Dead/deactivated battery in my macbook?

[hallaisen]

Hi

As I wrote in another thread my Macbook has both the whining and the mooing, and it's really getting to me. I'm turning it back in, and hope to get a new, flawless one. However, I've discovered another problem with my Macbook...one that I haven't read about anyone else having: my battery doesn't work.

There's an x over the battery indicator in the top right corner, and when I click on it it says "no batteries available". If I disconnect the charger it shuts down after a second or two. I've tried to start it without the battery, and then turn it off and put the battery in it again. No change.

Considering that I'm turning it in it doesn't really matter, but I thought I'd throw this out there to let you know that the noise issues aren't the only problems with the Macbooks. If anyone has any ideas about what I can do to fix it I'll be happy to try, seeing how I won't have time to take it back until saturday.

[fotty]

I am also having this problem with my macbook pro. I have just had my power adapter replaced because it stopped working completely, only to plug my new one in and find this new problem. I have tried unplugging and replugging it several times. I have also taken out the battery, to no avail. I am very interested in a solution as I do not relish taking it back again so soon...

[stevejust]

I have a Rev A, received on Feb. 22nd MBP and this just started happening to me over the weekend.

I think the battery chip that monitors stuff probably got fried because it gets so damn hot.

I spent time on the phone and all they wanted to do was sell me Apple Care.

I'm taking it in today and it's going to be a sight to see, 'cause I'm going to be screaming at them in the store about it.

There's about 10 posts on this subject. I'm just cutting and pasting my response to everyone, 'cause I'm so pissed about it.

[stevejust]

Apple replaced the battery today. I asked if it had anything to do with my Rev A computer getting so hot, and would the new battery fail as well. They said no.

I'm skeptical, but we shall see.

[ShellyFM]

My mother's MacBook has a similar problem. It has an X over the battery symbol. It won't boot with the battery. It will only boot on A/C. However, when it's running with the charger plugged in and then if you remove the charger, it continues to run on the battery. Anyone have any ideas?

[elbirth]

There was actually a somewhat silent recall of the batteries of early MacBook Pros. I'm not sure if this is the case for any of the MacBooks though.

My Revision A MacBook Pro had its battery die in a very similar way... the computer would die after a few minutes of being on battery power, but the computer always recognized that a battery was there. Once it hit 97 or 96%, it would shut off as if it went to 0. Plus, while I was trying to troubleshoot this on my own for almost a week, the battery itself began to warp really bad to the point where my MBP wouldn't sit level on the table :eek: It would kind of rock back and forth on the bulge in the battery.

I sent it in and got it replaced and it's been fine ever since. I had also sent it in for heat issues and they replaced the logic board, but it still gets pretty hot. Plus I'm sending mine in again the first of next week for round 2... they never fixed the paint flaking below my keyboard from the first time, plus the guy I talked to said they *should* be able to fix the buzzing on the screen when the brightness isn't at max.

[ShellyFM]

Do you know if a problem with the battery is something an Apple store can take care of or does it need to be mailed to Apple directly? My Mom's worried she may go without hers for a while if she has to send it in.

[elbirth]

If it's just the battery and not any of the internal connections, I would imagine an Apple store could just give you another battery if they keep those on-hand.

It'd be worth checking out, at least... I'd say go to your local Apple store and see if you can talk someone into letting you try a spare battery to see if the symptoms go away. If they do, see if they'll let you just swap for a new battery and be on your way. If it doesn't go away, then you'll know you'd likely have to just go on and send it in.

I would think Apple should have plenty of extra batteries to toss into a computer for replacement, and since they seem to know what the underlying problem is, sending it in should only take a couple days or so. However, just an FYI, when I sent mine in for the heat issue, they ended up waiting on a part and I was without it for about a week, which was a huge pain (it's my only Mac, so I had to use Windows during that whole time.)

[Macfanatic867]

This same thing just happened to my girlfriend's Macbook. The computer was sleeping and then the light went out. When she tried to wake it up it wouldn't. After plugging it in and booting it up the battery monitor had an "x" through and said "no batteries availible". This was her first mac and she is really dissapointed that it would break so soon (she's had it for two weeks, the Macbook is a week 29 I believe). She's going to call our (relatively) local Apple Store and set up a appointment to get a replacement battery today. Hopefully it goes smoothly and they don't give her a lot of hassle. I reset the PMU and reinstalled the battery to no avail, hopefully it's the battery and not the hardware in the Macbook? What do you think?

[MacMan314]

In some cases you may be able to solve this by resetting the PMU, but obviously that won't help if the hardware itself is flawed. Might be worth a shot anyhow.

