Why You Shouldn't Keep Your MacBook Plugged In

Many users keep their Apple MacBooks plugged in all day and night. Since they tend to use it at a table or desk, and rarely need to bring it when leaving the house. And while this isn’t a major problem, it can cause longevity issues with the MacBook’s battery.

[@Angelarski]

There is no way my Mac could ever learn my charging schedule of “whatever I remember to”

[@truthmatters7573]

@@13gta thanks for the tip! that's great. Gonna buy it :) However, do you happen to know a similar app for windows or linux devices?

[@LegoWormNoah101]

@@13gta app is obsolete thanks to Catalina

[@hunterjay8331]

@@LegoWormNoah101 The current version lists macOS Big Sur or later as the minimum requirements.

[@jamesramsey2400]

My Huawei phone supprises me allot it only goes to 100% about 15 min before I wake up even with a messed up sleep schedule

[@Robospidera1]

I agree I’m usually always using mine so much. I have had my mac glitch before and completely discharge randomly to nothing while plugged in.

[@otfnk]

I just work at my desk and I can say that battery optimization saves the life of the battery.

[@otfnk]

@@AaronFigFront I saw it from the comments and downloaded it. I'm using it for now and set it to sixty percent. Thank you 👍🏻

[@corey7219]

@@AaronFigFront what about for pcs?

[@hisham.r103]

Clever guy

[@best4pk]

@@otfnk Brother which battery health software are you talking about and can it affect the battery if we sett limit?

[@yasirynr1666]

I use this feature all the time. but yesterday the electricity went and went for 1 second then it went from 80% to 100% charge how can i prevent this from happening

[@DefY0806]

Laptops should have a feature to deactivate the batteries completely so you can use it as a desktop computer without letting the electricity pass through the batteries and then to the components.

[@RyderCragie]

You can use an app to keep the battery at a really low percentage while plugged in, but apparently it's best to keep it at 80% which macOS does natively.

[@cakestealer5983]

although not a laptop, I think the steam deck has pass through

[@do2eazy363]

get the older removable battery laptops and boom

[@ollilavie]

Nintendo Switch has it. Sometimes I grab it after days sitting on the dock and the battery is like 96-99%. My Switch is also only 3 months old, really new.

[@clementosumo7746]

My old Samsung laptop had that passthrough feature, and I think its the best for battery life. I wonder if most other laptops have battery passthrough

[@enzmondo]

That’s why users should have control over when to fully charge and when to pause charging. Like a scheduling feature for charging.

[@RyderCragie]

AlDente does that.

[@will666malibu]

@@RyderCragie Was coming to say that. AlDente is a game changer

[@moonlightcayenne8722]

Dell power manager has this feature already integrated. You can set the maximum capacity you wish to stop the charging let’s say 80% and once the battery reaches said amount it will automatically stop the charging at that percentage. With this, I don’t have to worry about ruining my battery with frequent discharge & recharge cycles and can change the settings freely at any time. Apple really need to take notes. It's just incredible how far behind they are in light of their competitors.

[@jdillon8360]

I have full control over my charging. I unplug the cable when I don't want charging to occur. I plug it back in when I do want to charge.

[@baskorosuryaputra1925]

I think the battery management worked pretty well for me. Had my mbp plugged in almost 24/7 for the last 2 years and it had about 300 cycle counts in that time. Seems pretty solid for 2 years of daily use.

[@harrison00xXx]

Ouch, barely used it mobile/on battery? I had the original battery in my 2009 MacBook Pro 15" for over 4 years and about 1000 charging cycles on it, it didnt even swell but effective runtime was anything like 20-30% compared to a new battery. A 2010 Model i still use today has already its 4th battery (i wasted 3 of them) and about 3000 charging cycles on it, great machines! Same 2009 MacBook from a friend, he used it nearly all the time on AC and 100% charged, the battery crushed the trackpad after 3 years as it swell up! (Mac OS battery status still said Condition: Good, lol!)

[@baskorosuryaputra1925]

@@harrison00xXx Yeah. I never did this with any previous MacBooks but I spent the last 2 years wfh and I just got lazy since the battery wasn't great on my 2016 MBP (battery was replaced in 2019 when I serviced my butterfly keyboard) so I just left it plugged in 24/7. Most of the time it says that it's using the power adapter so I assumed that it wasn't charging the battery all the time. No swelling thus far and I don't think the battery life is that much worse in the few times that I worked on it unplugged. But it's probably not a good habit. Lol.

[@babie.desk-]

Same as mine. Used it plugged almost all the time except at night or not in use. I've had it since late 2019 and still around 300 cycles. No swelling so far. But I try to avoid putting any humidifiers or plants around it to avoid swelling as I thought humidity is what causes that.

[@harrison00xXx]

@@babie.desk- nope, they swell up because fully charged or fully discharged often. Especially when you charge/discharge them while they are warm or cold. A friend made a barely over 2 years old battery with around 20 or 30 charging cycles swell that hard up to crack the trackpad. Same notebook... i got within 4 years over 1000 charging cycles on it, no swelling at all! Funny was: Mac OS said to my battery: immediatly replace it. Meanwhile my friends macbook pros battery which cracked already the trackpad and bent the case a bit: condition: good. LOL

[@TazerXI]

This goes for any device using a lithium ion battery, not just macs. Any phone, laptop, controller, smart watch, switch, or a quest. They may or may not have the same optimisations built in.

[@danielpereira1532]

No. Windows laptops are made to be used while charged. If it's not charged its performance literally sucks

[@cyrilktom]

Is it good to keeping Mac plugged in while use, so that the power source is adapter, so battery is not used and thus saving battery cycles. ?

