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M1 Macbook Air battery health 86% after 192 cycles. Is that okay?

Hi,


I have a 1.5 years old M1 MacBook Air (Purchased in January 2021).

The battery has 192 cycle count on it, and its health shows as 86%. Is that okay? I know that battery health should reach 80% after 1000 cycles. If my calculations are right, my battery should reach 80% after maybe 250 cycles only, if not less.


Is the battery defective this way? I did a diagnostics test, and it turned out okay with no issues at all.

I talked to two apple representatives, one said it is okay and expected one said it is absolutely not okay.


What should I do? Should Apple replace the defective battery for free, or will I have to pay for it?


Thanks a lot.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.4

Posted on Jul 16, 2022 2:46 AM

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Jul 16, 2022 7:20 AM in response to dra3b

You can interpret that any way you wish. My 2016 MBP has 39 cycles and is now showing 90%.


It was set up in a desktop role at first. For almost 4 years its cycle count was below 10. Yet the battery degraded normally. Had it sat in the DT role for 10 years, the battery would her eventually dropped below 80% with a cycle count still at 10.


There is no direct correlation between cycle count and capacity.

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Jul 16, 2022 11:36 AM in response to -Bubba-

___Bubba___ wrote:
1% per month is fairly reasonable.

That means it will reach 80% health in 20 months, less than 2 years, I don't think that's the standard. If you have one battery cycle per day that's 80% health in 600 cycles, 500 cycles if you use it 6 days a week! That's actually almost double the rate of what it is supposed to be.

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Jul 16, 2022 11:43 AM in response to dra3b

True- but batteries don't age in a linear fashion. The battery health fluctuates quite a bit over the course of their usage.


As stated, I would wait until it drops below 80%, at which point you should get it replaced. Until it gets to that point, don't worry about trying to anticipate or predict it.

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Jul 16, 2022 5:30 AM in response to ku4hx

Thanks a lot,

But in Apple's own words:


MacBook:

"Your battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 1000 complete charge cycles. The one-year warranty includes replacement coverage for a defective battery. Apple offers a battery replacement service for all MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro notebooks with built-in batteries."


So I believe the 1000 cycles at 80% is not a misinterpreted estimate or without correlation.


I had a 2015 MacBook Air whose battery hit 80% at 1100 cycles. My sister had a 2017 one with around the same numbers.

Also, it seems that I will hit 80% battery health before I use the device for a year and 9 months. Is that normal? It should -on average- last around 4 years before it hits 80% health, no?

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Jul 16, 2022 6:49 AM in response to dra3b

From where are you getting this information about battery health? Third-party apps sometimes give different readings on battery health, so you should use the Battery pane in System Preferences to get this information.


Check the condition of your Mac notebook’s battery - Apple Support (IE)


You can also try to prolong the lifespan of your battery by turning on Optimized Battery Charging, and on macOS Monterey and later, you can turn on Low Power Mode while your Mac is on battery to extend the battery life.


For context, my MacBook Air with M1, purchased February 2021, has 93% maximum capacity after 226 cycles, so yours definitely appears to be going more quickly than usual. If your MacBook's battery health is reported as "Service Recommended," you can take your Mac to Apple for a battery replacement. If your battery is reported as "Normal," you'll have a harder time getting service from Apple. Regardless, you'll be out $129 US for a battery repair if you don't have AppleCare+ on your device. (Repair prices vary by region).


Mac Repair - Official Apple Support




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Jul 16, 2022 5:30 AM in response to dra3b

"I know that battery health should reach 80% after 1000 cycles."


That's a misinterpretation. There is no direct correlation between cycle count and capacity; 1000 is simply a max estimate.


My 2016 MBP had been at 89% for the last two years; it was 92% just yesterday. The capacity reporting is not perfectly stable and it can plateau at a given level for a long period of time.


When you get to 80%, you'll need to service the battery. Until then don't dream up problems that don't exist, charge it when needed, use on battery when you need to and enjoy it.


Your battery is not defective; it's out of warranty anyway. All batteries lose capacity over time but that can be mitigated by letting the battery circuitry take care of the battery. Be sure optimization is "on" and leave it there.

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Jul 16, 2022 6:56 AM in response to bumbleben0

I am getting the information from the MacBook's system report, not from a third-party app.


93% health after 226 cycles seems pretty decent to me. I wish mine deteriorated at the same rate.

My battery says it is normal. I believe it will say "service needed" as it hits the 80% mark.

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Jul 16, 2022 9:20 AM in response to dra3b

This is purely anecdotal, but I've always found the readings in Settings to be a bit weird. On my iPhone, it was 100% until one day it was 94%. My MacBook, on the other hand, was at 94% out of the box. Your MacBook might just sit at 86% for a very long time for no explicable reason.

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Jul 16, 2022 9:24 AM in response to ku4hx

Thank you. I get what you're referring to now.

So what does correlate with battery health? Duration of use? I use it like 30 hours a week, usually unplugged. Which is quite average, I suppose. Would that make the battery health degrade to 86% after 18 months of use? My 2015 MBA took exactly 5 years (September 2015 to October 2020) and 1100 battery cycles to get to 80%.


My main question is: Given these inputs, could the battery be defective even if its condition is "normal" and no issues were found in the diagnostics? And if the answer is yes, would Apple replace it?

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Jul 16, 2022 9:27 AM in response to bumbleben0

Thanks a lot for your input.


The thing is, it is not just the number of 86%. The battery drains faster now than it did when it was new and when it was at 93% for example. It actually IS at 86% capacity. A couple of weeks ago it hit 87. I think it loses 1% each month or so.

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Jul 16, 2022 11:01 AM in response to dra3b

If my calculations are right, my battery should reach 80% after maybe 250 cycles only, if not less.


A battery's maximum charge capacity rate of change is not linear and cannot be extrapolated. Your calculations are predicated on flawed assumptions, so no they are not correct.


What should I do? Should Apple replace the defective battery for free, or will I have to pay for it?


Apple will replace the battery under conditions stipulated in their applicable warranty.

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Jul 16, 2022 11:27 AM in response to dra3b

dra3b wrote:

I think it loses 1% each month or so.


1% per month is fairly reasonable, actually. At any rate, Apple will only replace the battery for free if it falls below 80% capacity in the first year of its warranty. Beyond that, they make no guarantees.

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M1 Macbook Air battery health 86% after 192 cycles. Is that okay?

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