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MacBook Pro M1 Max - Battery - To plug or not too plug?

i-aamir

i-aamir

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 7, 2010
1,103
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UK - London
Hi All - Just got the new 16" M1 Pro Max - Great Machine! Just wanted to find out what the best way to use the battery is.

I have it on my desk most of the day for work ( 10 hours). Should I keep it plugged in all day or run on battery to 0% and plug in until gets to 100%? That would be an almost daily occurrence!

Just want to ensure the longevity of the battery! Thanks
 
This is a question a lot of people have different opinions. I would leave the MacBook connected to power and activate battery management in system preferences. If you use the MacBook without external power from time to time I see no reason you will run into any problems. However if you want to do more you could also use „Al Dente“ — an app to limit your battery to your own maximum charge (80 % for example).
 
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I am also working plugged in most of the time (old MacBook Pro though) but I am using a little program called Charge Limiter. This stops the battery charging at a % of your choice (80% for me) even with the charger connected.

This helps your battery health but reduced the number of battery cycles you accumulate during usage.
 
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In general, fewer cycles (discharge from 100-0) the better if you want to preserve battery health.

As a secondary consideration, it's not good to "store" batteries at 100% (or 0%) for long periods so get Charge Limiter or Al Dente to keep the battery at 80%

Third, avoid getting the batteries too hot. This is highly unlikely with the new systems but possible if you run heavy workloads (like code compiling or rendering 8K videos) with restricted ventilation (e.g., on on a blanket...)

That said, battery tech is really good nowadays, so don't overthink it and enjoy your new laptop.
 
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Al Dente is perfect for this... keeps your battery from charging past the level you specify. I keep mine set to 60%.
 
bluegt said:
In general, fewer cycles (discharge from 100-0) the better if you want to preserve battery health.

As a secondary consideration, it's not good to "store" batteries at 100% (or 0%) for long periods so get Charge Limiter or Al Dente to keep the battery at 80%

Third, avoid getting the batteries too hot. This is highly unlikely with the new systems but possible if you run heavy workloads (like code compiling or rendering 8K videos) with restricted ventilation (e.g., on on a blanket...)

That said, battery tech is really good nowadays, so don't overthink it and enjoy your new laptop.
Click to expand...
Do you know where I can get Al Dente?

So does it essentially stop charging at 80% whilst plugged in? And then you would need to adjust setting back to 100 if you wanted to get a full charge out of it?

Sorry for Noob questions - Never really looked into before.

Thanks
 
i-aamir said:
Do you know where I can get Al Dente?

So does it essentially stop charging at 80% whilst plugged in? And then you would need to adjust setting back to 100 if you wanted to get a full charge out of it?

Sorry for Noob questions - Never really looked into before.

Thanks
Click to expand...

github.com

GitHub - AppHouseKitchen/AlDente-Battery_Care_and_Monitoring: Menubar Tool to set Charge Limits and Prolong Battery Lifespan

Menubar Tool to set Charge Limits and Prolong Battery Lifespan - AppHouseKitchen/AlDente-Battery_Care_and_Monitoring
github.com github.com

Scroll down to Download and Installation Guide
 
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Research has shown that the battery should be kept between 20 and 80%. You can dl AlDente if you want to make sure your mac does this.
 
i-aamir said:
So does it essentially stop charging at 80% whilst plugged in? And then you would need to adjust setting back to 100 if you wanted to get a full charge out of it?
Click to expand...
I typically keep it at 60-70%, and if I know I'm going to need a full charge, it's quick and easy to change it to 100%. I've been using it for about a year and a half, and it works great... my 2019 i9 MBP has just 25 battery cycles and health is 95%.

It's recommended that you do occasionally let the battery go through a discharge/charge cycle, and the app (especially the pro version) has settings to easily facilitate this, though you can also simply do it manually by running unplugged.
 
Does this work on new MacBook Pro 2021 ? I installed app/helper and waited for 10 mins and still battery is 100%. Restart system does not fix the problem. Anyone solved this issue on new Macbook/OS ?
 
vivid.gear71 said:
Does this work on new MacBook Pro 2021 ? I installed app/helper and waited for 10 mins and still battery is 100%. Restart system does not fix the problem. Anyone solved this issue on new Macbook/OS ?
Click to expand...
There's an "allow discharge" box that you need to check in order for it to actively drain the battery while plugged in (otherwise, the battery just very gradually drops to the level you set, like over the course of weeks). I have not tried that particular feature with the new OS and new MBP, but the main function of limiting the charge definitely works.
 
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macphoto861 said:
I typically keep it at 60-70%, and if I know I'm going to need a full charge, it's quick and easy to change it to 100%. I've been using it for about a year and a half, and it works great... my 2019 i9 MBP has just 25 battery cycles and health is 95%.

It's recommended that you do occasionally let the battery go through a discharge/charge cycle, and the app (especially the pro version) has settings to easily facilitate this, though you can also simply do it manually by running unplugged.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's really helpful.

So advice is to have it plugged in all the time and set max charge to say 70%?

I dowloaded coconut and my new laptop has the following - Does this seem right as I have only had for 7 days - 5 Cycles and 97% health? :

Screenshot 2021-11-01 at 18.55.37.png
 
i-aamir said:
Thanks, that's really helpful.

So advice is to have it plugged in all the time and set max charge to say 70%?

I dowloaded coconut and my new laptop has the following - Does this seem right as I have only had for 7 days - 5 Cycles and 97% health?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure about the 97% thing. Mine currently says 99.8%, but I do recall my previous MBP being a few percentage points lower when I first got it.

And yes, I'd suggest leaving it plugged in all the time, and set to 70%.
 
macphoto861 said:
I'm not sure about the 97% thing. Mine currently says 99.8%, but I do recall my previous MBP being a few percentage points lower when I first got it.

And yes, I'd suggest leaving it plugged in all the time, and set to 70%.
Click to expand...
Thank you - Really appreciate the advice.

Are you doing the same for you 16" M1 Max?
 
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