My MacBook says that a battery service is required

My MacBook says that a battery service is required - what does that mean?


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.1

Posted on Dec 31, 2021 8:55 AM

Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 31, 2021 11:36 AM

If you are running an older version of macOS and the condition is "Service Battery", then that means macOS has detected a hardware fault with the battery and you should have Apple replace the battery (macOS 10.6-10.14, perhaps even 10.15). Otherwise "Replace Soon" or "Replace Now" indicates the battery capacity has dropped below 80% of Design Capacity or signifcantly lower than Design Capacity to where you may only get an hour or so use out of the battery respectively.


If you are running macOS 10.15+ and the condition is "Service Recommended", then Apple has made it hard to determine if this is a hardware failure or whether the battery has gone below 80% of the original Design Capacity. Try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected. If no hardware issues are detected, then you can continue using the battery for as long as the battery performs to your expectations. Once the battery no longer performs to your expectations, then have Apple replace the battery for you.


2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 31, 2021 11:36 AM in response to Community User

If you are running an older version of macOS and the condition is "Service Battery", then that means macOS has detected a hardware fault with the battery and you should have Apple replace the battery (macOS 10.6-10.14, perhaps even 10.15). Otherwise "Replace Soon" or "Replace Now" indicates the battery capacity has dropped below 80% of Design Capacity or signifcantly lower than Design Capacity to where you may only get an hour or so use out of the battery respectively.


If you are running macOS 10.15+ and the condition is "Service Recommended", then Apple has made it hard to determine if this is a hardware failure or whether the battery has gone below 80% of the original Design Capacity. Try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected. If no hardware issues are detected, then you can continue using the battery for as long as the battery performs to your expectations. Once the battery no longer performs to your expectations, then have Apple replace the battery for you.


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My MacBook says that a battery service is required

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