Battery Mgmt Trouble Monterey 12.1. Best version for MacBook Pro 15 in. (2016)?

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Level 1

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Battery Mgmt Trouble Monterey 12.1. Best version for MacBook Pro 15 in. (2016)?

I've had my MacBook Pro go completely unresponsive about six times under Monterey 12.1--something that never happened to me with prior OS versions. (Revived with keyboard combo: Shift+Ctrl+Option+Power pressed at the same time.) Battery management seems problematic. Is there a best OS for my laptop, even if it isn't 12.4 or even going back prior to Monterey? I do not use fancy multi-media or social media features. My priority is a stable system that gets the fastest performance from my laptop with longest battery life on basic tasks. Thanks!

Posted on Jul 12, 2022 8:27 AM

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Answer 1

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ku4hx

Level 7

23,496 points

Jul 12, 2022 1:15 PM in response to SamTurtle

I doubt it has anything to do with your battery management circuitry, but if you'll describe your Mac (Apple logo > About This Mac) and the issues you are having we might be able to help.

You can certainly downgrade to an earlier version of OS, but that's no guarantees your problems will be solved. Doing so will involve creating a bootable Flash drive, erasing your drive, reinstalling the OS of choice and then migration your data, apps and setting to the new OS installation.

Regardless, be certain you have good backups.

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Answer 2

SamTurtle Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 13, 2022 2:21 PM in response to ku4hx

MacBook Pro (15" 2016), 2.6 Ghz Intel i7, 16 gig memory running Monterey 12.1.

As described, what I'm experiencing are sudden shut downs, without warning that the battery is low, and the MacBook Pro goes 'dead', unresponsive to the power button and not taking a charge properly when plugged into the charger until the 'revival' procedure is done. In other words, while 'dead', it can be plugged in and it doesn't seem to charge. Others have claimed that Monterey 'bricked' their MacBook Pro, and I wonder if this is what they are talking about. So far, I've been able to revive the laptop after several tries, but I'm worried one of these day I won't be able to. Battery life seems more limited with Monterey. As I think about whether to upgrade to Monterey 12.4, I'm wondering if there is a version that seems to balance additional features with power usage for a 6 year old MacBook Pro--and if any of the revisions addressed these problems of power management, which I didn't experience with the prior OS.

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Answer 3

SamTurtle Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 19, 2022 10:13 AM in response to SamTurtle

Now my MacBook Pro is shows it being plugged into the adapter even when it is not, and when it is plugged in often is not charging. Hoping someone will help by suggesting whether updating Monterey to 12.4 might help, or if I should do a clean install of Big Sur.

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Answer 4

SamTurtle Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 19, 2022 11:02 AM in response to SamTurtle

My problem appears, at least for now!, to have been fixed by resetting the PRAM/NVRAM 3x's followed by resetting the SMC 2x's. I suspect that it was resetting the SMC that did the trick, as that can clear out power management settings that may have become corrupted. I'm posting this in case it might help others experiencing power management/battery issues with a MacBook Pro with an Intel chip running Monterey 12.1.

I'm still interested if anyone has an opinion on whether upgrading to a later version of Monterey is better or worse for an Intel-based MacBook Pro.

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Battery Mgmt Trouble Monterey 12.1. Best version for MacBook Pro 15 in. (2016)?

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