Force Your MacBook to Only Charge up to 80 Percent (and Why You Should)

Batteries are not magic. They are chemical. And like most objects built by humans, they wear out over time. I don’t need to tell you: anyone who has owned a MacBook knows that battery life gets worse as it ages. But what if I told you that it is possible to slow down this process?

A common tip is to only charge your devices to 80% most of the time. Battery University, funded by a consultancy that helps large companies get the most out of batteries, suggests this based on its research. So does the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

But how can you actually follow this advice? The good news is that your MacBook already does this, sort of, and there’s a great free app that lets you take it even further.

Integrated optimization

Your Mac is designed to only charge up to 80%, at least in certain circumstances. By default, Mac devices learn your charging and usage routines and recharge your battery based on that. According to Apple, “your Mac delays charging beyond 80% when it predicts you will be plugged in for an extended period of time and aims to fully charge the battery before unplugging it. »

What does this mean? Well, for example, if you tend to charge your laptop overnight, your Mac will charge up to 80%, then wait until the morning to charge the remaining 20%. The idea is to minimize the time the battery is fully charged in a way that you won’t even notice.

The great thing about this feature is that you don’t have to do anything to monitor your battery health. Your Mac is already doing what it can to only charge up to 80% whenever your routine suggests it won’t affect you.

(This feature is actually a macOS setting enabled by default. You can find it in Settings > Battery > Battery healthwhere you can disable this protection setting, but you should keep reading to find out if it’s better.)

If you’d rather not think about your battery charge level, stop reading. If you want more control, I have some tips.

Take control with a free app

There are some potential problems with Apple’s approach. The first is that you don’t have control. You might, for example, discover that your MacBook isn’t fully charged if you wake up earlier than usual to catch a flight, and then find yourself with a partially charged battery during a long day of travel.

For me, however, the biggest problem is that my daily battery usage just isn’t very routine. I do a lot of my work at my desk, where my computer is plugged into my monitor, which also charges it. However, I like to move around in my space throughout the day, which means I unplug at random times. And sometimes I put my laptop in my bag and work at the library or a coffee shop. It would be nice to be able to make sure I’m fully charged when I do this.

You get the idea: not everyone’s routines are predictable. If this sounds familiar and you want to take direct control of your MacBook’s charging, I recommend the free and open source app called Battery.

This app lives in your menu bar and forces your laptop to only charge up to 80%. You can, however, authorize a full charge at any time by clicking on the menu bar icon.

This is going to require some planning and attention on your part. You’ll need to remember to enable a full charge before you need it, then turn the limit back on when you know you won’t need it.

But for someone like me, who primarily uses their MacBook at their desk, this seems like a way to ensure my battery stays healthy for as long as possible.