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More Less. Community Get Support. Sign in Sign in Sign in corporate. Browse Search. Ask a question. User profile for user: intellogo intellogo. Question: Q: Question: Q: Macbook pro not charging. Hello, As per the screenshots attached, my macbook pro 15inch is sometimes not taking charge. Is there an issue with the battery on the laptop or the power adapter? Any inputs are highly appreciated!
Reply I have this question too 46 I have this question too Me too 46 Me too. Either one is possible if the SMC Reset does not fix the problem. View answer in context. All replies Drop Down menu. Loading page content. User profile for user: Kappy Kappy. Jul 26, PM in response to intellogo In response to intellogo Sounds like you are not plugging it into the computer entirely or the computer has a defective jack.
It provides practical and comprehensive solutions to solve the MacBook not charging problem, no matter if corrupted firmware settings or hardware faults cause it. A MacBook battery not charging problem means that you can turn on your MacBook, but the charger will not charge the battery.
In other words, your MacBook is mostly working well except for the battery charging function. A MacBook with battery charging problem can be turned on if you connect a working charger to it. In other words, the MacBook has no sign of life at all. MacBook battery charging system consists of four components: a charger, a battery, a charging circuit and an SMC chip.
Faulty chargers, faulty batteries and incorrect SMC data account for the majority of MacBook not charging problems. Fortunately, these faults are easy to fix. Faults in the charging circuit are hard to fix and we discuss it in the last section. If you notice the Battery Status menu says Not Charging , and the message disappears later, your MacBook should be fine.
You could see the temporarily Not Charging message for several reasons:. In order to quickly diagnose and fix the Mac battery not charging issue, you need to know how a MacBook charges its battery. Apple discontinued the MagSafe chargers in The output voltage of a Magsafe charger is fixed. A MacBook Air charger outputs A MacBook Pro charger outputs If the charger meets the criteria, the SMC turns on the green light on the connector.
This green light tells you that the SMC has successfully identified a suitable charger for your MacBook. Based on the data received from the charger and the battery, SMC determines whether or not to charge the battery and how much amount of current will apply to the battery cells.
SMC will tell the charging circuit to start charging the battery if ALL the following conditions are met:. While the SMC controls the charging circuit to charge the battery, it turns on the orange light on the connector. The orange light tells you that the charger is currently charging the battery. When the battery is fully charged, SMC will cut off the current flowing into the battery to prevent overcharging the battery.
The SMC then changes the light colour to green. This time the green light tells you that the charger has completed the charging task. The charger at the moment only provides enough power to power on your MacBook if the MacBook is on.
The output voltage of a USB-C type charger is not fixed. There is no indicator light on the USB-C charger connector to tell you what is going on. Armed with this knowledge, you are ready to fix the Mac battery not charging problem now. Many factors could cause the MacBook battery not charging issue.
Depending on the cause of the MacBook Pro or MacBook Air not charging issue, the corresponding solution varies from easy to hard. We will discuss the easy solutions first and the most difficult one at the end. Some hardware-related issues require specific equipment and or spare parts. At the beginning of each section, we will mention the difficulty level of the fix and equipment and or spare parts required for the repair.
So you can estimate your successful rate based on your skill. Good luck! Spare part required: Spare charger will help. So you need to make sure the charger is working fine. First, you need to make sure that the power outlet is ok. You can plug in a phone charger or a lamp to the power outlet, or plug in your MagSafe charger to another power socket.
This simple step lets you know that the power outlet is working or not. The Apple adapter consists of two parts: the MagSafe charger and the removable power cord. Make sure you insert the power cord to the MagSafe firmly. Next, inspect both the input and output cable of the charger carefully, starting at one end and work your way through until the other end.
Look out for any fraying or tears in the cable. If there are any flaws similar to the ones mentioned, this is likely to be the problem. Replace the charger or try another available charger. Believe or not, these simple checks often fix the MacBook battery not charging issue. When you use a spare charger to test the MacBook, beware that there are a few types of MagSafe chargers for different models of Mac laptops.
The output voltages are The basic rule is that the higher-voltage therefore higher-power charger can replace the lower-voltage charger. This IC chip will automatically produce the right voltage to power your MacBook and charge the battery. So a higher-voltage charger will not harm your MacBook.
