macOS 27 Charge Limit Resets to 100% After Restart? How to Fix It

You set your MacBook to stop charging at 80%, restart for an update, and the next morning the battery reads 100% again. On macOS 27 Golden Gate, this is a known bug. Apple Scoop's running list of Golden Gate problems reports the 80% charging limit resetting to 100% after a restart for some users (Apple Scoop).

The setting itself still works. On affected Macs, the value fails to survive a reboot. Below is how to confirm the bug, put the limit back, cut down on how often it resets, and rule out third-party battery apps as the cause.

Key Takeaways

• Charge Limit lives in System Settings > Battery > the ⓘ button next to Charging. It needs Apple silicon and macOS Tahoe 26.4 or later.
• On macOS 27 Golden Gate, the slider snaps back to 100% after a restart on some MacBooks.
• Set the limit again after every restart, and use sleep instead of shutdown where you're able.
• Remove AlDente, battery, or Stasis while you test. Several of these tools misbehave on Golden Gate.

How Do I Know the Charge Limit Reset After a Restart?

Open the Charging panel and look at the slider. If it sits at 100% and you never moved it, the restart wiped your setting. Check it with these steps:

1. Click the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
2. Click Battery in the sidebar.
3. Click the ⓘ (info) button next to Charging.
4. Look at the Charge Limit slider.

A second clue sits in the menu bar. When the limit works, the battery menu shows a line such as "Charged to 80% Limit" once the battery reaches the cap, per Apple Support. If you see "Fully Charged" at 100% while plugged in, the limit isn't active.

For a third check, open Terminal from Applications > Utilities and run:

pmset -g batt

The output shows the current percentage and the charging state. A reading of 100%; charged on a Mac set to stop at 80% confirms the limit failed after the reboot.

Why Does macOS 27 Forget the Charge Limit?

It's a bug in macOS 27 Golden Gate, not a fault with your battery. Apple hasn't published an explanation or listed the issue in its release notes. The symptom matches a setting stored in memory and not written back correctly at shutdown, since the slider works fine until the next restart.

A few details point the same direction:

• The reset happens on restart or full shutdown, not after sleep.
• Setting the limit again takes effect right away, without a reboot.
• Reports started with the Golden Gate release on September 14, 2026, on Macs where the limit held fine under macOS Tahoe 26.4 through 26.7.

Don't confuse the bug with Apple's normal calibration behavior. Apple states your Mac "will occasionally charge to 100%" to keep the battery percentage accurate, even with a limit set (Apple Support). The difference: after a calibration charge, the slider still reads 80%. After the bug, the slider itself reads 100%.

How Do I Set the Charge Limit Back to 80%?

Move the slider back in the same Charging panel and click Done. The new value takes effect within about a minute, and the Mac stops charging once it reaches the cap.

1. Open System Settings > Battery.
2. Click the ⓘ button next to Charging.
3. Drag the Charge Limit slider to your target. It moves in 5% steps: 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100%.
4. Click Done.

If the battery already sits above your new limit, the Mac won't drain it on purpose. It stops pulling charge and lets the level drift down through normal use. Per Apple, charging resumes once the battery drops more than 5% below the limit while plugged in.

Charge Limit requires a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) running macOS Tahoe 26.4 or later. Intel MacBooks never had the slider, and those Macs don't run Golden Gate anyway. If you're unsure which chip you have, our guide on why macOS 27 isn't showing in Software Update explains the About This Mac check.

How Do I Stop the Reset From Happening Again?

No setting prevents it until Apple ships a fix, so the goal is fewer resets and a fast way to catch them. These habits keep your battery at the limit most of the time.

Install macOS 27.0.1 or Later

Apple released macOS Golden Gate 27.0.1 on September 28, 2026, with unspecified bug fixes (MacRumors). Apple didn't say whether it addresses Charge Limit, but every fix release raises the odds. Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install anything listed. After updating, set your limit again and restart once to test whether it holds.

Sleep Instead of Restarting

Close the lid or choose Apple menu > Sleep at the end of the day. The bug triggers on restart and shutdown, so a MacBook left in sleep keeps its limit for weeks. Save restarts for software updates and troubleshooting.

Check the Slider After Every Update

Software updates restart the Mac, so they reset the limit on affected machines. Make "check Charge Limit" part of your post-update routine, right alongside reopening your apps.

Set a Recurring Reminder

If your Mac restarts often, add a repeating reminder in the Reminders app: "Check Charge Limit," every Monday. Thirty seconds a week keeps the battery from sitting at 100% on your desk for days.

Are AlDente or Other Battery Apps Making It Worse?

Yes, on Golden Gate they often do. Third-party charge limiters talk to the same charging hardware as Apple's slider, and macOS 27 changed the low-level SMC interface these apps use to pause charging. Several broke as a result.

Here's what developers and users report on GitHub:

• AlDente: Users report the app "does not respect charging limits" on Golden Gate, with batteries sitting at 100% for days and no discharge to the set level (GitHub issue #1840). One user with an M1 Pro noted Apple's built-in limit failed on the same machine too.
• battery (open-source CLI): A pull request titled "Support macOS 27 Golden Gate charge control" was needed before the tool worked on the new release (GitHub).
• Stasis: A pull request adds fixes for "macOS 27 reporting" alongside guarded support for native charge limits (GitHub).

Running one of these apps next to Apple's Charge Limit gives you two controllers sending conflicting instructions. To test cleanly, remove the third-party tool first:

1. Quit the app from its menu bar icon.
2. Open System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions and remove it from Open at Login.
3. Delete the app from your Applications folder. For the battery CLI, run battery uninstall in Terminal.
4. Restart, set Apple's Charge Limit again, and restart once more to see whether it holds.

If the limit survives two restarts with the third-party app gone, the conflict was the cause. Keep the built-in slider and wait for the developer's Golden Gate update before reinstalling.

What If the Charge Limit Still Won't Stick?

Rule out login items with Safe Mode, then report the bug to Apple. Safe Mode loads macOS without third-party login items and extensions, which isolates the operating system itself.

On an Apple silicon MacBook:

1. Choose Apple menu > Shut Down.
2. Press and hold the power button until Loading startup options appears.
3. Select your startup disk.
4. Hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode.
5. Set the Charge Limit, then restart normally and check the slider.

If the limit resets even after a Safe Mode session, the bug sits in macOS, and nothing on your Mac is interfering. Send a report through the Feedback Assistant app or at apple.com/feedback/macos.html, and mention your Mac model, your macOS version, and the exact steps. Duplicate reports help Apple prioritize the fix.

While you wait, keep an eye on battery health. Go to System Settings > Battery and click the ⓘ button next to Battery Health. A reading of Normal means no harm done. If you also see fast drain since upgrading, our guide to Mac battery drain after macOS Tahoe covers the indexing and background app checks, and they apply to Golden Gate too.

Quick Checklist

Run through this list after any restart on macOS 27:

• System Settings > Battery > ⓘ next to Charging shows your chosen limit, not 100%.
• The battery menu reads "Charged to 80% Limit," not "Fully Charged."
• macOS is on 27.0.1 or later.
• AlDente, battery, Stasis, and similar tools are removed or confirmed Golden Gate compatible.
• Sleep replaces shutdown for daily use.

Apple has fixed early-release power bugs in past x.1 updates, which typically arrive in late October. Until then, resetting the slider after each restart keeps your battery where you want it. If Spaces or desktops also misbehave since the upgrade, our Mission Control fix for macOS 27 covers the other big Golden Gate bug.