GabreilH SM

Q: Plugged in vs not plugged in

Is it ok to use my  macbook air plugged in when I am at home watching movies or while doing other more battery demanding stuff and then plugging it out over night and letting it sleep on battery power? Does this on and of cycle of plugging and unplugging damage the battery in any way, damage in the sense of losing capacity and waring faster than usual ?

MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Aug 21, 2016 7:10 AM

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Q: Plugged in vs not plugged in

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  • by dominic23,Helpful

    dominic23 dominic23 Aug 21, 2016 8:02 AM in response to GabreilH SM
    Level 8 (41,472 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 21, 2016 8:02 AM in response to GabreilH SM

    It is ok.

     

    Keep the computer  plugged when processor intensive activities like playing games, watching movies of long duration,

    installing software, etc.

    Keep the computer plugged in whenever possible.

    If you keep the computer always plugged in, make sure that at least twice a month

    run it on battery until battery charge level drops to about 50-40%.

     

    Please don’t discharge the battery completely. Discharging battery completely will reduce battery health.

     

    For more useful info:

    Section: Optimizing Battery Life

    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204054

     

    Best.

  • by dwb,Helpful

    dwb dwb Aug 22, 2016 12:08 PM in response to GabreilH SM
    Level 7 (24,053 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 22, 2016 12:08 PM in response to GabreilH SM

    If I have convenient access to an electrical outlet I always use it. With one exception (see it below) the more you use the battery the more it is depleted. Apple guarantees current notebook batteries will hold 80% of the full original charge for 1000 battery cycles. If you routinely run down the battery and recharge you can reach this point in under 3 years and the drop-off is steep after that. (Note: when you get the warning that you are at or below 10% turn the computer off or plug it in immediately.)

     

    The exception is that you should use the computer on battery power at least once or twice a month. Always keeping it plugged in can shorten battery life.

  • by GabreilH SM,

    GabreilH SM GabreilH SM Aug 22, 2016 12:11 PM in response to dwb
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 22, 2016 12:11 PM in response to dwb

    Is it ok if I use battery power for not intensive stuff, such as light web browsing and writing, and plug it in when watching movies ? Does alternating like this between the 2 states reduce battery life ?

  • by dwb,Solvedanswer

    dwb dwb Aug 22, 2016 12:41 PM in response to GabreilH SM
    Level 7 (24,053 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 22, 2016 12:41 PM in response to GabreilH SM

    You are overthinking it. It doesn't matter when you use the battery or when you plug it in. High intensity  Applications will use the battery faster but it's not bad to use the battery with high intensive applications. The main thing is to make sure that you have enough of a charge when you need battery power.  That's why I always plug it in when I can.

     

    Today's battery can be plugged in anytime. Unlike older batteries we don't have wait to plug-in when the battery is nearly drained. If you use the battery for an hour and plug it in and then use it on battery for two hours and plug it in that's fine.