New MacBook Pro M4 Pro battery draining super fast (80 → 20% in ~3–4 hrs)?

Are you using an external monitor?

Are any aftermarket utilities like anti-virus or so-called "cleaing" apps installed?

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soha162 wrote:

Hey everyone,

I just got my MacBook Pro M4 Pro this past Saturday and I’m a bit concerned about the battery. Today it dropped from 80% down to 20% in about 3–4 hours while I was mainly using Safari and Microsoft Word. Nothing heavy like video editing.

Web browsing is much more system & energy intense than most people realize due to all of the ads & tracking junk embedded within webpages. Some websites which are not mainstream may even contain bitcoin miners which really uses energy. Plus the more open browser windows & tabs, the more strain it can put on the system.

Activity Monitor shows Safari with high 12-hr power usage, but nothing else looks unusual.

I have no faith in Activity Monitor's "Energy" tab information. I have seen absolutely incorrect details being shown there. If I open the drop down for an app to reveal every process for a single app, the numbers may add up to more than what you see by default view as shown in your screenshot. Another Apple built-in app which is broken.

Given Apple advertises ~21 hours of battery life, I was expecting at least 10+ hrs of real-world use, not just 3–4.

That is marketing & advertising numbers. Those values were what Apple could achieve in a lab with very ideal conditions to maximize this value. Those numbers can never be achieved in the real world. Always ignore all the marketing mumbo jumbo when it comes to any performance numbers as the manufacturer will do whatever they can to achieve the best numbers under those test conditions. Not quite a lie, but it is extremely deceptive and has been done for decades by most manufacturers.

Is this a hardware/software issue? Anyone else seeing similar battery drain?

It is most likely an issue with third party software you have installed, or perhaps a configuration issue. Anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, and third party security software are likely to cause issues like this....uninstall them by following the developers' instructions since they are not needed on a Mac & will usually cause more problems than they solve. Cloud file syncing services (including iCloud) have been notorious for this at times.

Do you experience the same drain while booted into Safe Mode? If not, then most likely the cause is related to some third party software you have installed.

Also, try disconnecting all external devices in case one of them is causing the problem.

if your Mac has an Activity Monitor Memory pane the color of this one, you have overloaded the RAM memory, and the excess is spilling onto the SWAP file on the Boot drive.

This uses FAR more power.

I had the same issue I wanted to return my Mac but then I waited for a week and found out Spotlight needs sometime to Index during first time usages.

When you set it down in one place or for the night, plug it in. Then you won't CARE whether it would drain the battery when nominally asleep.

That computer is a battery-CAPABLE device. It is not optimized as a battery-operated device. (It is NOT an iPhone.)

Your computer performs best when connected to AC power, such as the power adapter. It can use the full output of the Power Adapter AND when doing especially challenging work will also freely "borrow" power from the battery. In some cases, even with the power adapter connected, the charged state may decline during very stressful work.

When used only on battery, your computer has no extra cushion of power, and may perform more slowly. However, for ordinary non-stressful tasks this may not be objectionable (possibly not even noticeable.)

In general, you should ALWAYS connect a power source when it is possible to do so, and only run on batteries (which could be somewhat slower) when no power sources are at hand. Modern Macs maintains optimum battery charge levels under program control, and will NEVER over-charge. Activate Battery Health Management and do not spend another moment of your time thinking about charging.

<< Today it dropped from 80% down to 20% in about 3–4 hours while I was mainly using Safari and Microsoft Word. >>

...and Excel, and creative cloud, and Five Citrix things, and Messages, and PowerPoint, and Edge, and more. Have you considered QUITing the things you are not actively using at the moment?

How much memory do you have in this Mac?