Is macOS Monterey Draining Your Battery Overnight in Sleep Mode?

Feb 11, 2022 - 13 Comments

Overnight battery draining on MacBook

There is some online discussion of battery drain occurring overnight on MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops, while the Macs are in sleep mode, with many users noticing the problem after updating to a recent version of macOS Monterey.

While there does seem to be an uptick of overnight battery draining behavior with macOS Monterey 12.2, the particular issue has actually predated macOS Monterey. As we covered in October of last year prior to Monterey’s release, we noted similar overnight battery drain was happening with later macOS Big Sur updates to some Mac laptop users.

Fortunately there’s a simple solution available now, and that is updating macOS Monterey. And if you’re experiencing the issue on a Mac before Monterey, disabling bluetooth may resolve the battery draining while sleep issue.

Fix Battery Drain by Updating macOS to 12.2.1

If you’re experiencing battery draining when in sleep mode on your Mac, updating to macOS Monterey 12.2.1 or later should fix the issue. This update was recently released specifically to address battery draining while sleeping.

  1. Go to System Preferences > Software Update
  2. Choose “Update Now” for macOS Monterey 12.2.1

Workaround for macOS Monterey Draining Battery Overnight

For Mac users on earlier versions of Monterey (who haven’t yet updated, or can’t, or even those on Big Sur), this workaround may fix the battery draining problem:

  1. Before putting the Mac to sleep, pull down the Bluetooth menu and toggle Bluetooth OFF
  2. When the Mac wakes from sleep, pull down the Bluetooth menu again and toggle Bluetooth ON

Not ideal, particularly for users who use a Mac laptop in clamshell mode, but if you’re experiencing problematic battery draining on a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or MacBook with MacOS Monterey, it’s worth a try.

Going further, if you’re interested in learning and discovering why a MacBook battery has been draining while sleeping, read more here.

There have been a variety of complaints about the battery draining issue posted on Twitter and various forums, and Apple released the macOS 12.2.1 system software update to address the problem.

Are you experiencing battery issues while your Mac is in sleep mode overnight or while traveling? Did you update to macOS 12.2.1 and that fixed the issue for you? Did you rely on the bluetooth trick instead? Let us know what worked for you in the comments.

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Posted by: Paul Horowitz in Mac OS, Tips & Tricks, Troubleshooting

13 Comments

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  1. Saz says:

    I’m having an overnight draining issue too with version 12.3.1. I’ve tried turning off Bluetooth and WiFi at night and it’s still doing it.

  2. Pablo says:

    I’m still having the same problem even though I upgraded to OS 12.3 and turning off the Bluetooth. Apparently is a problem with time capsule, I still use it to backup my Mac. When my Mac is sleeping he is hitted by woke by wifi airportd.

    Hope apple solve these issues soon.

  3. I was experiencing this and after trying a lot of recommended fixes found the answer to my issue was to unplug my external Logitech webcam. I use my MacBook in clamshell mode with external screen and keyboard. MacBook is charged by USB C from the monitor. If I leave a USB C hub connected or USB webcam the battery drains at a steady rate even when in sleep.

    Disconnect and the battery drain stops. Might not fix your issues but worth a try ?

  4. Ali says:

    I’ve updated the macOS Monterey 12.2.1 but the battery draining problem is still exists.

  5. Fred says:

    Seriously!
    Turn off Bluetooth before sleep the turn it back on? That is the solution?
    Since this was an issue in the previous release I would have thought that part of the Alpha & Beta preflight checklists would have a line item for the issue.
    While it is ok to make a mistake (how some valuable learning occurs). Making the same mistake again is not.

  6. Sceol says:

    I experienced total battery drain on my M1 MacBook Pro when it was in sleep. Overnight battery goes to nothing until sleep mode. Very annoying.

    On latest Monterey.

    Also find update says it only applies to intel. But M1 Mac definitely is impacted!

  7. JohnIl says:

    I guess on Apple’s forum say the update did not help much. Now there seems to be an internet problem after the Monterey update? I noticed that Safari can’t seem to connect to some web sites. A potential DNS issue?? It’s always something these days. Here I thought MacOS was more stable than Windows. But lately, I am having my doubts.

    • Norman says:

      hi Johnll, does your internet traffic go via a proxy and could that be why you are seeing Safari browsing issues? We have recently introduced a proxy and it is causing a lot of issues with Safari (Chrome seems to work OK).

  8. Lehibenson says:

    I downloaded the macOS 12.2.1 InstallAssistant.pkg from your link. Opening the pkg. with Pacifist shows “createinstallmedia_yosemite” in the Resources folder.

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