Install This Update to Keep Your MacBook Battery From Dying Overnight
Apple Silicon is known for its efficiency, allowing you to use your MacBook for extended periods of time and sleep without having to go back to the charger. Lately, however, it seems like MacBooks of all sorts are running out of battery quickly; you can open your fully charged MacBook and find it completely dead without a clear explanation as to why. We not only know why this problem occurs, but now we know how to fix it.
The fault seems to lie with macOS 12.2 . The update released by Apple on January 26th inadvertently contained a battery drain bug. On both Apple Silicon and Intel-based computers, Bluetooth devices often wake up the MacBook from sleep, causing excessive battery drain when the Mac is supposed to conserve power while it sleeps. You can charge your MacBook to 100%, turn it off, go to sleep, and wake up with a dead battery—all because your AirPods, Magic Mouse, or other connected Bluetooth devices want the party to go on all night.
So far, the best advice has been to turn off Bluetooth while your Mac is sleeping, which is a little annoying when you have to worry every time you close your laptop. Fortunately, this irritation is no longer necessary; Apple released macOS 12.2.1 today (February 10). In addition to fixing security updates, 12.2.1 has one new change: it fixes the bug responsible for this Bluetooth battery drain headache.
How to Prevent Your MacBook Battery from Draining Overnight
To download and install macOS 12.2.1, open System Preferences and click Software Update. Let your Mac boot up, then click Update Now. If you have ” Automatically update my Mac ” enabled, this update will install by itself in due time. This update is available for all macOS Monterey-compliant Macs, but only MacBooks are affected by this particular fix (because iMacs, Mac minis, and Mac Pros don’t have batteries).
Of course, this resolution assumes that the only issue with your MacBook’s battery is a bug caused by macOS 12.2. If you find that your battery is still draining overnight after updating your Mac, you need to continue troubleshooting. You may just need a new battery for your machine , which, depending on your model, can be upgraded for free through Apple.
[ Macrumors ]