How To Update MagSafe Battery Pack Firmware

Apple releases firmware updates for the MagSafe Battery Pack. Here’s why.

Wondering how to update MagSafe Battery Pack firmware? It’s something people rush to Google whenever they hear that Apple has updated the MagSafe Battery Pack’s firmware. And people rush to Google how to update MagSafe Battery Pack firmware, because Apple doesn’t provide much guidance on doing so.

This is very un-Apple-like. When it comes to software updates for its other devices (like the iPhone or Mac), Apple makes it VERY easy to see when an update is available – and makes it super easy to manually download the update. But not so with MagSafe Battery Pack firmware. Here’s what you need to know…

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It’s easiest to think of firmware as permanent software that gets installed on a device. This device can be anything from a smartphone to a computer to a video game console to, yes, the MagSafe Battery Pack.

Firmware can usually never be uninstalled or downgraded, which regular software updates allow for. The only thing you can normally do is replace the existing firmware with a new updated firmware. And when you do that it’s known as a firmware update.

Firmware updates normally don’t add major new features to a device. Instead, they fix critical bugs deep in the hardware layer, or occasionally they might allow an accessory to work with a new device. For example, a wireless charger might get a firmware update in order for it to work with the latest smartphones.

Apple almost never reveals what a MagSafe Battery Pack update does. This means there is no way of knowing what the firmware update does unless someone happens to notice a change themselves post-update. Sometimes people post this anecdotal observation online, which is your best be for ever finding out what a firmware update does.

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When it comes to firmware updates for its accessories, Apple provides no way to manually initiate the firmware update. As a matter of fact, Apple will never even tell you there is a firmware update available for the MagSafe Battery Pack. 

Instead, Apple pushes the firmware update out quietly over its network, which is then downloaded to your iPhone and transferred to the MagSafe Battery Pack the next time it’s connected. It’s all very hush-hush and a completely opaque process.

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When it comes to MagSafe Battery Pack firmware update, about the only thing you can see transparently with them is what version of firmware is currently installed on MagSafe Battery Pack. This, thankfully, is easy to find out.

1. Connect your MagSafe Battery Pack to your iPhone. Make sure it is solidly connected to it, which shouldn’t be a problem as it will just snap on in place (that’s the magic of MagSafe).
2. Next, open the Settings app on your iPhone.
3. Tap General.
4. Tap About.
5. Scroll down a ways until you see “MagSafe Battery Pack” and tap on it.

On the Apple MagSafe Battery Pack page, you’ll see the firmware version listed. It is usually a series of numbers and letters mixed together, but it could also just be numbers and decimal places.

If your current firmware number doesn’t match the latest firmware version number that you heard about online, just leave the battery pack connected to the iPhone and it’ll update eventually.

And check out Does Apple’s Leather Wallet Have MagSafe & Find My Support? Also, check out Does Apple Pencil Work With iPhone? here’s How To Update MagSafe Charger Firmware. And look at 3 Ways To See Your iPhone Battery Percentage %!

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Michael Grothaus

Apple expert and novelist, Michael Grothaus has been covering tech on KnowYourMobile for the best part of 10 years. Prior to this, he worked at Apple. And before that, he was a film journalist. Michael is a published author; his book Epiphany Jones was voted as one of the best novels about Hollywood by Entertainment Weekly. Michael is also a writer at other publications including VICE and Fast Company.