MacBook pro 2017, most recent Mojave, has recently begun to shut down without warning with lots of battery available. First it was at 40%-50%. Found instructions to "recalibrate"— reset SMC charge and drain. Which is better, but still shutting down at 20% if I run it down.
All other indicators are battery is Normal, still low cycle count.
Is it possible to get it back to closer to 10%, and even better get a notice it is about to shut down.
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.14
Hi mrgtjcqz,
Thank you for the reply. It might be helpful to check into the software side of things to see if there could be any factors to consider there. As a start, try booting your Mac into safe mode. Does the same issue occur when you're in safe mode? How to use safe mode on your Mac. Knowing this might help to narrow things down a bit.
Also, have you checked Activity Monitor to see if any apps are using significant resources? See how apps affect Mac performance, battery runtime, temperature, and fan activity
Take care.
Hello mrgtjcqz,
Thanks for the post. I know it's important to make sure your Mac runs as expected. I understand yours has been shutting down at around 20 percent, and you've done some troubleshooting already.
To clarify, are you seeing any alerts that your Mac restarted because of a problem, or anything similar? If so, you might start here: If your Mac restarted because of a problem
I understand you checked your cycle count. Have you checked your battery condition as well? About Mac notebook batteries:
"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:
Regarding shut-down warnings, it sounds possible you're not seeing the warning because the battery is not reaching 15% or less:
"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."
I hope this helps. Kind regards.
The "re-calibrate by discharging" procedure is now deprecated, and replaced with a different procedure that pushes at the "Full Point" by charging for an extended period. it is described for a particular model MacBook Pro, but others may be similar.
If your MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) keeps shutting down - Apple Support
Your premium-quality MacBook Pro will NEVER over-charge, and should be used on Power adapter when AC power is available.
Only when AC power is Not available should it be used on battery, and it will run somewhat slower and be slightly less capable on battery.
Hello mrgtjcqz,
Thanks for replying and trying safe mode. Based on the steps you've tried so far, I recommend getting in touch with Apple directly next to look into this further: Contact Apple Support
Best wishes.
Thanks Jeremy
a. does not seem to be a specific problem. consistent and recurring
b. as noted the battery condition is Normal; cycle count at 50.
c. right. that is the problem. Is there anything to be done to get to 15% [or 10 minutes] before shutdown.
Yesterday I got shut down at 36%.
Well, safe mode made no difference. In fact shut down at higher percentages. Feels quite random 34, 63, 49. I am testing with minimal apps running and don't see anything in the Activity Monitor that looks odd.
More to the point, how is "using resources" the problem? Shutting down before those resources are used is the issue.
Obviously this is not fatal and for the moment I can stay connected at a desk, but when I have to move around again and depending on the battery it is a concern I'd like to have worked out.
shut down at 20%