[ShellyFM]

I took my mother's MacBook to the Apple store after troubleshooting on my own and then also with AppleCare. The problem was the MacBook and NOT the battery. Oddly enough, when I brought it into the Apple store, not only was it still not recognizing the battery it also developed signs of a logic board failure by displaying vertical lines across the entire screen instead of booting up properly. I'm wondering if that was a deteriorating problem all along and that the battery issue was simply a symptom.

Has anyone else experienced this?

The store is sending it into Apple for repair.

[Macfanatic867]

Well. My girlfriend called to make that appointment and they said since she didn't buy the computer from the store she couldn't make an appointment in advance and would she rather they just ship it directly to her?. She said yes of course, and one day later the new battery arrived and it worked! Wow that was easy. Just so everyone knows that sometimes a new battery will do the trick.

[whatmicah]

I am having the same problem. X through the battery, no batteries available, green light on the power adapter, batt wont charge. Well, I have read a bit about this issue elsewhere -- see link below, and I am thinking that it is not the batt itself. While putting a new batt in might temporarily fix the problem, I think that when it is allowed to be fully drained the problem might begin again.

We had just gotten our MacBook back from apple after its logic board fried, taking the hard drive out with it in the process. It was all working just fin for about two weeks and now this! I guess its back to apple again.

There are some who beleive it has to do with the firmware update. This is possibleas we had just done the update about a week beforehand, but cant be sure.

Please check out this site and post your problems!

http://www.macbookrandomshutdown.com/2006/11/20/firmware-fix-killing-batteries/

What a lemon of a computer!

-m

[michelsal]

In some cases you may be able to solve this by resetting the PMU, but obviously that won't help if the hardware itself is flawed. Might be worth a shot anyhow.

I did reset the pram, the pmu, ran applejack, removed and reinserted the battery multiple times all before I called Applecare.
my macbook core duo, 2Ghz just went out yesterday too. Exact same symptoms and occurred as many others have listed after a day in sleep mode. When I called Apple today, they said the KNOWN problem which is a defect is indicated by a "red x" in the icon whereas mine is black. I think they just aren't admitting its more than that yet because in the end he agreed that a battery going bad that soon is by definition defective and is sending me a replacement. He asked me to if I had "drained it all the way two days in a row" which I hadn't. Their computers were REAL slow today, took forever to have this conversation.

[brbubba]

I'm guessing this is a random issue with the macbook battery. I just was in to see a genius about this very problem and they replaced it, works like new now. Hope it doesn't happen again.

[mac jr.]

The exact same thing happened to me last night. My battery drained and I plugged it in to be charged and the battery appeared to die and had an "X" through it. I brought it to the Apple store today and they replaced the battery with a brand new one.

It works like a charm now. Things to note: I am still on 10.4.6 and have not updated to the new firmware which is rumored to drain the battery more quickly. It may very well be possible that Apple had a handful of battery batches that were defected. Mine was from the week 19 so it's one of the earlier macbooks.

[DimFlicker]

Yea.. I'm on round two with x on the battery.

The first time it was because it was fully charged and then drained before I used it. Apple replaced it, and here I am again... x over my battery. I do web design and don't want to go without my laptop...

[brbubba]

I'd be curious to hear everyone's story on how the battery died, to see if there is a common thread.

For myself, I left the macbook on over night running bittorrent with the screen turned off, it will usually go all all night like that. When I woke up I just closed the top and it was showing the light blinking as it does in sleep mode. Anyway I couldn't get a chance to plug her back in until 2 pm or so and the system had shut itself off by then. Unfortunately when I booted up, thats when the X issue started. I thought it was a 5 minute fluke, but after an hour I had a feeling it was more serious. I think in the future I will refrain from draining the battery just in case.

[bryking]

I'm guessing this is a random issue with the macbook battery. I just was in to see a genius about this very problem and they replaced it, works like new now. Hope it doesn't happen again.

sadly it IS likely to happen again. i had my battery replaced back in august, but once again have the infamous X. the cause in both cases was leaving it asleep and not charging it for several days. apparently the macbook doesn't like it when the battery drains. i haven't decided if i'm driving an hour and a half to the apple store, or waiting until tuesday when the local authorized repair shop opens....

[e12a]

The display white macbook at my university bookstore also has this problem. its kinda embarrassing.

[jnguyen4]

I took my mother's MacBook to the Apple store after troubleshooting on my own and then also with AppleCare. The problem was the MacBook and NOT the battery. Oddly enough, when I brought it into the Apple store, not only was it still not recognizing the battery it also developed signs of a logic board failure by displaying vertical lines across the entire screen instead of booting up properly. I'm wondering if that was a deteriorating problem all along and that the battery issue was simply a symptom.