[@sihamhamda47]

@@danielpereira1532 That's why some manufacturer include a built-in battery protection for their Windows laptops now, such as "Conservation mode" in Lenovo, "Battery health charging" in MSI, and "Maximum lifespan mode" in Asus laptops. All those protections limits the charge of the battery to only 60% when continuously plugged in

[@johnxywu]

@@cyrilktom I have the same question too

[@TazerXI]

@@danielpereira1532 that's isn't much of a "windows" thing as a "laptop" thing. Laptop manufacturers can have multiple performance targets, that can be changed. The laptop manufacturers typically set a performance mode for when it is plugged in, and one to preserve battery life when it is not. It will probably change based on your laptop model, but I am sure there are ways to manually change this

[@thebestwizz]

I very much doubt anybody hasn't taken it off the charger at least once a month. I'm at the point of watching all these battery advice videos where I just don't care anymore. Forget all the worries about battery health and replace it if I need to. Just enjoy your product withour micromanaging something that goes away naturally.

[@Everycapture]

Yes. I am also thinking like you. why we are worring about battery without enjoying the product

[@rath3289]

nah im weird

[@himanshudhariwal4046]

Yes, that’s the way to go about it No matter how you use it, it’s gonna deteriorate. So use it as you like and replace when needed

[@GDoggProductions]

i think im at that stage now to lol

[@j2t8qwej9sv]

They should add a feature to manually battery charging like asus does so you can limit your battery to increase battery lifespan

[@moldyrefrigerator]

Good thing third party can create programs on Mac and someone already thought of that. AlDente.

[@loughrey101]

Yes, Aldente is even better than Apple's battery optimisation as it allows you to keep the charge at 50% which is regarded as the best way to store a battery longterm or when the battery isn't in use for a long time

[@narutobroken]

AlDente app does that. Works great on my MacBook

[@fiirasmusic5366]

My hp omen doesn't have that, sadly there is no third party program for it

[@Cosplayinghuman]

@@fiirasmusic5366 while HP commerical laptops have, no HP public laptops have

[@Introversitive]

There are so many people saying it's ok to keep it plugged in and so many saying you shouldn't. I had several different Apple employees that I called and even chat with saying that it is perfectly fine to keep it plugged in. Then we have people saying that you shouldn't keep it plugged in. I think this needs to be settled once and for all. The question remains as to who would fit the bill for the definitive answer. Thank YOU for your answer, Apple Explained. This doesn't mean your response is not acceptable, but I think I would definitely need more than 2 minutes to fully understand the do's and don't's of keeping it plugged in opposed to not keeping it plugged in. I don't keep mine plugged in. I do unplug it once it gets to 100%. And then there is that... people saying you SHOULDN'T let it fully charge to 100%. There are literally SO MANY people saying different things that it is SO HARD to keep up.

[@harrison00xXx]

Its easy to understand... the chemistry easily ages faster at 0% charge (or close to) or 100% charge(or close to), the slowest aging you got at about 50% charge (= around 3,7-3,8V at regular LiIon/LiPo cells) So you easily have to think about it... 100% charge (probably something like technically 90-98%) is not "bad", i mean especially with smaller batteries in phones you literally would need sometimes like 200% charge.... Its all about HOW LONG it got that charge. 100%(or 0%), turned off in any corner or box... very unhealthy for the battery over longer period of time. 100% for the day, well why not if you need 100%. It completely depends on the usage. If you are mainly using it on desktop or only... well i would recommend AlDente. Set it to 55% or so, unplug it when you turn it off completely (which you hopefully dont do at all? I never turn my m1 Pro off, i mean it doesnt even allow properly lol) Im mostly using it with 50-70% limit on AC power and i only charge up higher if i really need more battery (for example astrophotography, longer trips than 1 day,....) in like 99% of the cases i dont even need more than 70% charge at all (ending up anywhere between 30-60% for example)

[@cwehden]

I have software AlDente, it limits battery to 60% I never use the battery so it's the best solution.

[@Klaasvaneenshonie]

I do 80% for best of both worlds.

[@klatchabobby]

If you never use the battery, why would you need good battery life?

[@proboxpepper6752]

I had AlDente on mine for about a month, but there was a time when my laptop wouldn't go to sleep after I folded it close, the screen wouldn't go off either. I removed the AlDente and everything was back to normal. Not sure if it was a bug or something oh well

[@Alex-hv3ir]

@@klatchabobby I guess he doesn’t but likes (or needs idk) the M1 performance, and the Mac in general, with good battery life as a bonus

[@AaronFigFront]

If you really never use the battery, set it to a true 50% would be even better. Apple displays the battery a few percentages higher, so you can set it to 52~53% on the free AlDente or enable the hardware battery percentage on the pro version and just set it to 50%.

[@lancer1993]

Until the last month I've mostly used my M1 MBP 13 at my desk and yes it turns off charging when it works out I'm not using the battery, right now I'm on the road and the charging patterns are all over the place, so its charging to 100% when I plug it in. Great feature!

[@codehard5824]

Is it ok to simultaneously use your MacBook while its charging? What's your macbook's battery health % currently?

[@siddharthadas1040]

Once the Mac reaches 100% charge the charging stops. One can check this in the System Information (click the Apple Logo with the Option key pressed). Keeping the charge on actually reduces battery cycles and increases its longevity. The MagSafe charger is what it is for a reason - you can safely keep your Mac on charge all the time without tripping over the wire and breaking your laptop (note that this facility is not extended to the charger of your iPhone - which works on a different operating system and not comparable to your Mac at all). What I do is to disconnect from charge at night and keep the charging on throughout the day.

