MacBook Pro battery draining fast? Here's how to fix it

Practical Tips for Extending the Battery Life of MacBook Pro

The MacBook Pro is extremely portable, but the fast battery drain can seriously affect work or entertainment. While it can always be close to a power outlet, this is not always possible and it won't fully utilize the portability of the MacBook Pro.

Fortunately, there are some simple tricks to solve the problem of fast battery drain on your MacBook Pro. First, let's understand the root causes of battery problems.

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Common reasons why Mac battery drains too fast

Why does MacBook battery drain so fast? This may be caused by a variety of factors. Here are some of the most common reasons:

• Battery Problems: The health and charging settings of the MacBook battery significantly affect battery life.
• High Power Settings: Settings such as screen brightness and Bluetooth may cause the battery to run out faster than expected.
• High-performance usage: Certain activities and applications (such as games and navigation) can drain battery faster than less intensive tasks.

Additionally, there are some key system settings that affect battery life, which all MacBook users should be aware of. Keep reading to learn more about where the MacBook Pro battery issues are coming from and how to fix them.

How to solve the problem of fast battery draining from MacBook

Why does my MacBook consume so fast battery? I've encountered the same situation before. Here are my top 10 ways to optimize the battery life of your device so you can enjoy the portable freedom of your MacBook.

1. Check the battery health status

If you have problems with your MacBook not staying charged, first check the overall health of the battery. Fortunately, Apple offers a feature that allows you to easily get battery reports.

How to get a report on your MacBook battery health:

1. Go to Apple Menu > About This
2. Click More Information > System Reports.
3. Under the Hardware menu, click Power.

This will provide a detailed report on your MacBook battery health, including status. For more guidance, learn how to check battery health on your MacBook.

Tips: If you are like me, you may use multiple devices at the same time when using a MacBook. If any device accidentally runs out of power (such as you might use as a personal hotspot iPhone), your workflow can be severely interrupted. To solve the battery drain problem, I use the Batteries app. This app allows you to easily monitor battery power and notify you when any device connected to your MacBook needs to be charged so you can maintain workflow while working away from your desk.

2. Reset battery preferences

Some battery settings allow you to change the power usage settings of your MacBook to extend battery life after each charge. If your MacBook Pro is running too fast, try changing the low battery mode setting. The method is as follows:

1. Go to System Settings on your MacBook.
2. Click on the battery.
3. Set low battery mode to Always or Only when battery powered.

If you want to have a more granular control over the power usage of your MacBook, try Endurance. As the name implies, this app is designed to help you adjust your Mac's power settings, extending battery life by up to 20%.

Endurance brings all important MacBook power usage and battery settings together in one place. With just one click of a button, enable low battery mode, disable high-speed processing, get alerts when the application uses a lot of battery power, and more.

3. Check the background application

Why does my MacBook consume so fast battery? The answer may be that you run too many resource-intensive applications.

Research shows that on average, 51 applications are installed per Mac device. While apps are a great way to add new features to your device, some apps can drain a lot of power, causing the MacBook Pro to quickly run out of battery. Here is how to check which applications are using most system resources:

1. Go to Finder > Applications.
2. Click Activity Monitor.
3. Click the '%CPU' tab to view the running applications.
4. Close any application that is currently unused and has a relatively high CPU load percentage.

Personal experience: When I needed to control the CPU usage of my application more precisely, I decided to try using App Tamer. This tool automatically identifies which applications can slow down or stop without affecting my experience. I like that it displays the highest CPU processes on the MacBook in descending order, making it easy to see which apps are most power-consuming.

One of my favorite features is the ability to set CPU load limits for specific applications. This means I can keep the power-consuming apps running without worrying about them consuming too much energy. With App Tamer, I can effectively manage my workflow while increasing battery life.

4. Manage power adapter settings

If you've already encountered a MacBook Pro battery problem, changing the power adapter preferences may not completely resolve these issues. However, this will help prevent further declines in battery health. For newer MacBooks, this is also a good precaution to maximize battery health and longevity.

How to choose the power adapter setup that best promotes long-term battery health:

1. Go to System Settings > Battery.
2. Click the icon next to the battery health status.
3. Enable "Optimized Battery Charging".
4. Enable "Manage Battery Life".

To further protect and optimize the battery health of your MacBook, consider checking out the AlDente Pro.

When you first set up your AlDente Pro, it asks some questions about how to configure the power adapter settings (based on whether you are primarily using your MacBook at home or out). Then, if needed, you can further customize how the battery is charged and view detailed information about the battery health and health status.

The charging limit of the AlDente Pro is very useful when you want to connect your MacBook to a power adapter for a long time. The Discharge feature automatically prevents overheating and overcharging problems by allowing your device to use the battery even when plugged in.

