By William Gallagher
Monday, August 12, 2019, 08:37 am PT (11:37 am ET)
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Achieving All-day Battery Life Learn why efficient software is the key to long battery life for both OS X and iOS devices. We'll explore where the energy in our batteries goes, how Apple hardware and software efficiently manage energy, and how you can make your code most efficient to ensure long battery life.
The battery in your new MacBook Pro or MacBook Air has a finite life, but with a few steps you can maximize how long it is before you have to replace them —and how many hours of use you get each day.The battery inside a 13-inch MacBook Pro. (Photo:iFixit) Even if we could readily swap out MacBook batteries the way we used to a decade ago, there's now the further complication that many of us are using these sealed laptops with physically smaller batteries as in years past as desktop replacements. We're running external monitors on them and, in recent years those monitors are charging the laptops. If you're doing this, you're not letting the battery deplete, you are off-and-on recharging it a tiny, tiny bit at a time. It's been a long time since we had NiCad batteries where this would degrade them over time —and this behavior in this day and age won't harm the battery to any appreciable level. That old and outdated knowledge out of the way, let's talk about what you can do to prolong your computer's battery health for as many years as we can. Cycle dramaEvery battery in the world has a certain number of times, or cycles, that it can go through before it is considered to be spent. 'Your battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 1,000 complete charge cycles,' says Apple regarding MacBook batteries. Whether it's in a MacBook, an iPhone or any other device, though, a battery is a physical and chemical process. How it's used affects how it works and how it lasts. Even so, Apple publishes a list of how many cycles your model of battery ought to typically go through before they consider it done. Where to find your current battery status (Photo: Apple) For instance, the newest MacBook Pro 13-inch models are rated for 1,000 cycles. That doesn't sound like a lot, but if you completely drained and recharged your battery every single day —including weekends —you'd get nearly three years out of it. That's charging and depleting the battery completely every 24 hours, though, so if you used the machine half as much, you'd imagine you would get six years. It doesn't work like that, because the literal age of a battery is a factor as well, yet it is true that you can extend how long it takes the machine to work through its total number of cycles. Not all cycles are created equal, though. Going from 100% to 50% charge is half a cycle. Yet how the batteries actually work from a chemistry and physical perspective means that this puts less of a strain on battery life than going from 100% to 0% all the time. If you can't use the calendar and counting on your fingers to judge how far through the battery's total number of cycles your machine is, you can just check on your MacBook Pro. Hold the Option key on your keyboard and choose System Information from the Apple Menu. This doesn't really give you precise wear measure, though. Here's how to see it. Scroll through the Hardware listings to the section marked Power In there, you'll see Health Information which will tell you the current cycle count and, hopefully, a line saying Condition: Normal. Save a battery lifeYou bought this laptop to work on, there's no point trying to save battery cycles by not using it. However, you can take some steps to maximize the time the battery lasts. Apple recommends that you always update to the latest version of macOS. Beyond that general advice, you can make specific choices for certain settings. The biggest drain for most people is the screen. Those 400, 450, or 500 nits of brightness depending on model take some power, so dimming the screen reduces that. It prolongs the life of the battery by extending the time before you have to charge it again. And that's a win even in the short term as it means you get to work on the machine for more time in the day. Really you should cut out things you don't need so that you can save this power, and thereby prolong battery life, for the things you do require. So as well as dimming the screen, you can switch off power drains such as Wi-Fi —which uses your battery charge even if you're not currently connected. Modern monitors like this LG Ultrawide will keep charging your MacBook Pro If battery duration during the day is important to you, don't use Chrome. It remains a resource hog. Firefox is less so, but the least impactful of all all is Safari. And if you have any peripherals like an external mouse or anything like an SD card that's plugged into the MacBook, take them out as soon as you're done with them. On the shelfThe same thing applies to the MacBook itself. Shut it down if you know you're not going to be using it for a protracted period —but don't store it for a long time with a battery at 0%. A battery at 0% isn't completely depleted. There is still some stored energy that the battery needs for both chemical health, and startup power. Idle Batteries lose charge either because of a system clock, or just time, so you could put away that old MacBook in a drawer, and come back to it a few months later with a completely dead battery and no signs of life from the computer. But, most of the time, a battery can appear to be dead when really it isn't, it just hasn't got sufficient charge to power up the device its in. Even though that means you may well be able to revive it by leaving the MacBook plugged in for a time, don't put it or yourself in that position because this kind of deep drain is bad for the battery. MacBooks have an advantage over, say, AirPods, in that their batteries are physically bigger. There is just more battery there to deal with, and the result is that the effects of depletion are less marked. Best and worstIf all of this care and attention doesn't get you to three years of a functional battery, nothing will —and actually, maybe nothing can. Use your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air to get the work done that you need, and if that means your battery takes more of a hammering, know that there is also a solution at the end of it all. If you have a MacBook, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with built-in batteries, Apple will replace the battery for around $130, and if your keyboard needs replacing, you get a battery replacement as part of the same procedure. Let's just make that as rare a service repair as we can. Keep up with AppleInsider by downloading the AppleInsider app for iOS, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos.
