Laptop batteries have a finite life. There’s only so many cycles they can go through before they begin to weaken and lose charge more quickly. But how do you find out how many battery cycles your MacBook Pro has been through? And how many cycles can it take? Let me show you.
By the way, the following instructions will work on any MacBook, not only the MacBook Pro.
Where to find the MacBook Pro battery cycle count
To find the number of battery cycles for your MacBook Pro:
- Click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of the screen
- Select About this Mac
- Click System Report
- Select Power under Hardware from the left-hand menu of the System Report
Under Battery Information, you should find a cycle count, as well as report on the condition of your laptop battery and its maximum capacity.
Your MacBook Pro battery should be good for around 1,000 cycles, unless it’s a very old model, where the number might be restricted to 500 or fewer.
If you find the MacBook Pro battery has deteriorated to the point where it can’t hold a charge, you may be able to get it replaced by Apple. In the UK, you’re looking at about £200 to get a 2019 MacBook Pro 16in battery replaced by Apple, but you might be able to get a cheaper deal if you go to an independent computer repair store. Beware that doing so may invalidate any remaining warranty for the MacBook Pro and that they may not use official Apple parts.
How long does a MacBook Pro last?
One warning from personal experience. Apple is very quick to say that non-Apple parts were used in case there are any problems they can’t solve. So be careful not to give them the opportunity.
My wife’s Apple Watch suffered the dreaded permanent black screen and I made no attempt to open it but took it to the store; who sent it immediately to the nearest [in Finland] official Apple repairer who had it in their hands for less than 2 hours before sending it to Apple itself [in Sweden]. They sent it back to the store saying the guarantee (6 months left) was not valid because of the use of non-official parts.
[The store then sent me a message saying they were pleased to inform me that I could collect my watch!!]
After some effort, the store agreed to credit me (I’d bought it) with the total cost of the watch, but no thanks to Apple.