Kubuntu KDE Plasma 25 Draining MacBook Pro 2019 T2 At Rapid Pace

[kubuntumitch]

Hello, I am new to the forums. As per subject, I have noticed that the battery drain is dramatic, like from full batter to 0% in a matter of 6 hours without no use and on dimmed screen. I have tested by doing a full charge and booting into native Mac OS and not using it will not drain the battery at the pace that Kubutu does, infact, I can leave it for 6 hours and it drains maybe 5%.

There must be a battery drain issue of some sort, does anyone know about this and can anyone help because Kubuntu with T2 chipset support for my touchpad seems to be the only Linux Distro available for my Mac Book.

HELLLPPPP

[skyfishgoo]

sudo apt install tlp

[kubuntumitch]

Thank you for this, I have just finished installing it by following instructions from ChatGPT its enabled and loaded automatically on start up. I will report back in a couple days and let you know how it goes.

[skyfishgoo]

unless the instructions from chatGPT were

sudo apt install tlp

then it was bull****, as is most everything from chatGPT

do not use chatGPT or any AI for advice on how to configure your PC

[kubuntumitch]

Thanks skyfishgoo This is exactly what GPT5 told me to do.Let me know if it looks right to you, because I still noticed a considerable battery drain when on battery and not being used. Is there anything else you can recommend or want me to check ?

Step 1: Install TLP

You’ve already got the command:

sudo apt install tlp tlp-rdw

• tlp → the core package
• tlp-rdw → optional radio device management (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth power saving)

Step 2: Enable and Start the Service


After installation, make sure TLP is active:

sudo systemctl enable tlp
sudo systemctl start tlp


This ensures TLP runs automatically at boot.

Step 3: Verify TLP is Running

Check its status:

sudo tlp-stat -s

Step 4: Optional Configuration


TLP works well with defaults, but you can fine-tune it:

• Config file: /etc/tlp.conf
• Example tweaks:
  • CPU governor: balance performance vs. battery
  • USB autosuspend: disable if you use external devices often
  • Battery thresholds: on supported hardware, limit charging to extend lifespan

Edit with:

sudo nano /etc/tlp.conf

Then restart:

sudo systemctl restart tlp

Step 5: Avoid Conflicts

On Kubuntu 22.04+ you may also have power-profiles-daemon installed. Disable it to avoid conflicts:

sudo systemctl mask power-profiles-daemon

Step 6: Monitor Improvements

Run:

sudo tlp-stat -b

[skyfishgoo]

i would rely on the source

https://linrunner.de/tlp/index.html#