A MacBook that is plugged in and not charging shows the reason in its battery menu. Click the battery icon in the menu bar. Charging On Hold and Charged to Limit mean that macOS holds the charge to protect the battery. Not Charging near full is a normal pause. Not Charging at a low level, and Slow Charger, mean that the adapter gives too little power. Here is what each message means and what to do.
Read the status first
Click the battery icon in the menu bar. The line under the battery tells you which case you have.
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Charging On Hold | Optimized Battery Charging holds the battery at 80%, because macOS expects the Mac to stay on power | Choose Charge to Full Now, or wait |
| Charged to Limit or Charging to Limit | Charge Limit stops the charge at the level you set | Choose Charge to Full Now, or change the limit |
| Not Charging, near full | macOS pauses charging to protect the battery. The level can drop to 93% or lower before it charges again | Nothing. This is normal |
| Not Charging, with a low level | The adapter gives enough power to run the Mac, and not enough to charge it | Use an adapter with more watts |
| Slow Charger | The adapter is below the wattage this MacBook needs to charge normally. In macOS Tahoe 26.4 and later | Use the adapter that came with the Mac, or a stronger one |
| No status, and the battery drops | The Mac uses more power than the adapter gives | Close heavy apps, or use a stronger adapter |
Charging On Hold and Charge Limit
Two settings hold the charge below 100% on purpose.
- Optimized Battery Charging learns when you unplug, and waits at 80% until shortly before that time. It is in macOS Big Sur 11 and later.
- Charge Limit stops the charge at a level from 80% to 100%. It needs macOS Tahoe 26.4 or later and Apple silicon.
Both are in the same place.
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Click Battery in the sidebar.
- Click the info button next to Charging.
- Change Optimized Battery Charging or Charge Limit, then click Done.
To fill the battery once, before a trip, choose Charge to Full Now in the battery menu.
The adapter is too small
Each MacBook comes with an adapter of a set wattage. A smaller adapter, such as one for a phone, can keep the Mac running and still not charge it.
| MacBook | Adapter from Apple |
|---|---|
| MacBook Neo | 20 W |
| MacBook Air, 2022 or later | 30 W (13-inch only), 35 W Dual, 67 W or 70 W |
| MacBook Pro 14-inch, 2021 or later | 67 W, 70 W or 96 W |
| MacBook Pro 16-inch, 2021 or later | 140 W |
The list comes from Apple’s page of power adapters by model.
To see the wattage of the adapter that is connected now:
- Hold the Option key and open the Apple menu.
- Choose System Information.
- Click Power in the sidebar.
- Read Wattage under AC Charger Information.
Apple says to use an adapter with the same wattage as the original, or more. A larger adapter is safe, because the Mac takes only the power it needs.
The battery drains while the Mac is plugged in
If the Mac uses more power than the adapter gives, the battery makes up the rest and drops. Apple names video editing and games as examples. A phone or a drive that takes power from a port adds to the load. See does charging an iPhone from a MacBook drain its battery.
- Close the app that uses the most energy. Open Activity Monitor, click Energy, and sort by Energy Impact.
- Move devices that charge from the Mac to a wall charger.
- Use a stronger adapter.
Not charging at all
If the battery menu shows no charging and the adapter is the right one, try these steps from Apple, in order.
- Connect the adapter to a different wall outlet that you know works.
- Use a different USB-C port on the Mac. A MacBook charges from one port at a time.
- Try a different cable. A cable for data only does not charge.
- Shut the Mac down, close the lid and wait 30 seconds. Then connect the adapter and start the Mac.
- On a MacBook with MagSafe, check that the connector is clean and that its light comes on.
If the Mac still does not charge, contact Apple Support. If the battery menu shows Service Recommended, see what Service Recommended means.
See where the adapter’s power goes
The battery menu tells you that the Mac is not charging. It does not tell you where the power goes instead.
BatteryBud is a battery monitor for Mac. From version 1.3.0 it has Power flow on MacBooks. On the adapter, the map starts at the adapter and splits into the power that charges the battery, the apps, the devices on the ports and the system, in watts. For example, you can see that a phone on a port takes 15 W of the adapter’s power, and how much goes to the apps and to the system.
It also keeps the history of each charge, and it can alert you when the Mac has charged to a level you pick. See what is draining your Mac battery.