My 9 months old battery behaves like an old one (MacBook Air 2018)

[bearinthetown]

I replaced the battery in my MacBook Air 2018 last year, in June. After 9 months it keeps dying when the battery indicator is showing ~35%, after about 3-4 hours. I don't think that's normal.

The service claims it's an original battery, but I'm not sure. It's a known and respected service in my city. I also find it suspicious that Coconut Battery shows that this battery is... 8 years old.

Here are the stats for the battery:

Manufacturer: Simplo
Manufacture date: 2015-03-30
Age: 2904 days
Loadcycles: 124
Serial: irrelevant
macOS battery status: Good
Battery temperature: 34.4 °C
Power adapter: 30 Watts

The owner tells me that it's normal that the batteries behave badly in Intel MacBooks these days, because macOS is no longer optimized for them. But could it be THIS bad?

 

[Lifeisabeach]

The owner is full of it. Coconut Battery doesn't pull these specs out of thin air. That battery is 8 years old. I don't know who Simplo is... they may well be an OEM manufacturer of MacBook batteries. I also can't tell you if that battery sat on a shelf for 8 years and technically is new, although with a loadcycle count of 124? For comparison, my 2020 MBA that is 2 1/2 years old has a cycle count of 236. You've had yours for almost a year, so I don't think you are off by much.

Since you say it's dying despite showing 35% left, what you should do is recalibrate the battery. Drain it down all the way to zero; plug it back in to charge; and leave it alone... do not use it at all! Give that at least 4 hours. Just to make sure... do it overnight. Hopefully this will do the trick. One other thing to do is reset the SMC.

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

 

[bearinthetown]

The owner is full of it. Coconut Battery doesn't pull these specs out of thin air. That battery is 8 years old. I don't know who Simplo is... they may well be an OEM manufacturer of MacBook batteries. I also can't tell you if that battery sat on a shelf for 8 years and technically is new, although with a loadcycle count of 124? For comparison, my 2020 MBA that is 2 1/2 years old has a cycle count of 236. You've had yours for almost a year, so I don't think you are off by much.

Since you say it's dying despite showing 35% left, what you should do is recalibrate the battery. Drain it down all the way to zero; plug it back in to charge; and leave it alone... do not use it at all! Give that at least 4 hours. Just to make sure... do it overnight. Hopefully this will do the trick. One other thing to do is reset the SMC.

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

Hey Lifeisabeach, thank you for your input. What do you mean by "the owner is full of it"? You mean "full of sh**"? English is not my first language, just wanna make sure.

As for letting it go down to zero and plug it back, I have already done that as far as I remember. I always charge my MacBook overnight. Also I did reset the SMC. No difference.

The loadcycle looks correct, I remember it was 0 when I got this battery.

So you're saying that what he's saying about Intel MacBooks is wrong, or at least an exaggeration, correct?

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Hey Lifeisabeach, thank you for your input. What do you mean by "the owner is full of it"? You mean "full of sh**"? English is not my first language, just wanna make sure.

Yep, that's what I meant.

As for letting it go down to zero and plug it back, I have already done that as far as I remember. I always charge my MacBook overnight. Also I did reset the SMC. No difference.

The loadcycle looks correct, I remember it was 0 when I got this battery.

So you're saying that what he's saying about Intel MacBooks is wrong, or at least an exaggeration, correct?

He's extremely wrong. It's not normal for MacBook batteries to "behave badly these days". That's downright nonsense. The battery is 8 years old, that's indisputable. Given your recollection of the loadcycle being 0 when you installed it, I'd say it was truly "new" and unused. But... it also sat on a shelf for 8 years, and that's not good at all. There are several articles/conversations I found that talk about how you can basically destroy a laptop battery by letting it completely discharge and sit untouched for months on end.

https://www.reddit.com/r/laptops/comments/7kltvn

How to store a laptop battery properly to save it from an early death

In the last two parts of this series, I covered the factors of temperature and charging. While the high temperatures inside modern laptops are probably the worst enemy of a Li-ion battery, frequent discharge/charge cycles will negatively influence a battery's life. If your laptop is a desktop...

4sysops.com

Can a New Laptop Battery Go Bad if Unused?

If you bought a new replacement laptop battery as a precaution, will it go bad if you let it sit around unused until some future date when it might be needed? Today's SuperUser Q&A post offers advice in response to a curious reader's question.

www.howtogeek.com

 

[bearinthetown]

Thanks again Lifeisabeach. That's a very valuable info. I wonder why the battery was fine right after I got it. Is it normal for a long sitting batteries to be fine for several months and then degrade quickly?

