption even more. My unit has never suffered from unexpected shutdowns.

 

[fatalgamers]

Its apple magic battery lottery where the winner gets to have a normal product that works as expected a product he paid 1700 euro and Apple Margin ? In those 1700 euro

I guess more than 50%
I hate and love apple at thé same time their products are supposed to be perfect so it hurts when its not i have 7000 euro of apple materiels home my wife is pissed off because all the money i spend in apple product ( ipad, imac, macbook, watch, iphones, AirPods)

They cant do things like that ( giving us faulty batteries) when we pay them so much, even acer 100 dollar laptop works normaly

 

[0906742]

It is frustrating indeed. The only thing I’m happy is that I bought the cheapest entry MBP model thinking that I rather update more often than to purchase a higher specs double price version trying to get more years of use out of it. As nothing made these days seem not build to last and I don’t mean just Apple but pretty much every brand and every type product.

 

[fatalgamers]

Hello can you give me your battery heath on conocut battery and some other software because mine its running 37 degre all the time I think is too much

 

[0906742]

My battery health fluctuates currently (in rest or just light load) between 5150-5210 or so. At the moment mine is again in a mood where it does not drop FCC under load but like I said that happened before but was only temporary, so I expect it coming back in a week or two. So far I've had mine about 3 months, and for 2,5 months of that time it has been dropping FCC under load (to around same levels (depending on battery charge level) you posted here)...

Battery does get rather warm even under light load and if keeping it on lap and/or warm environment.
Your 37c sounds pretty similar to mine. Mine maybe around 35c lately when running Youtube videos or charging, but I've been using it in a room temp around 21c. It was warmer during hot summer days.

 

[fatalgamers]

My battery health fluctuates currently (in rest or just light load) between 5150-5210 or so. At the moment mine is again in a mood where it does not drop FCC under load but like I said that happened before but was only temporary, so I expect it coming back in a week or two. So far I've had mine about 3 months, and for 2,5 months of that time it has been dropping FCC under load (to around same levels (depending on battery charge level) you posted here)...

Battery does get rather warm even under light load and if keeping it on lap and/or warm environment.
Your 37c sounds pretty similar to mine. Mine maybe around 35c lately when running Youtube videos or charging, but I've been using it in a room temp around 21c. It was warmer during hot summer days.

Hello,

Same here after Catalina update the FCC fluctuation stopped it was 5200 mAh from the beginning to the end of Cinebench test I was so happy, 4 hours later I run another Cinebench test and It comeback, also you are right the trackpad is uneven in mine too (more under high load) I think our batteries release gas that make them bigger and they push the trackpad up

 

[0906742]

So at first no FCC drop and then 4 hours later FCC drop again?

I agree that it is likely battery getting bigger under load, which might be normal if only little bigger but I would expect there should be room left for that but it immediately moves the trackpad up, so obviously not. How uneven is your trackpad? Mine is higher at the back end (the side closest to user) but so that left is just below chassis but right is so near that it get very slightly above the chassis when hot, so it makes it noticeable. If it was evenly below chassis like on the front edge, then it would not be noticeable. So basically the whole trackpad is tilted forward a little.

 

[fatalgamers]

So at first no FCC drop and then 4 hours later FCC drop again?

I agree that it is likely battery getting bigger under load, which might be normal if only little bigger but I would expect there should be room left for that but it immediately moves the trackpad up, so obviously not. How uneven is your trackpad? Mine is higher at the back end (the side closest to user) but so that left is just below chassis but right is so near that it get very slightly above the chassis when hot, so it makes it noticeable. If it was evenly below chassis like on the front edge, then it would not be noticeable. So basically the whole trackpad is tilted forward a little.

i definitely have a problem I don't know if its related to Catalina update but.

Safari opened with 2 tabs (Facebook, MacRumors) energy consumption 10 watt and the os says that safari eats significantly too much energy
battery life around 10 hours I did a video test (75% brightness, No sound, a Long YouTube video, but the consumption was only 5 watt, same result with QuickTime (12 hours 720p video) I got 10 hours running at a consistant 5 watt
but what I find weird is that computer use up to 12 watt with just normal browsing and nothing else opened expect maybe 2 safari tab (simple website, MacRumors, reddit, no video flash, or whatsoever )

sorry for my bad English I'm French lol
do you have the same thing,

I remember the last unit I had with safari opened and something like 12 tab it was snappier and was showing a remaining battery time of 12 hours at 100% (4 to 5 watt of energy consumption )
this one shows 5 hours with safari opened and 2 tabs ( 9 to 12 watt of energy consumption)
I'm starting to think is not only the battery but the power management in the MacBook that is faulty, the MacBook spend 12 watt to run 2 safari tab

and ps : the MacBook feel slow compared to the last one I had

 