[@goldenant9450]

I don't understand..why do you unplug it at night if keeping it plugged in "reduces battery cycles and increases its longevity."

[@tronam]

That’s the problem. Batteries should not be sitting at 100% for long periods of time.

[@siddharthadas1040]

@@goldenant9450 That's just for convenience.

[@siddharthadas1040]

@@tronam The battery does not stay at 100% for long periods of time if you keep your device plugged. The charging switches off and your MacBook runs on mains power. The battery will keep losing some charge naturally even when it is not on use, when it falls to a certain level the charging will kick in though your indicator will keep showing 100%. The battery in any laptop is given to enable portability, when such portability is needed. Best to have it on full charge when you wish to move somewhere with it. By the same token, just because you have a facility (battery enabled portability in this case) doesn't mean you keep using it. If you develop the skill of waking upside down on your hands, you do that when necessary - not all the time.

[@marklouieadame]

@@goldenant9450 not really macbook manages the battery very well it charge 100% then if you keep it plugged the whole night it wont charge and goes down to 80% it even goes down to 60% sometimes then it will charge again back to 80% not full charge

[@DavidMoviez]

My 2012 macbook pro has been plugged in on my desk for the past 6,5 to 7 years all day and night long, and it still rocks. Its a brick, but its a hard one to break! It survived a whole bucket of water, falling from heights, ... it has seen alot, and it still survives...!

[@Geekswebsite]

Same for me, i've been using it for 3 years now (i made some upgrades to bring it up to speed) but its surely plugged in 24/7, rn i have 800cycles on my battery and it can run up to 2 hours.

[@harrison00xXx]

2010 15" here, and yes, they are sturdy af! Ok, its written already on a 2021 16" M1 Pro base model, but still, i even upgraded the older 512GB SSD in the 2010 machine to a (slower, lol!) 1TB SSD. Now my 2010 MacBook Pro 15" has more storage than my 2021 16" "Pro" xD I used the good old, robust and nonstop fullspeed capable 512GB SSD in an 10Gbit external drive for full SATA III speed external because the "new" 1 TB SSD sucked that hard as external drive with only 20GB buffer. My old SSD dont need a buffer for 450-550MB/s at all xD

[@3DPrinterAcademy]

same!

[@d.b.cooper1]

Same with my 2015 pro since 2010, first 4 years i had it at college so was always out & about, running low/dead, left in warm/cold places. Got a replacement via apple in 2019 & since then it's mostly been plugged in, used daily for 5 years & still going strong. Literally refuses to die even though I wouldn't mind an upgrade.

[@barrysavage3818]

My wife has had her 2017 Macbook Pro plugged all these years and it still has a great battery charge when we take it to our cottage some weekends.

[@stephenh.4476]

how do you know if it has a great battery charge if it's always plugged in?

[@dcompany5240]

​@@stephenh.4476 in their cottage there is no charged, just assume it u fool

[@matthewdavisson]

@@stephenh.4476”it still has a great battery charge when we take it to our cottage some weekends”.

[@manart6506]

MacOS itself let’s the battery drain to 80% when it thinks it’s the best time. I guess it’s best to not worry having it connected most of the time. A few hours once in a while it stays at 80% while I use it so my guess for that time the MacBook is working directly from power cable (or mostly, I don’t think it will turn off if you disconnect it).

[@applemagsafe]

We got a genius over here 👈

[@paristath6773]

I really hope what you say is true

[@heiliger-julius]

I used a 2014 MacBook until 2020 and had around 50 Charging cycles on my Battery. The battery was basically brand new after 6 years. Because I always had it plugged in…

[@cyrilktom]

Is it good to keeping Mac plugged in while use, so that the power source is adapter, so battery is not used and thus saving battery cycles. ?

[@manart6506]

@@cyrilktom it seems to be it. And the software makes itself a little use of the battery once in a while when being connected, what makes me think it is the best for the battery. I think there is no reason to worry and just keep it plugged if no need to use the battery.

[@chrome1994]

I've never owned any Apple product and I don't intend on starting either, but I keep watching your videos because of how clean and concise they are. Keep it up!

[@Lucas-nf9xc]

I recommend you start because i never owned any products either until 6 months ago where i bought an m1 mac and now i am loving apple. I intend to buy an iphone, airpods, ipads, imacs and any future products moving forward because of how great their products are.

[@chrome1994]

@@Lucas-nf9xc I will consider it. Thanks

[@NoBody-ks3co]

The macs battery optimization is a lot smarter than we think. I keep my MacBook plugged in and play on it a lot and it has learned my habits and when it’s plugged in for those long periods of time it will drain the power to 80% and still will run off the outlet and not the battery. Just use your Mac lol

[@harrison00xXx]

Sadly the Mac doesnt realize if you are "ONLY" using your Mac on AC power. For this people AlDente is still a MUST HAVE. 80% charge is good for a longer life, but 50% is A LOT BETTER! Damn, im even limiting my Mac in most cases to 60% charge at home on AC power and the 2021 16" M1 Pro just wont go empty on the go.

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

They could add a battery feature called ‘removable battery’ that way when it does degrade it can easily be replaced! They could even sacrifice a little thickness and put LiFePO4 cells in there for added charge cycles and less chance of thermal runaway 😀

[@sebastianjuppscharwachter9022]

Are you high? This is Apple!

