The first thought that you can click to your mind after looking at the service battery warning on your MacBook Pro is that you need to change your MacBook’s Battery. And unfortunately, yes, you have to. But you don’t have to rush for that. You can remove the warning temporarily by using the fixes given below.
Although this service battery on MacBook Pro is not only for the Battery, it can be caused by a lot of different reasons. The following are the levels of service battery warnings.
- Normal– This is the first phase of the warning. The status of the Battery is good, and you can use it usually.
- Replace soon– As the message specifies that you have to replace the Battery soon, as the Battery is degrading, and can eventually stop working shortly.
- Service Battery– Battery needs to be replaced or serviced.
Why do I see Service Battery on Macbook Pro?
As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of reasons for the service battery warning on MacBook, for that you have to understand why this happened in the first place.
- There is a specific lifespan of the Battery; after that, Battery needs to be replaced.
- Mac has a lithium-ion battery, and when it dies, it dies. Replacement or the service is the ultimate solution.
- Your cycle count has probably exceeded its limits- the solution is the change of Battery.
How to check the Cycle Count?
Cycle count is the number of times your Mac’s charged and discharged in its whole life. There are a couple of ways to ascertain the current cycle count of your MacBook. The simplest way is explained below.
1. Snap-on the Apple icon on the top left the corner, and in the drop-down menu, select the “About this Mac.”
2. Now click on the System report in the next tab that appeared as shown in the picture below.
3. In the left tab, look for the Hardware tab, and look for the Power option. Click on that.
4. Here in the Power option, you can see the Cycle count of your Mac under the Health Information tab.
What to do now?
There are a few fixes that you can do to fix the service battery warning. But keep in mind that it is a temporary solution, and at the end of the day you have to replace the Battery. Let’s take a look at the solutions.
Now you may be thinking that what is the total cycle count? Well, every mac model has a different cycle count to determine its battery life.
1. Reset SMC to fix service battery warning on Mac.
In this fix, we are going to reset the System Management Controller, and it is not a software but a hardware chip in your Mac that controls a lot of hardware appendages, including fans, backlights, display, and Battery. So most of the issues related to these things can be fixed by resetting the SMC.
It is not that difficult; you can reset SMC in a few clicks. Here are the steps to reset SMC.
- Turn off your MacBook.
- Now press, left Shift + Option + Ctrl + Power button at a time, and hold for five seconds.
- Free all the keys at the same time when the computer turns on.
- Done! Your Mac’s SMC has been reset.
- Now turn on the Mac and see if the battery service MacBook pro error is gone or not?
If not, then you have to proceed for the 2nd procedure. In that, we are going to recalibrate the Battery.
2. Recalibrate the Battery to remove the service battery warning.
This is not a trick or something like that, but it is suggested to care for your Macbook. Apple says that you should do the battery recalibration once in a couple of months for the health of the Battery.
It is a long process and takes up to 6-8 hours to complete the whole process no matter what model of Macbook you are using, so keep this in mind while starting the calibration process.
Here is the simple procedure to do the battery recalibration.
- Fully charge your Macbook with the recommended charger until the MagSafe light turns green.
- Now, don’t unplug the charger, keep charging, but now you have to use your Macbook for next two to three hours, or you can open power-intensive programs.
- After two to three hours of continuous use while charging, unplug the charger, and keep using it.
- When your Macbook turns off due to insufficient Battery, keep it off for the next five hours. After that, plug it in and charge it fully.
- Congrats! Your Mac battery has been calibrated.
What? Were you thinking battery calibration being done by software? I was thinking the same until I asked the Apple support.
This fix will not only fix the service battery warning but also makes the battery health better. But if nothing of the method works for you, then that means that you are very much out of your count cycles, and also, there is some malfunction in your Mac that needs the supervision of Apple’s professionals. Go for the last method for the ultimate fix.
3. Take your Macbook to the Authorised Apple Store
This is the ultimate solution for the service battery MacBook error that you are receiving. You have to take your MacBook to the nearest authorized Apple store. If your Macbook is in warranty, then this service is provided for free (most probably). But if your Macbook is out of warranty, then it can cost you from $100 to $200 depends on your MacBook model.
How to Extend the Battery Life of Your Macbook?
It is very important to use your MacBook carefully to work fine and not create problems for a longer time. TechNinjaPro has gathered a list of tricks that you can use to extend the battery life of your Macbook.
First, keep your MacBook plugged in at all times.
If you have access to an AC outlet at home or elsewhere, take advantage of it. When you’re not plugged into a power outlet, try not to allow your Macbook’s battery to go below 50% before connecting it back in.
This method improves the life of your MacBook by reducing the number of times it has to be charged. You’re simply decreasing the burden on your battery by not allowing your Macbook to run out of juice before charging it back.
Examine Battery preferences
You can examine the preferences for the battery in the system preferences and make changes to it to improve the battery life of the Macbook. Follow the steps given to go to the settings:
- Open Apple Menu and go to System Preferences.
- Choose battery or Energy Saver, then pick Battery in the sidebar to reveal Battery settings.
Make the following changes to the battery settings to get the most out of your battery:
- “Slightly dim the display while on battery power” should be enabled. When you unplug the computer, this setting allows your Mac to reduce the display brightness to 75%.
- “Enable Power Nap while on battery power” should be turned off. This setting blocks your Mac from looking for mail or even other iCloud updates while you’re sleeping, allowing you to get more standby time.
- “Automatic graphics switching” should be enabled. This option enables MacBook Pro devices with various graphics processors to swap between them automatically to maximize battery life.
- “Low power mode” should be enabled. This option lowers energy use to extend battery life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Service battery means that your Macbook battery cycle count is exceeded. Macbook battery has a specific number of cycles. And if they get completed, you have to change the battery.
Here is a simple procedure to turn off the service battery warning.
Fully charge your Macbook with the recommended charger until the MagSafe light turns green.
Now, don’t unplug the charger, keep charging, but now you have to use your Macbook for next two to three hours, or you can open power-intensive programs.
After two to three hours of continuous use while charging, unplug the charger, and keep using it.
When your Macbook turns off due to insufficient Battery, keep it off for the next five hours. After that, plug it in and charge it fully.
Congrats! Your Mac battery has been calibrated.
Apple does not recommend keeping your Macbook plugged in. But it does not give any harm to the lithium-ion battery.
Conclusion:
Every machine we use need maintenance after some time. With Service battery, MacBook pro is trying to tell you that “some time” has been passed, and now you have to replace the Battery, or you have to keep the charger plugged in to continue using your MacBook.
But you can remove the service battery warning quickly using the above tricks. But keep in mind that these fixes are not going to falsify the bitter truth that your MacBook’s battery is going to be dead soon.