Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Macbook pro 2018 battery drain fast

I bought a 13 inch matchbook pro (i7 processor) recently. I noticed that the battery drains really fast. Does anyone else have the same issue?

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, 4 TBT3), iOS 11.4.1

Posted on Aug 18, 2018 2:16 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Aug 18, 2018 9:09 PM

I am having the same issue with mine as well. Would go to sleep with 100%, 9 hours later it will be 70%.

I am trying to determine what is the acceptable battery lost when lid is close.

If anyone have any idea, pls let us know.

57 replies

Aug 21, 2018 1:37 AM in response to chiangc

I’ve had my MBP18 13 inch for two weeks now and have found the fast battery drain issue. Starting at 90%, I used the machine for half an hour: web browsing, no sound, 60% brightness, and then had it on screen saver mode for half an hour with 1 download in the background and it’s dropped to 63% battery. For a brand new machine to use 27% battery in an hour is insane! And to be told to take it to a Genius Bar. It’s a $3k, 2 week old product. Not impressed

Nov 21, 2018 8:04 PM in response to chiangc

Have you guys tried disconnecting any attached extended display on your Mac once you are done using it? Have you also tried disabling your bluetooth devices under system preferences > advance > (uncheck) "Allow Bluetooth devices to to wake this computer". Then restart your computer and test your Mac for at least 10-20 minutes lid closed. To check if it still drains your battery. This is clearly a bug from Apple and it is NOT being address. They are very busy advertising their product but haven't heard from them that they have to fix their battery drain issues on their NEW MACS! I'm sure apple knows. Hopefully that more people complain so they can move this to their TOP PRIORITY!User uploaded file

Sep 30, 2018 3:06 PM in response to chiangc

Me too. Can't wait too hear what Genius Bar says. I have Apple Care but nearest Apple store isn't incredibly convenient to go to. And more often than not they want me to do a clean re-install which is an absolute pain considering how long I've spent setting this one up. I don't use my MacBook in 10 hour increments but if I did I'd be surprised to see it last longer than 4-5 hours. Majority of my use is dedicated to Safari web browsing and iTunes.

Nov 15, 2018 9:32 AM in response to chiangc

I know this thread is a bit old, but I wanted to share my experience as it's basically turned me off the MBP.


I bought a brand new 2018 MBP 15" i9, 32gb ram, 1tb SSD, Radeon GPU, on September 1st.


On September 5th I returned it due to the screen turning an electric blue color everywhere black was previously. It started in one corner and within 30 minutes would cover the whole screen. A restart would fix temporarily. To Apple's credit (I suppose), they recognized it as a 5-day old machine and gave me a new one.


So far so good. New machine takes another day to get setup, but immediately the battery issue presents itself. I work a lot with the machine hooked up to monitors in a desktop config, so it was hard to spot because it was power regularly. However, whenever I would take it with me to a client meeting it would be dead in 3-4 hours tops using Safari (against my wishes, but that's what I was told was 'most battery friendly') and maybe Powerpoint.


Multiple Apple support calls, SMC resets, reinstall OS, etc. etc. Nothing made a difference.


Finally, on 11/1 - exactly 2 months to the day that I bought it - I reluctantly scheduled and attended a Genius bar appointment where they told me 'indications are the battery has issues' and they took it 'for repairs'. 10 days later I get it back (which, on a separate note, is an unacceptable amount of time to take a 'Pro' user's 2 month old machine away, showing a lack of understanding how small businesses use their equipment). After getting it reconfigured, I noted IMMEDIATELY that the issue was still present. For example, with the machine on and safari open, but no one actually using it:


98% at 10:20 AM

78% at 11:01 AM

71% at 11:10 AM AND I reset the SMC and restarted the machine, even uninstalled a few non-apple programs just to see

62% at 11:43 AM

57% at 11:52 AM

52% at 12:00 PM

47% at 12:09 PM


So that's 50% in 2 hours ... without doing any actual work on the machine. Nothing in Activity Monitor looks off, no programs hung, and using gxCardStatus i'm NOT using discrete graphics hardly ever.


So, the culmination of this story is: Apple's business rep is now advising me to return the machine as 'his gut says' there will be no difference if I get the same machine, must be a software problem, advises AGAINST me getting another of their top-end models. Great...


