Understanding batteries in Mac notebooks
- Fruit Juice 2 1 1 – Maximize Your Macbook's Battery Life Expectancy
- Fruit Juice 2 1 1 – Maximize Your Macbook's Battery Life Cycle
- Fruit Juice 2 1 1 – Maximize Your Macbook's Battery Life Span
- Fruit Juice 2 1 1 – Maximize Your Macbook's Battery Lifetime
- 'Battery life' is the amount of time a device runs before it needs to be recharged. 'Battery lifespan' is the amount of time a battery lasts until it needs to be replaced. One factor affecting battery life and lifespan is the mix of things you do with your device. No matter how you use it, there are ways to help.
- Using Anandtech's WiFi web browsing battery life benchmark, the Surface Pro 2 manages 6.68 hours — the 11-inch 2013 MacBook Air, on the other hand, clocks in at 11.1 hours.
- You can calculate your laptop battery life by dividing the battery capacity (Watt-hours or Whr) from the power consumption of your laptop (watts). Calculate Battery Life Watt Hours / Watts = Battery Life (in hours) Example: 60 Whr / 20 Watts = 3 Hours. Laptop Battery Life Calculator Enter the Watt Hours and Watts to calculate your battery life.
- 8 tips for improving battery life on your MacBook. These tips will help you get the best possible battery life on a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. 10, 2018 7:33 a.m.
Still, your mileage may vary, especially if you spec the MacBook Pro 16 for battery life. Choosing the Core i7 processor over the Core i9, or opting for a slightly lower-end graphics card, could.
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:
- Cycle count: Batteries are expected to function for a certain number of cycles. This number represents the sum of total and partial discharge cycles throughout the life of the battery. You can see the cycle count limit for your computer by reviewing Determining battery cycle count for Mac notebooks.
- Full charge capacity: Measured in mAH (milliampere-hours), this refers to the amount of power the battery is capable of containing, less the energy required to shut down the device. This number lowers as the battery becomes depleted with usage and age.
- Remaining charge capacity: This number represents the current amount of power left in the battery as measured in mAh (milliampere-hours). Using the computer when not connected to AC power will cause this number to lower as power is depleted from the battery.
- Consumed / depleted: Consumable parts are those that deplete over time as their internal components are used. Batteries, due to their chemical components, are considered consumables, and over time they lose their ability to hold a charge. If the cycle count on a battery exceeds its expected limit, the battery is considered consumed.
- Defective: Batteries are considered defective when they stop working due to a defect in materials or workmanship, or due to a manufacturing defect. Defective batteries are covered under Apple's one-year limited warranty and extended-service contracts.
- Load: The amount of activity being performed by a task or tasks. Certain power-intensive processes place a heavier load on the battery and result in a much-reduced runtime per charge.
Setting up your Mac for the first time
Vellum 2 0 1. 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:
- Normal: The battery is functioning normally.
- Service Recommended: The battery's ability to hold charge is less than when it was new or it isn't functioning normally. You can safely continue to use your Mac but you should take it to an Apple Store or Apple-authorized service provider to get your battery evaluated.
In earlier versions of macOS, the battery status might display Replace Soon, Replace Now, or Service Battery if your battery holds less of a charge than when it was new or needs to be serviced. If the battery's lowered charging capacity is affecting your experience, get your battery evaluated at an Apple Store or Apple-authorized service provider. Cnh est keygen software free.
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.
Optimizing battery life
Your notebook battery life depends on your computer's configuration and how you're using the computer. Here are some settings and steps you can take to get the most from your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro battery.
Check Energy Saver settings
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 Mac notebook computers introduced in 2016 or later, 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 macOS Catalina. Some features such as Automatic graphic switching and Power Nap 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:
- To allow your keyboard's backlight to automatically dim or brighten, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, select Keyboard, then select 'Adjust keyboard brightness in low light'.
- In the Keyboard section of System Preferences, you can also allow your keyboard's backlight to turn off after a period of inactivity.
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:
- Normal: The battery is functioning normally.
