How to Fix MacBook Battery Draining in Sleep Mode

Sleep mode is a useful feature on your MacBook that helps protect the battery life when you’re not using it for an extended period, such as during the day or overnight. Some people who use Apple products have reported that their MacBook’s battery drains quickly during the night or loses power while in sleep mode.

If your MacBook is also draining a lot of battery power while it’s sleeping, it’s important to investigate the issue. Even when you’re not using your MacBook, it might still lose battery life, which can be caused by certain features, accessories, or even malware.

Apple’s software was designed to work seamlessly with its hardware, so browsing in Safari can help your battery last for hours. While it’s okay to install another browser, keep in mind that some third-party applications may not be as well-optimized as Apple’s.

MacBook Battery Draining in Sleep Mode: Let’s Troubleshoot

You can check your MacBook battery draining in Sleep Mode, and you need to troubleshoot the MacBook battery draining issue in different ways to resolve it; follow the methods given below.

Check Your MacBook’s Present Battery Health

You can check the health of your MacBook battery by going to Settings and Battery. At the top of the menu, you will notice an overview of your battery health, along with some details on the “i” button.

Click the ‘I’ for additional information, like the capacity limit in percentage. The following values are easy to understand. To find further information about your Mac’s battery, follow the steps.

On the top-left corner, click the Apple logo.
Hold down the option button. The ‘About This Mac’ menu option must be renamed System Information. Choose it.
Go to the Power section on the left.
This section provides advanced battery statistics, such as the charge cycle count, which is the most important information to look for.

Restart Your MacBook

A quick restart can usually resolve common problems that happen suddenly. Select Restart from the Apple logo in the top-left corner to restart your MacBook. When you have not rebooted your MacBook in some time, doing so allows you to reset everything and may resolve the issue of your battery draining too rapidly when in sleep mode.

Enable Low Power Mode

Low power mode on your MacBook reduces background processes and applications and slows it down to help save battery power. You will not see much difference, mainly when your MacBook is sleeping to activate this mode.

Go to System Settings on your MAC.
Next, select the Battery option.
Depending on your preferences, select Always or Only on Battery from the list option under Low Power Node.

Unplug I/O Accessories

One possible reason why your MacBook consumes more power during sleep mode than it should be because of the connected devices. External peripherals, especially those that don’t have removable batteries, rely on your MacBook’s battery for their operation.

When you leave these devices connected for a long time, they may unnecessarily drain your MacBook’s battery. To prevent this, unplugging any I/O accessories right after using them is best.

Switch to Third-Party Apps

When it is unusual for third-party applications to create major problems, it is still preferred to utilize first-party apps instead of third-party ones. Apple optimizes its applications, like Safari, Final Cut Pro, and Mail, to use as much battery power as possible.

In comparison, third-party applications may not be as carefully designed for performance. On the other hand, using Apple’s built-in apps will help your MacBook maintain better battery life.

Disable Notifications Before Putting Your MacBook to Sleep

Notifications can sometimes be an issue, especially when your MacBook is supposed to be sleeping. Even when your computer is in sleep mode, notifications consume power, and having too many of them can cause problems.

To address this, you can activate Do Not Disturb (DND) mode or schedule times when you don’t want to receive notifications. This will allow your MacBook to rest undisturbed during your chosen hours.

In the status bar, choose the Settings symbol.
Next, pick Focus. DND may be configured from here.
For more options, select Focus Settings. Do Not Disturb is enabled.
Then, you may change your notification options and plan DND by clicking Add Schedule.
In addition to creating time-based plans, you may also create schedules based on additional features, such as location or using a particular application.

Pause or Cancel Ongoing Downloads

It is generally best to end or stop any active downloads while setting your Mac to sleep, as downloading files may use an essential amount of battery power. When browser downloads generally stop, some downloads might fail if you close your MacBook’s lid. It’s best to stop or cancel any active downloads manually for better battery life.

Turn Off Key Settings

It’s easy to ignore key options like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, location services, and AirDrop. Turning off these options will help to improve the life of your MacBook’s battery and reduce drain during sleep mode. You may quickly turn off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and AirDrop from the status bar. To disable location services, go to system settings, privacy, security, and location services, and turn the toggle off.

Switch Off Power Nap/Wake for Network Access

If you own an Intel-based MacBook with an SSD, it likely has the Intel Power Nap feature. This feature enables your MacBook to keep checking for new emails and calendar events even when it’s in sleep mode.

