My MacBook says that a battery service is required

Shazzam_26 wrote:

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

Learn how to get your Mac fixed and how much it will cost. https://support.apple.com/mac/repair/service

Get your Mac ready for service - Apple Support https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209095

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.