Of course, when you buy a replacement charger, buy the same type of your original one. Also, the MagSafe 1 and MagSafe 2 chargers are not exchangeable as the size of the connectors are slightly different. If your MacBook uses Magsafe charger, as long as you can the green light or orange light on the Magsafe connector, the MacBook charger is working fine. Your MacBook will automatically negotiate a suitable voltage output 5V, It can provide information including output voltage, output current and charger temperature.
If you get The photo below shows the USB-C charger is delivering power of Inspect the charging port on the MacBook and the MagSafe connector for debris and burned marks. The port and the connector rely on their strong magnetic attraction to hold them together.
The charging port tends to attract small metal items such as staples and paper clips. These foreign objects prevent the connector from close contact with the charging port. The connector could be very warm due to the extra resistor created by the loose contact. In an extreme case, you even can see the electric sparks. If you find burn marks on the charging port or the connector, you need to clean them or replace them as soon as possible before they cause more damages. If debris is found in the charging port, you can use a toothpick or a pair of metal tweezers to get it from the port.
There is no power voltage present on the four power-pins of the charging port. The reverse-current protection gate transistor on the logic board prevents the battery power reverse to the port. Pay attention to the middle pin of the charging port.
Make sure there is no film covering the pin. USB-C ports and plugs are also subject to dirt. You can use cotton and alcohol to clean them. Remember to remove the charger from the power outlet before you clean the connectors. If the SMC somehow has incorrect data of the MagSafe charger or the MacBook battery, the charger will charge the battery very slowly or even not charge at all.
Apple started to use non-removable batteries in all MacBook models from NVRAM contains user-defined data such as screen brightness, keyboard backlight setting and sound volume setting. All pre MacBooks use nine-pin connectors to connect the batteries to the logic boards.
Pin 6 is used for battery detection. Therefore the electric current can flow in and flow out of the battery freely. This safety design prevents accidentally shorting the battery terminals and causing damage to the battery or even fire. Also, SMC uses pin 4 and 5 to communicate with the battery.
As all these pins 4, 5 and 6 carry low-voltage electronic signals, any of them slightly loose contact will cause MacBook not charging. Make sure there is no dirt or liquid on the connector and socket. SMC also uses current-sensing circuits to monitor the real-time current coming in or out of the battery. Based on this data, your MacBook displays the battery info in the notifications section.
We will clarify these messages here. Usually, the battery still can last for two or three hours of normal usage. You may choose to replace the battery but it is not urgent. The battery could last for a year or two if you connect your MacBook to the charger most of the time to reduce battery usage. Apple has not specified the criteria of this message. If you still use the battery, keep an eye on it and make sure the battery is not swollen. Below is a swollen battery in a 13" MacBook Pro.
An inflated battery will put pressure on the case, touchpad and even the logic board. If you notice that your touchpad cracks or pops up, as shown in the photo below, you most likely have an expanded battery. You need to replace the battery immediately to prevent more damage. If you disconnect the charger, the MacBook will shut off at once.
The battery finally comes to the end of its life. It means the SMC cannot communicate with the battery at all. Your battery is either completely dead or not connected to the logic board properly. Usually, replacing the battery can solve the problem.
This symptom is a strong indication that your logic board is faulty. You need to get your logic board repaired to solve the MacBook not charging problem. If your battery is faulty, you can get the battery replaced by a service provider or replace the battery yourself. When you order the battery online, quote the battery model instead of the MacBook model to ensure you will get the right battery for your MacBook. When you replace the MacBook battery yourself, use your fingernail or a plastic stick to remove the battery connector from the logic board.
Never use a metal screwdriver. Otherwise, you may short circuit the battery or even worse, destroy the SMC by sending the 12V battery power directly to it. You simply remove the screws and disconnect the battery connector from the logic board. If you purchase replacement batteries online, most of them come with a handy screwdriver. Removing the glued battery from the MacBook case is a bit hard for beginners.
Pay attention to the dedicated logic board. The power lines and data communication lines are no longer on the same connector. The data lines are connected to the logic board via a flex cable. The correct procedure to remove this type of battery is crucial. You need to remove the flex cable from the logic board first.
Then use a T-5 screwdriver to remove the screw and disconnect the power terminals. We are more than happy to help you if you cannot fix the problems yourself. We offer competitive prices for MacBook battery replacement. Please contact us. Our experienced staff will call you to assess your situation and provide a free quote for you. The pre MacBook Pro comes with a battery status indicator. You can push the button to see how much percentage the battery retains the power. This indicator shares the same circuit with which the SMC uses to communicate with the battery.