Understanding batteries in Mac notebooks
Optimizing battery life
Troubleshooting batteries
Understanding batteries in Mac notebooks
MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro computers come with lithium polymer batteries to provide maximum battery life in a compact space. To understand battery technology and battery life, it's good to know common battery terminology:
Setting up your Mac for the first time Macx dvd video converter pro pack for mac.
When you set up your Mac for the first time, some activities—like setting up Mail and Photos, downloading your files from iCloud, and indexing your files with Spotlight—can use more power than your Mac requires in general use.
If you have a large amount of data to transfer over Wi-Fi, it might take a few days for your Mac to finish its setup process. It's best to keep your computer connected to a power source during this time. Once setup is complete, the battery life will begin to reflect the regular activities you perform on your Mac.
The battery status menu
Your primary resource for viewing battery status is the battery status menu. It shows you how much charge your battery has and whether it's currently charging. This menu is at the right side of the menu bar:
The battery status menu also tells you if your display or any apps are using significant energy. Click Display Brightness if it's listed under Using Significant Energy, and your display dims to 75% brightness. Also consider closing any apps that are listed to save battery power.
To see the health of your battery, hold the Option key and click the battery icon in the menu bar to reveal the battery status menu. You'll see one of the following status indicators:
While some third-party apps report on battery health conditions, the data reported by these apps may be inaccurate and isn't a conclusive indication of actual diminished system run time. It's best to rely on the information reported in the battery health menu, described above. Vm player download for mac.
Optimizing battery life
Your notebook battery life depends on your computer's configuration and how you're using the computer. Super mario world free download for mac. Here are some settings and steps you can take to get the most from of your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro battery.
Energy Saver in System Preferences
The Energy Saver pane in System Preferences has options to help improve the battery life on your Mac notebook when it's idle. For instance, setting your display to sleep when idle temporarily turns off the backlight and significantly improves the battery life.
Deselecting 'Enable Power Nap while on battery power' can also extend your battery's charge.
On 2016 MacBook Pro computers, the display brightness adjusts to 75% when you unplug the computer from power if you have 'Slightly dim the display while on battery power' enabled.
The example above is from OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.4. Some features such as Automatic graphic switching and PowerNap aren't available on all Mac notebooks or versions of macOS.
Adjust keyboard and display brightness
Your Mac notebook's built-in keyboard has settings that can help automatically conserve battery power:
You can also use the F5 and F6 keys to manually adjust your keyboard's brightness, setting it as low as possible while still allowing you to see the keys.
Your display's brightness has a major effect on battery life, and allowing your display to automatically adjust can significantly help to conserve power. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then select Displays. Enable 'Automatically adjust brightness' to allow your display to dim or brighten based on your surrounding's light levels.
You can use the battery status menu to quickly reduce your display brightness to 75%. From the battery status menu, choose Display Brightness in the Using Significant Energy section.