However, it can also consume your battery. Power Nap is usually enabled by default, but you can turn it off. To do so, go to System Preferences and select Battery. Then, while your MacBook is running on battery power, disable the option that says ‘Enable Power Nap’.

Navigate to System Settings.
Next, choose the Battery option and select an option.
Now click Disable or Only on Power Adapter from the menu next to Wake for network access.

Update Apps and Your MacBook

Apps that operate on earlier versions may use more power since they are not designed for future versions. Given that this is not the main source of the problem, you need to keep your apps up to date.

Navigate to System Settings.
From the left pane, select General.
Choose Software Update.
Check for software updates and ensure your Macbook is connected online.

Quit Apps Preventing Sleep

Some applications may stop your MacBook from entering sleep mode. Close apps that you don’t want to run in the background to save battery life. You may do so by using the Activity Monitor and following the instructions below.

Open Activity Monitor from the Launchpad or Spotlight Search.
From the top menu, select the CPU tab. In the status bar, select View.
Drag your mouse above the columns and choose Preventing Sleep.
Next, a new column called Preventing Sleep will be added. To arrange the processes, click their symbol.
Identify and select processes that prevent sleep by pressing Shift for multiple choices.
Click the “X” symbol to close the application, and select Force Quit.

Disable Unwanted Login Items

If you have a lot of login services running shortly after you start your MacBook, it might cause severe battery consumption even while it’s in sleep mode. To fix this issue, follow the given steps.

Navigate to System Preferences.
On the left side menu, select the ‘General’ option.
Then select Login Items.
Next, choose the item you wish to delete from ‘Open at Login’.
Click the minus button at the bottom to remove the chosen login item.

Disable Background Processes

Background operations, including login items, have an important effect on your MacBook’s battery life. Once permitted to run in the background, these applications may run indefinitely, draining your MacBook’s battery life. To deactivate these applications, follow the instructions provided below.

Go to System Settings.
Choose the General option from the left section.
Then select Login Items and switch off the toggle for the background process you wish to disable within Allow in the Background.

Check For Malware

Malware may be very draining on your computer, as shown by extremely high battery utilization. Malicious applications generate background operations that rapidly drain the battery and cause difficulties such as overheating and system slowdowns.

Cleaning applications such as CleanMyMac X, Cleaner One Pro, and Mac Keeper can be used to remove malware. These applications assist in identifying and removing malicious malware and recovering your MacBook’s speed and battery life.

Turn Off Screen Time

Disabling Screen Time may particularly prevent battery usage when sleeping. You can fix their MacBook Pro’s battery drain issue by disabling Screen Time, which uses considerable battery power when in sleep mode. Follow these steps.

Navigate to System Settings.
Then, screen Time may be found on the left side.
Now swipe down and disable App and Website Activity.

Disable “Hey Siri” in Lock Mode

If you regularly access Siri on your MacBook, you may have voice wake enabled in lock mode. This indicates that Siri continually listens for voice commands even if your MacBook is locked, which might reduce battery life. To turn off this option, follow the instructions.

Navigate to System Settings.
Choose the Siri & Spotlight option.
Now turn off the option next to Ask Siri if you want to stop Siri completely. Alternatively, you may deactivate the toggle next to Allow Siri while locked.

Plug-In Your Mac Before Putting It to Sleep

When the previously provided solutions fail to solve the issue, or if you want to check that your Mac keeps its charge while in sleep mode, you can leave it plugged in. MacBooks have been developed to optimize battery charge, so you do not need to worry about overcharging. Following the given steps below.

Click on System Settings and select the Battery option.
Then choose the i button next to Battery Health.
Now, activate Optimised Battery Charging.

Why is my MacBook battery draining when in sleep mode?

The system fails to shut down when in Sleep mode. When you use Shut Down, the system is turned off. In sleep mode, the screen is switched off and just a little amount of power is used to keep applications working in the background. The battery continues to reduce while the applications are working.

How can I turn off sleep mode on my Mac?

First, fix the sleep configuration and navigate to the Apple logo.
Choose ‘System Preferences’ from the drop-down menu.
Select between the ‘Energy Saver’ or ‘Battery’ options.
Now you can set the time for ‘Computer Sleep and Display Sleep’ in this section.

Is it possible that setting your MacBook to sleep drains its battery?

If the MacBook is in sleep mode, the RAM components require electricity to save your data. This requires reasonable power but still some power. If this happens, the battery will be drained.