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MacBook Pro Battery Service Recommended Notification – No Issues Found in Diagnostics Test...?

Hey,


I've recently had an issue with my MacBook Pro 15-inch 2018 device model, macOS14.0. I'm getting a "Service Recommended" notification for the battery, so I checked my current cycle count and it is at 155. I then ran a diagnostics test and it reported no issues. Has anyone else experienced this?


I'm wondering if it's a software glitch or if there could be some hidden issue with my battery that the diagnostics test didn't catch. What steps should I take to determine the cause and potentially resolve this? Your insights and advice would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks in advance!

MacBook Pro (2017 – 2020)

Posted on Oct 13, 2023 8:44 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 13, 2023 10:23 AM

Batteries are a wear item, like the soles of your shoes and the tires on your car. Their expected lifetime depends on use (as reflected in Charge cycles) and also in the passage of time, used or not. After a while, you should expect to have to replace the battery.


Battery life also depends on two factors you may be able to control a bit better. Lithium polymer batteries deteriorate when they get too hot, and when they are subject to very deep discharge. These should be avoided when possible.


Despite using these batteries in millions of Apple devices, there is still a lot of of randomness in exactly which battery will fail when.


Apple SUGGESTS (but does not Warrant) that your battery MAY last as long as 1000 charge cycles, provided all other factors are well-controlled.


Apple uses the criterion that a battery that doesn't to hold 80 percent of its original charge capacity should be serviced, and likely replaced.


When designing systems, that 80 percent rule is intended so that, over a Very large sample of devices, almost all will be able to achieve their 'mission' -- still have at least 80 percent capacity at the three-year mark.


_______

When you present your Mac at the Genius Bar with a battery complaint, the technician will perform some diagnostic tests on the battery, looking for hidden faults. If your battery passes all those, the question the technician will ask is "is this battery still able to deliver 80 percent of its original capacity TODAY."


If it is, that battery is working as intended and will not be replaced.


When your battery can no longer can perform as expected, you will need to replace it. Batteries wear out. Their levels decrease with time.


Batteries - Maximizing Performance - Apple





3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 13, 2023 10:23 AM in response to katie365

Batteries are a wear item, like the soles of your shoes and the tires on your car. Their expected lifetime depends on use (as reflected in Charge cycles) and also in the passage of time, used or not. After a while, you should expect to have to replace the battery.


Battery life also depends on two factors you may be able to control a bit better. Lithium polymer batteries deteriorate when they get too hot, and when they are subject to very deep discharge. These should be avoided when possible.


Despite using these batteries in millions of Apple devices, there is still a lot of of randomness in exactly which battery will fail when.


Apple SUGGESTS (but does not Warrant) that your battery MAY last as long as 1000 charge cycles, provided all other factors are well-controlled.


Apple uses the criterion that a battery that doesn't to hold 80 percent of its original charge capacity should be serviced, and likely replaced.


When designing systems, that 80 percent rule is intended so that, over a Very large sample of devices, almost all will be able to achieve their 'mission' -- still have at least 80 percent capacity at the three-year mark.


_______

When you present your Mac at the Genius Bar with a battery complaint, the technician will perform some diagnostic tests on the battery, looking for hidden faults. If your battery passes all those, the question the technician will ask is "is this battery still able to deliver 80 percent of its original capacity TODAY."


If it is, that battery is working as intended and will not be replaced.


When your battery can no longer can perform as expected, you will need to replace it. Batteries wear out. Their levels decrease with time.


Batteries - Maximizing Performance - Apple





Oct 13, 2023 6:58 PM in response to katie365

Unless the battery is not performing to your expectations, then you can ignore the "Service Recommended" message for now.


The "Service Recommended" condition can be due to a battery's Full Charge Capacity (FCC) dropping below 80% (Apple may have recently changed this to a lower value), or due to a hardware failure with the battery. Sometimes the "Service Recommended" condition can come & go when either the FCC or failure is borderline. Normally if the battery condition is "Service Recommended", then the diagnostic should report an issue, but when it is borderline the diagnostic may not detect it, plus I think Apple may have modified both macOS & the diagnostics to register battery issues differently now.


FYI, your laptop is about five years old, so it is not unreasonable to see the battery starting to wear out or even fail. While Apple should replace the battery if the condition is showing as "Service Recommended", it is better if it actually fails the diagnostic since Apple tends to require a failing service diagnostic result before they will offer a battery replacement.


I would wait to replace the battery until it is not performing to your expectations. Just keep in mind this 2018 laptop will become "Vintage" sometime around May 2024 (could be several months after) so I would replace the battery around that time even if it is still performing well for you if you plan to keep using the laptop for some more years. Theoretically hardware repairs are still possible for another two years once a Mac becomes "Vintage", but only as long as the necessary part is still available. Supposedly Apple will replace batteries up to 10 years after purchase, but again the fine print mentions "as long as the part is still available".

Oct 13, 2023 9:39 AM in response to katie365

katie365 wrote:

Hey,

I've recently had an issue with my MacBook Pro 15-inch 2018 device model, macOS14.0. I'm getting a "Service Recommended" notification for the battery, so I checked my current cycle count and it is at 155. I then ran a diagnostics test and it reported no issues. Has anyone else experienced this?

I'm wondering if it's a software glitch or if there could be some hidden issue with my battery that the diagnostics test didn't catch. What steps should I take to determine the cause and potentially resolve this? Your insights and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!



Determine battery cycle count for Mac notebooks

Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops - Apple Support


Get help with your Mac notebook battery

Learn how to optimize the life of the battery in your Mac notebook, fix battery issues, and get service.

If you see Service Recommended on your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro - Apple Support




MacBook Pro Battery Service Recommended Notification – No Issues Found in Diagnostics Test...?

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