4 ms·

I suspect there's another related reason for high kernel_task % CPU: your battery is very low and your charger is underpowered. It seems to throttle your CPU us

I suspect there's another related reason for high kernel_task % CPU: your battery is very low and your charger is underpowered. It seems to throttle your CPU usage to avoid exhausting the battery while charging, and this throttling shows up in the same way as thermal throttling. I discovered this by accident when I plugged my MBP into my phone charger instead of my laptop charger. I need to mark the cables somehow, or replace the phone charger with a laptop charger just in case...

dangrossman 5y ago
I bought a bunch of 45W+ USB-C chargers and put one in every room of the house. They're only about $20 each on Amazon. All of the family computers and phones can be charged on any of them. It's nice not to think about it.
- dylan604 5y ago
  You're putting a lot of faith in a $20 thing from Amazon, especially for something as crucial as the charger. Which brand have you put your faith in for these adapters?
  - dangrossman 5y ago
    I think your concern is overblown. They're all different brands, bought at different times, with the oldest an "Innergie" brand bought in 2016 and the newest a "Nekteck". Over those years, they've charged 5 different laptops and 4 different phones. No problems with any of the cables or devices.
    - dylan604 5y ago
      Do any of them whine when under load?
      - dangrossman 5y ago
        No.
    - na85 5y ago
      https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/30/amazon-clamps-down-dangerous-usb-c-cables https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/30/amazon-cl... It wasn't that long ago that cheap USB-C cables were destroying laptops
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
  - yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago
    Who cares about brand when Amazon commingles inventory and will happily ship you a counterfeit regardless?
- reph2097 5y ago
  Don't use third party chargers on A1706 or A1708 MacBook Pros. Doing so will kill a charge IC. It's well documented and I fix one or two of these logic board faults every month.
  - awestroke 5y ago
    I searched but I can't find anything more about this. Do you have any links to share?
solarkraft 5y ago
Thanks for adding this to my mental list. The kernel has all of these weird functions/modes and I don’t see any list of which are possible and which one is active.
techrat 5y ago
Nice to see braindead design from 2008 persisting. https://www.engadget.com/2008-11-22-macbook-and-macbookpro-suffer-performance-anxiety-once-the-batt.html https://www.engadget.com/2008-11-22-macbook-and-macbookpro-s...

dangrossman 5y ago

I bought a bunch of 45W+ USB-C chargers and put one in every room of the house. They're only about $20 each on Amazon. All of the family computers and phones can be charged on any of them. It's nice not to think about it.

dylan604 5y ago
You're putting a lot of faith in a $20 thing from Amazon, especially for something as crucial as the charger. Which brand have you put your faith in for these adapters?
- dangrossman 5y ago
  I think your concern is overblown. They're all different brands, bought at different times, with the oldest an "Innergie" brand bought in 2016 and the newest a "Nekteck". Over those years, they've charged 5 different laptops and 4 different phones. No problems with any of the cables or devices.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    Do any of them whine when under load?
    - dangrossman 5y ago
      No.
  - na85 5y ago
    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/30/amazon-clamps-down-dangerous-usb-c-cables https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/30/amazon-cl... It wasn't that long ago that cheap USB-C cables were destroying laptops
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
- yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago
  Who cares about brand when Amazon commingles inventory and will happily ship you a counterfeit regardless?
reph2097 5y ago
Don't use third party chargers on A1706 or A1708 MacBook Pros. Doing so will kill a charge IC. It's well documented and I fix one or two of these logic board faults every month.
- awestroke 5y ago
  I searched but I can't find anything more about this. Do you have any links to share?

solarkraft 5y ago

Thanks for adding this to my mental list. The kernel has all of these weird functions/modes and I don’t see any list of which are possible and which one is active.

techrat 5y ago

Nice to see braindead design from 2008 persisting. https://www.engadget.com/2008-11-22-macbook-and-macbookpro-suffer-performance-anxiety-once-the-batt.html https://www.engadget.com/2008-11-22-macbook-and-macbookpro-s...