Is there a way to manually stop MacBook charging at 80%?

ziplockk wrote:

Of course this is BS, my '23 MBP after the last OS update has gone to 80% charge limit once in a month, despite it being plugged in 99% of the time. A useless apple solution OR more likely apple wasting peoples batteries.

I don't own another device which doesn't allow me to say - I don't need 100% charge, stop at 80%, other than my costly MBP

The reason people keep asking about this is because the apple solution doesn't work or is so **** it's indistinguishable from something that doesn't work.

As you apparently haven’t read any of the 3 pages of posts in this thread there is nothing to discuss with you.

It went up to 100% because you unplugged it, “telling” it that you wanted to use it without being plugged in, so it prepared for that usage model. If you leave it plugged in for a few days it will work out that you use it that way, and it will adjust the SOC to around 80% (mine is currently at 81%). It is not a disaster if it goes to 100% occasionally.

There is no need to use a third party app to manage the power/charging system. The Mac handles these systems very well.

phil2mac wrote:

Dude, unplugging really is the worst thing you possibly could do in this context. Please believe me! ;-)

Unplugging the phone will do no harm at all. And why do you assume I'm male?

My apologies, if this sounded male - I thought "dude" includes males and females. Blame my poor English being German. To your question: The discussion is around constantly plugging in your MacBook to power while using it .

Unplugging batteries is not harmful as such. But the more you use a battery, the sooner it will die. Just think of the motor in your car: If you are constantly driving, it will die soon. If you constantly leave it in your garage, it will live for ever.

Same with batteries. Only - but important - difference to the motor:

A battery is used being discharged and being charged. In general, batteries dislike (are physically stressed) either being fully discharged (0 %) or being fully charged (100 %). Therefore, older MacBooks gave you the possibility to remove battery while working. As long as you were plugged to power, there was no need to use/harm your battery.

Unfortunately, Apple decided to ship iPhones and PowerBooks with a battery sealed inside. And since this time, Apple needs to manage the aging of the battery due to over-usage.

So, your suggestion to unplug your iPhone or PowerBook to save your battery is contradictory to what you want to achieve (save lifetime of battery).

To Your car: Storing your car in garage with a full, half or empty load of fuel doesn't affect the motor. Your tank is not subject to consumption other than the motor. Mobile computing includes tow important mechanical consumption parts:The CPU (motor) and the battery (tank).

And, batteries are expensive and ways more sensible than the CPU.

Hope this helps!

p.s. Attaching a pic of my old PowerBook replacement battery. The original machine is a PowerBook 180c from June 1993. The replacement battery is from 2000. Looks cool, doesn't it? ;-)

DataDarta wrote:

And after many many years of saying it wasn't needed for iPhones.... its magically now an option on iPhone 15. All we need is a little bios setting like on a Dell.

It still isn’t needed for iPhones. Apple added it for people who want to micromanage their battery rather than actually use their phone, but it makes absolutely no difference in battery longevity. Optimized Charging is still the best way to manage an iPhone battery.

Lawrence Finch wrote:

And all Apple silicon MacBooks have sophisticated built in battery optimization. It monitors your usage, and if you leave it plugged in it will hold the battery level between 75% and 80%. It will occasionally charge to 100%, then drain it back to 80% because it also isn’t good for batteries to remain at one charge level for long periods.

I love that you have the ability to override that and charge it up if you know you're going to be unplugging it. It's very elegantly implemented.

phil2mac wrote:

Idris, you didn't get what I was saying - apologies if I wasn't clear enough.

No, you were perfectly clear. However, perfectly clear ≠ right.

YES, it harms a battery if you leave your laptop plugged in!

No, really, it doesn't. The computer has algorithms to prevent that.

2. Regardless of what you or Apple engineers are telling us:

Why on earth would I trust you over Apple engineers? Especially since you keep saying things that are wrong.

How is your PowerBook 100 battery doing? I guess it's dead ...

It had a catastrophic hard drive failure that I didn't have the money to fix at the time. This was after I dropped it.

For phil2mac,

Continue to micromanage your battery charging, it is your computer and you can do whatever you want to it.

