Macbook Pro Battery Not Charging

Here’s what to do if your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air battery is dead and it won’t change, or if the charger isn’t working. If your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air won’t charge, or the charger isn’t working, getting things working can be a race against time as the battery drains. In this article we’ll look at the possible reasons why your Mac laptop might not be charging, and how you can fix it.

We’ll also look at what to do if your Apple laptop doesn’t hold a charge and if it’s delivering a lot less battery life than Apple advertises.

Why is my MacBook not charging?

There could be a simple reason why your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro won’t charge. The battery may be faulty, there could be a problem with the charging cable, an issue with macOS could be causing your battery not to charge sufficiently, or your Mac may be part of a recall due to a fault. We discuss reasons why your MacBook won’t charge, and suggest some fixes below.

Another reason why your MacBook might not be charging is that the Mac may have paused charging in order to extend the life of the battery. The battery health features of recent versions of macOS from Big Sur onwards include charging not starting until the battery slips below 90% or 93% capacity and charging stopping once the battery is at 80% if the Mac will be left plugged in for a long time. The Optimized Battery Charging features are designed to reduce battery aging and is on by default on Macs with M1, M2, M3-series chips, and Intel Macs with the T2 security chip.

If your Mac has stopped charging due to Optimized Battery Charging you can resume charging by clicking on the battery icon in the menu at the top of the screen and choose: Charge to Full Now.

You can also turn off Optimized Battery Charging by following these steps:

1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences in older versions of macOS).
2. Click on Battery.
3. Click on the i icon beside Battery Health.
4. Deselect Optimised Battery Charging.

 

What to do if a MacBook won’t charge

Start off with these simple checks to establish what the issue is that is stopping your Mac from charging. We also have some more advanced fixes to try.

1. Check the connections

We have to ask… Is the MacBook definitely plugged in? Disconnect the charging cable from the laptop and plug it in again.

Check the plug socket too. Is the socket turned on? Try using a different wall socket. Plug something else into the socket to see it it works. We know all this sounds a bit basic, but double-check before you go any further.

Make sure your power adaptor is connected properly. Each Apple laptop adaptor comes in two parts, the square adaptor and its removable plug that connects to the wall, and the charge cable. Pull the two apart and put them back together.

What does your Apple adaptor look like? Is it in pristine condition or has it got any tears in the cable? Is the adaptor discolored in any way? Does it look burnt out? If so, try a different adaptor (I once took a MacBook Air to an Apple Store because it wasn’t charging. It turned out the fault was with the MagSafe charger which wasn’t functioning. Apple replaced the charger and all was well.)

Make sure you are using the correct power adapter and cable. For example, you may have a Mac that charges via USB-C, but not all USB-C cables are equal. Some cannot be used for charging. There are also various types of MagSafe cables that your Mac might require for charging – there are no less than three versions of MagSafe for Mac. You need to make sure you are using the correct one. See our guide to MagSafe. You should ideally use the charger that came with your Mac, including the included power brick. If you are using a low-wattage cable your Mac may not be able to draw sufficient power to charge.

Speaking of the power brick – is it overheating? If your power adapter is getting too hot it may not function. Make sure it isn’t covered by anything.

Also, check the power port on your Apple laptop for dust. This can prevent the connector from making a clean connection to the Mac and stop you from charging it up correctly.

If your Mac isn’t charging follow these steps:

1. Unplug the charging cable from your Mac.
2. Wait a few seconds.
3. Plug the cable back in.

 

2.  Check your battery

As we explain in How to test a MacBook battery it’s actually quite simple to check your MacBook battery to see if it needs replacing.

To check is whether there is a problem with your battery follow these steps:

1. Click on the battery charge icon at the top right of the desktop near the clock.
2. Click on Battery Settings. This will open the battery section of System Settings (you can also get here from System Settings > Battery).
3. Check what the advice besides Battery Health.

In our case battery health is normal, but in an older Mac we saw a warning that we should Service Battery (as shown above).