If the indicator is faulty, especially after being exposed to water, the SMC cannot talk to the battery, therefore reports no battery found. Fixing this problem is easy. You can replace the indicator, or simply unplug the indicator cable if you decide not to use the indicator function any more.
If there is a higher voltage accidentally applied to pin 3, for example, power surge or pin 2 Fixing the problem is easy. You can buy a DC board online for a few dollars. Depending on the MacBook model, you may need to remove the logic board to disconnect the DC board cable.
If you need to remove the logic board, pay attention to the fan connector. The fan connector is very easy to peel off. Repairing the fan connector requires micro-soldering skill and adds extra cost to your repair bill. You even can remove the diode, and the DC board will work again.
But bear in mind that there is no protection to your SMC circuit in case a power surge occurs. Remember the cable direction. If you connect the cable reserved, you may damage the MacBook. The cable is prone to liquid damage. If you spill water on your MacBook Air right before you get the MacBook not charging issue, you most likely have a corroded cable and or connectors. But if you plug in a third-party charger to the MacBook, you can see the green or orange light and your MacBook battery is charging the battery perfectly.
This unique symptom indicates that you have a faulty reverse-protection circuit on the logic board. If the reverse-current protection circuit has current leakage, even as little as a few milliamps, the original MagSafe charger will detect the leakage, therefore, shut off the output. On the other hand, the third-party charger has no leakage detection function; therefore, continue to output as usual.
Now you have two options. You can keep using the third-party charger as the leakage does not affect the performance of your MacBook. You need a hot air gun rework station to perform the task. We are going to look at some case studies at expert-level. Fully understanding the principle of the MacBook charging circuit is the key to success. Here we take MacBook Pro schematics A for study. The laptop works fine when a charger is connected but shuts down immediately when the charge is removed.
The customer said the laptop battery had been replaced by another computer shop but the laptop is still not charging. Initial inspection shows no evidence of water damage or corrosion.
Some hours later i plugged the cable again and it started charging again as usual. It happened to me a second time but this time it started to charge sooner than the first time. Don't know what year your MacBook Pro is, but if the battery is dead, it might be covered under warrenty or replacement. Also calibrate your battery for long life. It was solved by the above "My solution - unplug the cord, plug it in again, and wait a few seconds.
As the author suggested, I had to do this several times. I have also found that the condition can be prevented by disconecting the power and waiting until the battery time left is calculated before I close sleep the MacBook Pro, then restart the Mac Book Pro on battery only again waiting until the display has calculated the time left on the battery.
Once that calculation is achieved the Mac Book Pro power adapter can be reconnected without creating the bug that leaves the Mac Book Pro in "Not Charging" mode. I had the same problem. I didn't want to go and replace the charger unless absolutely necessary. I inspected the cables and didn't notice any damage on any part of the cable or charger. As a final measure I decided to try and clean the contacts and the magsafe power socket. This did the trick!
It appears that the charging socket has a low tolerance for dirt, grime or debris. I took a cotton tip and dipped it in a solvent such as mentholated spirits and wiped the gold-plated contacts of both the plug and socket. Make sure there's no dirt there stopping the plug fitting as if it were brand new. Once its clean it should work as new! Anyway worked for me and I didn't have to fork out for a new charger :. The MacBook likely believes there's a power source plugged in because there could still be electricity passing through that line that the MacBook can detect, although the power source itself may not be functioning correctly sending a powerful enough current and charging the battery.
Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Start collaborating and sharing organizational knowledge. Create a free Team Why Teams? Learn more. Why is my MacBook Pro not charging? Ask Question. Asked 12 years, 5 months ago. Modified 8 years, 11 months ago. Viewed 36k times. Thank you. Improve this question. Chealion Add a comment. Sorted by: Reset to default. Highest score default Date modified newest first Date created oldest first.
Improve this answer. Kevin Yap Kevin Yap 1, 10 10 silver badges 14 14 bronze badges. Always assumed it was a hardware issue magnetic connector not quite connecting. The pre MacBook Pro comes with a battery status indicator. You can push the button to see how much percentage the battery retains the power. This indicator shares the same circuit with which the SMC uses to communicate with the battery.
