How to Keep Your MacBook Battery Healthy [8 Expert Tips]

Are you looking for advice on how to keep your MacBook battery in good shape? Yes, the battery in your MacBook has a finite lifespan, but by following a few simple methods, you can extend its life and increase the number of hours you can use it on a regular basis.

It’s no longer as straightforward as it was a decade ago when it comes to MacBook batteries. Because many of us are now utilising sealed computers with physically smaller batteries, this is the case. 

We have external monitors connected to those. Over the last few years, such monitors have also been used to charge laptops.

If you do this, the battery will not be totally discharged. Instead, you’re charging it sporadically, a little at a time. Long ago, we had NiCad batteries that decayed over time, but this is no longer an issue in our day and age.

The old, out-of-date information has been removed. So, let’s speak about what you can do to make your computer’s battery last as long as possible.

Expert advice on how to maintain the health of your MacBook battery

1.Use “Optimized Charging” as a starting point.

MacBooks have a function called Optimized Charging that records your usage habits and adjusts charging behaviour as needed to optimise charging behaviour. When it comes to long-term health, the sweet spot for a laptop’s lithium battery is somewhere between 80 and 40% capacity.

Charging to 100% or allowing your battery percentage to drop too low are both bad suggestions when it comes to cell health. The strain on a battery’s cells increases as the voltages in it rise to maximum capacity.

When it comes to increasing battery life, the experts at Battery University recommend that “a device must offer a “Long Life” option that maintains the battery alive for as long as possible.”

“At 4.05 V/cell, the battery offers a [state of charge] of roughly 80%.” Apple is one of a number of companies that have adopted similar billing systems, which include others.

This option may be found in System Preferences > Battery > Battery. Your Mac will wait before fully charging your device once it has learned your daily routine, allowing it to spend less time at 100%.

The first operating system to include the mode was macOS Catalina. As a result, if you’re trying to upgrade but your Mac isn’t compatible with this version of OS X, you’re out of luck.

2. High temperatures should be avoided at all costs.

Your Mac has been designed to work well in a wide range of temperatures. The temperature range for your Mac or MacBook should be between 62° and 72° Fahrenheit.

The battery capacity of your Mac may be diminished or possibly destroyed if it is exposed to and charged at severe temperatures (above 95°).If you want to maintain your MacBook battery healthy for a long time, don’t expose it to sunlight.

You may notice a drop in battery life if you use your smartphone in extremely cold temperatures. However, this is usually just temporary. The performance of the gadget will return to normal once the battery returns to its usual operating range.

3. Make sure your MacBook isn’t always plugged in.

Keep in mind that there will be no “overcharge” if you keep your MacBook battery attached. It will not affect the battery or any other components if you leave it plugged in all the time. The only exception is if you notice the battery bulging, which is a serious problem that could put you in risk. As a result, if you discover this, contact Apple right away.

The optimal charging option, as previously indicated, helps reduce some of the agony associated with keeping your laptop plugged in, but it is not without its drawbacks.

If your laptop is always on your desk or your schedule is exceptionally irregular, macOS may be difficult to decide the optimal time to delay charging your battery.

4. Do not charge the MacBook completely.

Although seeing 100% on the menu bar is reassuring, MacBooks aren’t designed to run on full battery for long periods of time. When it comes to “how to maintain your MacBook battery healthy,” this is one thing that a lot of folks do wrong.

Have you ever considered that the 100% mark is helpful for your battery? No, it isn’t.

Apple recommends charging your iPhone at 50% capacity on a regular basis, claiming that charging it at full capacity for an extended period of time may result in lower battery life.

Allowing the battery to degrade to a dangerously low level of capacity is not a good idea.

In no way should you overcompensate. Allowing the battery to run out of juice is just as risky as keeping it at full power for an extended period of time.

When the capacity is reduced and you shut down for a period of time, total discharge is more likely to occur. Anything less than ten can be considered in jeopardy.

The storage of a device with its battery completely empty has the potential to lead the battery to enter a deep depletion state, rendering it unable to hold a charge.

5. Make use of Safari as your web browser.

If you’re currently using Google Chrome as your primary web browser, you should consider switching to Apple’s Safari. To put it another way, Chrome is a well-known memory hog that depletes the battery of a laptop.

Apple estimates the battery life projections for the MacBook using Safari as the default web browser. Safari is a great tool for viewing the web that you should try if you haven’t before.

6. You can preserve battery life by dimming your display and optimising video streaming.

The powering of the display is the most significant drain on battery resources. So, first and foremost, let’s go through the basics:

Increase or reduce the monitor’s brightness to a level that is comfortable for your eyes. The shorter your battery life is, the brighter your display is. You may also set the display to dim slightly when using battery power and turn it off after a time of inactivity by going to System Preferences > Battery from the Apple menu.

While utilising battery power, you can select to have the screen somewhat muted, which will help to reduce energy use when streaming video.

We also suggest that you set the length of time your display will be on to be as short as feasible. When you’re not using your MacBook, you can save battery life by turning it off completely.

7. AlDente Pro is a good option for charging management.

If you’re particularly concerned about keeping your MacBook battery as long as possible, the free app AlDente (as well as the paid version AlDente Pro) may be of interest.

You can set a charging restriction in the app to prevent your MacBook from charging to its maximum capacity. The proportion is set to 80 percent by default.

The free version allows the MacBook to run on battery power even when it is plugged in, with simply a charge limit and discharge mode. As a result, you may be able to deplete your battery to a “healthier” percentage without removing the power connection.

AlDente requires macOS Big Sur or later to work. It works well on MacBooks that were released in 2016 or later.

Some capabilities on older laptops are no longer supported, although the most important charge limiter capability is still supported on most devices built after 2013. Consider this app if you want a next-level solution for keeping your MacBook battery healthy.

8. If you’re using a new device, install the most recent version of macOS.

Since the release of macOS Sierra, some older MacBook models have been experiencing power fluctuation and draining issues (10.12).

Although it appears that updating your Mac’s operating system may diminish battery life, this is not necessarily the case. In the short run, sticking with your current operating system on older devices may be preferable to upgrading to a newer one. 

On newer devices, it is advised that they be upgraded to the most recent version of macOS, as upgrades frequently include optimization adjustments.

Final Thoughts

In the end, your MacBook’s battery life is determined by how you use it. So, if you’re seeking for ways to preserve your MacBook battery in good shape for a long time, use the methods outlined in this article.

While we can’t guarantee that these solutions will extend the life of your battery by a certain number of months or years, we can ensure that they will increase its overall longevity.