Apple Macbook Pro M1 MAX - Battery drain

Glazarus · November 25, 2022

So I've noticed that my Macbook Pro M1 MAX is draining battery fast while in sleep mode. I've searched online for these problems but as usual it's the "try restarting your computer" or "have you changed the battery settings in system settings" stuff that's just blanked statement answers that doesn't have to do with this. This is a system problem of some kind, not some setting that's off.

I've found someone describing how he's been going back and forth to Apple support and they have reinstalled his system many times as well as people telling him "this is normal" and whatever nonsense answers people who seek solutions encounters. So far, Apple support is a dead end and will just give me a cycle of BS that doesn't fix anything.

Why is this happening? Does anyone know? Some people have said this is due to bluetooth constantly waking the system up or something and I haven't tried this yet, but will at the time of writing (will report back here). But it's incredible that my 2013 Macbook Pro that has a totally worn out battery can be stored in sleep mode for months and still wake up, but my Macbook Pro M1 Max cannot be kept in sleep mode for more than a week before its battery is totally drained.

Applefreak · November 25, 2022

12 minutes ago, Glazarus said:

So I've noticed that my Macbook Pro M1 MAX is draining battery fast while in sleep mode. I've searched online for these problems but as usual it's the "try restarting your computer" or "have you changed the battery settings in system settings" stuff that's just blanked statement answers that doesn't have to do with this. This is a system problem of some kind, not some setting that's off.

I've found someone describing how he's been going back and forth to Apple support and they have reinstalled his system many times as well as people telling him "this is normal" and whatever nonsense answers people who seek solutions encounters. So far, Apple support is a dead end and will just give me a cycle of BS that doesn't fix anything.

Why is this happening? Does anyone know? Some people have said this is due to bluetooth constantly waking the system up or something and I haven't tried this yet, but will at the time of writing (will report back here). But it's incredible that my 2013 Macbook Pro that has a totally worn out battery can be stored in sleep mode for months and still wake up, but my Macbook Pro M1 Max cannot be kept in sleep mode for more than a week before its battery is totally drained.

Probably an issue with the task scheduler in the OS that keeps apps alive and the macbook then does not fully go into standby. I have had the same issue on other ARM based devices and it never got fixed. Apple can fix it by updating their software. What you can do yourself is check for applications you might have installed outside the default ones. Maybe something that runs in the background like a video call app, a messenger, email etc. Something that requires an active connection wants to stay alive no matter what. Simple solution, just shut it down. Boot times are not an issue on the M1 macbooks. I get the inconvenience but it is not the first time Apple screwed up the OS at some point for no good reason at all, same as other companies I guess but with apple you cannot really switch the OS anymore.

Glazarus · November 25, 2022

Well, I have Slack, Spotify, Chrome running, stuff that's just there whenever I close the lid.

It's really bonkers that they don't fix this, just let sleep mode be sleep mode. All this "wake up" stuff should be cancelled once the screen lid is closed, it should be a hard sleep mode shutting everything off. I don't want it to drain while I'm traveling only to find out that it's been draining until I pull it out to work with. What's the point of better battery times on the Macbooks if it gets cancelled by bad programming of the OS?

Applefreak · November 25, 2022

31 minutes ago, Glazarus said:

Well, I have Slack, Spotify, Chrome running, stuff that's just there whenever I close the lid.

It's really bonkers that they don't fix this, just let sleep mode be sleep mode. All this "wake up" stuff should be cancelled once the screen lid is closed, it should be a hard sleep mode shutting everything off. I don't want it to drain while I'm traveling only to find out that it's been draining until I pull it out to work with. What's the point of better battery times on the Macbooks if it gets cancelled by bad programming of the OS?

You know the funny thing is, years ago, in the late 1990s most countries forbid the use of standby because devices weren't fully shutting down. Things like hibernation mode where RAM is written to disk and the system shut down completely were the answer as were standards on mitigating power leaks in standby. Nowadays we care about convenience over power draw and safety. We want that thing to resume work in an instant instead of waiting a couple of seconds. In reality, every device in standby, plugged in or not, is a potential fire hazard waiting to happen and as we know you cannot extinguish burning lithium cells that easily.

I would assume Apple good patch the issue quite easily. The will to be an excellent company with a high level of customer satisfaction seem to have been lost years ago, ever since the iPhone was launched and turned the company into it's own enemy. Even my 2006 MacBook will stay alive in standby for 3 days without an issue, and that thing is power hungry.