[@marioluigi9599]

They COULD. They could do A LOT ..but since they're throat cutters... They WON'T Not ever.

[@sorae42]

@Neon Butter do you have trouble understanding the joke?

[@darkcell06]

Maybe my MacBook Pro 2017 is an anomaly. I’ve kept it plugged in most of its life and has 57 charge cycles and 95% battery retention…

[@Akideoni]

Well personal experience tells a different story, always plug to power for all my devices. The real kicker was that I had my laptop battery busted after 8 months of usage with the advise 40-60% charge cycling, while it’s replacement battery that was plugged in 24/7 with minimal cycling had me do a swap out near 3 years later for a third replacement. Personally, I noticed my device are actually cooler when fully charged plugged in if not running intensives. Recent devices seems even know when to pull a charge. I was even personally told by in house technicians these lithium batteries are made to cycle out eventually(even if you go by their 40-60% scheme for testing and storage purpose), if really having fears of exploding batteries just don’t do fast charging, or don’t use them while charging. Keeping them at 100% chemically unchanged is the ideal, while purposely cycling intentionally causes more chemical reactions “wear” the battery out. Granted the heat of fast charging might change the picture to prevent the possibility of a note 7 incident, but it was never skewed towards longevity by intention. For that just rely on old school charging and trickle charge would be more advisable.

[@TaReN255]

Same here. 60 cycles in year, lost ~6% battery

[@enochskindasus6yago619]

Your original battery was probably degraded for it to have died that soon, or maybe it was just a faulty battery.

[@Akideoni]

@@enochskindasus6yago619 well so much for a 3k worth gaming laptop, not that I ever risk try follow those charging discharging regimes ever again.

[@enochskindasus6yago619]

@@Akideoni it shouldn’t have died that early, and I don’t know why, but I would take advice from an youtuber who did his research rather than myself.

[@Akideoni]

@@enochskindasus6yago619 whichever advice you took is entirely up to you. For me, the experience alone is sufficient says for itself, with or without further documentation or research I had not part took.

[@CalvinLimuel]

My M1 Pro MacBook Pro I bought last summer is still on 20 charge cycle and 99% capacity. When at home, I always have it plugged in, and once in a while I take it out and don't use the charger (the battery capacity is banging!), and when I get home, I plug it back on, and it either charges to 100% and slowly discharges to 80%, or sometimes it just charges to 80%. Sometimes I hit the "Charge to full now" just to get to 90% probably before I need to leave, but I've never been worried. Thanks Apple! My iPhone 13 is still somehow less consistent on this though.

[@alfa.2509]

Hey mate how's the condition now how many cycles done?

[@loughrey101]

I use the Aldente app to keep it at 50% while plugged in longterm as 50% is regarded as the best percentage for storage as there's an equal distribution of positive and negative ions across the battery. Keeping it at 50% if you plug it in all the time it's the best way to increase longevity. Apple even recommends leaving the battery at 50% if you plan to store your battery for weeks, this obviously can also apply if you don't use your battery for weeks as you plug it in all the time

[@collinlove]

Same.

[@mitch4556]

If there is an equal distribution of positive and negative ions across the battery, than your battery is empty.

[@collinlove]

@@XAV-117 AlDente is legit.

[@loughrey101]

@@mitch4556 nope, an empty battery is when all the elections move from the anode to the cathode, charging sends them back to the anode. An equal distribution is when electrons are equally distributed between the anode and cathode which would roughly equate to a 50% charge, meaning that neither the anode or the cathode are disproportionately stressed. That's why it's regarded at the ideal storage state of charge

[@loughrey101]

@@XAV-117 I'm not a bot and am no way affiliated with Aldente. I'm just their customer who uses in my Macs

[@dsdddsd4543we]

The latest MacBooks have a battery optimization option built in. The battery only will charge to 80%. You then have the option to charge to 100% if needed. My battery on my 2017 MacBook Pro 15 inch was severely degraded in just two years. I believe it is because of the battery charging to full each time.

[@dalisd9672]

You’re dead wrong. With new macbooks it’s better to leave them plugged in most of the time. The OS will take care of everything. Just use it once a week on battery

[@toetie2019]

Use El Dente to limit battery charge. I set mine at 50% and use it plugged in all the way. This is kind of a narrow informational guide, could've used some more info honestly. This is too basic.

[@3DPrinterAcademy]

I never take my Macbook Pro off the charger. It has been on for the past 2 years. I almost never turn it off, and almost never unplug it.

[@3DPrinterAcademy]

@Strikeyboss296 works great, no issues

[@SlyCooperRN]

The battery will start swelling eventually

[@BigZitrone]

And why do you have a MacBook then when you use it like a desktop pc lol

[@Jayden-lr2mm]

I owned a MacBook as well, however when I charge it I never let it charge when it is 100% I always unplug it and not use for a while. And yes as you have mentioned in the video it applies to iPhones as well, ensuring that you need to unplug it as soon as it is fully charged however when leaving will lead to the battery stop charging

[@josiahjray]

I have a program that caps my computer at 80%. If I know I'm gonna take it off the charger, I disable the program. I quite like it over the built-in option.

[@alfa.2509]

What's the condition now mate?

[@Ba2sik]

You can simply buy a time switch, and configure it to pass power only between 4am-6am for example. This way the MacBook won’t actually get power the rest of the time :)

[@AaronFigFront]

AlDente can be free and requires no additional hardware, which works with one cable solution monitor that also delivers power. A time or smart switch would not allow that.

