One of the major factors in determining the performance of any device is its battery life. Laptop and PC batteries are susceptible to damage as overtime they lose their capacity. Batteries wear out in two or three years, depending on how much you use the device.
You certainly don’t want your Macbook to unexpectedly shut down in the middle of work one day. Hence, to avoid panicking at the eleventh hour, you must check your battery health frequently. It gives you a good idea of how long your battery will last, and if you need to invest one right away.
How long do Macbook batteries last?
Battery life is determined in cycles. One cycle is draining all of your battery and then fully recharging it. This is inclusive of the breaks you take on shutting down your laptop or unplugging the charger.
To answer a frequently asked doubt, one cycle is when you drain the battery completely regardless of how many times you have recharged it. For example, you could use the only 1/4th of your battery and plug in the charger again. Then the next day, you drain the entire battery at one go, and that would count as one cycle. Hence it generally takes a couple of days for a cycle to get over.
Apple claims that its battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity. On average, Macbook batteries last for 1000 battery cycles. Ideally, your battery should go a little over 1000 cycles before it breaks down. You will notice the capacity reducing bit by bit once it’s close to 1000 cycles.
Once the battery reaches its maximum capacity of 1000 cycles, it starts showing signs of damage. The full charge does not sustain for long, and you have to keep the charger plugged in to use it.
Here is how you can keep the cycle count and other functionalities related to your battery in check.
How Can I Check The Battery Health Of My Macbook?
The first thing you have to know is the version of your MacBook. The older model battery cycles go as low as 300 while the latest version provides 1000 cycles. You can try this website out or look into the Apple Website or Google the model to get info about it.
The way you can check how many cycles have been consumed by your battery is via your Macbook settings. Follow the steps below to know about your battery.
- Hold the option key on your Macbook window and select the Apple Menu.
- Click on the system report button, which will navigate to the System Information page. Another way to access this is through the Utilities folder present in the Application folder.
- Once you are there, you will see the hardware button on the left side of your screen.
- Click on it to see the menu below. Under that, there will be an option called “Power.”
- Once you are there, you will find all the system information displayed on the screen.
- The cycle count under the “Health information” title tells you how many cycles are over.
If you don’t know what the cycle numbers signify, the “Condition” will let you know whether your battery is safe and sound. There are four modes that it displays- Normal, replace soon, replace now, or service battery.
To Go In-Depth
If you want to get further details of your battery, such as age, Loadcycles, temperature, etc., you can install a Coconut battery. Coconut battery is a free utility for Mac, which can be installed from the app store. This offers information about how many times you've charged your Mac, its age, status, and much more.
The temperature is one important aspect of your battery, as overheating can severely harm your battery. You can even connect other Apple devices to your Mac to know about their respective batteries through your Macbook itself.
Replacing Batteries
You can replace the battery of your Macbook by yourself, or you can get it changed from the service center. Replacing Macbook batteries cost between 129 dollars to 199 dollars. You can even replace the battery by yourself by ordering a new one online. Don’t forget to match your model number while purchasing one.
