Here’s why you should “Never” let your MacBook’s Battery Die!
Until this happens
Keep your Mac plugged in, a 100% charged, or let it die?
These are just some of the many questions that arise in a Mac owner’s mind. It can be utterly confusing and mind-boggling. The M1 MacBook’s battery is just remarkable, holding a massive 18 hours of battery life on a full charge.
They charge through a USB-C cable(M1 chips) and MagSafe on the M1 Pro and Max MacBook Pros. Now coming to the meat.
Letting your MacBook’s battery die, can cause a cascade of harmful effects that can lead to your battery dying before its life has even started. Apple uses a Lithium-ion battery in their products, as they hold a long amount of charge.
Let me first answer the first question:
Should you keep your Mac connected to a charger at all times?
Plug it in whenever you can, as this will do no harm. You can never overcharge your battery, as Apple has a system in place to prevent it. It channels the charge to go around the battery; and instead of storing it, it uses it to power the Mac and perform maintenance tasks even when asleep.
The biggest killers of Lithium batteries is the frequent recharge and discharge cycles, also known as power cycles on Mac. When the Mac reaches 1000 power cycles, the battery degrades to and stores only 80% of its actual capacity.
Furthermore, charging at all times can create heat, which is extremely harmful for the battery, and can also degrade its life.
Keep it 100% charged at all times?
Keeping the battery at a 100% charge state can lead to the lithium ions being filled with charge at all times. This can cause a major shift in the ions, as they neither like to be positive, nor negative. 50% is the optimum position where the battery is not negatively harmed.
Keeping the battery at 50% will not improve battery life by a significant or measurable amount; though, keeping It at 100% for long periods of time may cause a major shift in the average battery holding capacity.
Therefore, if you store it fully charged for an extended period of time, the battery may lose some capacity, leading to shorter battery life.
Let the Battery Die?
This is a controversial question, that people have been trying to answer for ages…and still haven’t found a solid answer for.
Wait no more, as I have found one!
Draining a battery completely is the best way to permanently kill your battery. The myth of discharging it completely so that you can keep the battery longer doesn’t work.
The Lithium Ions memorise this charge and try to stick with it, somewhat like the Nickel-Cadmium batteries that Apple used decades ago. Apple does not recommend fully draining MacBook batteries because if a battery is fully discharged, the battery could fall into a deep discharge state.
This is where they memorise and then like to stay at this charge: negative.
This can lead to the battery being shortened by 30 to 40%, which is a whole lot. To prevent this, charge the battery the moment it falls under 10%.
I hope I have cleared your doubts regarding the MacBook’s battery! A full-depth ULTIMATE battery guide is on the way; so stay tuned for it!
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