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Laurence5905
User level: Level 1 (109 points)

MacBook Pro charging to 100% despite Charge Limit being set to 80%.

Just what the title says. I have the Charge Limit (System Settings | Battery | Charging | Charge Limit) set to 80%, and yet from time to time my Mac charges to 100% for no reason. I did not click "Charge to full now," it just does it on its own. And then it *KEEPS* doing it for a few days, and finally realizes, "Oh, it's set to 80%, better stop doing it." There is no rhyme or reason that I can tell.


I unplug the charger, get it down to below 80%, reboot it, and plug it back in, sometimes it will decide to stop at 80% again, and other times it just keeps on going to 100%.


WHY?! Why will it not do what I tell it to?!


M2 Pro MacBook Pro

MacOS 26.7.1

Posted on Oct 8, 2026 3:14 PM

8 replies

HWTech
User level: Level 9 (78,350 points)

Oct 8, 2026 4:04 PM in response to Laurence5905

That is normal behavior since the battery needs to be exercised & calibrated by charging to 100% occasionally. See the details about Optimized Charging & Charging Limits in the following Apple article:

About Optimized Battery Charging and Charge Limit on Mac - Apple Support


Remember, charging to 80% is a side-effect, not the goal as a respected forum contributor @Grant Bennet-Alder likes to say.


Just ignore the battery health information and use your laptop normally until the battery no longer meets your expectations.


steve626
User level: Level 7 (20,243 points)

Oct 8, 2026 4:46 PM in response to Laurence5905

Adding a little to what the others have already indicated ...


I see this behavior on my MacBook Pro (Tahoe 26.6.2), Apple Watch (OS 26), and iPhone (iOS 26). It is all normal and expected. Ordinarily, they all charge to 80%, and this goes on for weeks. Then every so often, usually just for a few days, one or the other will charge to 100%. As previously noted, this is for both calibration purposes and also to properly exercise the battery to get the maximum lifetime out of it. At this moment, today, my watch decide to charge to 100% but it ordinarily charges to 80% to maximize battery lifetime. A few weeks ago my MacBook Pro started charging to 100% and seemed to do that for over a week, which concerned me a little, but it has since reverted to the 80% level. My iPhone has done something similar in the past although not recently. I think this is all expected behavior.

BobHarris
User level: Level 9 (58,819 points)

Oct 8, 2026 4:15 PM in response to Laurence5905

Is this while Mac is:

  • Awake?
  • Asleep?
  • Shutdown? No software running to control charging.


There is a 3rd party utility called AlDente that does a good job of keeping a Mac at 80% if it is not shutdown.

Laurence5905 Author
User level: Level 1 (109 points)

Oct 8, 2026 5:00 PM in response to BobHarris

I never shut it down. It happens when it's awake and being used, as well as when it's in sleep mode. It seems random. But judging by what others are saying here, it's normal because the battery needs to be recalibrated occasionally.

Laurence5905 Author
User level: Level 1 (109 points)

Oct 8, 2026 5:01 PM in response to steve626

How do you get your watch to stop charging at 80%? I have an Apple Watch Series 11 running WatchOS 26.6, and it only has an "optimized charging" setting, but no "charge limit" setting that I can find...

Mac Jim ID
User level: Level 10 (105,996 points)

Oct 8, 2026 5:11 PM in response to Laurence5905

Laurence5905 wrote:
How do you get your watch to stop charging at 80%? I have an Apple Watch Series 11 running WatchOS 26.6, and it only has an "optimized charging" setting, but no "charge limit" setting that I can find...

There is no Charge Limit on an Apple Watch, it only has Optimized Charging. The watch will learn your charging habits over a period of time to determine when to charge to 80% and when it will charge to full. In order for the Optimized Charging to work effectively where it will learn your charging habits, you should charge your watch at regular intervals, for example all night, every night.

  • Your Apple Watch takes time to learn your charging patterns before it uses Optimized Battery Charging or Optimized Charge Limit. If your watch is new, the charging screen will say Charging to full. Optimized Charge Limit changes dynamically depending on how you use your watch. Based on your usage patterns, your watch might charge to 100% on some days, and less on others.

About Optimized Battery Charging on Apple Watch - Apple Support


steve626
User level: Level 7 (20,243 points)

Oct 8, 2026 6:19 PM in response to Laurence5905

Laurence5905 wrote:
How do you get your watch to stop charging at 80%? I have an Apple Watch Series 11 running WatchOS 26.6, and it only has an "optimized charging" setting, but no "charge limit" setting that I can find...

My watch is still on OS26 but I simply selected "Optimized Charging" as "on" (active) and it always goes to 80%. Except once in a while it "charges to full," but only once in a while. As Mac Jim says, it seems to notice when I use the watch more and seems to charge to full when that happens. For instance, recently we were traveling and watch charge ended up lower at the end of the day than normally happens and in response it charged to full for a couple of days.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256372772