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Thanks again Lifeisabeach. That's a very valuable info. I wonder why the battery was fine right after I got it. Is it normal for a long sitting batteries to be fine for several months and then degrade quickly?

I personally have no idea. Given you've done everything you can do to make sure it's calibrated correctly as well as done an SMC reset, the only remaining explanation is the battery is toast as a consequence of its age and storage for so long unused.

 

[real_mon2]

It is too soon for this replacement battery to behave like this. The mfr datecode is embedded inside the battery pack's BMS module (battery management system) and cannot be altered for these details. They can reset the cycle count, with ease using an arduino and similar tools. Try to work with the service shop / vendor who sold you this battery and request a replacement. Even stores on Amazon offer a 1 year (or longer) warranty on batteries. From our experience, the batteries sold by Mobile Sentrix offers quality replacement batteries. They only work with resellers but they have the proper goods in North America. Otherwise, if you are really on your own, consider Amazon since you have the right to return the battery, based on their warranty claims. Watch some youtube videos to review how to install the battery for your box. You may need to invest into the proper screwdriver tools (or it may be included with your battery kit) to open the casing. Either way, my suspicion is that this was an old battery with a high cycle count and was reset before it was sold.

 

[1BadManVan]

Yea sounds like they sold you a very old battery that was probably used and reset the cycles as others have said. I would be making them replace that with a true new battery or be giving that business one hell of a negative review. Not ok

 

[Audit13]

Depending on the version of the OS that's running on the computer, Coconut Battery may not be generating the right information.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/coconutbattery-big-sur-wrong-battery-age.2382815/?post=32011332#post-32011332

 

[JPack]

There's a lack of common sense from all the above posters.

A battery pack manufactured 2015 wouldn't fit a 2018 MacBook Air. The pre-2018 MBA used a completely different battery pack, with a different shape, voltage, and capacity.

There is no standardized date format as there are a million battery manufacturers in China. Coconut Battery doesn't always read the date correctly.

Chances are, the battery pack is simply poor quality. This is common among aftermarket battery for Apple devices. They last 6-12 months and then rapidly decline.

 

[MBAir2010]

yes the 2015 MBA batteries pop out while the 2018 are glued into the chassis!

I would get an  replacement one or a new one from OWC if doable.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

There's a lack of common sense from all the above posters.

A battery pack manufactured 2015 wouldn't fit a 2018 MacBook Air. The pre-2018 MBA used a completely different battery pack, with a different shape, voltage, and capacity.

There is no standardized date format as there are a million battery manufacturers in China. Coconut Battery doesn't always read the date correctly.

Chances are, the battery pack is simply poor quality. This is common among aftermarket battery for Apple devices. They last 6-12 months and then rapidly decline.

I guess if being unaware that Coconut Battery doesn't always get the date right and also being unaware that 2018 was the year Apple switched to a different battery for the MBA, then yeah... we are totally lacking in common sense. 🙄

From reading around, I don't think Simplo is a knockoff aftermarket brand. But really, it doesn't matter. If you want to see when the battery was made, pop it out (if you can... are these glued in?). The label should indicate that. Or really... just write it off. I doubt you will get anywhere with the vendor since he's already said this is normal.

EDIT: yeah, it doesn't simply pop out. This is a pretty involved replacement process. Yuck!
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+13”+Retina+Display+Late+2018+Battery+Replacement/135301

 

[JPack]

I guess if being unaware that Coconut Battery doesn't always get the date right and also being unaware that 2018 was the year Apple switched to a different battery for the MBA, then yeah... we are totally lacking in common sense. 🙄

From reading around, I don't think Simplo is a knockoff aftermarket brand. But really, it doesn't matter. If you want to see when the battery was made, pop it out (if you can... are these glued in?). The label should indicate that. Or really... just write it off. I doubt you will get anywhere with the vendor since he's already said this is normal.

EDIT: yeah, it doesn't simply pop out. This is a pretty involved replacement process. Yuck!
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+13”+Retina+Display+Late+2018+Battery+Replacement/135301

Sorry if I was being a bit insensitive there, but 2018 MBA was a major design overhaul. The MBA design had basically remained unchanged since 2010. The 2018 model is a milestone, similar to 2016 MBP or 2021 MBP.

Simplo is a major manufacturer but you can't trust readings because the chip can be programmed to show anything, whether it's date, manufacturer, or capacity.