[0906742]

I don't think that crazy power consumption with Safari is Catalina related only, because I'm experiencing pretty similar thing with Mojave.
I hardly these days get much more than 4 hours +/- 30 minutes (while keeping battery still at reasonable level around 1/3 left or so before charging again).
I noticed that Youtube is one that causes huge battery drain and I'm not sure even running it in single tab without nothing else would get me to 5W consumption. I usually have like few to 5 tabs open so that in one of the tabs I'm playing music from Youtube to my Airpods and battery consumption is howering all around from 7-8W to 15W but based of battery percentage drop per hour wattage is high most of the time as I lose like 16-20% per hour easily!!!

I'm not sure why it is so high because I see nowhere that high drain in similar Windows laptop doing the same task! I suspect it is either poor and weak battery and that battery meter kind of adjust itself to that showing related figures depending on the real actual battery capabilities. Or another is that maybe power management in MacOS is just poor. I have really limited experience with MacOS myself as this MBP is my first one but I have been using all Windows versions in the past with all kind of hardware and to me MacOS Mojave in many way reminds me of Windows NT 4.0. Very stable and quickly running but really not optimised for notebooks.
To me it looks there is very little settings you can adjust to get most use out of battery besides display brightness and sleep timer. Very limited compared to Windows in my opinion.

Sorry for my bad English too, it is not native tonque to me either.

Regarding speed, I have not had another MBP at home but I don't feel my MBP is slow and I have tested quite many demo MBP lately comparing things that I have had problems with mine and they felt exactly the same speedwise (even 2.4 version does not seem faster in real life, it gave nearly identical Cinebench score too when I tried it). Do you get Cinebench score around 1600? I get little over 1600 and it has been the same in demo models too.

PS. Could you comment more detailed how trackpad height in your unit is?
I noticed that the best way to tell it is to slide your finger following the trackpad and chassis seam. Because trackpad is glass surface it kind of hides this and it is really not noticeable at all visually but with finger you can notice height difference very clearly. Few demo models I tried were pretty even so that in all of them trackpad evenly sit below the chassis. In my unit it is tilted forward so that keyboard side of it is well below the chassis but user side is so that low right is only hair thickness below chassis when cold but gets about as much above when it is hot. Lower left is just a little lower so that it still stays just below the chassis even hot.

How much FCC drop under high load you see with Catalina installed?

 

[luczvc]

Here is my solution that finally fixed it for me. Have been going strong for around 1 month.

Just charging it 8 hours straight overnight then performing a SMC reset, I have gotten no issues after!

Battery ranges from 9-10 hours from 100% -> 0%. Doesn't shut down randomly anymore. I am quite happy. Will update if problem comes back.

Hi i just bought this kind of macbook two days ago, also facing same troubles with cut off power at 68% (coconutbattery readings). I had FYW serial macbook, Simplo battery manufactured at 2019-06-12.

I followed kayastv's instruction and this solution seems working for today, as I am not run any heavylifting application, just safari, dbeaver, and vscode. I write this post using 23.5% battery left after 9 hours usage and hoping this could last until real 0% battery.

my steps:
1. update to macos 10.14.6
2. close the lid, charge overnight (7-8 hours)
3. shut down
4. SMC reset
5. turn it back on

Im going to give the update if the problem came back

 

[fatalgamers]

Hi i just bought this kind of macbook two days ago, also facing same troubles with cut off power at 68% (coconutbattery readings). I had FYW serial macbook, Simplo battery manufactured at 2019-06-12.

