MacBook Air M5 battery drains when plugged in at 80% limit

Question

Level 1

4 points

MacBook Air M5 battery drains when plugged in at 80% limit

my battery drain even though it's plugged into power, macbook air m5. only using it for browsing. it happen before but its stop at 80%, and my charging limit is on at 80%. I know whether using Optimized Battery Charging or Charge Limit, your Mac will occasionally charge to 100% to maintain accurate battery state-of-charge estimates. but I never read it also can drain your battery even though it's plugged into power. Is it normal?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 26.6

Posted on Aug 9, 2026 7:42 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mac Jim ID

Community+ 2026

Level 10

90,278 points

Aug 9, 2026 8:08 AM in response to Diapari

There are 2 cases where it would be perfectly normal for the battery to drain when plugged in:

After it has charged to 100% that it occasionally does with a Charge Limit, it will drain back down to around the 80% mark.
When your Mac charges to 80%, you may also see it drain by 5% before it will start charging the battery again. That means it would be normal for it to drop to around 75% while it is plugged in. That is also listed in this Support Article.

About Optimized Battery Charging and Charge Limit on Mac - Apple Support

If the battery charge level drops more than 5% while connected to power, charging resumes, again charging to within a few percentage points of the limit.

Reply

Answer 2

WheelieNick

Level 8

48,609 points

Aug 9, 2026 8:00 AM in response to Diapari

Yes, it is completely normal for your MacBook battery to discharge slightly while plugged into power. macOS deliberately allows the battery to drop below your 80% limit (sometimes down to around 70-75%) before it starts charging again.

Reply