What causes battery drain on MacBook Pro in sleep mode?

Wow, your laptop is waking up a lot there many times within minutes of going back to sleep. I've never quite seen a system waking that soon. It is like death by a thousand cuts.

However, the biggest drops in battery charge level seem to occur after an extended wake period with these entries:

2025-07-21 11:57:15 +0200 Wake           Wake from Deep Idle [CDNVA] : due to smc.70070000 lid SMC.OutboxNotEmpty/HID Activity Using BATT (Charge:37%)           
2025-07-21 12:02:12 +0200 Assertions     PID 159(runningboardd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep  00:03:49  id:0x0x1000085a0 [System: PrevIdle DeclUser kDisp]          
2025-07-21 12:03:59 +0200 Assertions     PID 159(runningboardd) Released PreventUserIdleSystemSleep  00:05:36  id:0x0x1000085a0 [System: PrevIdle DeclUser kDisp]          
2025-07-21 12:17:12 +0200 Assertions     PID 159(runningboardd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep  00:12:39  id:0x0x1000086d4 [System: PrevIdle PrevDisp DeclUser kDisp]          
2025-07-21 12:32:12 +0200 Assertions     PID 159(runningboardd) Summary PreventUserIdleSystemSleep  00:27:39  id:0x0x1000086d4 [System: PrevIdle PrevDisp kDisp]          
2025-07-21 12:39:06 +0200 Assertions     PID 159(runningboardd) Released PreventUserIdleSystemSleep  00:34:34  id:0x0x1000086d4 [System: PrevIdle DeclUser IntPrevDisp kDisp]          
2025-07-21 12:39:18 +0200 Sleep          Entering Sleep state due to 'Clamshell Sleep':TCPKeepAlive=active Using Batt (Charge:26%) 962 secs

Notice the 11% drop there.

I'm not certain, but I think the laptop is waking up due to the lid angle sensor (see the first line I quoted where it references "lid") and it may be kept awake by the Display (kDisp).

Personally I would test with a clean install of macOS to confirm the same behavior. Erase the disk followed by reinstalling macOS, but do not install any third party apps and do not restore from a backup.

Even better would be perform a DFU Firmware Restore which resets the security enclave chip, system firmware, and internal SSD & pushes a clean copy of macOS onto the internal SSD.

You can try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected. The only useful diagnostic is one which produces an error code. I'm not sure if the diagnostics would detect a bad Lid Angle Sensor.

You can try testing the Lid Angle Sensor by opening & closing the display clamshell. When the lid is just about closed, do you see the display go dark? And when you lift the lid beyond a quarter inch do you see the display light up again? Even if the Lid Angle Sensor is operating correctly for this test, it is possible the sensor is bad and intermittently thinks the Display clamshell has been lifted. Once macOS thinks the display has been opened, then your timers for putting the display to sleep will depend upon those settings before it may go back to sleep.

To get any further information & insights would require looking at the main system logs to see what else (if anything) the system may be doing during those time periods (requires using the command line to gather up the system logs), but that is a nightmare and is not for the faint of heart (or anyone who wishes to remain sane). You can easily have hundreds if not thousands of entries per second.....yes per second. Most of those entries will be meaningless and will be scary sounding....the ones which show the most promise will be censored for privacy/security reasons. I can provide the Terminal command to gather those logs, but I don't know how to filter them since the built-in filters require a deeper understanding of macOS & the programming interfaces/terminology which is very hard to find online...much less understand.

Maybe other contributors can provide a bit more information about the events causing the laptop to wake up. I tried a quick search for some of the terms, but unfortunately there is no quickly found information that I could find which would help understand them.

Assuming the test of a clean install (or better yet the clean install from a DFU Firmware Restore) has the same issue (remember, do not restore from a backup & do not install any third party apps while you test the system), then you have a hardware issue of some sort (most likely a Lid Angle Sensor if those log entries are any indication).