I followed kayastv's instruction and this solution seems working for today, as I am not run any heavylifting application, just safari, dbeaver, and vscode. I write this post using 23.5% battery left after 9 hours usage and hoping this could last until real 0% battery.

my steps:
1. update to macos 10.14.6
2. close the lid, charge overnight (7-8 hours)
3. shut down
4. SMC reset
5. turn it back on

Im going to give the update if the problem came back

hello, what did you did during 9 hours ? what was your usage ? Youtube, video ? web browsing, mine only get 5 hours of battery life doing nearly nothing the only scenario when it gets 10 hours of battery life is if I play a video on QuickTime and don't touch it but doing light job like surfing, reading emails I get only 5 hours

 

[fatalgamers]

I don't think that crazy power consumption with Safari is Catalina related only, because I'm experiencing pretty similar thing with Mojave.
I hardly these days get much more than 4 hours +/- 30 minutes (while keeping battery still at reasonable level around 1/3 left or so before charging again).
I noticed that Youtube is one that causes huge battery drain and I'm not sure even running it in single tab without nothing else would get me to 5W consumption. I usually have like few to 5 tabs open so that in one of the tabs I'm playing music from Youtube to my Airpods and battery consumption is howering all around from 7-8W to 15W but based of battery percentage drop per hour wattage is high most of the time as I lose like 16-20% per hour easily!!!

I'm not sure why it is so high because I see nowhere that high drain in similar Windows laptop doing the same task! I suspect it is either poor and weak battery and that battery meter kind of adjust itself to that showing related figures depending on the real actual battery capabilities. Or another is that maybe power management in MacOS is just poor. I have really limited experience with MacOS myself as this MBP is my first one but I have been using all Windows versions in the past with all kind of hardware and to me MacOS Mojave in many way reminds me of Windows NT 4.0. Very stable and quickly running but really not optimised for notebooks.
To me it looks there is very little settings you can adjust to get most use out of battery besides display brightness and sleep timer. Very limited compared to Windows in my opinion.

Sorry for my bad English too, it is not native tonque to me either.

Regarding speed, I have not had another MBP at home but I don't feel my MBP is slow and I have tested quite many demo MBP lately comparing things that I have had problems with mine and they felt exactly the same speedwise (even 2.4 version does not seem faster in real life, it gave nearly identical Cinebench score too when I tried it). Do you get Cinebench score around 1600? I get little over 1600 and it has been the same in demo models too.

PS. Could you comment more detailed how trackpad height in your unit is?
I noticed that the best way to tell it is to slide your finger following the trackpad and chassis seam. Because trackpad is glass surface it kind of hides this and it is really not noticeable at all visually but with finger you can notice height difference very clearly. Few demo models I tried were pretty even so that in all of them trackpad evenly sit below the chassis. In my unit it is tilted forward so that keyboard side of it is well below the chassis but user side is so that low right is only hair thickness below chassis when cold but gets about as much above when it is hot. Lower left is just a little lower so that it still stays just below the chassis even hot.

How much FCC drop under high load you see with Catalina installed?

hello,

same here the the closest side to me is the one that is a little higher I feel it with my fingers and also the click is a little softer than the previous unit I had, what's going on with your battery life still only getting 5 hours ? do you think it's normal ? because I also gets only 5 - 6 hours being only in safari browsing the web

 

[luczvc]

hello, what did you did during 9 hours ? what was your usage ? Youtube, video ? web browsing, mine only get 5 hours of battery life doing nearly nothing the only scenario when it gets 10 hours of battery life is if I play a video on QuickTime and don't touch it but doing light job like surfing, reading emails I get only 5 hours

I did light websurfing (maybe 2 or 3 of 10minutes video) and programming through visualstudio code. do you think it is somehow related to battery age?

Anyway, I attach a screenshots i get from the forums/thread (i did't remember where i took it from, im sorry if i repost this 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️). somebody asked the apple service advisor and they said this is known problem and related to calibration after leaving the factory. this might help

 

[0906742]

I did light websurfing (maybe 2 or 3 of 10minutes video) and programming through visualstudio code. do you think it is somehow related to battery age?

Could you take readings from CoconutBattery (or similar tool that shows that) how many watts power consumption is usually during your normal usage? As the reading vary depending on load, it would be good to check it few times under different situations.

Anyway, in simple task, like running few to 5 tabs open on Safari and one of the tabs is Youtube playing music to my Airpods can easily take 7-8W to 15W, so if the machine is really using that much power under such simple task, no wonder why battery is draining so fast in my unit but there is something seriously wrong in power management if machine made in 2019 has such bad battery life due to high power consumption in simple task. Not something I'm used to see with similar Windows laptops.

Anyway, I had somewhat better battery life sometime ago, so maybe it is simply aging this fast. I have over 30 charge cycles already. I haven't seen published ratings for endurance for this model, so I have no idea if the battery is rated for typical 300 to 500, or should it still be 1000 charge cycles as in previous models.