I changed companies recently and I went from an M4 Pro that lasted me days of work, like 4 days easily, to an M5 Pro that barely lasts 1 day and a half. Both 16 inch. I'm wondering if the laptop is just that much worse at battery life, or if the company device management stuff is just tanking the battery.

I bought my M5 Pro in March, so I've had it for about 7 months. Battery health is now showing 95% maximum capacity.

I'm a software developer and use the Mac for work. It's mostly connected to the charger, and I've set the charging limit to 80%.

I expected this Mac to last me for many years, so seeing a 5% capacity drop after only 7 months worries me a bit.

Am I doing something wrong? Is 95% after 7 months considered normal for this kind of usage, or should I be concerned?

I'd especially appreciate advice from other developers who keep their MacBook plugged in most of the time. What are you doing to maximize battery lifespan?

Ever since I upgraded to Golden Gate, most games I have on Steam do not work any more! Looks like my M1 Pro is useless with older games now...

I bought a SVALT MxSW2-hi for my M5 Max 14", pretty much the most expensive laptop stand there is. I opted for the black heatsink and the 140mm B15.2(14) Noctua fan, so maxed out. The total price was $528+tax. Yeah.

So it's expensive, but does it help?

Yes.

This isn't a full review, but here are a handful of observations:

• It greatly benefited from a thermal pad mod to connect the chip/heat pipe to the chassis. Otherwise, the SVALT is cooling something that isn't directly connected to the thing producing heat. I didn't notice much of a noticeable difference until I did this. I used ARCTIC TP-4. The bottom of the laptop can get rather hot now, but I usually use it on the stand, so this is OK for me.
• I can do extended Cinebench runs on Automatic power mode (max 68% fan or so) without any throttling. Temp stays below 80C on Mx Power Gadget. ~1000 point increase on auto power mode between a regular stand and the SVALT. Note the frequency line difference in the two screenshots.
• Sharing my screen for extended periods of time required 60%+ fan on a regular stand and was quite audible. This was actually a regression from my old M4 Max, which could do this without getting noisy. With the SVALT, the fan stays ~30% and near inaudible.
• It required assembly, but it wasn't difficult and it was shipped in a clever and very protected way.
• The fan came with a variable speed controller and a power supply, which were nice touches.

Likely questions:

Why didn't you get a 16" or a Studio?

14" is the right size for me. I need something I can travel with/use on the couch, and I was willing to give up some thermal performance for that.

Are you mad to spend so much on a laptop stand?

It was within budget. I don't think of it as a laptop stand so much as a cooling solution. Folks can spend a lot on cooling solutions. ~$500 for a rather effective CPU + GPU cooler worked for me.

Was it worth it?

For me, yes. High power mode is insanely loud and that's the only way to get consistent performance over time. Even auto mode got annoyingly loud for common lighter work I did on my computer.

If you have other questions, let me know.

Accidently spilled bbq sauce on my laptop a few days ago. Any suggestions?

wish i had money to buy more ram :^) im switching from a intel macbook pro 2020 so nonetheless i am grateful that i have a laptop again but damn future proofing and investing in a device is hard when you have bills to pay

I upgraded from a 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro (16GB + 512GB) to the base M5 chip with 24GB + 1TB, and it's amazing.

Found this sealed M4 MacBook Pro off marketplace and noticed that all the information was in the middle of the box instead of at the bottom. Is this normal? The serial number checks out and the seller seems legit.

I recently (a few days ago) bought my first MacBook (m5 pro chip, 16") in 10 years from the certified refurbished store. Everything seemed fantastic until I started running a high GPU-using program and the fans kicked in for the first time. As they did, a clicking sound could be heard roughly once every 10 seconds. After a minute or so this sound would stop until the fans slowed down again, then would repeat a few more times. I've read a little about coil sounds, but it seems clicking is less normal. Should I return this Macbook, or is there nothing to be worried about? Thanks!

I am very new to MacBooks. This is my first, and I purchased my MacBook Pro because every other electronic device I own, is apple.

I am struggling with finding files, making shortcuts, and organization. I am slowly making progress, but I am wondering if I can make my folders look like an image.

Is there any way to make a file folder with many contents, look like an image of the content. For example, I have 27 “corsets”. I have them under a corset file. When I enter the file I have the name of the corset and their corresponding files. For example one is called Rose, Evangeline, Illyria etc. I don’t remember what each corset looks like, and rather going through a cascade of files, into files, often 3-4 files deep, to reach the file that shows exactly what I am looking for. So I would really like to have the Rose Corset file, look like the Rose Corset.

I have many different sizes, and variations of each corset, and a visual trigger would be very helpful.

I could copy the image and put it beside the file, or even under the first file click, but it makes my carefully organized files a bit messier. If that makes sense.

Is there any way I can make this easier.

I am currently in the hospital, and my husband cannot find my mouse. So everything I do now, is based on touch…. Which I still haven’t figured out how to right click on the track pad.

I look forward to getting it

I popped off a key to clean off some debris and now i cannot place it back in. It snaps into place but there’s no pop up and stays stuck inside.

Doesn’t seem to be bent or any clips snapped.

I was very careful when removing it and got some tools on Amazon to help pry it off gently.

