Live data from Hacker News

Unplug Your Laptop Now, or It Will Stay Plugged in Forever

gizmodo.com

61–70 of 73 posts

Re: Unplug Your Laptop Now, or It Will Stay Plugged in Forever

#61
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

macOS actually does that somehow indeed. Not exactly, but it does prevent charge when it “guesses” the computer will stay plugged in for a long time based on previous usage.

Which isn't a solution, I just want a toggle so I know it works. I don't want to train some hidden logic so it correctly guesses what I want based on what someone on the other side of the planet assumed my usage pattern looks like.

Not builtin, but possible: https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/406961

Re: Unplug Your Laptop Now, or It Will Stay Plugged in Forever

#62
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

macOS actually does that somehow indeed. Not exactly, but it does prevent charge when it “guesses” the computer will stay plugged in for a long time based on previous usage.

Which isn't a solution, I just want a toggle so I know it works. I don't want to train some hidden logic so it correctly guesses what I want based on what someone on the other side of the planet assumed my usage pattern looks like.

> Which isn't a solution…

…for you. For me, I am perfectly content with the algorithm deciding, and then me, deciding when I know I am going to be disconnected outside of my normal usage pattern…telling the machine to charge it to a 100%.

Re: Unplug Your Laptop Now, or It Will Stay Plugged in Forever

#63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some laptop manufacturers include this mode. At least I have it in lenovos (not exatctly 70%, they allow cap at 80%), and have seen in some samsungs years ago.

Where do you set this? OS, BIOS or some Lenovo control software?

At least one of those; depends on the device. As sibling comments note, plenty of devices expose it in software, where in Windows you use the vendor's utility and Linux puts it in /sys, but I've got laptops that either don't do that or I couldn't find it but I could configure it in the BIOS settings. So you might have to dig around a little.

Re: Unplug Your Laptop Now, or It Will Stay Plugged in Forever

#64
post #8

Please explain like I'm five: if continuously charging and drawing power at 100% hurts my laptop's battery, why doesn't the laptop bypass the battery circuitry, keeping it idle, and use the incoming juice directly?

So you'll buy a new computer in 2 years when the battery is dead. I'm boycotting laptops until this gets fixed

I am on the same MB Air since early 2019 and short of very occasional travel in the last 5 years it stays plugged in all the time. Just got back from a trip where I had more than 5 hours of heavy usage on battery and went nearly 6 hours before I was looking for an outlet.

I’m not unhappy with that…so I am always a bit skeptical of these laptop plugged in all the time are bad claims because it just doesn’t match my recent experience.

Re: Unplug Your Laptop Now, or It Will Stay Plugged in Forever

#65
post #8

Please explain like I'm five: if continuously charging and drawing power at 100% hurts my laptop's battery, why doesn't the laptop bypass the battery circuitry, keeping it idle, and use the incoming juice directly?

It does. https://support.apple.com/en-us/102338

Re: Unplug Your Laptop Now, or It Will Stay Plugged in Forever

#66
That's more annoying than the consequence, so I won't do it. I am not so poor and unskilled that a $79.99 macbook battery swap in a 10 years is worse than the daily annoyance of thinking about a plug every hour of my life. But that's all moot. The latest MacOS already accounts for this, and lets the battery drain while plugged in, instead of topping off to 100% https://support.apple.com/en-us/102338. So it's not even a real issue anymore.

Re: Unplug Your Laptop Now, or It Will Stay Plugged in Forever

#67

It seems like laptops should treat 80% like its 100% and have a separate "overcharge" feature that can be activated manually or automatically on a schedule or when not on home WiFi.

My Toyota Prius does this with its NiMH traction battery. The battery is now 18 years old and only starting to show its age.

Re: Unplug Your Laptop Now, or It Will Stay Plugged in Forever

#68
post #66

That's more annoying than the consequence, so I won't do it. I am not so poor and unskilled that a $79.99 macbook battery swap in a 10 years is worse than the daily annoyance of thinking about a plug every hour of my life. But that's all moot. The latest MacOS already accounts for this, and lets the battery drain while plugged in, instead of topping off to 100% https://support.apple.com/en-us/102338 . So it's not eve…

> "The latest MacOS already accounts for this"

Does that actually work, though?

My iPhone does quite a terrible job at "optimized battery charging"...

Re: Unplug Your Laptop Now, or It Will Stay Plugged in Forever

#69
post #21

Apple took this out of Mac OS somewhat recently. You can try to rely on their power management, but given battery decay is a common reason to buy a new machine I don’t trust them really. If you have an Apple Silicon Mac I can recommend Battery [1]. It can keep your Mac at 80%, and even force discharge while plugged in to get there. It’s a CLI and status bar utility, I love it. [1: https://github.com/actuallymentor/ba…

Alternative tool for macOS: "Al Dente" :

https://apphousekitchen.com/

Post reply on HN