Optimised Battery Charging not working

[scouser75]

Hi guys, I believe that we shouldn't charge our Mac batteries past the 80% mark. I've therefore set the optimised battery charging to ON, but no matter what I do, the battery always charges to 100%. What am I doing wrong?

I'm running the latest version of Sonoma on a MBP M2.

 

[tstafford]

Hi guys, I believe that we shouldn't charge our Mac batteries past the 80% mark. I've therefore set the optimised battery charging to ON, but no matter what I do, the battery always charges to 100%. What am I doing wrong?

I'm running the latest version of Sonoma on a MBP M2.

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. Based on your usage history, macOS thinks it should charge to 100%. It's got a mind of it's own.

If you want more control of the charging, I'd highly recommend Al Dente. I use it on all my laptops.

 

[scouser75]

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. Based on your usage history, macOS thinks it should charge to 100%. It's got a mind of it's own.

If you want more control of the charging, I'd highly recommend Al Dente. I use it on all my laptops.

Thanks mate. Should I maybe take the charger out once it gets to 80% and hope it learns to stop at 80%?

I'll also check out AI Dente.

 

[tstafford]

Thanks mate. Should I maybe take the charger out once it gets to 80% and hope it learns to stop at 80%?

I'll also check out AI Dente.

Al Dente (L not an I)

I don't think there's much you can do to try to teach Optimized Charging. It made no sense to me why my usage (like yours) led the computer to want to regularly charge to 100%.

My take - if you want more control get Al Dente. Or just ignore the whole thing - which is a totally reasonable approach as well. My OCD required me to get Al Dente .

 

[scouser75]

Haha! Thanks. And for the sake of my OCD too, I think I'll get it. Is it this https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/63002/aldente ?

 

[smirking]

Seconding what @tstafford said. Optimized charging never works... well not for me. I'm sure there's someone with a predictable enough daily schedule where it actually does work as intended, but it only ever sorta worked for a few days for me before it gave up and just charges to 100% every time.

I use Al Dente too. That link you posted is correct or you can download direct from the developer here:

AlDente

AlDente – Charge Limiter The ALL-IN-ONE charge Limiter App for MacBooks. Download Free Get AlDente Pro AlDente gives you the tools you need to extend the life of your MacBook battery. Why do I need this? Li-ion batteries (like the one in your MacBook) last the longest when operated between 20%...

apphousekitchen.com

 

[scouser75]

Thank you. I'll go download now from the developer

 

[scouser75]

PS should I go for the Pro? Or is free enough?

 

[smirking]

PS should I go for the Pro? Or is free enough?

Free is enough. There are some premium features so if you decide you really want the premium features you can always upgrade later.

 

[scouser75]

Thanks guys for the help. I've now downloaded and set it all up. Should I leave the charge limit to 70% or increase to 80%? Which would be best for the battery?

 

[smirking]

Thanks guys for the help. I've now downloaded and set it all up. Should I leave the charge limit to 70% or increase to 80%? Which would be best for the battery?

If I recall correctly, 80% is the sweet spot. I have mine set to 85% and that level has worked well for me. I'm a battery killer and I'm thrilled that I'm still running at 95% battery health after 2 years.

 

[scouser75]

Set it to 80% and currently on charge. Will see how it goes

So how does this work? Al Dente will stop power going through somehow to the Mac even if it's connected to the power mains? And if so, does that mean my electric meter would stop ticking?

 

[smirking]

You know, I really don't know how it works. I presume it simply stops charging once it hits the number you specify. If it kept the charge level to your set number by continuously discharging your battery, that would run up your cycle count and these forums would be littered with complaints from people who have unexpectedly sky high cycle counts. People are always freaking out about the slightest change in their battery health numbers.

 

[SpanishAppleNerd]

Just for info, I've got a 70% limit + 10% sailing

 

[headlessmike]

Just to add some input about the optimized charging in macOS, my M1 Pro machine will halt charging at 80% by itself because I only use it on battery a handful of times per month. I suspect that if you use it more than a few times per week it will go for 100% pretty much every time so it's ready for those occasions. For more obsessive users then something like AlDente is the way to go although I'm not entirely convinced that it makes much a difference for most people.

 

[scouser75]

Thanks Guys. I'm one of those obsessive people so have it set to 80%. It's now hit the 80 and the light on the charger has turned red.

Thanks for the help on this 👍

 

[iStorm]

Should I maybe take the charger out once it gets to 80% and hope it learns to stop at 80%?

That would have the opposite effect. As someone else mentioned, macOS learns your charging routine. If you unplug regularly, it's going to start guessing when you might unplug next and start charging to 100% before then.

---

Regarding Al Dente, does it occasionally charge to 100% to maintain accurate battery information? At least that's how the 80% Limit feature works on the iPhone 15. I assume the same thing would apply to any lithium battery and maybe macOS does this too.

With 80% Limit enabled, your iPhone will occasionally charge to 100 percent to maintain accurate battery state-of-charge estimates.

I understand the 20% - 80% charging limit thing; but at the same time, is it good to leave the battery stuck at 80% all the time and never go to 100%?

 

[nmeed]

Optimized charging does not work so don't fret over it. Apple knows this which is why they put that toggle on the iPhone 15. Why they haven't added it to the Macbook is beyond me. Anyway, just use Al Dente. I got mine at 70% and 10% sailing. I got the pro version though, not sure if it's on the regular (sailing mode that is). I don't know what sailing mode is so don't get the pro just for that. Al Dente recommends to calibrate the battery by discharging/charging, you can schedule it and it will do it automatically (Pro version again) or you can just do it yourself manually.

 

[Jim Lahey]

Apple’s Optimized Charging is about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike. Only has a hope of working if you are plugged in 24/7/365. For anyone using a laptop as a laptop it’s 100% pointless. AlDente is FTW 👍

 

[TechnoMonk]

I dont like to limit the charge to 80%, i can use the extra 20% when I hit the road, or if it is plugged in and I need to move around. It hardly makes any difference, not worth obsessing With AlDante. Mac OS does good job of learning my charging habits, and I would have been hanging if the charge was limited to 80% all the time.