How to Check the Cycle Count of Your Mac Battery

See if your battery needs to be replaced.
1 minute

Because your MacBook is so important for all that you do in a day, it is important to take good care of your Mac battery, monitor your Mac's battery health, and check the cycle count of your Mac's battery when to determine if your Mac needs a new battery.

This might sound like a lot of maintenance, but checking your Mac's cycle count is an easy way to determine if your Mac needs a new battery, and it's actually incredibly simple. A battery's maximum cycle count is how many charge cycles your Mac can complete before the battery is no longer able to perform and will need replacing.

In this guide, I show you how to check your Mac battery's cycle count and determine if your battery needs to be replaced.

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Click the Apple Logo

First, click the Apple Logo in the upper left-hand corner.

Select About This Mac

Then, click "About This Mac."

Click System Report

Select "System Report."

Select Power

In the left-hand side, click "Power." It will be under "Hardware."

Look at the Cycle Count

Lastly, you can check the cycle count for your Mac's battery. Cycle count's differ from Mac-to-Mac, so make sure that you check out the cycle count for the Mac model you have.

While most Macs have a maximum cycle count of 1000, not all do. So, check out support.apple.com and find your model for the correct maximum cycle count. Then, compare the cycle count reported in the System Report.

If your battery has reached the maximum cycle count, it needs to be replaced.

Is your Mac's battery healthy?
1 minute

Battery repairs are among some of the most common Mac repairs. This is because all lithium-ion batteries have a limited lifespan.