How often should I let my battery fully discharge?

Hi,

There is no need to ever fully discharge it. To put the fewest cycles on the battery and make it last longer, only run on battery power when you need to. Fully discharging it all the time just for the sake of doing so needlessly adds cycles. OTOH, don't be afraid to use it on battery power when you want to, the battery is there to be used and Apple says it may last up to 1000 cycles at 80% capacity.

gavinfromportland wrote:

I read conflicting advice on how often to fully discharge the battery. Is it best for battery longevity and health to fully discharge it all the time before connecting to AC power, or should I let it get to only about 50% before plugging in? Or should I plug it in as often as possible and rely on battery power as little as possible?

You should try to avoid ever running the battery to 0%. While that was good advice for Nickel Cadmium batteries, draining a lithium-ion battery completely shortens its life.

You don't need to, but if you do don't let it stay that way too long. Exhausted batteries had a bad habit of reversing polarity and if that happens it may not be fixable.

Don't worry- macOS does that for you! Simply enjoy your device, plugging it in when necessary and using the battery when needed.

I keep my MacBook Pro plugged in nearly all of the time (I generally use it for high-stress applications).

That depends on your needs.

I recharge maybe once a week.

When I’m working on a major project, I’ll just leave it plugged in. 😉

I would say 20 percent is your charge percentage. Never let the battery go to 0% as this can weaken the battery health.

There is also an optimize performance option that lets the mac see your charging habits, and will charge the battery in a way that reduces stress on the battery itself.

System Preferences > Battery > Battery

Also, there is nothing wrong with leaving your mac plugged in like Smilin said. All devices have a circuit that prevents overcharging. I also attached an article with tips on maximizing your device performance in case you have any other apple devices too

Batteries - Maximizing Performance - Apple

there is no need to micro-manage your battery