To manually adjust your display's brightness to a comfortable level, use the F1 and F2 keys.
MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
Logic 10 for mac os x 10.7.5 download. If you're using a new MacBook Pro, you can quickly adjust your display brightness by tapping in the Control Strip on the right side of the Touch Bar. To access the keyboard brightness buttons, tap in the Control Strip:
The Control Strip expands, and you can tap to adjust your display's brightness, and tap to adjust keyboard brightness:
Graphics performance and its impact on battery life
MacBook Pro 15-inch and 17-inch notebooks commonly include two graphics processors, or GPUs. You might see them documented as a discrete GPU and an integrated GPU.
The discrete GPU generally provides substantial performance at the expense of high power draw. The integrated GPU allows for optimal battery life, but in most cases doesn't have the performance of a discrete GPU.
For optimal battery life, use the integrated GPU. These articles provide steps for using these different GPUs and information on what might drive unexpected use of the discrete GPU:
Disabling features and technologies that use power
Mac notebooks have a number of integrated technologies which can have a significant effect on battery power.
Troubleshooting batteries
A great place to start when troubleshooting battery issues is the built-in diagnostics that are available on your Mac notebook. Follow the steps in these articles:
If Apple Diagnostics tells you that your battery requires service and cites reference code PPT004, you should confirm this issue by running Apple Diagnostics over the Internet, which uses the latest diagnostic information. To do this, turn off your Mac by choosing Shut Down from the Apple () menu. Then press the power button to turn on your Mac. Immediately press and hold Option-D until Apple Diagnostics begins.
If running Apple Diagnostics over the Internet confirms the issue, contact Apple or take your computer to an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store. They'll tell you which service and support options are available.
If you don't find any issues with Apple Diagnostics or Apple Hardware Test, read on for more information about troubleshooting your battery.
My battery runtime is low
My battery isn't charging
Confirm the correct wattage AC adapter for the computer. A power adapter rated for a lower wattage than is required for the system might not reliably charge the computer.
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For assistance identifying the proper adapter, review Find the right power adapter and cord for your Mac notebook. Additional adapter troubleshooting is available in Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters. Acer monitor al1916w driver download. If issues persist, reset the SMC.
My battery won't charge to 100%
Occasionally, the battery might not show a full charge (100%) in macOS, even after the power adapter has been connected for an extended period of time. The battery might appear to stop charging between 93 percent and 99 percent. This behavior is normal and will help to prolong the overall life of the battery.
My battery isn't recognized
If the battery in your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro is fully drained of power, the battery will put itself into a low power state to preserve its ability to charge in the future.
Connect your Mac Notebook to AC power and allow it to charge for at least five minutes. If the 'connect to power' screen persists after charging for five minutes, reset the SMC.
The low battery warning doesn't display
If you don't receive a warning when your battery has a low charge, generally reported at or under 15%, it might be because the battery menu bar icon is disabled. Follow these steps to enable the battery status menu item:
Portables using OS X Mavericks v10.9 or later display the low battery warning when the battery has approximately 10 minutes of power remaining. Earlier versions of OS X report it at 15% or less. Code editor for mac free download.
Servicing the battery in your Mac notebook
MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro computers with built-in batteries should only have their batteries replaced by an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store. Attempting to replace a built-in battery yourself could damage your equipment, and such damage is not covered by warranty.
These Mac notebooks have built-in batteries:
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Most older Mac notebooks have removable batteries that you can replace yourself. Contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store for assistance servicing a removable battery.
Battery warranty information
Your Apple One Year Limited Warranty includes replacement coverage for a defective battery. If you purchased an AppleCare Protection Plan for your Mac notebook, Apple will replace the notebook battery at no charge if it retains less than 80 percent of its original capacity. If you don't have coverage, you can have the battery replaced for a fee.
Mac Battery Health AppLearn moreApp For Longer Battery Life Macbook
Learn more about the batteries used in Apple products.
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