How to Check Your MacBook's Battery Health

Matt Cone January 16, 2021 Tutorials Mac Hardware

If your MacBook’s battery life seems to be getting shorter and shorter, it might be time to check your MacBook’s battery health. All MacBooks ship with batteries that are designed to last for years, but depending on how you typically recharge your MacBook’s battery, the battery’s capacity can be reduced early leading to shorter battery life. Checking your MacBook’s battery health can help you keep an eye on things and make sure your MacBook’s battery isn’t defective.

Tip: Your MacBook’s battery is designed to last for up to 1,000 charge cycles. A charge cycle is one full charge and discharge of the battery. Apple says that your battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 1,000 complete charge cycles. Apple can replace old and defective batteries.

Here’s how to check your MacBook’s battery health:

Download a free application called coconutBattery.
Open the coconutBattery application.
Your MacBook’s battery health is displayed in the application, as shown below.

Tips for Maintaining Your MacBook’s Battery Health

Here are some tips for maintaining the health of your MacBook’s battery:

Try not to drain your MacBook’s battery below 20% before recharging.
Don’t store your MacBook in extreme temperatures. Ideally, the battery would always be kept at room temperature.
When storing your MacBook for a prolonged period of time, discharge the battery to around 50%-80%, shutdown the MacBook, and keep the charger unplugged.

For more tips and tricks, see this article from Ars Technica. Happy charging!

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