[@collan580]

@@AaronFigFront You dont even need al dente. Its a non-issue. If you turn on optimised battery charging and u use your macbook during certain time periods or if it always plugged in than it wont go above 80%. My macbook is always plugged in and its constantly at 80%

[@AaronFigFront]

@@collan580 that really depends on how people are using it. Use it like a Mac mini, then definitely need it.

[@collan580]

@@AaronFigFront we talked about laptops. Why would you use aldente on a mac mini?

[@AaronFigFront]

@@collan580 "Use it [LIKE] a Mac mini,” I am talking about laptop...

[@AbdulAziz-nd3pu]

I think, this is usefull for someone that doesn't know that this is actually a common problem for anyone that uses laptop, or more importantly for someone that didn't know that mac need its setting to be manually set by the user, just like windows user that always set their laptop or pc before even installing any software. So this video is to make mac user to be aware that mac isn't as practical as iphone or ipad, in term of startup setup. This days, laptop battery cannot be removed and just use it with the ac adaptor plug-in like in the 2000s, unless you don't even bother to remove it by opening your laptop, some are possible but some are not.

[@TheTehnigga]

It's incredible that they finally inserted a feature that helps the battery lasting longer. What did it take them to come up with such an idea, this is incredible! So inspiring!!!

[@GarySchiltz]

I used to leave my Mac leptops plugged in all the time, even while I was using them. I got a new MBP about.a year ago and decided to try to extend the battery life. I read that it's most damaging to the battery to charge it beyond 80% or below 20%, so I use the "al dente" app to limit its maximum charge to 80% when plugged in. I plug it in overnight to charge it to 80% and then use it off and on throughout the next day unplugged. It it has enough charge left for the following day, I leave it unplugged that night, and only when it gets down to about 30% do I plug it back in. If I plan to be away and want to have a full charge to start with, I use al dente's "Top up" function to charge it to 100% before leaving. That's my new routine.

[@guybd5521]

This was very informative. Now all I need is a macbook

[@HenryCash]

I personally do not use a MacBook, but I've connected a smart plug to my Laptop PC cord. Laptop batteries are best kept between 40% and 80% charged, so I have my laptop set to notify me whenever it reaches 40%. Whenever the battery gets low, I simply tell Alexa to turn on my Laptop PC cord, and it turns on, turning off after forty five minutes so that it doesn't charge over 80% or so. It's worked great for over a year, and I highly recommend trying it out for yourself!

[@harrison00xXx]

Umm, so you literally use your notebook stationary but on battery only? LOL My battery on the 2021 16" macbook pro is limited to 50-70% charge and my battery is only used mobile what its made for (not to cycle on desktop, lol)

[@whizzbang7520]

Kinda difficult if you have plugged in the MacBook into an external display which also charges your laptop

[@LasdilElizaga]

I always use my macbook in clamshell mode so it's always plugged in. It's good that MacOS implemented the optimization to macbooks, didn't even notice it was there

[@valdir7426]

it's very badly documented. I though my charger was faulty when it started discharging on its own while plugged. I've even red about people getting it to apple store and getting entire boards changed for nothing (as of course people working at apple stores don't have a clue). they should explain exactly what it does.

[@harrison00xXx]

AlDente! If you care about your notebook only a bit... and you anyways dont use it as notebook, set the charge limit to 55% with AlDente! Im using my 16" M1 Pro even a lot mobile and im fine with a charge limit of 50-70% in most cases.

[@AaronFigFront]

I also use AlDente and enabled the hardware battery percentage on the pro version to set to the true 50%, or setting it to 52%~53% on the free version would do as well.

[@tk-zh3dd]

Aldente is great 👍

[@harrison00xXx]

whats the difference between "true 50%" and normal 50% setting lol I dont see any sense in that... i would more wish that Apple allow deeper 3rd party integration in the charging system/controller... for example to trigger balancing (while on charging stop) and so. I easily go for 60-70% charging limit with the free version, make every 2-3 weeks one full charge for proper balancing and i guess thats the best i can do to preserve the battery without disadvantages since the 16" model just run "forever" and still like 30-50% battery left at the end of the day.

[@ballooneyjr4294]

I got the 2020 m1 in 2020 when it came out, used it until I graduated in 2023, it went in my backpack, on walks, in the bus, to class, to my internship, to work on projects at peoples houses. In the winter, in the summer. Now that I graduated, I keep it plugged at home. It’s at 275 cycles right now. MBP are probably Apples best product. I paid about $800 after trading in my 2015 mbp.

[@Hybrid225]

I wish there was an option where you can plug it in but the power would pass the components and not the battery

[@Leshawn]

There is, Al Dente is the app

[@AurizeYT]

I actually thought the new M1 Macs do that on their own… Good to know that they dont 🥲

[@Vlad-vd2on]

M1 air does that. On 100% charger you can see, that battery is not charging and Mac powers directly from adapter

[@JunkionMarnot2005]

I learned this too late. Need to get a replacement soon. But heard that they [Apple] only replace batteries after 88%. At 92% now (MBP 2020).

[@NiklasF24]

This isn't correct. As soon as the battery is fully charged, the charging electronics switches from charging mode to power mode. That means that the MacBook is powered directly by charger. That means that the battery will no longer be charged.

[@xxzmk]

Just keep the battery between 50-70% if you use it at home anyways. It will dramatically reduce the charge and discharge cycles.

[@kompassorpigo7600]

No modern device (hint, that _definitely_ applies to Apple Silicon MacBooks) lets the battery reach its actual full capacity. At ~90% ( _reported_ as 100%), the onboard battery management chip starts redirecting power to the motherboard letting the battery rest. That means leaving the laptop plugged in _prolongs_ the battery's lifespan. Not only are you misinformed, you willingly chose to spread your misinformation. Shame on you.

