Is it safe to use a UPS with my MacBook Pro (M3 Pro) in clamshell mode?

<< I'm worried about:

• Overcharging the battery since it would be constantly connected to a power source.
• Any potential interference or conflict between the UPS and the MacBook's own advanced battery management system.?? >>

The CHARGER is inside the MacBook Pro, and is completely under program control. Your Mac accepts some power when needs to run, and accepts more power when it intends to charge its internal battery. A power source like the Power Adapter or certain Displays can not 'force itself' on your MacBook Pro. Only the algorithms inside your Mac can decide when is a good time to charge the battery. Your Mac can NEVER be over-charged.

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.

ashrafulmijan5 wrote:

Hello everyone,

I'm currently using my MacBook Pro (M3 Pro) in clamshell mode with an external monitor. To protect my setup from sudden power outages, I have connected my external monitor to a UPS.

My main concern is about my MacBook. When the power goes out, the MacBook's built-in battery keeps it running, but in clamshell mode, it typically goes into sleep mode when the external power source is lost. To prevent this, I'm considering connecting my MacBook to the UPS as well.

I've read Apple's support documentation about battery health and charging, but I'm still not 100% sure about the implications of using a UPS directly with a laptop that has its own internal battery.

My question is:

Will connecting my MacBook Pro to a UPS cause any long-term damage or issues with its built-in battery or other components?•

I'm worried about:

Overcharging the battery since it would be constantly connected to a power source.

• Any potential interference or conflict between the UPS and the MacBook's own advanced battery management system.

I'd appreciate any insights or experiences from users who have been using a similar setup for a while.

Thanks for your help!

I see no issue associated with the use of UPS.

Plugging the Mac into a UPS will be no different than plugging it into AC power (assuming no power outages). The Mac will manage battery health as needed. I typically run connected to a dock with one MBP, it holds at 80% charge most of the time. Another MBP is used more often on battery, and when I'm doing that it charges to full.

Basically, the Mac laptop will not know the difference between AC and the UPS. Non-portable Macs (Mini, Studio, etc.) won't know the difference, either, unless the UPS supports a USB connection and you use that with the Mac. In that case, you can adjust the behavior of the Mac on a UPS. But AFAIK, you will not see those options on a Mac laptop even if you connect it to the UPS via USB (which I would not do, anyway).

Yes, that was obvious. The overall point is that you have nothing to worry about, you can power your Mac via a UPS. The proof of that is right next to my feet (and apparently needs dusting 😉):