5. Reduce screen brightness

Why does my Mac consume so fast battery power? Screen brightness is an answer. This is a simple but often overlooked reason for the rapid depletion of MacBook battery. How to reduce screen brightness:

1. Go to System Settings > Monitor.
2. Drag the brightness slider to the lowest setting you feel comfortable with.
3. Turn off "Auto-adjust brightness".

You can also adjust the screen brightness of your MacBook using the F1 and F2 keys (or the sun icon on your MacBook with a touch bar). However, if you do not disable Auto-adjust brightness in your system settings, the brightness may automatically be raised again.

6. Turn off Bluetooth

If you are experiencing a problem with the fast battery drain on your MacBook Pro, turning off Bluetooth when not needed can extend battery life. This can prevent the Mac from constantly searching for Bluetooth signals, thereby reducing energy consumption. The easiest way to turn off Bluetooth is in the Control Center.

In my experience, as long as you turn on Bluetooth, all paired devices will automatically reconnect. If they are not reconnected, just open the Control Center and reconnect the device you want to use.

7. Replace the battery

If your MacBook doesn't stay charged at all, or if the regular troubleshooting doesn't improve battery life, it might be time to replace the battery.

After extensive use, it is normal for the MacBook battery to be replaced. A rough rule of thumb for this is about five years or 1,000 charging cycles. If your battery has problems earlier than this, please do not hesitate to check it as a faulty battery may be covered by warranty. If you need help replacing the battery, please make an appointment with an authorized Apple service technician.

8. Update macOS

Apple often includes bug fixes and optimization features in operating system updates. To make sure you don't miss these features, be sure to enable automatic macOS updates:

1. Go to System Settings > General.
2. Click Software Update.
3. Click the information icon next to "Auto Update".
4. Enable "Download when there is new update" and click "Done".

9. Disable location service

Many applications now use location services, even some applications you might not expect. However, having multiple applications accessing GPS at the same time can cause the MacBook battery to run out quickly. How to disable applications that do not require location services:

1. Open System Settings > Click Privacy & Security.
2. Click Location Services.
3. Scroll through the application list and turn off the location service for unwanted applications.

After wondering why my Mac is draining so fast battery and then fixing the issue by disabling the location service, I now enable location more carefully when installing new apps. I usually turn off positioning by default and then enable it later if I really need it to make the most of the application.

10. Use Safari for web browsing

I spend a lot of time opening multiple browser tabs, usually my MacBook connects to two screens. While web browsing is not usually a high-intensity activity, some browsers naturally consume more resources than others (I mean you, Google Chrome!).

If your MacBook doesn't keep charging as long as you would like, try setting Safari as your primary browser. The method is as follows:

1. Go to System Settings.
2. Click on the desktop and dock.
3. Under Widgets, change the Default Web Browser to Safari.

If you have problems with MacBook Pro battery, Safari is the best browser choice as it is optimized for macOS. This will result in lower power consumption and longer battery life. It may take a while to get used to Safari, but if you stick with it, I think you'll find it as user-friendly and fully functional as other popular web browsers.

MacBook Pro battery problem has been resolved

Fortunately, if your MacBook Pro is running out of battery too fast, there are ways to fix this. The first step is to check the battery health. You can then optimize settings and adjust application usage to ensure you get the maximum time between charges from your device.

If you want to optimize for as long battery life as possible, you can use multiple applications to take the improved power usage settings to the next level. Make sure you won't be surprised by low battery power, use Endurance and App Tamer to handle applications and processes that overload the system, and use AlDente Pro to protect and maximize battery health.

All of these apps are available for free trial on Setapp for seven days. With over 250 macOS and iOS apps, this platform helps you enjoy the portable freedom of your MacBook. Try it now!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a Mac battery last?

The battery life of a MacBook depends on the model, macOS version and usage conditions. On average:

• MacBook Air models, especially the M1 and M2 versions, can achieve about 15-18 hours of web browsing or video playback.
• MacBook Pro models usually offer 10-17 hours of battery life, and newer M1/M2 models can usually last longer (near the upper limit).

However, battery life varies based on settings such as brightness, background process, and whether you use high-power applications such as video editing software. For most users, the 10 to 15-hour range is a reliable general expectation.

Why can't my Mac stay charged?

The most common reasons why Macs can't stay charged are poor battery health, resource-intensive activity, and unoptimized system settings. To extend battery life, use Endurance.

How many cycles can a Mac battery be used?

According to Apple, the MacBook battery design still has 80% of its original capacity after 1,000 full charge cycles.

What will affect the battery life of MacBook?

The fastest way to affect the battery life of your MacBook is to let the battery overheat while charging and not set a safe power adapter setting. To extend battery life, use Endurance.

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