[@emreugrasiz5564]

Unfortunately this is not completely accurate information. Macbook batteries are different kind of units than the ones in your iphone/ipad. It has been already well managed before the Catalina. When the battery hits %100, Macbooks switch to the AC power and bypass battery. However on iOS devices trickle charging begins back and forth 99-100, which is bad for your battery. That is why, as a rule of thumb, plug your macbook whenever possible. Of course it is good practice to cycle it once every week, for desk users. If you are on the go a lot, try to use your battery between 40%-80%, this is the sweet spot that lion bats love, and you’ll get most out of yout battery in terms of longevity.

[@WyvernVin]

You missed the point that completely discharging any lithum-ion battery full and recharging it again is WAAAAY more damaging than leaving it plugged. And many people still do that and wonder why their device (whichever it is) doesn't last as long on battery in just a few months. To any who reads this, if your device doesn't have this software protection, it's still better to leave it plugged whenever possible.

[@muhammadshareek9161]

I am in IT industry since the 2000s, Lithium battery wears out in 2 to 3 years no matter how well you treat it, always connected, or always on the move, it does NOT matter. you have to replace the batteries either ways.

[@W42PZ]

My 11 year old iPad2 is still on it’s original battery and lasts around 8 hours minimum!

[@muhammadshareek9161]

@@W42PZ those days are gone. Newer devices are made with planned obsolescence.

[@DJSpinSter2004]

I don’t wanna damage my battery any more than it is now since right now it’s at 92% capacity. Oh, and this stuff also applies to the iPhone and iPad, right?

[@kweend0ggi]

Yea mines 91%

[@DJSpinSter2004]

@@kweend0ggi Damn. I’ve been having to pay more attention to my battery percent, you might wanna do that too.

[@kweend0ggi]

@@DJSpinSter2004 yea I should

[@Sausanoo]

Batteries degrade overtime, with MacOS battery protections in place you don’t really have to worry about it at all. You can always replace the battery at an Apple store once it reaches under 80% anyways, it’s not worth stressing over something that is inevitable

[@harrison00xXx]

This stuff applies to any device powered by LiIon/LiPo batteries!

[@matthewdavisson]

The newer MacOS automatically stop charging once it is full and works on the power adapter only.

[@jeewakalakruwan7355]

Well msi dragon center has a option to keep the battery level on 80% or 60% , if you are only using it in home.. I think it is a good option to have..

[@weighedclock9045]

that's for a pc

[@TradingFeline]

I remember seeing a message saying that since it notices that I barely use it on battery, the system just keeps it at 80%. It just runs off the power cable.

[@priyabrataparhi4712]

I charge my M1 Macbook Air overnight and use it on battery all day long, really never had to plug-in throughout the day.

[@FATEK13]

hello, Excuse me, how does it work for you now...speaking of cycles count and battery health. Just own a Mac book air and don't know witch advise to follow.

[@razorbackroar]

Have my MacBook M1 Air plugged in for 3 years now. No issues. 83%

[@kamanchomorgan9655]

This vid is for fools

[@alexandroskotrotsos3720]

Another great and simple video!thanks for all of them!

[@scribsandskets1179]

I am glad it does this, but mine always seems to get thrown off by the weekend when I tend to use it away from my desk. It gets back on schedule by the end of the week, but I do wish you could set the schedule manually as others have mentioned.

[@lucasmerring6025]

Video Idea: Why MacBooks Don’t Have Face ID

[@pkennethv]

I'm all for having this video made because I like this channel & for the sake of thoroughness, but FYI in case you're wondering yourself, the answer is because the FaceID module used in current iPhones / iPad Pro is too thick to fit in a MacBook's screen. Yes, Apple could probably engineer a thinner one if they really set their minds to it, and maybe they will one day but I guess the current M1/Pro/Max machines are enticing enough as they are (even without FaceID), so it probably makes sense for Apple not to out in the R&D $ into making an extra thin module just for MacBooks (which they sell far fewer of than iPhones)

[@KevinJohnMulligan]

SnazzyLabs made a good argument, few said that laptops will always have a physical keyboard so touch ID makes more sense.

[@keijijohnson9754]

Well my man, after all these months, you finally got your idea realized. Crazy it took so long for the dude to make it so.

[@lucasmerring6025]

@@keijijohnson9754 I knew it would happen, everything in its time

[@itsmefrancois6825]

Using my macbook pro for 2 years now, having it plugged 99% of the time I used it. 65 charge cycles in 2 years sounds good to me. So I do not worry at all. Having a battery health percentage of 95 after 2 years sounds good to me too.

[@Leshawn]

I use the app Al Dente to stay plugged in at 50%. I use 50 because that’s what Apple recommends for “long term storage” and well my Mac is plugged in long term!

[@AaronFigFront]

Apple displays its percentage 2~3% percentage higher than the true hardware percentage. Although a few percentage would not make difference. Al Dente’s pro version as hardware battery percentage feature. Setting the free version roughly 2% higher than 50% would make it a true 50% in the hardware.

[@44sunsets]

50% is for long term storage, not long term usage. You're better off maintaining a higher percentage range like 60-80%.

[@AaronFigFront]

​@@44sunsets While it is plugged in, the battery is disconnected when it reaches the charge limit. If it is plugged in 95% of the time, it really is the same as long term storage, the battery is sitting there doing nothing. The chip is using power from the outlet.