If the indicator is faulty, especially after being exposed to water, the SMC cannot talk to the battery, therefore reports no battery found. Fixing this problem is easy. You can replace the indicator, or simply unplug the indicator cable if you decide not to use the indicator function any more. If there is a higher voltage accidentally applied to pin 3, for example, power surge or pin 2 Fixing the problem is easy. You can buy a DC board online for a few dollars. Depending on the MacBook model, you may need to remove the logic board to disconnect the DC board cable.
If you need to remove the logic board, pay attention to the fan connector. The fan connector is very easy to peel off. Repairing the fan connector requires micro-soldering skill and adds extra cost to your repair bill. You even can remove the diode, and the DC board will work again. But bear in mind that there is no protection to your SMC circuit in case a power surge occurs.
Remember the cable direction. If you connect the cable reserved, you may damage the MacBook. The cable is prone to liquid damage. If you spill water on your MacBook Air right before you get the MacBook not charging issue, you most likely have a corroded cable and or connectors. But if you plug in a third-party charger to the MacBook, you can see the green or orange light and your MacBook battery is charging the battery perfectly. This unique symptom indicates that you have a faulty reverse-protection circuit on the logic board.
If the reverse-current protection circuit has current leakage, even as little as a few milliamps, the original MagSafe charger will detect the leakage, therefore, shut off the output. On the other hand, the third-party charger has no leakage detection function; therefore, continue to output as usual. Now you have two options. You can keep using the third-party charger as the leakage does not affect the performance of your MacBook. You need a hot air gun rework station to perform the task. We are going to look at some case studies at expert-level.
Fully understanding the principle of the MacBook charging circuit is the key to success. Here we take MacBook Pro schematics A for study. The laptop works fine when a charger is connected but shuts down immediately when the charge is removed. The customer said the laptop battery had been replaced by another computer shop but the laptop is still not charging.
Initial inspection shows no evidence of water damage or corrosion. Connect the MacBook to our metered power supply. The current drawn from the power supply is 0. Replace the battery with a known working battery. The current drawn is still 0. This confirms that the problem is in the logic board. How do we fix it? We remove the logic board from the case and inspect it under a microscope.
There is no evidence of liquid damaged at all. The schematics for this MacBook Pro is A. MacBook water damage repair. MacBook Repair Prices. Spilled water on a MacBook? What to do. How to fix Mac question mark folder issue. The test of good customer service is when things go a bit wrong.
There was some confusion about one aspect of my repair and Frances resolved the problem effortlessly and with a smile. You can place your trust in this organisation company. They care about their reputation, which is a great thing. Frances was very clear about how to fix the issues I had, how much it would cost and how long it would take. The repair was on budget, turned around within a couple of days as discussed and I have my computer improved and working better than before.
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Will definitely be a loyal returning customer,. I had a great experience getting my water damaged Macbook Air fixed here. I was able to mail my laptop to Frances to get it checked out and repaired. Once I sent it from around Doreen area to her shop in Bentleigh East it took less than a week for her to find out what was wrong, get the necessary parts and fully repair my laptop and then send it back to me.
The correspondence was very friendly and professional and I am going to definitely recommend this service to anyone that needs it! I had a GPU fault on my Macbook Pro which made it shut down at odd times and finally it would not boot at all. I was very sad. I spoke to Frances on the phone, she walked me through the repair process and the price, everything was very clearly communicated.
I posted my Macbook Pro to Frances that day, she fixed it and now I am writing this review on my amazingly resurrected Macbook :- Now I am very happy again. Thank you Frances, you are amazing. What a great shop! Francis is amazing, her attitude and energy to help is excellent. Took two macbooks in for repairs and upgrades after being told by another shop to replace. Could not be happier, its been a few months and they have not skipped a beat. This is easily the best experience I have ever had with a business, cannot fault it.
Thanks so much! Your Email required. Your Phone required. Your Postcode required. Macbook Model and year Your Message. IT-Tech Online. Click to Call 03 Home 12 ways to fix MacBook battery not charging issue. Table of Contents hide. What is MacBook battery not charging issue? Why is my MacBook battery not charging? How does a MacBook charge its battery?
