macOS Sonoma Battery Draining Fast - 11 Easy Fixes

Clare Phang
Last updated: Sep 21, 2023

This post is about the reasons and fixes for MacBook battery draining fast after upgrading to macOS Sonoma. Read on to learn more useful information.

macOS Sonoma battery drains fast is common to hear. It is one of the top concerns of MacBook users who upgraded to macOS Sonoma.

So it's of great importance to learn some practical solutions to fix this tackle macOS Sonoma battery life issue.

In this post, you'll learn 11 easy and quick methods to fix the macOS Sonoma battery draining fast issue. Keep reading!

macOS Sonoma Battery Draining Fast

Why Is My Macbook Battery Draining So Fast? (macOS Sonoma)

Take a look at the possible causes for macOS Sonoma battery draining fast below. And check whether you are in the same situations as in the list.

  • Poor battery health condition.
  • Open too many battery-draining apps at the same time.
  • Too many background apps.
  • MacBook battery draining fast after updating/upgrading.
  • High display brightness.
  • System glitches.
  • Outdated battery.
  • Too many battery-draining peripherals.
  • macOS Sonoma issue.

How to Check Your MacBook Battery Health

Before learning the fixes, it's essential to check your MacBook battery health first, which can make you clear about where to start.

And here is how to check MacBook battery health:

Open System SettingsBattery.

Check Battery Health Condition

Besides the battery health condition, you may also want to check battery cycles. Go to Apple MenuAbout This MacMore InfoSystem Report>scroll down to find Power specifications.

In general, a normal MacBook battery cycle number is 1,000.

How to Fix the macOS Sonoma Battery Draining Fast Issue

After checking your MacBook battery health, it's time to move to the "MacBook Pro/Air battery draining fast after upgrading/updating to macOS Sonoma" fixes.

In total, there are 11 easy and effective methods. Read on for detailed steps about each method.

1. Reduce Screen Brightness

High display brightness is one of the main MacBook battery consumers. It speeds up the process of your MacBook running out of power.

So whenever you find that your MacBook battery draining fast, check whether you have set high display brightness first. If yes, reduce screen brightness immediately.

2. Turn on Optimized Battery Charging

One helpful tip to keep MacBook battery life longer is to turn on the Optimized Battery Charging feature.

This feature enables your Mac to wait to finish charging past 80% until you need to use it on battery, which contributes a lot to reducing battery aging.

Here is how to enable the Optimzed Battery Charging feature:

  1. Click Apple MenuSystem SettingsBattery.
  2. Click the Info button next to your Battery Health condition.
  3. Enable Optimized Battery Charging.
Turn on Optimized Battery Charging

3. Disable Startup Items

Too many startup items will slow down your Mac as well as cause the "MacBook Pro/Air battery draining fast" issue.

And here is how to disable startup items using Settings:

  1. Click Apple MenuSystem SettingsGeneralLogin Items.
  2. Click the startup item that you want to disable>click -.
Disable Login Items

In addition, you can use BuhoCleaner to disable startup items.

BuhoCleaner is a professional Mac cleaning tool that helps you disable startup items, completely uninstall apps, etc. to free up Mac space. It is also a powerful Mac performance monitor.

DownloadFor macOS 10.10 and above
100,000+ Satisfied Users Worldwide

Here is how to use BuhoCleaner to disable startup items:

  1. Free download, install, and launch BuhoCleaner.
  2. Click Startup ItemsScan.
  3. Disable the unwanted startup items.
Disable Startup Items BuhoCleaner

4. Replace or Service Battery

In the case that your battery health condition is not showing "Normal" but "Service Recommended", you'd better replace or service the battery.

The battery life and performance may be reduced with time since it is a consumable component.

5. Turn on Low Power Mode

Opening too many programs can be extremely battery-draining. While you are using your MacBook only for some basic features, just turn on Low Power Mode.

Using this feature can greatly improve your macOS Sonoma battery life.

6. Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

The Bluetooth feature can be battery-draining. Especially when you enable it to connect your earphones and play music to your Mac.

Or you are using a Bluetooth mouse, Bluetooth keyboard, etc. No matter how many Bluetooth devices you are using, disconnect those devices that you are not using, which may greatly improve your battery consistency.

Turning off Wi-Fi if you are not surfing online also contributes a lot to making your battery work longer.

7. Update Your Mac

Both the macOS Sonoma Beta version and outdated applications can make your battery drain fast on macOS Sonoma.

So remember to update your macOS Sonoma Beta to macOS Sonoma as the official release is available.

8. Check and Close Battery-draining Apps

Opening too many battery-draining apps is the main cause of macOS Sonoma battery draining fast.

Check whether you are running these battery-draining apps first, and close them immediately.

And here is how to check battery-draining apps:

Click the battery icon on the Menu BarBattery Menu.

Apps using significant energy will be shown in the battery menu if there are. Otherwise, it will show up as "No Apps Using Significant Energy".

Check Apps Using Significant Energy

9. Reboot Your Mac

Rebooting can fix most occasional issues. And it will end some resource-hungry and battery-draining processes once you boot your Mac again.

After rebooting your Mac, see if your MacBook battery is back to normal.

10. Close Unnecessary Background Apps

As we mentioned above, running too many background apps will reduce the usage time of the MacBook battery .

So all you need to do is to close these unnecessary background apps.

Here is how to find out the resource-hungry process via Activity Monitor:

  1. Open Spotlight. (Command + Space).
  2. Enter Activity Monitor to launch this application.
  3. Find out abnormal apps that take up most CPU and GPU.
  4. Click the X button to close them.
Best Mac Performance Monitor - Activity Monitor

11. Disconnect Unnecessary Accessories

Running too many accessories at the same time will significantly consume your MacBook's power.

So disconnect the unnecessary accessories as soon as you have finished using them, for example, the USB, the external hard drive, etc.

Note
If you ever find that your MacBook battery draining faster than charging, don't worry! Actually, it's normal when you run many battery-draining apps at the same time. Just close these processes. However, if you already turned on the Low Power Mode, but the battery still draining faster than charging, then the battery life and performance issues are to be blamed.

Conclusion

In this post, 11 methods to fix macOS Sonoma battery draining fast are introduced in detail.

Follow the guide and go to fix your macOS Sonoma battery issue now!

Clare Phang has been captivated by the world of Apple products since the launch of the iconic iPhone in 2007. With a wealth of experience, Clare is your go-to source for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and all things Apple.