Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
I received my M1 Pro 16 inch macbook pro yesterday and the battery life is down to 20% after 5 ½ hours of screen on time: listening to music, watching youtube, checking email, and using iMessage.
Unable to contact apple support. I keep getting an error page when trying to set up a call.
Anyone else run into this issue with the battery and/or support?
MacBook Pro (2020 and later)
Most of these replies are absurd. I've been a professional video editor since 2009, this isn't my first Macbook Pro.
CLEARLY it's not a phone.
You are missing the entire point: the purpose of paying the extra money for the larger laptop is the battery life you're supposed to get. Working on the go is why you guy a laptop AT ALL. Otherwise, get a desktop computer (and please don't reply with useless off-point comments of how "I actually prefer a laptop even if I am at home........." that go nowhere).
Explaining how connecting the laptop to AC power works isn't addressing my concern. The main concern being: no one who has been using Macs for over 10 years expects full advertised battery life (21 hours), but when most reviews talk about 17 hours of light use -- and that's what I was using it for, light use -- and you get to 20% battery after 5 ½ hours of Screen On time, THAT is an issue.
With the included power adapter, perhaps to give battery a Charge may help.
• Get help with your Mac notebook battery - Apple Support
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204054
Also if near AC power, nothing is harmed if Mac runs from that, continuously.
Avoid running battery flat; and avoid adding to the 'charge-cycle' count.
Was able to chat with Apple support & here was the possible issue:
I tried to do a migration with the Migration Assistant from my previous MacBook Pro over wireless, and support told me battery life can suffer for 24 - 48 hours from the time of the migration due to background processes.
I also brought up that movies from my Apple TV Library would play with crackling, but not from other sources. Support told me to erase the hard disk and re-install OS Monterey, which fixed the issue.
Haha, K Shaffer, are you trolling me?
The advertised standby time is 21 hours of battery life. Most reviews talk about how they get to close to 17 hours of battery life with average use: safari, email, everything I did. So 5 ½ hours in a conservative estimate is only a third of the battery life I should be getting.
Ingo: every time I tried to set up a call I got an error. I posted this question hoping to see if anyone ran into the abysmal battery life situation I ran into, and if they had a solve other than "return it," and if anyone was having a problem contacting Apple Support.
..kyrnois:
After using your new computer a few months, consistently and on grid power
it may get used to that approach; and decide to help you maintain its battery.
Some get suicidal, at very low battery-cycle counts. Mine are often on AC power,
so their batteries are youthful and vigorous. However be diligent because in old-
age, they've been known to get fuffy; slurred speech, get irritable; drag their feet.
Batteries can damage the Mac when they start to expand; & could leak, too.
How is this an answer?
My issue isn't that the battery is low and I don't know how to charge it.
The issue is that after a full charge the battery was at 20% after 5 ½ hours of light use, which is 25% - 30% of what the battery life is supposed to be.
That's the issue. Posting this I was wondering if anyone ran into the same problem and what the solve might be other than "return it."
I think everyone experiences not getting the advertised theoretical battery performance. The theoretical life of the battery is achieved in ideal laboratory conditions. I would be happy if I could watch YouTube for 5 1/2 hours on battery. You can contact Apple, use the "Get Support" link located at the top right of this page, if you believe you have a battery or power/charging system problem. Apple is not here in these communities. We are users like you and can only speak to our experiences.
"I would be happy if I could watch YouTube for 5 1/2 hours on battery " -- haha, Bob, you sound like a true company man.
I'm not expecting 21 hours. What many users posted is that they would get 17 hours of battery life off of similar use.
My 2018 Macbook Pro currently gets 5 hours of use doing editing video with Premiere Pro.
5 ½ hours of battery after light use for this new 2021 M1 Pro MBP is atrocious, and you know that.
That computer is a battery-CAPABLE device. It is not optimized as a battery-operated device. (It is NOT an iPhone.)
Your computer performs best when connected to AC power. It can use the full output of the Power Adapter AND when doing especially challenging work will also freely "borrow" power from the battery. In some cases, even with the power adapter connected, the charged state may even decline during stressful work.
When used only on battery, your computer has no extra cushion of power, and will perform more slowly. However, for ordinary non-stressful tasks this may not be objectionable (possibly not even noticeable.)
In general, you should ALWAYS connect AC power when it is possible to do so, and only run on batteries (which will be somewhat slower) when no AC sources are at hand. Your Mac will NEVER over-charge.
Your MacBook Pro uses smart charging to charge in the optimum way, and only when necessary. Plugged in is Not necessarily actively charging. There is substantial hardware and software cooperating on battery and charging issues. Simply asserting a charging voltage against one of the interface(s) will NOT successfully charge your MacBook Pro.
You can also give them a call directly:
Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support
I had to charge my new MacBook Pro M1 a very long time before the battery indicator showed 100%.
You can provide feedback to Apple: Product Feedback - Apple
What issue? You will never get the theoretical results published. Plug in your computer if near an outlet.
Copy that.
Glad you found a solution and your new MacBook Pro is finally working as expected.
2021 16 inch macbook pro battery life is 5 ½, out of the box for 1 day.