On older Macs you should follow these steps to check battery health:

1. Hold down the Alt/Option key.
2. Click the battery charge icon at the top right of the desktop near the clock.
3. After the Condition heading at the top of the menu you’ll see one of four battery status messages: Normal, Replace Soon, Replace Now, and Service Battery.

If your battery is described as Normal you should have nothing to worry about in terms of battery health. If it suggests Replace Soon, Replace Now or Service Battery then that may well be the cause of your battery charging issues.

If your battery needs replacing you should read Should you replace your MacBook battery or pay Apple to do it?

 

3. Update your software

Sometimes a software update may fix your Mac charging problems.

For example, when Apple issued the macOS Monterey 12.2 update a bug was introduced that caused some Mac batteries to drain really quickly in sleep mode. The issue was found to be related to an issue with Bluetooth and a subsequent macOS 12.2.1 update addressed the battery drain problem.

Make sure that your Mac is running the most recent version of the macOS software. Go to System Settings > General > Sofware Update (or System Preferences > Software Update in older versions of macOS) to check that there isn’t an update.

Why MacBook Pro battery not charging?

So a couple of days ago I’ve spilled liquid (delicious red tea) on the right part of my MacBook Pro (Mid 2009, MB985, MacBook Pro 15″ Unibody Mid 2009). I immediately unplugged it, turned it upside-down, saved my work (I’m CAD engineer and can’t just shut my computer down any time), turned it off. Then I’ve cleaned computer, let it dry for 20 minutes upside-down and using hairdryer. Then I turned it on unplugged and it was functioning OK. However I turned it off and let it dry another 40 minutes unplugged, checked — it was OK. I put it under room warming system for next 5-7 hours. Since I was running on my deadline I had to turn it on from battery (everything fine OK), plug in the MagSafe and work like 5 hours (absolutely everything fine, including no sticky keys and no backlit keyboard damage). During that time battery was first charging (ember light) then fully charged (green light). I closed laptop and took it to office in good mood. But it didn’t start from the battery at the office. However it started fine with the wall charger connected.

Since then my MacBook Pro won’t run from the battery. If I unplug laptop it turns off immediately. LED light is always bright green. Battery status says “(Not Charging)”. I can test battery status with LED indicator in the left and it says battery is 7/8 charged (but not charging with or without the plug).

I’ve opened the bottom panel of laptop and there aren’t much evidence of tea over there. It’s been 2 days and battery still won’t charge and hardly drain (feels like it’s in standby mode). I’ve tried SMC reset with no luck.

I’ll get proper tools and a day-off tomorrow and plan to take apart my aluminum buddy. Please help me to get him back full health. It really means a lot to me.

Update. Today I completely disassembled the thing and put it back together. I’ve noticed almost no corrosion or evidence of tea on the logic board (bottom & top). Just really tiny couple of drops on the bottom part (on the DC-in side somehow). I’ve cleaned it with a bit wet microfiber and hairdryer. So the logic board looks good as new. However the DC-in Board looks strange and damaged. I’ve took a couple of photos:

Update #2. I’ve faced some weird and (probably) good news today (4-5 day after spilling tea). I left my laptop for 3-4 hours unplugged once I got home. Once I plugged it in 5 minutes ago the LED on MagSafe got red! And now battery says it’s charging again!!! One big “but” is battery menubar item says it’ll take about 7 hours for the battery to get charged (currently 82%). Battery Amperage in System Information now isn’t 0 or -1 anymore: it jumps from 140 to 150. So I guess it’s a good idea to let it take it’s time and charge and unplug computer to test if it runs with no cord attached. Charger body is normal not hot. Any thoughts?

Update #3. So I followed advice & double-cleaned whole Logic Board again. No luck. Finally I’ve managed to get my aluminum buddy to that best-in-the-city-Mac-technician. He said there’s absolutely no evidence of liquid on the inside. Thing looks good as new. However he’d tested charging circuit of Logic Board and found damaged chip. It’s chip ISL6258A which controls battery charging etc. It’s partly damaged (one “foot is fried” as he reported it) and it can be replaced without replacing whole Logic Board. Operation costs about $200. They’ve ordered the thing and I’ll get back to repair in 2 weeks once part is here. This model of controller chip can be found in all modern Macs and chip can be replaced. Probably this information would help someone in same situation.

