In today's post we are going to talk about batteries: those power sources linked to our devices that allow us to use them without depending on the electrical grid and specifically, we will focus on how to check the health of your MacBook Pro battery.
So if you want to start knowing a little more about the exciting world of lithium and know the best tips to prolong the life of your MacBook Pro battery, this is your post without a doubt.
How does a lithium battery work?
Before we get into the “nitty gritty” of how to check the health of your MacBook Pro battery, we think it is important that you know how a lithium battery like the ones in our laptop works.
A lithium ion battery It is a device that stores chemical energy and converts it into electrical energy when needed to power a computer, a mobile phone or basically any electronic device that requires portability. The lithium battery works thanks to the following elements:
Electrodes and electrolyte: the basis of the battery
The battery has two electrodes: an anode and a cathode and in the case of lithium-ion batteries, the anode is usually made of graphite and the cathode of a lithium-containing material, such as cobalt oxide or iron phosphate. and lithium.
Between the electrodes is an electrolyte, which is a substance that allows lithium ions to move between the anode and cathode when the battery is charged or discharged. Typically, the electrolyte is a solution of lithium salts dissolved in an organic solvent.
The loading and unloading system in that solution
When you connect the laptop to a power source, electrical current flows through the battery and during charging, lithium ions are attracted to the cathode, where they adhere to the crystalline structure of the cathode material. This causes the anode to release electrons that are collected by the laptop's electrical circuit.
With all this, when you disconnect the MacBook from the power source and begin to use it, the lithium ions leave the cathode and travel to the anode through the electrolyte, releasing electrons that travel through the circuit of the laptop, supplying energy.
During charging and discharging, reversible chemical reactions occur at the electrodes. These reactions release or absorb energy, allowing the battery to store and deliver energy as needed.
The BMS: what controls the entire loading and unloading process
It is important to note that lithium-ion batteries are delicate devices and require a battery management system (BMS) circuit to regulate charge and discharge, as well as to protect the battery against harmful conditions such as overcharging, Excessive discharge and extreme temperature.
Think of the BMS as the police officer who is there to “regulate” the traffic of a crowded street with different traffic exits: The work has to be well balanced, since an error in the loading or unloading process could have a fatal result for your laptop, which we will see a little later.
How to detect a bad battery?
A bad battery is easily detectable if you check what we tell you below. Any of these symptoms may mean that the battery is in the process of degradation or that it is directly dying:
- Fast download: If the battery discharges quickly even with light use, it could indicate that the battery capacity has decreased significantly.
- Short life time: If the battery life has decreased significantly compared to when it was new, even after a full charge, this could be a sign of battery degradation.
- Overheating: If the battery becomes abnormally hot while in use or while charging, it could be an indicator of internal problems in the battery.
- Inflated: If the battery swells or expands, it is a clear sign of a serious problem. This can be caused by internal overheating or the release of gases inside the battery and no matter how many videos you watch on YouTube that say you can “puncture” it to release the gases… do not do it!
- Does not charge completely: If the battery does not charge fully or displays inconsistent charging capacity, even after an extended charging period, it could be an indication of a problem with battery management.
- Warning messages: If you receive warning messages on your device indicating battery problems, such as "Battery not detected" or "Replace battery," I highly doubt it is a conspiracy by the manufacturer to try to sell you a new battery.
How to check the health of your MacBook Pro battery
To check the health of your MacBook Pro battery, fortunately you won't need any tools, instead the MacBook itself will notify you of thanks to its assistant that you should change it.
To do so, you must access the Energy section by following these steps:
- Click on the apple icon which is in the upper left corner of the screen, in order to open the Apple menu.
- Select “About this Mac”, where you will see information about your MacBook Pro.
- Find and click «System report», where you can find more detailed information and within that section, locate the categories “Hardware” and within it, “Energy”.
- In the “Energy” section, look for the “Battery status” section, where you will have the current capacity of the battery compared to its original capacity, as well as its general health.
If the battery capacity is close to its original capacity and the status says "Normal", then the battery is in good condition and you can continue using it without problems, but if it marks "Recommended repair", you may need to replace it.
And what happens if I don't change the damaged battery in my MacBook Pro?
Trackpad out? It could be a symptom of a swollen battery.
For a while, you can live with a bad battery without any problems. But if you have been with her for a long time (and above all it is swollen), you are likely to have certain risks derived from its use:
Overheating and even explosions
Bad batteries can generate excessive heat during charging or normal use. This overheating may cause damage to the device due to accumulated heat within it or, in extreme cases, even cause fires or explosions if it affects volatile components such as electrolytic capacitors.
In extreme cases, such as swollen batteries, These can cause fires or explosions. due to internal overheating if it contains any component that is volatile or to the release of flammable gases, and I think it is not necessary to focus much on why it is not desirable for this to occur.
Electrical instability and loss of information
Deteriorated batteries may experience fluctuations in power output, which may cause a unstable device operation, with shutdowns before being able to save or in the middle of a task.
The latter is very notable, since could result in sudden crashes or data loss if you have not managed to save your tasks quickly, as well as the possibility of having corrupt files on your disk.