M1 healthy battery suddenly draining - when laptop shut down

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Level 1

4 points

M1 healthy battery suddenly draining - when laptop shut down

I have a MacBook Pro M1 from May '21. Battery capacity is currently at 87%, with a 214 cycle count.

The battery worked as a charm until about July this year when two things happened:

I upgraded from Monterey to Ventura
I've got a refurbished M1 from my employer for work, coincidentally also from 2021 and with similar battery capacity and cycle count (87% and 176, respectively). I usually share three Bluetooth periphericals (magic trackpad and keyboard and Anker speaker) across both M1s.

Since the above happened, the battery of my M1 has been draining for no reason. Every time I charge the laptop at 100% and shut it down, it quickly drains the battery, even when not used. I didn't have these issues previously with Monterey OS, and I don't have the same problems with the refurbished M1 from my employer (also on Ventura).

Things I did:

Checked the issue with the only Apple support
Run diagnostics --> All OK
Got Ventura up to date
Reinstalled Ventura
Switched off Bluetooth when shut down
Switched on Firewall and played with a few variations (in case there was a conflict with the second M1)

I then brought the M1 to the Genius Bar, and the guy there did a hard reset of the Macbook. He also mentioned that the issue could lie with the battery and that it would need replacement. Even though this might be the case, it is hard for me to swallow as:

The laptop is just over 2 years old
There were no issues whatsoever until I upgraded from Monterey to Ventura
Battery capacity is currently at 87%, with a cycle count of 214.
I understand that as long as cycle counts don't reach 500 or battery capacity is over 80%, this should work fine
The second M1 does not have these problems, with similar age, battery capacity and cycle count
My previous MacBook (2011) lasted 10 years with a non-draining battery when shut down.

It is so strange that the battery drains so much out of a sudden and with the laptop completely shut down!

Some examples (always charging the battery at 100% and then shut down / wake for network access on battery is off.)

Normal setup (Bluetooth On) - 5 days of no use - then battery at 81% (even down to 58% before Genius Bar's the hard reset!)
Normal setup (Bluetooth On) - 3 days of no use - then battery at 87%
Normal setup (Bluetooth On) - 1 day of no use - then battery at 89%
Bluetooth Off - 1 day of no use - then battery at 100%
Bluetooth Off - 5 days of no use - then battery at 89%

Not keen to spend a fortune on the battery if that is not the real problem, and I would appreciate your help in finding the culprit here:

The battery?
The OS upgrade?
Any conflict with the other M1 or Bluetooth?

Thanks!

Posted on Nov 5, 2023 12:40 PM

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Answer 1

argayu Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 11, 2023 11:40 AM in response to HWTech

Thanks HWTech for your answer.

Yes, the laptop is entirely powered off, and I always wait until that happens. Also, I disconnect the laptop from the main power supply when it is shut down.

HWTech wrote:

It is also possible externally connected devices could be draining power from the laptop.

On the above, do you think this is possible even when the Bluetooth function in the laptop is off? I believe that this should remove any link between the device (e.g. magic trackpad) and the laptop.

Also, I didn't have this issue before the Ventura upgrade and the additional M1 from my employer, so I wonder if any of these two have something to do.

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

60,380 points

Nov 11, 2023 4:32 PM in response to argayu

argayu wrote:

Thanks HWTech for your answer.

Yes, the laptop is entirely powered off, and I always wait until that happens. Also, I disconnect the laptop from the main power supply when it is shut down.

Then that may cause the laptop to power back on. Disconnect the power adapter & physically connected external devices from the laptop prior to powering off the laptop.

On the above, do you think this is possible even when the Bluetooth function in the laptop is off? I believe that this should remove any link between the device (e.g. magic trackpad) and the laptop.

I was considering devices physically connected to the laptop with a cable.

Also, I didn't have this issue before the Ventura upgrade and the additional M1 from my employer, so I wonder if any of these two have something to do.

It is possible a new system firmware update changed the behavior.

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Answer 3

argayu Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 11, 2023 11:42 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant Bennet-Alder wrote:

Not sure how that answer relates to my issue and question, thanks anyhow Grant for your reply.

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Answer 4

Nov 5, 2023 5:52 PM in response to argayu

That computer is a battery-CAPABLE device. It is not optimized as a battery-operated device. (It is NOT an iPhone.)

Your computer performs best when connected to AC power. It can use the full output of the Power Adapter AND when doing especially challenging work will also freely "borrow" power from the battery. In some cases, even with the power adapter connected, the charged state may decline during stressful work.

When used only on battery, your computer has no extra cushion of power, and may perform more slowly. However, for ordinary non-stressful tasks this may not be objectionable (possibly not even noticeable.)

In general, you should ALWAYS connect AC power when it is possible to do so, and only run on batteries (which could be somewhat slower) when no AC sources are at hand. Your Mac will NEVER over-charge.

Your MacBook Pro uses ‘smart charging’ to charge in the optimum way, and only when necessary. Plugged in is Not necessarily actively charging. There is substantial hardware and software cooperating on battery and charging issues. Connected power sources simply 'offer' their charging ability, and the computer decides what to accept and when. Simply asserting a charging voltage against one of the interface(s) will NOT successfully charge your MacBook Pro.

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Answer 5

HWTech

Level 9

60,380 points

Nov 5, 2023 6:17 PM in response to argayu

Are you 100% sure the laptop is being completely powered off? Sometimes the shutdown process can stall. I personally like to press the Caps Lock key to make sure the Caps Lock LED is lit before powering off the laptop using the "Shutdown" option.

However, even if you do this, there are many ways for the laptop to power back on such as disconnecting the power supply (yes, that will cause the laptop to power on and is very annoying). I don't know if disconnecting other devices would do the same. Pressing any key on the keyboard or even pressing the Trackpad can power the laptop on (also very annoying features). And triggering the sleep/wake sensor can power the laptop on even if the lid is closed (first hand experience).

At best you can only control two things.....making sure to disconnect all external devices including the power adapter before you shutdown the laptop (or even sleep it).

It is also possible externally connected devices could be draining power from the laptop.

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M1 healthy battery suddenly draining - when laptop shut down

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