Is my battery (or lack there of) the root of my problems?

[Trolle]

I have a 2016 13" MBP / 2.4 GHz / i7

My battery needs replacing, a second time. I replaced the original in 2022 I believe. Replacement was with a local repair guy specializing in Apple products.

Right now the battery is non-existent. I can only use the computer with power supply and it has been like this for 6-8 months.

Currently my MBP is slow to boot, start apps from the dock, and generally lagging.

A few questions:

1. Could this all be related to my battery issues?
2. Should I bother to replace the battery with a local guy again (I only use the laptop for general usage but the keyboard drives me nuts)

 

[Raz0rEdge]

If the machine is working without the battery, it wouldn't necessary slow things down due to the lack of it.

What version of macOS are you running? When is the slow down happening? What is "slow to boot"? How much faster was it before? Have you tried NVRAM/PRAM reset? Have you tried Safe boot?

What does Activity Monitor report for CPU and Memory?

 

[Trolle]

If the machine is working without the battery, it wouldn't necessary slow things down due to the lack of it.

What version of macOS are you running? When is the slow down happening? What is "slow to boot"? How much faster was it before? Have you tried NVRAM/PRAM reset? Have you tried Safe boot?

What does Activity Monitor report for CPU and Memory?

OS: 12.6.8
Boot time from button push until fully logged in about 92 seconds (used stopwatch 1 time). Starts with logo and progress bar on black screen. Includes log-in to account and prompt that previous shutdown was not done properly despite choosing shutdown and letting it complete that process.

Opening Safari from dock from button push to fully usable about 43 seconds.

I do not have times previously but it was not that slow.

I have tried Safe Boot earlier and it ran slow as well.

Checked Activity Monitor and can see that fileproviderd is using about 80% of the CPU. OneDrive and seems like Window-related processes are top of the list.

Maybe I should remove OneDrive?

 

[Raz0rEdge]

There are two more updates to macOS Monterrey at 12.7, so you should do that update.

Is this 2016 MBP a Retina one with SSD or spinning HDD? If the latter, a failing drive might be an indication of this. Technically this can also happen on an SSD that is old and wearing off.

A quick search for 'fileproviderd' seems to yield the following:

It is support for Finder integration of things like OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.

I’m not sure if iCloud uses it or not.

It is running on my Mac, but doing nothing. I don’t use any of those except iCloud Drive.

So it is related to you having OneDrive on there, so you should definitely experiment with uninstalling OneDrive and see what effect that has on your machine.

 

[Trolle]

There are two more updates to macOS Monterrey at 12.7, so you should do that update.

Is this 2016 MBP a Retina one with SSD or spinning HDD? If the latter, a failing drive might be an indication of this. Technically this can also happen on an SSD that is old and wearing off.

A quick search for 'fileproviderd' seems to yield the following:


So it is related to you having OneDrive on there, so you should definitely experiment with uninstalling OneDrive and see what effect that has on your machine.

It is a 2016 MBP Retina with SSD.
1 TB drive with 150 GB available.

I have uninstalled OneDrive. I do use Dropbox but may access it over the browser instead.

I am doing another backup and will thereafter upgrade the OS.

Thanks for all the help.

Is there any way to evaluate if the hard drive is nearing its end?

 

[Slydude]

When I read this thread I thought I remembered that some Mac laptops slowed down when the battery was removed. That caught my attention at the time because I was using a MBP with a removable battery.

I did a quick Google for the relevant article but the link that I found to that article is no longer working. I did find a discussion of this issue on the Apple forum. That thread seems to quote from the original article I was looking for.

Does removing the battery slow down the p… - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

 

[Rod]

Following the general yardstick for min free storage for an SSD 20% of 1TB is 200GB so 150% is a little light on. Some would say more than 20% is wise.
Having said that it's a 7 year old device so I would be advise you try EtreCheck Pro to check your HD and hardware https://etrecheck.com

You can also see details of your hardware in the Apple Menu > About this Mac > More Details.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Currently my MBP is slow to boot, start apps from the dock, and generally lagging....

Have a look at:

Macintosh Slowdown Solutions

http://www.macattorney.com/sd.html

I note that you are using Dropbox, and that could easily be the problem.

 

[techiesteve]

When the OP had his battery replaced it would have been with a non Apple battery, and the quality of these can vary drastically. Also no third party battery I've seen holds its charge as long as an Apple battery. The only way a genuine Apple battery could have been fitted would have been if the complete top case had been replaced, and this hasn't been mentioned, as the battery is stuck to its underside. As the OP has a 2.4GHz i7 it can only be a 2 port non Touch Bar model, this does have a removable SSD, if it had been the 2016 13" 4 port Touch Bar MBP the storage memory is integrated into the logic board. I've found that if an Apple portable has either no battery or a defective one not seen the effect it can have on performance and operation can vary depending upon the product. Some won't start, others may slow down due to the battery sensor not being detected, some will just display the battery trap, with others there's no real world noticeable change. The issue the OP has now is if he wanted an Apple battery via a new top case his product is now classed as vintage.

 

[pm-r]

When I read this thread I thought I remembered that some Mac laptops slowed down when the battery was removed.

I also recall reading such information but I cannot remember which particular MacBook model is applied to but I think it was around the 2015 era as our neighbor has a similar model who was questioning her battery replacement needs at the time.

I'm sure I read the same thing at some Apple site as well.



- Patrick
=======

 

[pigoo3]

Agree with what Slydude & Techiesteve mentioned above regarding if the battery from an Apple portable computer is missing...very possible this is the source of the issue.

Most definitely this was the case with older Apple laptops from like 10+ years ago...there were Apple document(s) that mentioned operating these laptops without batteries would result in them running at about 50% of their normal performance.

With something like a 2016 MacBook Pro...things may or may not be the same. But let's just say...if the battery is not operational...it should definitely be replaced. The battery is an integral part of the system...and the computer is designed to operate with an operational battery in place.

- Nick

 

[Randy B. Singer]

When the OP had his battery replaced it would have been with a non Apple battery, and the quality of these can vary drastically. Also no third party battery I've seen holds its charge as long as an Apple battery.

The price and quality of third party laptop batteries does indeed vary wildly.

I use Laptop Battery Express for replacement laptop batteries, and have found the quality excellent, the prices very competitive and the service swift and helpful. They offer Xtend battery packs that have Texas Instrument chipsets, and genuine Samsung lithium cells in them. (Likely the same cells that are in genuine Apple battery packs.) They come with a two year warranty.

https://www.laptopbatteryexpress.com/Apple-laptop-batteries-s/10.htm