Battery on Macbook M2 stuck at 80%

There are two possible explanations for your MacBook M2 battery only charging to 80% despite showing a 96% health capacity:

1. Optimized Battery Charging: This is a feature in macOS that automatically learns your charging habits and delays charging past 80% until you need to use your laptop. This helps to preserve battery health in the long run.You can check if Optimized Battery Charging is enabled and disable it if needed by following these steps:

• • Go to System Preferences > Battery.
  • Click on Battery Health.
  • See if "Optimized Battery Charging" is checked. You can uncheck it here if you want your MacBook to always charge to 100%.

1. Hardware Issue: There's a less likely possibility that there's a hardware issue with your battery or charger.

Here's what you can do to diagnose further:

• Reset SMC and NVRAM: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) and Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM) can sometimes resolve charging issues. You can find instructions on how to do this on Apple's Support website methods on resetting SMC - Apple Community.
• Contact Apple Support: If the above steps don't resolve the issue, it's best to contact Apple Support for further diagnosis. They can help you determine if there's a hardware problem and what your repair options are.

Here are some additional points to consider:

• Even with a 96% health capacity, the battery may not always be able to reach 100% charge, especially if it's been through a significant number of charge cycles.
• Optimized Battery Charging is a good feature to keep enabled for most users, as it helps to extend the lifespan of your battery.

I hope this information helps!

You can also right-click or Control-click on the battery icon on the menu bar and select "Continue/Resume Charging".

Edit: There is no SMC Reset or PRAM Reset for an M-series Mac. Technically there is a way to clear the PRAM/NVRAM by using the command line in the Terminal app (works for both Intel & M-series Macs):

sudo  nvram  -c

This will prompt you for your admin password. Nothing will appear on the screen as you type the password, so you will need to press the "Return" key to submit the password. It is also common to see "not permitted" messages in reference to not being able to clear the Computer Name and sometimes a couple of other NVRAM variables....this is normal. If using this command while booted into Recovery Mode, then omit the "sudo " part or you will get an error.

You can always look for the the menu icon for the battery to see what it is doing.