So here I am, one day after that comment, trying to figure out what to do - A return seems in order, but where to go from there? Exclusive PC? *shutter*. Get a few years old machine so I know they have the bugs worked out? Only at Apple will 5 year old Tech still cost me $2k+ so that seems silly. Get a new Mac Mini and not worry about battery life? Sure lose complete mobility so the product works. Not great. Get 2 machines so I can still have mobility and a powerful machine in the office? I think that summarizes my gut-wrenching debate here: I bought a high-end machine Apple is now advising me to return, how does that justify me buying 2 MORE machines!?!


So fellow MBP folks with battery problems - what was your conclusion? Any fixes that seem to help? Did you return it and if so what machine replaced it? Thanks!


PS - my 2013 MBP had NONE of these problems. Why oh why did I upgrade?

Nov 16, 2018 9:36 AM in response to hugoj4105

Hey there... Thanks for sharing your experience.

Luckiliy you have many options to choose from. Sadly there are many of us that bought the MBP in the US but live far away (I live in Quito, Ecuador). So I dont have any choice. The problem hasn't been solved with the software upgrades or the reccomendations from the community. The battery is still draining in 4-5 hours maximum with normal office work.

These are supposed to be "high quality" products and that is why we paid so much money for it. It is a shame Apple and the only solution is to keep the macbook connected.

Nov 23, 2018 5:28 PM in response to jacool

me too!!

have MBP 13 inch , 512gb , 2018 , touch bar


have exactly the same up story , + heating under the keyboard on the screen side .

1st time visit to apple service provider , they said you map is ok just update it to majova !!

again , in the same day I picked up my laptop , same issue continue!! Heating , Draining as horrible battery !!

2 times went to apple services provider : they change logic board with the touch bar!! taking more than a month to fix that ..


Now , Still have the draining battery!! heating is obviously more!! I can feel it on my hand while typing!!

plus I worry on this moment from any bomb!!

so the issue is become more disastric !!


cannot know what to do !! with this machine that I already hate it !! after a long wait for that model!!

and have no time to solve the issue , I just want to refund it with No regards

I would thank apple only for MacAir 2012 ,and that decade of good quality!!

Dec 23, 2018 9:53 PM in response to chiangc

My probem is similar.


I bought my new 2018 15" Macbook Pro running Mojave on December 14 and withing three days i confirmed that i had a severe battery drain. I called Apple support desk four times and the final advisor recommended that i return the Mac which i did.


I did not do any research on battery drain so decided to buy a replacement same as my first one. Right out of the box, 100% batter drained in an hour.


I am not sure what to do. I will call Apple support and tell them about all the battery drain isssues in the Apple community and if I don't get a satisfactory answer I will return my second MacPro as well and wait until Apple resolves this issue.

Feb 14, 2019 9:59 AM in response to chiangc

New MacBook Pro 15 inch 2018, one week old. Battery drains out in 3 hrs. calling apple support found that: I am using TOS (TD Ameritrade application) for which the system is identifying to use the high performance graphics card -radeon 55x instead of the integrated intel UHD. Hence max battery life of 2-4 hrs only. There is no way to make the Mac use the intel graphics card though.


My older MacBook Pro (late 2012) do not have 2 graphic cards and always use the intel HD graphics and run 7-8 hrs for the same TOS application.


Please help - is there any way to use the integrated intel graphic card for TOS. There is absolutely no visible difference in the charts displayed between the new or old Mac, no benefit other than low battery life


Feb 14, 2019 10:30 AM in response to sma2019

Coincidently, I have the issue. I upgraded to MacBook Pro 15" with the radeon 55x to use with TOS (TD Ameritrade trading platform) and found that my batteries were being drained in 2-3 hours. I called support and they agreed to exchange it for a new one but the new replacement had the same issue.


After exhausting search on the internet I found through some posts that Apple knows about the new MacOS 10.14 is draining the battery and has not informed the users about this issue. They have not provided any time line as to when this issue will be fixed.


Currently I am keeping my MacBook plugged in all the time but I am not happy with the situation.

You will not get an honest resolution from Apple at this time which is very unfortunate.


Macbook pro 2018 battery drain fast

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.