Fix MacBook not charging problem step-by-step 4. Understand the principle of MacBook battery charging circuit. Advanced MacBook repair battery not charging - case study. The status menu shows your battery is normal and fully charged. But if you remove the charger, the MacBook will turn off instantly. It delivers power to your MacBook and its battery. It stores power charging and provides power discharging. Charging circuit. It converts the charger voltage to run your Mac and charges the battery.
It controls the behaviour of the charging circuit including start or stop charging the battery. You could see the temporarily Not Charging message for several reasons: You use a low-power adopter. The power adapter barely provides enough power to run your MacBook, but not enough power to charge the battery. If you turn off the Mac or put it to sleep, the power adapter will start charging the Mac.
Safety concern. If you connect your Mac to an airline power adapter, your Mac might not charge the battery, even if you turn off your Mac or put it to sleep. You can still use your Mac without draining its battery. For safety reason, charging a battery in an aeroplane is considered a risk task. Running high-performance apps. If your Mac is running high-performance applications such as video editing software and video games, the Mac battery may not be charged.
If the apps demand more power than the adopter can provide, your Mac will combine the adopter power and battery power to run the MacBook in order to meet the high power demand. This is an Apple design feature to boost performance on demand. If the apps drain the battery too quickly, you may need to pause the apps and let your Mac start charging the battery.
If you switch off the Mac, the adapter will charge the Mac much quicker. Extending battery life. This is a design feature to extend the life of your MacBook lithium-ion battery. You can turn off battery health management in Energy Saver preferences. Magsafe Charger The output voltage of a Magsafe charger is fixed. SMC will tell the charging circuit to start charging the battery if ALL the following conditions are met: The MagSafe charger has enough power to power-on the MacBook and charge the battery at the same time.
The temperature of the battery is normal and the battery is not fully charged. The charging circuit detects NO over-current or over-temperature. Fix MacBook not charging problem step-by-step. Connect the MagSafe charger, hold Shift-Control-Option on the left-hand side keyboard and the power button simultaneously for 10 seconds. Release all the keys. Press the power button to turn on your Mac.
Now you have successfully reset the SMC. Hold the power button for at least 5 seconds until the MacBook turns off. Remove the power adaptor and the battery from the MacBook. Hold the power button key for 5 seconds to discharge any remaining electric energy in the capacitors of the SMC circuit.
Alternatively, you can wait for a few minutes until the capacitors discharge naturally. Re-install the battery back to your MacBook. Difficulty level: Beginner Spare part required: None NVRAM contains user-defined data such as screen brightness, keyboard backlight setting and sound volume setting.
Press the power button to turn on the MacBook. As soon as you hear the chime or see any light on the screen, hold Control-Option-R-P four keys simultaneously until the MacBook restarts. Release all the four keys. If you still have the MacBook not charging issue, move on to the next level — hardware faults troubleshooting.
Difficulty level: Basic Spare part required: None All pre MacBooks use nine-pin connectors to connect the batteries to the logic boards. File name : MacBook-ProBattery-connector. File name : MacBook-ProCharging-circuit. This is the safety feature of the smart battery. Q is not open yet. This is a great safety feature of Apple logic board design.
It prevents the battery from exposing due to overheating if there is a short on the logic board. This code contains information such as battery voltage, charging status, battery capacity, charging circle counts, temperature and so on. When we press the power button on the keyboard, the SMC will power up the Apple laptop using the battery along.
All these functions are governed by the SMC. Measure battery connector J It means the battery communication bus to SMC should be fine. The figure is 9. It matches the R figure on the schematics. So the battery detection circuit should also be fine. There are no burned marks or burned components.
The figure is 2. The charging circuit seems ok. Pin 3 to 5 is an open line, very good. Both pin 5 and pin 3 to pin 1 are all open line, excellent. All these measurements indicate the Q is working fine. There is no obvious faulty component found. This logic board is not easy to fix. The U charging circuit power management IC is the first suspect. The battery is still not charging after replacing U We have just killed an innocent charging chip. The second suspect is Q
If the power outlet works, connect your USB-C power adapter and try to charge your Mac. If your Mac still won't charge, shut down your Mac and close the display for 30 seconds, then open the display and try to charge your Mac again. If you're not using a Mac with Apple silicon, reset the SMC. zurg.patrick-kinn.com › en-us. A very small number of customers with and MacBook Pro computers have experienced an issue with the battery not charging past 1%.