To get a free battery replacement, an M1 Max user forced 543 charge cycles on their MacBook! Yet the battery health remained completely unchanged.

A 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro user recently shared his "failed" experience online. With his AppleCare+ about to expire, he attempted to trigger the free battery replacement clause by aggressively charging and discharging to drain battery health.

However, after adding 73 additional charge cycles, the battery health stubbornly remained at 83%, failing to drop to Apple's specified 79% threshold.

The user initially had 470 cycles with 83% battery health. Apple's official policy states that for devices covered under the AppleCare+ plan, only when the battery's ability to hold a charge falls below 80% of its original capacity does it qualify for free replacement.

Practical experiences shared by some users also confirm that Apple uses whether health is below 80% as the primary criterion. This M1 Max MacBook Pro seems to be in a gray area between "healthy" and "aged" — while the health percentage looks fine, the 470 cycles already hint at some battery degradation.

This is not an isolated case. According to Apple's design standards, MacBook batteries should retain 80% capacity before reaching 1,000 charge cycles. But in real-world use, many users report that their M1 series devices' battery health gets "stuck" above 80% for extended periods. Some analysts suggest this may be due to the battery management system (BMS) calibration mechanism at play.

For this user, the plan for a free battery replacement has fallen through. Currently, he has decided to stop obsessing over the battery health number and simply continue using the MacBook Pro normally.

It remains unclear whether this M1 Max MacBook Pro is still within the AppleCare+ coverage period. But even if the plan expires, the user can still opt to pay for a battery replacement out of pocket. Based on previous information, the official battery replacement cost for the 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro is approximately 1,968 RMB.