- Service Recommended: The battery's ability to hold charge is less than when it was new or it isn't functioning normally. You can safely continue to use your Mac but you should take it to an Apple Store or Apple-authorized service provider to get your battery evaluated.
In earlier versions of macOS, the battery status might display Replace Soon, Replace Now, or Service Battery if your battery holds less of a charge than when it was new or needs to be serviced. If the battery's lowered charging capacity is affecting your experience, get your battery evaluated at an Apple Store or Apple-authorized service provider. Cnh est keygen software free.
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.
Optimizing battery life
Your notebook battery life depends on your computer's configuration and how you're using the computer. Here are some settings and steps you can take to get the most from your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro battery.
Check Energy Saver settings
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 Mac notebook computers introduced in 2016 or later, 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 macOS Catalina. Some features such as Automatic graphic switching and Power Nap 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:
- To allow your keyboard's backlight to automatically dim or brighten, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, select Keyboard, then select 'Adjust keyboard brightness in low light'.
- In the Keyboard section of System Preferences, you can also allow your keyboard's backlight to turn off after a period of inactivity.
You can 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.
To manually adjust your display's brightness to a comfortable level, use the F1 and F2 keys.
MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
If your Mac has a Touch Bar, 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:
Check graphics settings
MacBook Pro 15-inch and 16-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 on your MacBook Pro, use automatic graphics switching.
Turn off features and technologies that use power
Mac notebooks have a number of integrated technologies which can have a significant effect on battery power.
- If you don't need Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, you can turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth from their menu bar icons or in System Preferences. This will help save power.
- External USB, SD card, and Thunderbolt devices connected to your notebook can also draw power and should be disconnected for optimal battery performance.
Troubleshooting batteries
A great place to start when troubleshooting battery issues is the built-in diagnostics that are available on your Mac notebook. Learn how to use Apple Diagnostics on your Mac.
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 read on for more information about troubleshooting your battery.
My battery runtime is low
- If you recently set up your Mac, wait until your Mac is finished with initial setup. When you use your Mac for the first time, activities like setting up Mail and Photos, migrating your iCloud content, and indexing your files with Spotlight use more power than your Mac requires in general use. If you have a large amount of data to transfer, it can take several days before your battery life returns to average daily use.
- Identify what the battery life should be for the product you're using. The Tech Specs site provides Apple's battery life expectations for battery usage. The specifics for wireless web usage and standby time are included in the Tech Specs article for each product.
- Learn how to minimize common causes of battery drain:
- Optimize your battery life using the Optimizing Battery Life section earlier in this article.
- Learn how apps can affect Mac battery performance. Some applications—such as web browsers, video editing software, and video games—require more power based on how you're using them. Check regularly for updates to your software—it's important to use the latest versions available.
- Configure automated backup and sync software to run only when your computer is connected to a power source or to pause when your battery level drops below a certain percentage.
- Check Activity Monitor for any malfunctioning software processes, especially after installing software updates or a new operating system. Installing updates is important to ensure optimal performance for all applications.
- If you still have battery issues after optimizing your computer's performance and checking for malfunctioning software processes, test in safe mode. Safe mode limits the active items on the system and allows testing in a more minimal environment. If the battery life is better in safe mode, you might need to do further software isolation for the items disabled by safe mode to determine what the power draw is while not operating in safe mode.
My battery isn't charging
Confirm the correct wattage AC adapter for your computer. A power adapter rated for a lower wattage than is required for the system might not reliably charge the computer. If you're not sure which power adapter to use with your computer, learn how to find the right power adapter and cord for your Mac notebook.
For more help, learn what to do if your USB-C power adapter isn't charging your Mac notebook. 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:
- Open System Preferences.
- Click Energy Saver.
- Select the 'Show battery status in menu bar' check box to display 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.
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.
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.
Learn more
Money pro: personal finance 1 8 10. Learn more about the batteries used in Apple products.
