What’s the best way to charge a MacBook Pro for battery health?

Question

Level 1

4 points

What’s the best way to charge a MacBook Pro for battery health?

Hi! I just bought a new Macbook Pro M4 and I am switching from windows/linux so its the first time I am using Macbook. I was viewing some getting started videos and looking into some articles/blogs about Macbook and I noticed people talking about charging alot. Some people are saying that you should only charge your macbook in between 20 to 80% and use apps like aldante others are saying that you can keep your macbook plugged in all the time and keeep it at 90 to 100% and to use it on power adapter is superior as the battery is not being charged and discharged regularly so its health remains intact. Now I am confused as to what is the best option as I do alot of work daily my usage is about 10-12 hours daily so should I use it on battery or keep it plugged in all the time. I want to know from someone official as to what is the best approach is which keeps my battery intact. Although I am aware that the batteries degrade our time and you should replace them when the time comes till then i think a little bit of care is not bad. Looking forward to the answers!

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Optimal way to charge your Macbook

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.5

Posted on Jul 21, 2025 02:01 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

neuroanatomist

Level 9

52,791 points

Jul 21, 2025 05:52 AM in response to saimarshadd

If you can plug it in, do so. If you can’t connect to power, run on battery. Your Mac will manage charging to maximize battery lifespan, e.g., if you’re connected to power must of the time it will pause charging at 80%. Don’t bother micromanaging it and there’s no need for a 3rd party utility.

Reply

Answer 2

kaz-k

Level 9

51,012 points

Jul 21, 2025 06:17 AM in response to saimarshadd

Hi,

Following article could help your question.

About battery health management in Mac laptops - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 3

Jul 21, 2025 02:30 AM in response to saimarshadd

My MacBook Pro is 3½ years old and it has 100% battery health. ⇠🔋

My advice is to simply use it.

Don’t babysit the battery.

I use it unplugged.

When the battery drops below 20%, I plug it in and don’t unplug until I’m done for the day.

I honestly hope you have the same results that I have.

Take care! 👋🏼😉

Reply

Answer 4

aarav183

Level 1

12 points

Jul 21, 2025 02:43 AM in response to saimarshadd

Charging to 100% doesn’t affect your battery. My old Macs’ batteries are still fine after 4 years of doing this. Apple Silicon Macs have great battery life, so don’t keep them plugged in to save electricity. If you want to limit charging, I recommend AlDente, the free version is enough.

Reply

Answer 5

Allan Jones

Level 9

76,634 points

Jul 21, 2025 07:36 AM in response to saimarshadd

Another way to keep the battery in good condition is to AVOID recommendations on third-party battery sites. They too often recommend things detrimental to Apple batteries, such as routine full discharges to “calibrate” the battery. Apple stopped recommending calibration about 2009.

I have a Macbook Pro I bought in 2013 that still has its original battery. Its health remains above 80% and it still gives very usable runtimes between recharging. It has now been retired, not for poor battery performance but because of diminishing browser support for older macOS versions.

Reply

Answer 6

Jul 21, 2025 07:58 AM in response to saimarshadd

Adding an uncommon “special case” for your info.

Store it half-charged when you store it long term

Ref: Batteries - Maximizing Performance - Apple

Reply