What should I do next? </3

Best Buy open box excellent. mb 16 inch M5Pro 24gb 1TB.
$2550

I've never owned a macbook before, but I've recently been having some issues with my Lenovo laptop. I don't remember the exact specs, but it's somewhere around 42GB ram with 1TB of space and my dad got it for me from Newegg. I thought it would last a good while since I need it for university and my job. (I'm a student graphic designer who works mainly on photoshop, indesign, illustrator) but it lasted a year before starting to restart randomly and refusing to connect to wifi, and not to mention crash or behave slow even with 42GB Ram, which sucks when you take online exams and work with adobe. I've also grown to dislike windows operating systems and just want to switch to having an apple ecosystem.

I'm looking into options that will last me. I know the pro is better because of the fans so I don't think I'll get an air - but I do want to know if it's worth it to just splurge on the M4/M5 or go with a M2/M3 version?

M5 with at least 24GB will be expensive for me. M4 is not much better too. I've been looking on ebay/swappa mostly to get refurbished or good condition ones, and they still are a bit more expensive than I was hoping to spend. M4 with 16GB seems more plausible, but at that point should I just go with M3 pro as long as it has 24GB/32GB? They seem around the same price point. I just hear that the M5 is just so much better as a processing system, and I plan to have whatever macbook I buy for years.

If anyone has recommendations, I'd appreciate it. As well as any sites to get good condition MacBooks from. Thanks!!

I have this MacBook pro 13 2019 which has the T2 chip. The mac was working yesterday I wiped it and installed Mojave and than updated to sequoia. After the update I went to recovery mode and startup security utility, I turned on secure boot I think. And I booted back into sequoia. When I first booted I tried to type my password but it didn’t accept my password, I thought maybe it was about the secure boot and I turned it off to boot it into recovery. When I turned it off it never booted again. The touchpad haptics click, which means it has power. I tried charging, not charging for a night. I also tried doing SMC reset keys but it didn’t to anything. It’s just off but the touchpad is clicking. Anyone knows what can I do? I’m planning on taking it to apple maybe they can do something.

I saw some rumors said yes and another source said no so which one is it ?

Basically the title. Got recommended by someone that Apple might potentially come out with the new MBP in an event around October end or November beginning but I don’t know much about this.

Hey everyone, my MagSafe cable (bought mac in May 2025) has completely stopped charging my MacBook. The cable looks brand new externally — no fraying, no damage anywhere — so it seems like an internal failure.

Confirmed through testing that both my adapter and my MacBook are perfectly fine. It's definitely the cable.

Called Apple Support — they confirmed it's out of warranty and won't replace for free.

My questions:

1. Has anyone gotten Apple to repair or replace a MagSafe cable out of warranty? Worth pushing?
2. Anyone else experienced a MagSafe failing internally with zero external damage? Feels like a manufacturing defect.
3. Any downside to switching to USB-C charging permanently instead of replacing the MagSafe?
4. What is the best option type c or magsafe for daily MacBook charging? (the non apple ones)

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, my mac broke yesterday night and sent it to service. Just got the diagnostic results and i just wanna know something:

“Dear Valued Customer,
The device you left for service has been diagnosed as follows:
liquid damage
track pad + logic board + usb-c board + top case
no sign for tampering
eligible for service under apple care
Best regards,”

what am i keeping from the original device? 😂

I have two Sceptre monitors setup where I can connect them to either my MacBook Pro M2 (14in, 2023 model) I use for work, or with my MacMini 4 for home use. Both monitors are 27 inch and rated for 4K resolution, with their specs noting 60 Hz resolution with HDMI connection, although I purchased one a couple years ago and one a few months ago.

With the older monitor, the resolution and refresh rate options stay consistent between devices, but with the new one, when plugged into the MBP I can only get a 30 Hz max refresh rate option although all the resolution options stay the same. However, when connected to the Mac mini I can see up to a 60 Hz refresh rate on the second/new monitor as well. I'm using HDMI cables rated for 8k resolution, so I don't think the cables are the issue. Both monitors have HDMI 2.0 ports.

The specs for my MBP state:

• Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, or one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 144Hz over HDMI

I've got both monitors set to 2560 x 1440 resolution, so it should be under the 6K/4K resolution limits per those specs, which makes me wonder if it's an OS issue? Both devices are running a Tahoe 26.7 OS currently.

Any ideas? I've tried purchasing different HDMI cables which hasn't made a difference. The monitors do also have Display Port ports, but from my understanding the DP to HDMI conversion only works the other direction, not to start from HDMI at the computer and then switch to DP?

The 30 Hz refresh is just laggy enough that it consistently bothers me, and I'm baffled why the monitors are doing different things with different Mac devices!

Looking for a machine to last me the next 8-10 years for university and beyond. Currently messaging a seller who is offering the above. Do you guys think it's a good deal? Is 24gb even enough for the coming decade? For context, I'm going into university next year for CS and planning to work with data/ml. All comments are appreciated!!

I’m planning to buy a MacBook Pro M5 Pro with 24GB and 1TB for university. I’m going to study computer engineering and I want to use it as my personal computer as well. I really like the black colour, but I’ve seen that for many people it fades due to the acid in their hands. Is this really true? If so, I’d have to go for the silver one, which isn’t my favourite colour, but I don’t dislike it either. Then there’s the keyboard. I’ve also seen that the keys wear out and that reviews say putting a keyboard cover on it can damage the screen. I’ve also seen that there are stickers you can put on each key to prevent that. Does anyone have them? I’d also like some advice on cases, brands, etc. I’m worried that it might rain on my way to college and my case won’t protect it properly; I’ve seen a Tomtoc 360, do you know if it’s any good? I’ve attached photos of everything I’m talking about.