[@jeremyliwag8290]

Can you make a video about whether you should shut down or put your Macbook to sleep when you are not using it

[@pierre_8243]

Is there an optimization on a Mac that when a mac is charged up to 100%, the electricity from the charger is directly sent to the Mac and not the battery ? Because when I play games on my mac, I let it plugged in so that it doesn't use the battery and discharge it. But I was wondering if there was something that would switch the energy management from the battery to the charger when fully charged.

[@TechDove]

Having it plugged into an external display does just that

[@fieture5619]

@@TechDove sure about that? havent seen any changes in the sys infos about any more cycles while using external devices

[@TechDove]

@@fieture5619 my MacBook when plugged in and "docked" tells me the power source is the walls adapter

[@EthanShort]

yes when its charges fully it will stop charging the battery and just run from charger power

[@pierre_8243]

@@EthanShort Thanks, I was worried that it would affect my battery health but apparently not. So I can use my Macbook on a dock plugged to an external screen and on the charger without using the battery storage!

[@farfromfear6941]

I wish Apple would let you toggle a setting where you can choose up to what percentage your battery charges to on iPhone and Macbook

[@wqchillywilly26]

Hey Greg! I'd really like to know why do Macbook chargers turn yellow after continuous use. Especially around the connecting charging part that plugs into the mac, it becomes yellow over time. I wonder why that happens.

[@npcs1]

It is most likely due to excess heat, and bending of the connector

[@GarbanzoBeansFan]

Even iPhones too

[@Vipce]

heat increase rate of oxidation which is the yellow colour u see.

[@louiepayas2571]

It can also be from dirty hands

[@mikhwanese]

heyyy, that's the same with my xiaomi charger: it turns yellow around the connecting charging port

[@thefuturegamer9451]

You should do one on why mail on iPad and iPhone says sent from iPhone or iPad but mail on the Mac doesn’t

[@AppleFan-md9sp]

This is the truly best video I ever seen in my life. It deserves a millions of likes.

[@heroninja1125]

If you cared about the health of your battery that much. You should have gotten a framework laptop or a panasonic toughbook where you can easily replace the battery when it degrades.

[@LeeStewart]

Greg, you're definitely on a role with batteries. The last video was about batteries in iPhones overheating.

[@RamirezAcevedoMau]

My MacBook Pro mid 2012 is 75% healthy and I rarely disconnect from the outlet (almost 10 years)

[@CapoCongo]

But Plugging a laptop give the computer more performance

[@amishshrimali]

That happens only with windows laptops

[@tomspeed6026]

And that cap

[@mostsaneperson]

@@amishshrimali no, since I don’t have a good gaming computer, I play minecraft on my 2013 mbp, and if it stays on battery it goes from 100 to like 20 in an hour

[@otfnk]

@@amishshrimali 🤢🤮🤢🤮🤢🤮🤢🤮🤢🤮🤢🤮

[@samuell.siskind]

Only windows laptops do that

[@abhijeet_ghosh]

Use aldente. It stops charging at whatever percent you want and only powers cpu via power adapter

[@alfa.2509]

Hey what's the condition now how many cycles and battery health?

[@MarcoCivale]

Once the battery reach 100% it drains power from the AC adapter, bypassing the battery, in fact you can read "connected to power supply" after reaching 100%. Not sure if it keeps charging the battery even tho it's 100% charged.

[@sgtgammel4116]

These „smart“ features never work for me. For the optimised battery charging I just installed a third party program, where I can manually adjust the maximum charging.

[@mattbuffo9967]

always plugged in because usbc for charging and for display out on my monitor

[@yakovmatityahu]

I recently purchased Macbook Air and i am happy to use it, 😊 ☺️ the screen is butter smooth on eyes and the speed is amazing.

[@dannyboy900102]

M1 or M2

[@Anime-Edits-100]

Just recently discovered your channel and I’m loving the brief explanations 🙏

[@mrgerbeck]

I've plugged-in my 2012 rMBP for the past decade. Seems fine.

[@farzandfz1481]

You cannot compare iPhones to laptops, laptops run on ac power when plugged in and charge the battery simultaneously, phones however charge the battery when plugged in and use energy from the same battery when you use it while plugged it.

[@harrison00xXx]

You are the perfect example why people without any understanding better dont talk! Do you think batteries in phones have 2x the poles, 2x in and 2x out or what?! Batteries in phones charge the same way as in notebooks. If there is enough power to run the hardware (obviously at most phones considering 20W+ as standard), exceeding power goes into the battery as fast as the phone allows charging, thats it. Whats interesting (and very apple-like...) Older MacBook Pros like my 2010 15" had only a 85W power brick but the hardware was under full load capable of more than 85W drawing, so Apple NEEDED THE BATTERY AS BUFFER/CONDENSATOR.... you could literally discharge the battery slowly on the charger with maximum load. Thats why many MacBooks throttle the CPU down to 50% if the battery is removed (to avoid too much power draw)

[@Dedicated2WendyWilliams]

I thought the software optimizes the charging to extend the battery life as long as possible.. so it wouldnt matter if you leaves it plugged in or not.

[@gandalfwiz20007]

I have a DELL laptop from 2014 that still works perfectly in 2022, with the battery holding about 2.5 hours (4 hours when it was new) and I always kept it plugged at the desk. I did, however, ran it on battery now and then to discharge it.

[@njrthedj]

Based on my experience I always plugged in my Macbook Pro M1 2020 for 2 years it only have 198 cycle counts and batter % is 84. Still running good. I sold it and I am currently using Macbook Pro 14.

