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Updated MacBook Pro to macOS Sonoma, now battery drains quickly

I updated my MacBook Pro this morning to macOS Sonoma. Everything was good at first and I really like the look and feel. But as soon as I took it off my charger to go to some meetings the battery dropped from 74% to 44% in about 5 minutes. Then as soon as I turned on WebEx the battery dropped from 44% to 7%.


Anyone else having battery drain issues with macOS Sonoma? Is it maybe just temporary from all the background activity similar to the phones?


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro (2017 – 2020)

Posted on Sep 27, 2023 12:36 PM

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Posted on Oct 31, 2023 6:55 AM

There are too many people complaining about this issue all over the world on many websites. What was mentioned is true about what causes the drain but for us who reinstalled and reinstalled both Ventura and Sonoma, we are not dumb to not know the difference. 20+ hours reading PDFs on Ventura to 6-10 hours on Sonoma doing the same is too significant to ignore. I think it's an insult to our intelligence thinking that many of us do not know what we're talking about when apple techs keep making suggestions about this and that without addressing the issue. the problem is common out there across the internet and a simple google search of "Sonoma battery drain" will show that.

266 replies

Oct 12, 2023 2:01 AM in response to ku4hx

People asking if anyone has the same problem that he has. I also have the same problem. What should we do, wait and do nothing? You keep enjoying Sonoma features!!!


Anyway, I have the same problem despite this guy (ku4fx) doesn't have and enjoying his Sonoma. I checked the activity monitor and iPhone 15 Simulator was using lots of CPU percent. I closed it and then seem to go back to normal as per heat. But battery drain I haven't checked it yet. For my case probably Xcode is causing the problem. We will see.

Oct 13, 2023 9:41 PM in response to AppleAnswerDude

I have successfully resolved my issue by downgrading to macOS Venture. If you're looking to perform a similar downgrade, let me guide you through the process. If you already have a backup, you can skip the backup creation step. However, if you don't have a backup, you can use a USB pendrive or an external hard drive to create a backup using Time Machine in your system settings. Before you proceed, ensure that you format the pendrive or hard drive.


Here are the steps to downgrade to macOS Venture:


1. Download macOS Venture: Get the macOS Venture installation file from a reliable source.


2. Create a Bootable Drive: You'll need another pendrive to create a bootable drive for the previous macOS. You can find step-by-step instructions on how to do this on YouTube or other online resources.


3. Prepare Your Mac: Shut down your Mac and hold the power button for a few seconds until you see the boot options.


4. Access Disk Utility: In the boot options, choose "Disk Utility" and erase your Mac's hard drive entirely.


5. Install macOS Venture: After erasing the hard drive, hold down the power button again. You'll see various options, including the option to install macOS Venture. Insert the bootable pendrive you created earlier and select this option. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the previous macOS.


6. Restore Your Data: Once the installation is complete, your Mac will be in a fresh state. Open the "Migration Assistant" and insert the pendrive containing your backup. Follow the prompts to restore your settings and files. This will bring your Mac back to its previous state.


I hope this guide proves helpful to someone experiencing a similar issue.

Oct 13, 2023 11:24 PM in response to kriista

same here. i'm chatting with support to see if they have any typa boot-time solutions. but i'm pretty sure this is probably something apple will need to release an update fix for. it's probably buried deep in the system code somewhere.


#Update:

they mentioned that after an update, there's a 4-day window where processes will drain batter faster. then, it should return to normal. but if it's been longer than that, it doesn't apply to u.

Oct 19, 2023 4:34 AM in response to AppleAnswerDude

I may have had a breakthrough: last night I turned off wi-fi before putting the computer in Standby, and today for the first time since Sonoma I woke up to 100% batter after 8+ hours of Standby. No idea what the computer's been trying to do with wi-fi - something iCloud related? - but looks like, for me at least, that's been where the problem lies.

Oct 20, 2023 2:50 AM in response to trashcoder

It is interesting to see how your MacBook(M1)'s battery fares in the evening today, as it is just sleeping and without the wifi connection. Even while sleeping, the MacBook is working, so the battery is not at rest. As wifi is not connected, most probably no open apps too, maybe it's better to just shut off the MacBook for the night. In your way of usage, you are opening your MacBook only in the evening, so it would be really rested being fully off for nearly 15 hours daily. In my Intel MBP 2018, the booting is just a few seconds, and it has a nice booting up sound too. And, the rested battery seems to have better capacity.


By the way, if the MacBook is shut off, whether the wifi is on or off is not significant.

Oct 20, 2023 7:49 AM in response to trashcoder

I don't want to argue with you on this optimised battery charging matter. If your "workflow" has to go on working in the night, sure, keep the notebook on. But, if that is not the case, you can always restart the app(s), and they will be where the "work" was left the other day. MacBooks are modern, and it won't give shock/stress to the batteries, nor to the logic board, ram etc. It boots up quite nicely, with nice sound, and all you have to do is to put your finger on the sensor. Anything that's rested would work much better than that's tired. I found my MBP's battery capacity had gone up by ~3.5% after good night's rest!


I'm using Sonoma, by the way.

Updated MacBook Pro to macOS Sonoma, now battery drains quickly

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