A couple of different symptoms can come along with having a battery percentage meter on your Mac that is inaccurate. The most obvious one is your computer randomly shutting off and dying before the battery percentage hits zero percent or even gets low. The other is a perceived sense of quick battery drain or a drop in the lifespan of a battery.
If you suspect that the battery on your Mac is displaying an inaccurate percentage of battery life remaining, try some of these at-home solutions to reset or recalibrate the battery. Best video making software for windows 10. Otherwise, a Genius Bar appointment at your local Apple store might be necessary.
iPhone users, listen up: We have written a detailed guide on charging your iPhone properly. Don't forget to check it out.Reset the System Management Controller (SMC)
The System Management Controller, or SMC, on your Mac is buried within the operating system and groups together various functions involving the display, battery power, booting, shutting down, sleeping, and more. If something gets out of whack with your battery indicator, resetting the SMC could refresh the battery percentage so it's accurate again.
How to reset the SMC depends on the type of Mac you own. If you have an older Mac notebook with a removable battery, the first thing you'll want to do is shut down the computer and disconnect it from a power source. Remove the battery. Then, press and hold the power button for five seconds while the battery is still out of the machine. Insert the battery again, connect the laptop to a power source and turn it back on.
If you have a newer MacBook model without a removable battery, the procedure is a bit different. Shut down the computer, but plug it in to a power source while off. Press the Shift, Control, Option and power keys all at the same time — the former three must be the keys on the left side of the keyboard.
Closely monitor the battery percentage your Mac displays relative to your usage over the next day or two and observe if the SMC reset fixed the problem.
Calibrate Your Mac's Battery
Not only is keeping your battery calibrated important so that the battery percentage on your Mac stays accurate, but it's vital for optimal battery health over years and charge cycles.
Battery calibration is easier than you might think. You should basically just use your computer like you normally do, except let the battery show off every bit of its power. First, plug in your Mac to a power source and charge it to full capacity, 100 percent. After fully charged, leave it plugged in for about two hours so it sits at a 100-percent charge.
Unplug the Mac and start using it, letting the battery drain naturally. Eventually the battery will get low, so let it drain until the computer automatically goes to sleep. Once it's been asleep for a few minutes, plug the charging cable into your MacBook and recharge the computer back to 100 percent.
Fruit Juice 2 1 1 – Maximize Your Macbook's Battery Life Expectancy
This entire cycle is what calibrates the battery. Once the MacBook is recharged again, unplug the charging cable and notice as you use the machine whether the battery percentage appears to be more in sync with your usage.
Tip: For an even closer look at your battery usage, open the Activity Monitor app on your Mac. Click the Energy tab at the top and glance down below for battery charts and statistics on current energy impact, remaining charge, time remaining, and battery drain over the past 12 hours.Schedule a Genius Bar Appointment
When all else fails, make your battery someone else's problem! The geniuses behind the Genius Bar at your local Apple retail store are probably capable of fixing the battery accuracy issue pretty quickly.
Chances are they'll take care of it using one of two methods depending on the cause. The first solution is to replace the battery. This is covered if you're under warranty, including the one-year limited warranty if it's a manufacturer's defect. Otherwise, prices vary by MacBook model.
Coming in at $129 are the replacement batteries for any MacBook Air, the 13-inch MacBook and the 13-inch and 15-inch non-retina MacBook Pros. $179 replaces the battery in the 17-inch MacBook Pro and $199 covers the 12-inch MacBook and 13-inch and 15-inch retina MacBook Pros.
Fruit Juice 2 1 1 – Maximize Your Macbook's Battery Life Cycle
These prices include the battery itself and the repair service, i.e. the Apple Geniuses recycle the old battery and install the new one for you.
If you don't need a battery replacement, the Geniuses still have tools on hand for running tests on your MacBook and diagnosing any issues, so it still may be worth a trip to the Apple Store. The cost to fix any diagnosed issues will differ based on the cause and procedure.
The best way to schedule a Genius Bar appointment is through Apple's website.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Also See#apple #battery
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Fruit Juice 2 1 1 – Maximize Your Macbook's Battery Life Span
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