For everyone else,

Just used the Optimized Charging and Manage Battery Longevity settings, if available, and use your computer like you normally would. Whenever you are near a power outlet leave it plugged in and let the computer manage the charging like it was intended to do. There is no need to micromanage your charging and doing so is just a waste of your time and your anxiety over whether you are doing the right thing. You would also need to plan ahead on when you are going to be using the battery, otherwise your computer is going to be at a 60% charge when you need it to be full.

Consider that you are more likely to purchase a new computer before you will ever need to have your battery replaced, because it will be so outdated that current software will no longer be available for it.

tirelibirefe wrote:

I have the problem.

I've a big monitor, the monitor is being used by 2 different devices which one of them is a Macbook. The monitor charges Macbook even it's in sleep mode. So I remove its type-c cable from Macbook.

If the MacBook is connected to power most of the time it will manage charge whether in use or in sleep mode. It will hold the MacBook near 80%, but will occasionally charge to 100% to keep the electrons moving (layperson’s explanation). If you disconnect the power source regularly that will confuse the battery management algorithm, and when reconnected it will always charge to 100% because it “thinks” you regularly use it on battery power only. You will be much happier letting MacOS manage the battery rather than you trying to micromanage it.

phil2mac wrote:

IIF you have an iPad (iPadOS), I DO NOT give you charging optimization. Strange - but thanks, Apple!

IF you have a MacBook (MacOS), I DO NOT give you charging optimization. Even stranger - why this Apple?

Both iPads and MacBooks have built in charging optimization. On the MacBook, the options are different but it exists. It makes perfect sense for a device that is used very differently than an iPhone to have a different feature set. The iPad doesn't have any user controls but, it still exists. Again, different device, different expected use.

But some of your users are experts with batteries - and Yes, they have their own intelligence.

And lots of them just think they're experts.

Please, let us use it!

Apple doesn't read here in this user-to-user forum for feedback or suggestions. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

Idris, you didn't get what I was saying - apologies if I wasn't clear enough.

1. YES, it harms a battery if you leave your laptop plugged in!
   1. Before power management was introduced. Batteries deteriorated rapidly being constantly at a charge of 100 %.
   2. After power management was introduced it has become better, yes. But do you know exactly how your battery is treated? No, because Apple doesn't tell you. It's an intransparent company secret (algorithm).
2. Regardless of what you or Apple engineers are telling us: The ONLY way to ensure long time usability of a battery is
   1. to take it off electricity - fully
   2. at a charge of around 60 %
   3. store it in a dry place with constant temperature (around 15 Celsius)
   4. and give it a gentle full charging cycle once or twice a year
3. My Powerbook 180c nickel cadmium battery still is operational. After more than 25 years!
4. My iPhone 4 lithium ion battery still is operational. It didn't have power management but a careful user. And Steve Jobs who shipped excellent devices.
5. My iPhone 7 lithium battery is not operational anymore - because Apple introduced power management and iOS 15.8.1 started using battery even while being shut off. Wow - thanks for nothing, Apple!

Isn't it strange? My old devices work better than my latest one.

How is your PowerBook 100 battery doing? I guess it's dead ...

YanH wrote:

lol. Unplug it!

You said "manually"!

On my Microsoft Surface laptop, if the battery protection is enabled, plugged in, and if the battery is 100%, the laptop will discharge to 50%. Once it reaches 50% level, it will continue to use the AC power supply, keeping the charge level at 50% itself. Thus keeping the battery below 100% charge. 

Further, if the AC adapter is unplugged, (using battery), it will discharge down further. If plugging back the AC adapter, it will charge back to 50% only. 

If I need to use the full capacity, (to charge back to 100%) I need to manually disable battery protection. 

The battery is under stress if the battery is 100% charged or extremely discharged to 0% and near. The 100% charged situation is effectively avoided in Surface laptops by enabling battery protection. It has a battery saver that can be enabled at 20% to save battery from discharging below 20%. 

My Samsung S23 Ultra mobile phone also has a similar battery protection option. I have attached a screenshot.

But MBP always charges back to 100%!

I prefer to have similar battery saving settings in MBP to save battery life.

Answer to your question (If you never let it drop below 80%, how is it going to stop charging at 80%? ): MBP should disharge till 80% even if plugged in. It should never charge to 100% untill the battery protection is disabled.