Does charging my MacBook Pro from 0% to 100% repeatedly damage the battery?

njosh9000 wrote:

Hi, is it bad for my MacBook Pro M1 Pro’s battery if I always charge it to 100%, use it down to 0%, and then repeat that cycle? Just wondering if this habit could damage the battery long-term.

It will definitely shorten the life, yes. You should not regularly discharge any lithium-based battery completely; that's absolutely bad for it and there's no good reason to do so deliberately. Charge your Mac whenever possible and convenient.

Leroy's links will offer tips as to best practice.

Regards.

njosh9000 wrote:

Hi, is it bad for my MacBook Pro M1 Pro’s battery if I always charge it to 100%, use it down to 0%, and then repeat that cycle? Just wondering if this habit could damage the battery long-term.

That is not helpful no

The rule of thumb—if you are near the mains leave it plugged in, if you need the portability then run on the battery only—this is how you help optimize your battery charging and extend the working life of your battery by reducing the cycle count.

Determine battery cycle count for Mac notebooks

Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops - Apple Support

About BHM battery health management:

M1/M2/M3/M4 SoC

About battery health management in Mac notebooks - Apple Support

It is not good to run it all the way down to 0%. Li-ion batteries should never be completely discharged - they don't have memory like the old NiCAD batteries did, and completely discharging them shortens their usable life. You should recharge when it reaches about 10%-15%.

At the other end, letting it charge to 100% is not a problem.

I think your battery being at 94% is probably ok, it is really too soon to draw conclusions. But repeatedly using up all its charge (0%) then recharging back to 100%, that is going to shorten the battery's life. A battery is a consumable, the more it gets used, the faster it will need replacing. This is due to the chemical reactions inside it and the limited amount of battery material inside it. So the 100%=>0%=>100% repeatedly is like putting extra mileage on your automobile, that will cause it to wear out sooner. Also taking it down to 0% adds additional stress and wear and tear on the battery, as others have already pointed out.

njosh9000 wrote:

Also, my MacBook’s maximum battery capacity is at 94% after 4 months and I use it around 7 hours a day and I sometimes play games on it. Does that sound normal ?

Its fine...Start using the Mac as suggested above .

≤ 80% maximum capacity is when Apple suggests the battery is eligible for replacement.

see Optimized Battery Charging:

Charge the MacBook Pro battery - Apple Support