You’ve probably heard varying advice on charging your Mac, with some experts suggesting that stopping the charge at 80% can improve your battery’s longevity. Here’s a detailed guide on how to achieve this and extend your Mac’s battery life.

1. Enable Battery Health Management

To stop your Mac from charging past 80%, Apple provides a feature called Battery Health Management. This feature is designed to adjust your charging levels based on your usage patterns.

  1. Open the Apple menu at the top-left corner of your screen.
  2. Click on System Settings (or System Preferences, depending on your macOS version).
  3. Select Battery from the menu on the left.
  4. Click on Battery Health.
  5. Make sure that Battery Health Management is enabled by checking the box.

When this feature is turned on, your Mac will automatically manage its charge level, keeping it around 80% when needed to preserve battery health.

2. Enable Optimized Battery Charging

Apple has introduced Optimized Battery Charging to help extend your battery’s lifespan. This feature predicts your charging habits and adjusts the charging rate to reduce battery wear.

  1. Open your Mac and go to the Apple Menu.
  2. Select System Preferences.
  3. Click on Battery.
  4. In the Battery window, select Battery from the sidebar.
  5. Check the box for Optimized Battery Charging.

This feature adjusts the charging speed based on your usage patterns, often keeping the charge around 80% if it predicts that you will keep it plugged in for a long time.

3. Use Third-Party Applications

Several third-party apps can help manage your Mac’s charging to stop at 80%. Here are some popular options:

AlDente

  • Download and install AlDente.
  • Open the application from the Applications folder.
  • Follow the prompts to install the Helper application.
  • Disable Optimized Battery Charging in System Preferences > Battery.
  • Set the charge limit to 80% using the slider in AlDente.

Charge Limiter

  • Download and install Charge Limiter.
  • Open the app and set the limit to 80%.
  • Click Set Charge Limit.

BatteryStatusShow

  • Download and install BatteryStatusShow.
  • Open the app and set the charge limit to 80% using the slider.
  • Confirm the setting, and it will stop charging at 80%.

Forcing a Charge Beyond 80%

If you ever need your Mac to charge fully, but it’s stopping at 80%, here’s what to do:

  1. Unplug the charger for a few seconds, then plug it back in. This often triggers charging to continue beyond 80%.
  2. Alternatively, you can disable Battery Health Management or Optimized Battery Charging temporarily in the settings, and turn them back on once the battery is fully charged.

Conclusion

By enabling Battery Health Management or Optimized Battery Charging, your Mac will automatically manage its charge to stop at 80%, helping to maintain your battery over time. If you ever need to fully charge your Mac, you can easily adjust the settings to allow charging past 80%.

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Avatar for Marlo Strydom

Marlo, the founder of Computer Info Bits, has over 20 years of IT expertise. He's passionate about technology and aims to demystify it. Since 2019, he's been writing articles covering essential computer tips to complex hardware discussions, helping readers better understand and use their technology. Marlo stays up-to-date with the latest tech developments through extensive research and interaction.