M1 MacBook Battery Health Issue (Maximum Capacity Bug?)

M1 Macbook Air Battery Health issue

M1 Macbook Air Battery Health issue. | Source: Reddit


Is your brand new M1 Macbook showing a maximum battery capacity value less than 100%? You’re not the only one. We’ve just received a report from a M1 MacBook Air owner that sees a maximum capacity of 98% after a single week of usage. Apple’s M1 Silicone chip offers great energy efficiency and thus a spectacular battery life! Should you be worried by this early downtrend of the battery health?

We’ve found a similar report on Reddit, from an user claiming that the same model is showing the identical 98% Maximum Capacity value, after just nine charging cycles. More, the same user claims that the percentage went down from 100% to 98% in just a couple of hours. Could this be a macOS Big Sur bug, or the Mac M1 has a battery problem?

M1 MacBook Battery Issue?

It’s too early to tell if this is just a macOS 11.0.1 glitch, that causes battery health calibration errors, or if the battery that’s packing the M1 Macbook is aging faster than normal. We’ve published this article to help to raise awareness and gather reactions from other 2020 MacBook owners. If you notice a similar premature battery ageing trend please use the comments section and share your feedback.

How To Check MacBook Battery Health

To see the current condition of your Macs battery proceed as follows:

  • Open System Preferences from the Dock.
  • Click on Battery, in the left sidebar.
  • Open Battery Health…
  • Check the value next to the Maximum Capacity label.
    Fact: This is a measure of battery capacity relative to when it was new.

Trick To Unveil M1 MacBook Maximum Battery Capacity

You can double-check if the Battery Health reading in System Settings is correct using Terminal:
m1 macbook maximum battery capacity in terminal

  • 1. Open Terminal, using command + spacebar combo.
  • 2. Copy/paste the following command: ioreg -l -w0 | grep Capacity
  • 3. Click Return key to execute.
  • 4. Maximum Capacity value will be displayed right above “DesignCapacity”.

How To Find Out MacBook Battery Charge Cycles

  • Click the Apple logo in the, top-left corner of the screen and select About This Mac.
  • Open System Report…, from the Overview tab.
  • Click On Power, in the Hardware section of the sidebar.
  • Check the Cycle Count, in the Health Information section of the Battery Information category.
    • M1 MacBook Battery Life

      Ever since the release of the new MacBook computers equipped with the Apple M1 Silicone chip, users have reported about impressive battery duration, when compared to the Intel-based Macs.

      M1 Mac battery life is great and a 98% maximum capacity value shouldn’t influence it too much. However, users have to keep this under observation to see if the battery health continues to degrade at an abnormal rate.

      If this is a macOS 11.0.1 Big Sur problem, the Maximum Capacity should correct itself, when Apple issues a software update with a fix.

      Does your M1 Mac also show signs of premature battery ageing? Please share your feedback in the comments section. Do mention your Mac model as well as how long you’ve owned the machine for.

      Related: You might want to find out how to display the MacBook’s remaining battery percentage, in the macOS Big Sur status bar!