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Hi! I have a refurbished MacBook pro 2018, bought it on September 2019 Its currently with 116 cycles on battery and lately the message "Service recommended" for battery health has been popping up. I wanted to know if I should worry about it, since as I've been seing on the Community, this number doesn't seems high for 4 years of use.
I use my macbook plugged in 95% of the time since it's always at home.
MacBook Pro (2017 – 2020)
Battery Cycle Count is irrelevant unless it is nearing 1,000 cycles which would be considered end of life, otherwise ignore the Cycle Count. If the laptop has been connected to power most of the time, then the Cycle Count will be extremely low, but the battery will still be at least four years old. Physical aging of the battery will impact battery health & function. You do recall seeing expiration dates on the typical AA and other standard batteries used in many home items like remote controls, toys, etc.? Those dates apply even if the battery has never been removed from its original packaging.
If the battery is still performing to your expectations, then you can ignore the "Service Recommended" battery condition until it does become a problem. Unfortunately the "Service Recommended" condition can indicate the battery's Full Charge Capacity has dropped below 80% of its original Design Capacity, or it may indicate the battery has a hardware issue. You would most likely notice a problem if it is a hardware issue.
You will want to keep an eye on when the 2018 model will become "Vintage" since hardware repairs will only be available for "Vintage" items for two years and only if the part is still available. Theoretically Apple has mentioned batteries can be replaced for up to 10 years, but again...only if the battery is still available. Depending on if it is a 15" or 13" model, I would expect a 2018 laptop to become "Vintage" around May of 2024 or 2025 respectively since Apple usually only provides full hardware support for about 5 years.
Battery Cycle Count is irrelevant unless it is nearing 1,000 cycles which would be considered end of life, otherwise ignore the Cycle Count. If the laptop has been connected to power most of the time, then the Cycle Count will be extremely low, but the battery will still be at least four years old. Physical aging of the battery will impact battery health & function. You do recall seeing expiration dates on the typical AA and other standard batteries used in many home items like remote controls, toys, etc.? Those dates apply even if the battery has never been removed from its original packaging.
If the battery is still performing to your expectations, then you can ignore the "Service Recommended" battery condition until it does become a problem. Unfortunately the "Service Recommended" condition can indicate the battery's Full Charge Capacity has dropped below 80% of its original Design Capacity, or it may indicate the battery has a hardware issue. You would most likely notice a problem if it is a hardware issue.
You will want to keep an eye on when the 2018 model will become "Vintage" since hardware repairs will only be available for "Vintage" items for two years and only if the part is still available. Theoretically Apple has mentioned batteries can be replaced for up to 10 years, but again...only if the battery is still available. Depending on if it is a 15" or 13" model, I would expect a 2018 laptop to become "Vintage" around May of 2024 or 2025 respectively since Apple usually only provides full hardware support for about 5 years.
Is this a refurb bought directly from Apple, or a "refurb" bought through another party? If the latter it is possible that the battery was replaced with a non-Apple battery and most of those are useless.
The term refurb is tossed about loosely. The only way to get one that has been through the Apple refurbishment facility to buy from the Apple web site.
Hi Allan! It was bought refurb directly from Apple.
Thanks so much! This was really helpful and insightful.
Macbook Pro 2018: Service Recommended + Battery on 116 cycles
