MacBook Pro 14" M4 Max Battery Drain While Lid Closed

Question

Level 1

4 points

MacBook Pro 14" M4 Max Battery Drain While Lid Closed

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a MacBook Pro 14" M4 Max (brand new, 2 weeks old), but due to work constraints, I haven’t had time to set it up properly. It’s mostly been sitting on my desk with the lid closed (sleep mode). I’ve only used it sporadically—less than 5 hours total so far—but I’ve noticed significant battery drain even when idle.

Issue Details:

Screen time: Almost zero (see screenshot—lid closed for days).
Battery drain: Noticeable drop over 1–2 days despite no usage.
Power Nap: Disabled in settings (attached screenshot).
Activity: Minimal background tasks (no heavy apps, just occasional Safari/mail checks).

What I’ve Tried:

Checked Activity Monitor → No rogue processes.
Disabled Power Nap and "Wake for network access" in Battery Settings.
Updated to the latest macOS Sonoma (no pending updates).

Questions:

Is this normal for a new M4 MacBook Pro? Could it be indexing/background setup?
How can I diagnose what’s causing the drain? (e.g., terminal commands, logs?)
Should I fully charge/discharge the battery or use it more actively to calibrate?

[Edited by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.5

Posted on Jul 29, 2025 06:08 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 30, 2025 05:11 AM in response to qAgCl

I have strong reason to believe the culprit is Surfshark VPN.

It appears that Surfshark is keeping some background processes or network daemons alive, preventing the Mac from fully entering deep sleep. This would explain the persistent battery drain even when the MacBook appears to be asleep. Disabling Surfshark or quitting it manually before closing the lid seems to slow the drain considerably, which reinforces my suspicion.

It’s worth checking Activity Monitor for any Surfshark-related processes still running in the background — especially those under the “Network” or “Energy” tabs. Also, consider toggling off “Connect on Demand” and disabling background service options in the app’s settings.

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

66,986 points

Jul 30, 2025 11:22 AM in response to qAgCl

FYI, as long as the laptop is powered on (even in sleep mode), then the battery will drain. How fast it drains depends on the software you have installed and various configuration settings.

You can either power off the laptop by selecting "Shutdown" from the Apple menu, or you can connect the power adapter whenever possible. Even completely powered down, the laptop's battery will still drain slowly since some circuits must remain powered on in order to detect the power button, opening of the lid, or pressing a key. Even then the battery may still drain completely after sitting a few months.

Or you can modify some of your settings or uninstall any unnecessary apps that may be running in the background. Unfortunately people think all apps are necessary such as VPN software. VPN software does not provide the privacy or security people think they do. The only time a VPN provide privacy & security is when you are connecting directly to an employer's network or if you have a VPN server set up on your home network to access those resources from remote locations. With the former, your employer will usually provide the VPN app to you since many times generic VPN apps may not work with a corporate VPN appliance.

See this article about VPNs:

https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29

This article also provide some details about VPNs:

VPN: What you need to know - Apple Community

I think everyone should read the following article as well as it provides great advice for keeping your Mac running smoothly & safely:

Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community

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Answer 3

Jul 30, 2025 01:31 AM in response to qAgCl

See the two Pics below:

Pic1: Battery Optimisation:

Pic2: Background Activity Settings:

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Answer 4

qAgCl Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 30, 2025 04:51 AM in response to SravanKrA

Thanks for the help, but I need something more specific. I want my apps to work in background normally, but pause completely when I close the lid.

Here are the apps I have running in the background (see screenshot). No Docker containers are active. What's strange is that the battery drained specifically over these last two days, and Sunday's battery usage was noticeably lower than Monday's or Tuesday's despite similar idle time.

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