MacOS – Why will the MacBook Pro (15″ Late 2016) not power on after disabling ‘Boot on Lid Open’

bootmacbook promacospowerpower-management

I wanted to disable the boot/power on by opening the lid. To do so, I entered the below command in the terminal

sudo nvram AutoBoot=%03

Post that, I shut down the laptop by going to the Top Left Apple icon. After shut down, I closed the lid. I opened the lid and Voila, it showed the battery indicator 100% on the screen and then the screen went dark. Reasonable, but not for me. This is where my problem starts, as my laptop won't start anymore.

I have taken the below troubleshooting steps.

  • Press the Power Button
  • Press and Hold the Power Button from 3-10 seconds, (tried all)
  • Tried resetting NVRAM
  • Tried resetting the SMC, ^ Control ⇧ Shift ⌥ Option ⦿ Power for 10 seconds.
    ( I am not sure about SMC reset, as the power was not turning on)
  • Opened the back lid, disconnected battery connectors for 60 hrs, hoping SMC would reset. Plugged in the charger, and opened the lid, it showed no battery in red on the screen. No power on until now
  • Removed the charger, connected the battery, opened the lid and we are back to square one. It shows the battery percentage and the screen goes dark.

I am looking for solutions to start the laptop. I don't know what I have done wrong, a simple command to disable the boot on by opening the lid and I am stuck with my MacBook Pro not starting.

PS: Apple Service Centre are closed, as we are still in lockdown. I am posting a question after a long time, apologies for any improper format.

Best Answer

The setting is stored in NVRAM, so resetting that should undo the new nvram setting. Unfortunately in this case, NVRAM is persisted like something written to disk, so neither SMC nor disconnecting the power can undo the setting.

Try using the automatic power on as part of the NVRAM reset. With the Mac having shut down after showing the battery indicator, hold ⌥⌘PR then connect the power cord instead of pressing the power button. Keep holding the keys for at least 20 seconds.