[@bugged1212]

My 14 inch pro max is connected to studio display, and the whole setup is backed up by a solid power UPS. So there's never any moment without power. The mac automatically keeps battery at 80% and lets it drain slowly into 70's and running only off the power. I think it puts it back to 80 once it drops to 75.

[@johncfullerartist9863]

I used to do that. MacBook only reached 600 cycles before battery had to be swapped. Now I charge to full, unplug, and use till about 5% then recharge and unplug

[@juansanchezdominguez7885]

I am planning on buying a MacBook Air 2022, and since I am a Windows user I wondered whether the Mac could have a tool similar to Conservation Mode, thanks for giving me the answer

[@iamsubham333]

Please make a video on should you shut down your MacBook or just close the Lid, Many people like me wanna know.

[@josephito27]

I’ve noticed that if I charge my MacBook to 100%, it’s no actually 100%, it’s actually 80 or something, idk if it’s part of the system managing the battery to avoid deterioration or what, but you can check this with the parameters shown in system report> power> battery, if it hits 100% and it says it’s still charging yours do the same. My battery at 35 cycles last more than 1 day

[@czechrepublicofficial3105]

Hi, I have two questions: 1) Does Iphones and Ipads have antivirus? 2) Does cold enviroment affect Iphones? Thanks for answer.

[@matejcermak]

keeping lithium batteries at 50% should be best, I am still doing that with my old 2010 macbook with magsafe where covering the middle pin of the magsafe charger will do the trick - it will stop charging but still provides power and battery stays at the percentage it was last charged to. Software way (AlDente) is probably better than fiddling with 2mm wide strip of some tape every couple months

[@Errcyco]

I keep mine on the same desk 24/7. It’s always plugged in and stays around 80% I don’t wanna cycle it constantly this feels safer. I use it a lot of the day.

[@yervandpapazyan4473]

i am very confused. half of KZbinrs saying do not leave your macbook plugged in all the time it will damage your battery and the other half say actually it is good to leave plugged in because your macbook has intelligent function that it is stoping to charge yor battery. my macbook 90% staying as a desktop device i do not use as a mobile device so what should i do? charge macbook to full battery unplug continue to work when i reach 10 or 20 % battery again plug ? or leave my macbook pluged in all the time ????

[@迟早叫亡]

Me too, there are many different voices and I don’t know which one to believe.

[@proletariennenaturiste]

I used to leave my HP laptop always plugged in because I never took it anywhere, but I'm sure that decreased the battery health. I just didn't like constantly unplugging and re-plugging and the battery saver kicking in. With the MacBook, I want to keep its battery health up and know it gets way too hot when left on the charger.

[@Josh101]

how many charge cycles do macbooks typically last? Feel like mine must have been way more than 1000

[@randomuploads20]

Me with my Lenovo Legion just turning on a feature where it stops charging at 55-60%

[@SC2Barbarian]

I simply let it plugged in and it learned that and only charges to 80 and stays there. I am 100% sure that's better for my battery than constantly using it.

[@solomonjenkins9505]

so wait...I can leave it plugged in all the time now because of this feature?

[@isakthehackervlogs]

I am not fully sure about Macs, but for PCs at least, this is fundamentally not how it works. On a laptop computer when the battery gets to 100% the computer just stops charging the battery and only use power from it when disconnected from a power outlet. This way, a laptop won't make any damage to the battery when used plugged in because the power simply bypasses the battery. What you said in the video is true for mobile devices however because they often can't bypass the battery when plugged in to a charger leading to the battery getting charged, used, charged, used, charged, used... (which is bad!)

[@fieture5619]

but what about bypass charging?? its basically using the powersupply without touching the battery.

[@omgunicorns817]

The title doesn’t make much sense, and overall that’s not how it really works. First of all, you don’t have to worry on keeping your MacBook constantly on charger, even with optimized charging off. Once the battery is charged either to 80% with optimized charging or to 100% without it, Mac completely stops using battery and relies only on the charger to function. From that moment the battery is neither being charged, nor used, until you unplug and plug your Mac back to the wall. In fact, the percentage you see in the topbar is also misleading. If you keep your MacBook constantly on charger (e.g., have been keeping it plugged for, say, a week), you could use a custom utility that would tell you that percentage is not 100% anymore, rather than 95-96%. That’s because if your MacBook was charged days ago, the battery hasn’t been neither used nor charged since (and as it happens with all batteries, a battery slowly discharges by itself if not used). So you don’t have to worry, Apple has already taken care of this and doesn’t constantly charge battery if it’s charged already.

[@kevinmathewstudios3832]

Why do you say it's just for Macs, when it is a general information for all devices using lithium ion battery. My asus laptop has a feature to set the battery threshold to 80% or 60%

[@markshanks2501]

my 2016 MacBook Pro 13 inch non touch bar I left that always plugged in most of its life and the battery overall health capacity was still almost at original capacity still and I sold it this year in 2022 so they battery aged very well.

[@canadianpsycho1867]

I’ve never gotten a discharge message on my iPhones

[@d.b.cooper1]

Disagree. Leave it plugged in much as you can. I say that as someone who over 10 years has tried both methods.

[@felipepereverzieff458]

Agreed. I bought an Air M1, in 2 weeks I got 20 cycles because I was charging it from 20 to 80% (2 to 3 charges a day while working). Now it’s been 3 weeks connected 24/7 and it’s 21 cycles (1 cycle in 3 weeks and it’s there)

[@robertdem259]

I always keep my mac plugged in and closed cause i use a monitor and today i got a notification that battery needs service.