 

[MBAir2010]

I guess if being unaware that Coconut Battery doesn't always get the date right and also being unaware that 2018 was the year Apple switched to a different battery for the MBA, then yeah... we are totally lacking in common sense. 🙄

I type advice on this website and over see simple things like the year quite often than I like
even after after my 3rd tip!
then I need to wipe that egg or apple stuff from my face.

the main point is the issue gets solved.
abd replacing thais batter is no picnic as you stated.

 

[bearinthetown]

Update: my battery really went crazy and today it died at 50%.

 

[1BadManVan]

Update: my battery really went crazy and today it died at 50%.

Have you done anything with this store to get it rectified?

 

[bearinthetown]

Have you done anything with this store to get it rectified?

Hey there. So they replaced my battery today, but I have bad feeling about that one as well. The date shown by coconutBattery is the same. Does it refresh on its own? But the temperature is higher, its shows 44.4 °C, which is 10 °C more than before. Also, the battery is disappearing very quickly. I'm sitting here 1 hour and it already went from 50% to 26% and I'm not doing anything special. Just 4 Chrome tabs, no YouTube or anything. What do you guys think?

 

[MBAir2010]

Hey there. So they replaced my battery today, but I have bad feeling about that one as well. The date shown by coconutBattery is the same. Does it refresh on its own? But the temperature is higher, its shows 44.4 °C, which is 10 °C more than before. Also, the battery is disappearing very quickly. I'm sitting here 1 hour and it already went from 50% to 26% and I'm not doing anything special. Just 4 Chrome tabs, no YouTube or anything. What do you guys think?

These people, if they are people, will not sell you or anyone else a reliable battery.
Thyne internets giverth and thyne internets sucketh, they are the latter

I am 100% happy with my OWC MacBook Air 2010 replacement battery
and geting normal usage and time as the poriginal.

 

[JPack]

Hey there. So they replaced my battery today, but I have bad feeling about that one as well. The date shown by coconutBattery is the same. Does it refresh on its own? But the temperature is higher, its shows 44.4 °C, which is 10 °C more than before. Also, the battery is disappearing very quickly. I'm sitting here 1 hour and it already went from 50% to 26% and I'm not doing anything special. Just 4 Chrome tabs, no YouTube or anything. What do you guys think?

Probably same batch from the same supplier. Apple battery service is only $159. If you don't have access to that, try a better supplier like REWA.

 

[bearinthetown]

Guys, I have another question. My MacBook now seems to be running fans a lot, even if I do almost nothing. I noticed that the air comes out only from the right side (when looking on the screen). Is that normal, or is the air supposed to go off from entire width of the gap behind?

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Hey there. So they replaced my battery today, but I have bad feeling about that one as well. The date shown by coconutBattery is the same. Does it refresh on its own? But the temperature is higher, its shows 44.4 °C, which is 10 °C more than before. Also, the battery is disappearing very quickly. I'm sitting here 1 hour and it already went from 50% to 26% and I'm not doing anything special. Just 4 Chrome tabs, no YouTube or anything. What do you guys think?

While my gut instinct is that it's just another bad battery, I'm wondering if this needs to be looked into further. You should try running Apple Diagnostics to see if it reports anything anomalous. Instructions here:

Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support

Apple Diagnostics, formerly known as Apple Hardware Test, can check your Mac for hardware issues.

support.apple.com

I also suggest using EtreCheck to scan your system for possible problems. It will analyze the logs and check software. It's a really great tool.

EtreCheck

etrecheck.com

Guys, I have another question. My MacBook now seems to be running fans a lot, even if I do almost nothing. I noticed that the air comes out only from the right side (when looking on the screen). Is that normal, or is the air supposed to go off from entire width of the gap behind?

If the fans weren't running like this before the battery replacement, then most likely something didn't get reconnected properly during the install of the new one. That's just too much of a coincidence and I don't know of a reason why a battery on its own would cause this.

 

[bearinthetown]

Unfortunately I don't know what was it like before when it comes to the air coming out.

 

[Populus]

If you keep having all those problems, my suggestion is to go to Apple service, on an Apple Store or via the Apple Store online, and let them handle your macbook. A 2018 MacBook Air is still a relatively young machine to have all those problems.

When it comes to batteries, my recommendation is to always let perform the repair directly by Apple, because third party batteries are generally crap -I said generally, excuse me if that's not your particular case-. I would absolutely trust an aftermarket screen replacement, a back-glass replacement... but never a delicate component such as the battery. And even with Apple, replacement batteries don'd usually have that extra juice (above 100% battery capacity) that comes with the new devices. But I guess it is the best battery replacement provider, given the situation.