Sometimes when I connect my MacBook Air to the charger, the charge light on the MagSafe connector does not come on (and System Information says the power is not connected and the battery is not charging). I tried using a different charger and the MacBook charges fine. What might be the problem?
MacBook – My MacBook Air sometimes doesn’t charge when the charger is plugged in
chargermacbook pro
Related Solutions
Because you explain the problem perfectly, and in short:
- The battery does not charge, and your Macbook does only work with MagSafe attached
There's only one option what could be the problem...
The battery is dead, let me explain you why:
- Your battery is ignored somehow, and your Macbook uses power directly from the MagSafe adapter. If you couldn't even use the Macbook with the cable in it, the cable could be the problem. Since it works with cable-attached, it's not.
- You can use the macbook with cable in it as explained above.
The first thing I would do is an SMC Reset. According to Apple, one of the reasons to reset your SMC is...
To do a reset
- Shut down the Mac.
- Plug in the MagSafe or USB-C power adapter to a power source and to your Mac.
- Using the built-in keyboard, press Shift Control Option on the left side of the keyboard, then press the power button at the same time. Release all keys, then press the power button again to turn on your Mac
If you continue to have problems, I would then run an Apple Hardware Test and see if you can obtain any diagnostic info.
Best Answer
In my case, the problem was the temperature of the charger. Since it's currently winter in the southern hemisphere, removing the MacBook from charge causes the charger to cool down (since it apparently draws very little mains power when there is no load on the MacBook side). At some point when it is cool enough, it will refuse to supply power when the MacBook is plugged in again.
The workaround is to warm up the charger (for example, by sitting on it) for a few minutes until the charge light comes on. Then the current running through the charger is enough to keep it warm, and it continues charging.
Update: A year later, after returning from being away for six weeks, my charger refused to work again even after sitting on it. Apple was happy to replace it under AppleCare.