If there are no issues with a clean install, then it means you have some sort of configuration issue or an issue with some third party installed software. In that case you can post an EtreCheck report here and/or just keep the power adapter connected to laptop.

Try running the following Terminal command which will show you when the laptop sleeps & wakes including the battery charge level each time & why it woke up. The command is being filtered by two dates in order for you to see events that occur at the end of the day & early the next day. Adjust the date value accordingly. And make sure there are two and only two spaces in the filter after "Sleep " and "Wake ", otherwise you will not get the results needed.

pmset  -g  log  |  grep  -iE  'Sleep  |Wake  '  |  grep  -iE  '2025-07-20|2025-07-21'

FYI, since each character is critical and some exact spacing is critical, it is best to copy & paste the command here, then use the left & right arrow keys to move the cursor back & forth so you can use the delete & number keys to key modify the dates.

<< recent drain while using in class (so on battery). >>

That part is likely a different (but possibly related) issue.

By far the easiest way to cause poor performance, instability, overheating and crashing is to install ANY third-party speeder-uppers, Cleaners, Optimizers, or Virus scanners, Bit Torrent, or a VPN that you installed yourself.

also, Consider downloading and running this little "discovery" utility, Etrecheck. It changes NOTHING. Etrecheck was developed by a senior contributor here, and uses mostly system calls and simple tests to collect often-needed information.

it contains little tests for speeds of devices, CPU utilization, memory usage, energy usage and a digest of recent problems, in one easy to use package. it does not even need to be Installed. Because less can be learned when your Mac is running great, best time to run is when your problems are actually occurring, if possible.

if you follow the directions faithfully, its report (pre-laundered of all personally-identifiable information) can be "Shared" to the System ClipBoard, then Pasted into an ‘Additional Text’ window in a reply on the forums.

Use Etrecheck Pro for free:

http://Etrecheck.com

The amount of data you get can be daunting. If you POST your report, some Readers here are willing to look over those reports, and can provide valuable insights.

The start a reply on the forums, click the "additional text" Icon, and PASTE

if you can re-run Etrecheck as an Admin, much more information will become clear, epecially whether you are encountering panics or hangs.

As I tried to say, plug it in when you set it down. Then you won't CARE whether it would drain the battery when nominally asleep.

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The most common issue users are experiencing is, that when they close the lid, their MacBook Pro does Not sleep, and if they want to know about that in detail, they need to investigate Why.

Start by checking Whether it sleeps:

With the cover OPEN, touch the CapsLock key so that it light up. This will be your makeshift "sleep indicator".

Then choose "Sleep" off the Apple menu, leave the cover open, and do not touch anything else.

Watch the indicator light. At the moment your Mac actually sleeps, it will turn off that indicator. Wait a few minutes more and see if it stays asleep.

Let readers know what you find out.

As HWTech wrote those repeated sleep / wake cycles are definitely a problem. I have never seen so many apparently needless sleep / wake events on any Mac. Those repeated events are a symptom of something, but given the fact you already performed an erase / reinstall, and there are no obvious non-Apple software products that could conceivably be contributing factors, I can only suspect some kind of obscure hardware fault exists.

It doesn't help that the M2 MacBook Air (not your Pro, but the Air) suffers from a hardware defect that is in my opinion endemic to that specific model — one that implicates either the lid angle sensor (likely, in my opinion) or a related logic board fault (ref, one of many).

The bad news is that Apple is almost certain to conclude there is absolutely nothing wrong with that Mac. When asked to speculate, they'll just shrug. Not their fault; they have to follow protocol.

Disk space problems? Yes, it's low, but I cannot imagine how that would result in excessive sleep / wake events.

To advance troubleshooting, consider letting the Mac sleep but with the lid open, which will avoid manipulating the lid angle sensor. Determine if that results in any change whatsoever. If you already tried that I didn't notice.

what is the date of your most recent backup, and by what method?

