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MacBook Air Battery Health

I started using my new MacBook Air M1 around August 20, 2021 and today after four months, my battery health has fallen 1%. In these four months, I have not let my MacBook get completely discharged even once (I think it went lowest to 21-22%). Also my average screen time usage is 8-12 hours a day. What charging routine or practices should I follow to prevent my Mac battery health from degrading any further?

Also, I generally don't keep my MacBook plugged in when in use.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Dec 17, 2021 8:29 AM

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Posted on Dec 17, 2021 9:30 AM

This is totally normal wear on the battery, as for all batteries degrade over time. My M1 Macbook Air that was purchased in May is now at 97% battery health. The best way to prevent battery degradation is to have optimized charging turned on. Otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about that battery health meter, my 2015 macbook still runs fine after using it for ~10 hours per day for six years!

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Dec 17, 2021 9:30 AM in response to Kushagra04

This is totally normal wear on the battery, as for all batteries degrade over time. My M1 Macbook Air that was purchased in May is now at 97% battery health. The best way to prevent battery degradation is to have optimized charging turned on. Otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about that battery health meter, my 2015 macbook still runs fine after using it for ~10 hours per day for six years!

Dec 29, 2021 1:11 AM in response to Jack__EP

Maybe I could have agreed with you on this one but today when I checked my battery health, it was on 98%.. So it went from 100 to 99 in approximately 4 months and 99 to 98 in 10 days. This is really haunting me now. Some people on YouTube are saying that this could be some technical issue and that I should let my Mac's battery drain till 0, keep it uncharged for a night and then charge it back to 100% and on the other hand some say that I should never let MacBook's battery fall upto 0 %. There are so many different theories I don't know what to do and what not to do. Should I keep it plugged in all the time or what? All I want is to keep my Macbook's battery healthy . Please help

Also, my battery cycle count is 67 at the moment (not really sure if that is useful but putting it out there).

Dec 29, 2021 4:57 AM in response to Kushagra04

Rechargeable batteries are fickle items. Some can retain initial charge capacity for a very long time then quickly die. Some will lose some amount of capacity very quickly but then main that level for a very long time. Some will just gradually lose capacity over time. It is just the nature of rechargeable batteries. Batteries are consumables and wear out, some faster than others.


FWIW, set optimize battery charging in battery preferences and quit worrying about micromanaging battery health. When the battery reaches a point where you can no longer get the work time you want while on battery, then worry about checking it.

MacBook Air Battery Health

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