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User profile for user: amananderson
amananderson Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

MacBook Air M1 Battery Drain while Sleeping With or Without USB Drives.

This is becoming a problem. It was an issue on the old Intel Air, and is an issue on the M1 Air as well. It's defiantly an OS issue. I tested it. It drains faster with drives plugged in. But this time I unplugged my drives, and it lasted an extra night—but ultimately still died while sleeping.


I believe the issue predicates upon the fact that the BigSur "Wakes Instantly". And in order for this to happen, the OS is always anticipating you to wake it up.


IMO, It's this anticipation that is killing the battery.


The graph below shows from 3am-6pm the Mac was supposedly sleeping with zero screen usage. With a little screen wake at 12pm when I checked the time. Clearly it's not sleeping.


MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Dec 19, 2021 1:17 AM

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User profile for user: PRP_53
PRP_53
User level: Level 10
91,303 points

Posted on Dec 19, 2021 8:29 AM

Batteries are considered Consumable Products. Over time it will degrade to a point where it needs to be replaced. The usage is normal as the capacity will go up and down all the time and never stay always at 100%. Apple Batteries are rated for 1000 Full Battery Cycles and / or 80% Capacity before needing Evaluation or replacement.


For additional reading on Battery and Apple Computers this link may help. About battery health management in Mac notebooks and especially for the M1 and Big Sur  & Monterey If battery charging is paused or on hold on your Mac


Depending on the Age of the computer, some aspects from the above links, may or may not apply to your computer.


A feature introduced into Big Sur & Monterey was to preserve the number of Full Battery Cycles - there was an Algorithm coded into the macOS. It is perfectly Normal for Big Sur , Monterey to Pause / Suspend charging the battery beyond 80% and hold it at that level. One can nudge / over-ride this by clicking the Battery Icon on Desktop Top Bar and allow charging beyond 80%. From observations, it will Pause / Suspend again once reading 90%. Same procedure to over-ride and will charge to 100%

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User profile for user: PRP_53
PRP_53
User level: Level 10
91,303 points

Dec 19, 2021 8:29 AM in response to amananderson

Batteries are considered Consumable Products. Over time it will degrade to a point where it needs to be replaced. The usage is normal as the capacity will go up and down all the time and never stay always at 100%. Apple Batteries are rated for 1000 Full Battery Cycles and / or 80% Capacity before needing Evaluation or replacement.


For additional reading on Battery and Apple Computers this link may help. About battery health management in Mac notebooks and especially for the M1 and Big Sur  & Monterey If battery charging is paused or on hold on your Mac


Depending on the Age of the computer, some aspects from the above links, may or may not apply to your computer.


A feature introduced into Big Sur & Monterey was to preserve the number of Full Battery Cycles - there was an Algorithm coded into the macOS. It is perfectly Normal for Big Sur , Monterey to Pause / Suspend charging the battery beyond 80% and hold it at that level. One can nudge / over-ride this by clicking the Battery Icon on Desktop Top Bar and allow charging beyond 80%. From observations, it will Pause / Suspend again once reading 90%. Same procedure to over-ride and will charge to 100%

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MacBook Air M1 Battery Drain while Sleeping With or Without USB Drives.

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