You ran Etrecheck under an non-Admin account, so it could not report your backup drive or any kernel panic reports.

at only 37 GB drive space FREE, your drive is full, and this may cause MANY weird things to start happening. the standard is 20 percent should be free, about 50 GB for a 250 drive.

There are many more things to say about your current report when you get those items under control.

NOW is a great time to make that backup. Especially since you may have problems that require an ERASE and re-install.

If you need to submit your Mac for service, they make you affirm that you have All the backups of your files you want, and OFTEN erase/replace the drive.

also, can you re-run an Etrecheck report as an Admin?

Chris_0607 wrote:

Is there any personal information in what the terminal gives me ?

No, there shouldn't be.

If you are going to copy & paste the output to share here, then the command prompt may include your name and macOS user name if you accidentally include it with the command being run and the line after the output.

You can use this modified command to send all of the output to a text file on the Desktop. You can edit the name as long as you don't use any spaces or special characters since the command line may have issues when using some non-alphanumeric characters in a pathname. The ">>" tells the command to redirect to the specified file after it which will be created on your Desktop called "SleepWake-Log_2025-07-21.txt". If this file already exists, then it will just append the data to it instead (should only occur if you run the command more than once with the same path & file name.

pmset  -g  log  |  grep  -iE  'Sleep  |Wake  '  |  grep  -iE  '2025-07-20|2025-07-21'  >>  ~/Desktop/SleepWake-Log_2025-07-21.txt

Reviewing the data within this text file may be easier for you than seeing it on the Terminal window. Plus it makes copying & pasting easier so you don't accidentally include the command prompt if you decide to share the output here on the forum.

The good news:

The diagnostic information shows only ordinary annoyances, such as high CPU use, no panics, and no smoking guns.

That is the ONLY good news in your new report.

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Your drive space situation is even more desperate than before. Only about 9 GB free space. You are in danger of completely filling your drive, which could cause a spectacular deadlock or crash, possibly including data loss.

Your computer has only 8 GB of Real RAM. That means the extra required to do your work is being simulated on the boot drive. Your swap file has grown to 130 MB.

To run MacOS Ventura or later in an appropriately-responsive way, you need to have MORE than 8GB or RAM installed. Otherwise you will be limited to running ONE application at a time, and quitting your browser whenever you want to do anything else. Also restarting several times a day will required.

The computer you bought, with 8 GB RAM and a very small 256 GB drive was intended for elementary school students who are storing everything on other devices, and are never expecting to use Microsoft Office apps, Music apps, or anything consequential.

Such completely under-resourced configurations are no longer sold by Apple for ANY purposes. Minimum RAM sold now is 16 GB on any Mac.

Unless you are willing to run one-App-at-a-time, Quit your browser to run Anything else, Restart multiple times a day, and find a way to dramatically reduce the number of files you are keeping on your boot drive, you need to REPLACE that computer with a better one.

Your existing computer may have trade-in value. You can check by going through the motions using the link below. You can easily exit the process long before you commit to actually trading in.

Trade in. Upgrade. Save. With apple trade in program.

NB>> if my colleagues strongly disagree with this opinion, I am certain there will be a Pig-Pile of dissenting opinions here very soon, typically within 24 hours.

If you did not contact Apple regarding that particular problem, I would do that, especially if you have reason to believe it is related to their battery replacement. Perhaps they will be interested. Other than that wait for a macOS update. There is nothing wrong with your usage pattern, but those sleep / wake cycles are excessive and abnormal.

<< But since my Mac is out of warranty, I didn't wanted to go to a Genius Bar because I was afraid they would make me pay since I don't think they could see anything on the spot in a 15minutes appointment. >>

Apple's current policy at Apple-owned stores is that the only charges at the Genius Bar is when parts are actually installed in your computer. Otherwise, no charge.

Adding to Grant Bennet-Alder's replies, the USB devices in that report may be a possible contributing factor to your original concern, assuming they remain connected while the Mac is in sleep mode.