Help with Macbook Pro battery issues

May 11, 2021 2:43 PM

I have a 2016-model 13'' Macbook Pro. I've recently had some issues with the battery.

Sometimes it doesn't charge. I plug it in, but it says it has power but is not charging. (The menu bar icon shows the little plug instead of the lightning bolt.) Sometimes it shows me that icon and the battery still declines as though it were not plugged in. Right now, it's not plugged in but is still showing the little plug.

I reset the SMC, which seemed to help for a while, but now it's back to its old tricks again.

Battery Health says that the battery itself is normal. The battery life is still fine, when it does charge up.

Is there anything else I can do to diagnose and/or solve the issue before looking into getting a hardware repair? Has anyone else experienced this before? Should I start backing up obsessively and mentally preparing for my computer's last days?

posted by synecdoche to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

A) you should backup because it's the right thing to do, and

B) It's probably the battery, not the mac; in which case a battery replacement can likely be done for around $100 in a shop near you that mostly repairs iPhones, and they can do the surgery in about an hour, probably less, with the qualification that they may have to order the part and delay several day before you bring the computer in for the repair.

The only way this is a crisis is if the battery is starting to pillow outwards. If it's doing that, it is time to get that battery disposed of (not in the trash, but at a proper Lithium-Ion battery disposal), because if the envelope is punctured, the contents will react with air and start a metal fire.

As long as they are on the charger, Macbooks will run without a battery inside, so if you have to dispose now and install later, you'll still have a computer in between.
posted by Sunburnt at 2:48 PM on May 11, 2021 [1 favorite]

This has happened to me twice.

The first time it was the battery dying. The computer was fine, but the battery was old, and I probably didn't help it much by using unreliable power sources while traveling in places with unreliable power. The battery would charge, but the charge wouldn't last very long and the estimated time remaining was even more wildly inconsistent than normal. I did start to get battery health warnings near the end of the battery's life. Eventually the battery quit completely, but the computer still works just fine - it just has to be plugged in. (This was a 2013 MacBook Pro with a Magsafe connection.)

The second time it was the logic board failing. I lost every bit of data when it was replaced. Luckily, I was backing up with Time Machine pretty religiously and that wasn't a big deal. This sounds more like your situation, with the power source being inconsistently recognized but the battery still functioning all right when it did get charged. (This was a 2017 Macbook Pro with the USB-C power ports.)

I guess I'm commenting to say, while it might just be the battery, I would rather be safe than sorry and be backing up religiously here.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 3:04 PM on May 11, 2021

"Sometimes it doesn't charge. I plug it in, but it says it has power but is not charging. "

I have this problem occasionally - plug in the power supply and the indicator knows it's plugged in, but no charging. On a whim last time this happened, I tried unplugged the charger (it's a block with power/wall cable which can be unplugged) and then plug it back in - bingo. Note - not the cable to the Mac, but the cable to the wall.

As far as I can tell, the power supply gets confused, not the Mac. It seems stupid that you have to reboot the power supply, but that's a price for progress or something. Maybe worth a try - if it's not charging, unplug the charger from the wall, wait a few seconds and plug back in.

Backups, ftw.
posted by whatevernot at 3:58 PM on May 11, 2021

Response by poster: (In my own defense: I do back up—was just being a bit tongue-in-cheek.)
posted by synecdoche at 4:07 PM on May 11, 2021 [1 favorite]

I had similar issues and ended up having to take it to Apple for a replacement of the battery, though I had a "your battery is damaged" warning.
posted by Mid at 4:13 PM on May 11, 2021

For me I thought it was a battery or hardware issue, and it turned out to be the cord.
posted by miles1972 at 4:32 PM on May 11, 2021

I use a couple of dodgy (legit, but in terrible shape) MagSafe chargers on my similar Macbook and this happens to me fairly often when the MagSafe charger or port isn't clean -- it picked up some dirt or tiny bits of metal or something because I use it in a workshop. I'd try cleaning them (brush or alcohol q-tip or both), or maybe a new charger.
posted by neckro23 at 4:35 PM on May 11, 2021

Just to add one more possibility to the good advice above, Apple (relatively) recently added a feature where the OS will intentionally delay charging for a machine when it thinks you’re not likely to need it to be fully charged in the near future. If this is the case the charge will stop in the 75-80% range. If the machine is charging to this range and then stops, then it is probably due to the delayed charge feature.
posted by doomsey at 6:33 PM on May 11, 2021

I would try using a different high quality cable, and maybe a different charger. Cables wear out. And I'm more skeptical that the charger is toasted, but a 35W Anker brick should be relatively low cost and hassle.

I was just noticing that my 2020 MacBook Pro was doing this on the bedside charger today. A different small USB C brick and cable and all was well.
posted by wotsac at 8:33 PM on May 11, 2021