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Might need a call into local Apple shop? Perhaps a new battery?
Originally Posted by bambam
Hi
Had this problem with my Mac for a while now where it will get to about 25% battery power and just shut down. I'll then need to plug in the power cable to bring it back to life (and press the power button).
The thing is, it only does it sometimes. Most of the time it will get down to 5% battery quite happily and carry on as normal. I've tried a few of the things that I've found online like re-setting the SMC and the PRAM and also running the battery all the way down and then re-charging back to 100% and then cycling that a few times. Nothing seems to have made a difference. Battery shows as 'normal' and cycle count is 732 in system report.
Its a mid-2012 Mac Book Pro Retina.
Any ideas??
Might need a call into local Apple shop? Perhaps a new battery?
Happened sporadically on mine as the battery started to go.
I guess the amperage becomes unreliable and sometimes if its not getting enough it will trigger a shutdown.
Sounds like a dying battery to me as well. My Air occasionally does silly stuff like this when it’s getting down to <15% charge remaining but then it’s over 5 years old.
Problem with it being that old is that Apple will most likely tell you it’s out of support entirely.. like they won’t even work on it any more with your only option being a new MacBook...... :|
However if you can source a good quality aftermarket battery, and you will need to do some research here, then they are easy enough to open up yourself!
Last edited by chicaneuk; 22nd October 2018 at 22:12.
I would think that a well used 6 year old battery is probably in its way out.
Defenestrate it.
Ifixit will probably have all you need.
Replaced my late 2013 macbook pro battery for £80 in 45 minutes. Apple wanted £260 with a 7 week turnaround.
Same symptoms on my MacAir, and replaced the battery following ifixit video. Sorted.
to determine if your battery has a fault I recommend installing coconut battery, this will tell you lots of info about the battery in your device including the number of charge cycles its had, its general health, its charge capacity vs. its initial (new) capacity etc. this will rule out whether its a battery issue or not.
If its not a battery issue I'd put the laptop into recovery mode and wipe it via an OS download from Apple, or, if you can, download the latest version of macOS that your device will support, probably high Sierra, and make a bootable USB drive, and boot the laptop with that and install the OS that way.
Here's a screenshot of the Coconut Battery display:
Its already on High Sierra in terms of the OS. Or are you saying that I should try and reload the OS anyway?
Last edited by bambam; 23rd October 2018 at 11:32.
So this say your battery is roughly at 81% capacity compared to 100% when it was new. This wouldn't explain your shutdowns I don't think. The battery is aging as expected for its age and charge cycles. I don't believe your problems are battery related personally speaking. I would look at an os reinstall first to be sure. Try keeping an eye on coconut through the day to see how quickly your charge depletes and then decide if it's worth the hassle of an os reinstall.Here's a screenshot of the Coconut Battery display:
Its already on High Sierra in terms of the OS. Or are you saying that I should try and reload the OS anyway?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
nope they do this ,its the battery. You can trip it up with a sudden spike for power demand and the battery just can't push out the juice so the machine shuts down in a controlled fashion to stop any corruption.
It will get worse until you change the battery , you'll get shorter life but also if you cane the machine it will run for cover. Its why the mains power connection stops it.
This is from Apple:
https://www.apple.com/uk/batteries/s...and-recycling/
Looks like your battery is more worn than expected. I have seen various Apple journalists mention on Twitter that when the battery falls below 80% you can get unexpected shutdowns.
I was actually told in the Apple Store last week that for Macbooks 80% is the limit after which they always recommend new batteries. Same with iPhones.
I'd just say as an IT manager at MMU with 15 years experience in the role and for the last 5 years a strategic lead in all things apple (I spend 500k a year on apple for MMU) and very close links to apple I think I'm qualified to give advice.
But I'm not getting paid to give advice on here so do as you please. Beware those who don't have a clue though.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It's the battery. Had the same symptoms on my Air. Apple replaced it while I waited and it's been good as gold since.
A similar thing is happening to this journalist who covers Apple. The Twitter thread has similar replies to here:
https://twitter.com/dmoren/status/10...185252352?s=21
Don't think anybody was questioning your advice, rather just adding to a discussion?
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Ok, so after a few days of using Coconut Battery, its now showing as 'Check Battery' under Battery Status and on the System Report it now shows as 'Service Battery'.
Status image from Coconut Battery:
Is this conclusive??
^^^
Yes
OP - Have you tried reseting the NVRAM? I had a load of sporadic issues with my 2015 MBP the other day and this fixed it.
Its the battery dying. No point chasing ghosts.
It will get progressively worse in terms of life and the demand failures causing a shutdown will happen more often.
Replacement kit from ifixit for £90 is my advice. Not too tricky but requires a little care and concentration.
that would explain shutdowns perfectly.
1. if battery health is around and below 80% it is degraded.
2. even you get 100% as a full charge in reality it is only 80%
3. if your battery shows 40%, in reality it has less charge
4. as a lot of people already experienced with iphones, if battery health drops below 80%, they cannot handle power hungry apps and just shuts down. Apple released software update and now you can choose battery life (phone with degraded battery will shut down) vs power (phone will eat battery very quickly), but MAC OS AFAIK does not have this feature.
from my side I would add two more things to try in addition to already PRAM reset - reset SMC and calibrate battery. maybe it'll help.
If we had a whip round and paid you would you give better advice? That battery is shagged.
Thanks chaps.
I've had a look at the ifixit site and the battery replacing instructions has about 52 steps to it and seems to involve removing or undoing pretty much everything. Don't fancy doing that. Think Apple charge £199 all in.
Anyone know of any other places that might be worth looking at to get it done? I'd rather get it done for me so that I have a warranty of some sort. Or, if anyone is a dab hand at this and is close by and fancies it then that might be an option.
Thanks
PS Battery status is now showing as 'Good' and 'Normal' but with max capacity of 77%
Been down the aftermarket battery route before and it was not that great TBH - if I was in the position again, I would go genuine Apple battery.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Ifixit use the same batteries as Apple.
Have a look at youtube for instructions. Ifixit are very careful and thorough , you can usually shortcut the process.
Mine required hardly any disassembly. Caseback off , battery disconnected and then a bit of work to get it unstuck. The solvent from ifixit works well and is pretty harmless. Suspect its mainly acetone and ipa. Use toothfloss and the spudgers , the triangular one is great because you can lever it under the battery and then rotatae it down the side and it cuts through the glue.
Moderate force and take your time.its quite easy.
Last edited by Mr.D; 1st November 2018 at 03:47.
I have a 2012 MBP and it does exactly the same thing.Its a mid-2012 Mac Book Pro Retina.
Apologies if it's been asked before in the thread but does the shut-down ever happen when connected on the external power supply? If the answer is no then I'd say that was a strong indicator the problem is the battery.
I now use mine as a desktop i.e. plugged in 24/7 and it hasn't shut-down once since.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
No it doesn’t happen when it’s plugged in.
Though the other day I had it charged to 100% and when I opened the lid there was no response. I was in a meeting so was lucky to have a charger with me. Took a few minutes for the charger to bring it back to life and when it did it showed as 100%!
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