Macbook Pro Is not Charging? Find Your Solutions Here

Is your MacBook Pro refusing to get charged? One of the most beneficial aspects of using any laptop is its portability. It is this feature that makes laptops massively popular among professionals. You can carry it wherever you want with ease.

However, the laptop has no function if there is no charge. It is useless if you cannot turn it on due to lack of charge. The nightmare that ensues when you realize you have an urgent meeting, but the laptop won’t charge, is frightening.

The MacBook Pro not charging or the 0xc00000e error code is a common occurrence. Apple users have reported this issue for quite some time. Several reasons explain why your device is not charging.

Luckily, there are multiple solutions you can adopt to fix this problem. There is no need to panic immediately. In this post, we will discuss the reasons that lead to the MacBook Pro not charging problem. Moreover, we will also share various solutions to resolve this issue.

Why Is Macbook Pro not Charging

Various reasons can lead to the MacBook Pro not charging. The occurrence of the 0xc00000e error code can be due to different causes. These include a low-power or defective adapter, defective battery, damaged power cable, etc.

However, there are some other reasons too. For instance, the charging issue can also occur due to multiple high-performance apps. Additionally, overheating the system, hardware problems, improper settings, using apps that save battery, etc., can also lead to this issue.

How to Solve Macbook Pro Is not Charging

The MacBook Pro not charging is not a common laptop problem. Luckily, there are multiple ways to resolve the issue.

Method 1. Check battery health

The battery is one of the most crucial components of your Mac. However, regular use will lead to depletion. The MacBook Pro not charging can be due to poor MacBook battery health.

Check out the MacBook battery health by following these steps

Step 1. Press the Option key and tap on the Apple icon simultaneously.

Step 2. Choose the System Information option.

Step 3. Go to Hardware.

Step 4. Now, select the Power option. Here, you will get information on battery health. Look out for the condition sub-section under Health information. You must opt for replacement or repair services if anything other than normal is written.

 

Method 2. Cool down Macbook Pro 

In some cases, overheating is the primary cause of the MacBook Pro not charging. It is a simple yet overlooked cause. That is why cooling down the thermal sensors is vital. Laptops have excellent thermal sensors that can detect a temperature rise. To protect the system, it blocks battery access.

The safety measure is excellent but leads to unnecessary panic. So, what to do now? Firstly, check if the MacBook Pro is too hot. If that is the case, turn it off and give it some time to cool down. Move the system near a fan or turn on the AC.

If you are working outside, direct sunlight can also cause heating of the system. In that case, move the system to a shade. Keep in mind that too much heat can damage the device.

Another excellent tip is to avoid using Macs on your bed. The bedsheets block the air vents, not allowing the system to cool down. Instead, use a table to keep the system.

Method 3. Check battery connector 

The older MacBook models use 9-pin connectors to stick the battery on the logic board. Over time, dirt, dust, and debris can accumulate on the surface. It causes connection issues with the battery, leading to its malfunction. Here, the solution is to clean the battery connector.

For that, you can take cotton buds or a clean cloth. Now, soak the buds in 95% alcohol and clean the connector gently. Don’t apply too much pressure or hurry! Take your time and check if the issue still exists.

Method 4. Check the AC plug and power outlet 

Did you know that a damaged power outlet can lead to the MacBook Pro not charging? Even fluctuations in the power supply can cause this problem. You must look at the power outlet and check for any obstructions. For instance, if you see a layer of dirt and dust accumulating on the outlet, clean it immediately.

If there is damage to the AC plug, replace it right away. Get a new one and see if the Mac is charging now.

Method 5. Try another USB-C cable 

Sometimes, the simplest solution can solve a huge problem. Have you thought of trying a new USB-C cable? Often, we don’t consider less complicated reasons. The MacBook Pro not charging can be due to short-circuiting of the cable. Even a dirty power cable can cause this issue.