Howdy folks,
For the most part, I keep my 2019 MacBook Pro plugged in to power, and only use it on battery periodically when I take it to a cafe or on the road to a hotel or the like. I’m currently in a hotel, and have the MBP plugged in, and noticed that battery charging is “paused.” I’m curious as to why the charging would pause at about 77%, instead of pushing to 100%. I’ve seen this happen a few times, but never looked in to. Any thoughts or ideas?
Cheers.
I think Apple instituted a Smart Charging with OS updates. At least I noticed this with my iPhone that does the same thing. It has some benefit for extending the life of the battery, I think.
Access the Battery or Power setting (preference for pre-Vetura systems). There should be a switch called Optimized Battery Charging. In Ventura, it’s accessed by tapping the circled ‘i’ associated with Battery Health. The default is to turn it on, limiting the charge capacity to 80%. This will increase the battery’s longevity while shortening the time you can use the computer before recharging it.
My practice is to leave it on, but if I believe that I may need to stretch the time before the next charge, I will turn it off and allow the battery to charge fully.
When it’s paused, there’s a menu option “Charge to Full Now” in the battery menu bar extension to continue charging to 100%.