Has anyone else experienced this?

The store is sending it into Apple for repair.

my battery had the same exact problems.. but when i brought it into the apple store, they turned it on and my isight light was on. they couldn't seem to get rid of this light so they told me that it was a logic board error thing. so they told me they are going to replace it. now that i turned the computer on and then off, the light went away, but the isight does not work. is this really a logic board problem??

[10-Dee-Q]

i got the exact same problem with my first revision of MBP
back in 2006, and weeks after that apple announced the battery recall for it so i exchange the battery and it's been ok since then and untill i sold the MBP last month.

Ans then i bought this Mac Book black colour C2D few weeks ago, and when i want to calibrate the battery, (keeping it on untill it turns off by itself) then the same thing happen !!!!!
when the battery indicator reach 2% the MB shutdown by itself,
i thought i misread the battery capacity, so i plugged in the charger, and to my horor the batery is "X" just like my previous MBP :(
i was very dissapointed as the MB is nly 1 day old !!!
so i take aout the battery and try to plugged in, and charge it without turning on the MB untill the charger light turns to green,
and when it does, i take out the charger and turn it on, and the baterry is back to normal!!!

heheh

i guess i was lucky cause the battery in my MBP when i tried the same thing, never "woke up" from it's death :P

[KaiMac]

So I went out of town and left my Macbook asleep for about 5 days, I came home and had a black "x" through my Macbook Battery Icon. When clicking on it, it said No Battery Available.

I called the Apple Support Line - Tried reseting the PMU with no change.

If I plug into the power adapter the Macbook runs fine, as soon as I unplug it = Shutdown.

I have an appointment at the Apple Store at 4pm today.

I'll follow up with more information on why this might be happening to Macbooks.

Very embarrashing Apple! A $1499 Laptop that won't run on a battery after 4 months of use. VERY EMBARRASHING!

Shame on Apple for such horrible product quality.:mad:

[KaiMac]

So I went out of town and left my Macbook asleep for about 5 days, I came home and had a black "x" through my Macbook Battery Icon. When clicking on it, it said No Battery Available.

I called the Apple Support Line - Tried reseting the PMU with no change.

If I plug into the power adapter the Macbook runs fine, as soon as I unplug it = Shutdown.

I have an appointment at the Apple Store at 4pm today.

I'll follow up with more information on why this might be happening to Macbooks.

Very embarrashing Apple! A $1499 Laptop that won't run on a battery after 4 months of use. VERY EMBARRASHING!

Shame on Apple for such horrible product quality.:mad:

So I took the Macbook into the Genius Bar Saturday. Before even finishing explaining my problem, the tech knew what the issue was. He said there are 5-10 Macbooks a day coming in with the same issue. He went and grabbed me a new battery from the Retail side of the store. He put it into the Macbook and it was fixed. He took the battery from my Macbook and marked it defective and put it in the new box, eventhough Apple's policy is that I have to wait for a battery to be ordered for me.

His recommendation to me was to not let my Macbook discharge all the way in the future, Apple clearly has an issue with the PMU getting enough power to a dead battery to bring it back to life.

Good luck to anyone else with this same issue.

Thanks to the Genius bar for having common sense and fixing my Macbook right there on the spot.

[dalvin200]

i had the exact same issue on xmas day !! lol..

called apple on 28th dec 2006, and got a replacement battery sent out.. ok it arrived on 3rd jan 2007, but it did the trick :)

ps: i just saw that you can insert the apple icon now.. coolio!! :apple:

[brbubba]

So I took the Macbook into the Genius Bar Saturday. Before even finishing explaining my problem, the tech knew what the issue was. He said there are 5-10 Macbooks a day coming in with the same issue. He went and grabbed me a new battery from the Retail side of the store. He put it into the Macbook and it was fixed. He took the battery from my Macbook and marked it defective and put it in the new box, eventhough Apple's policy is that I have to wait for a battery to be ordered for me.

His recommendation to me was to not let my Macbook discharge all the way in the future, Apple clearly has an issue with the PMU getting enough power to a dead battery to bring it back to life.

Good luck to anyone else with this same issue.

Thanks to the Genius bar for having common sense and fixing my Macbook right there on the spot.

I don't know about you guys but I intend to keep doing this until they decide to fix the problem. If I have to get a new battery every month, fine by me. Its apple's money down the tubes.

[Raukan]

Seems to be a pattern now.

I've a black X through my battery symbol with "No batteries available" on my white Macbook, bought last September. Last evening, I used it until it had 3 minutes left marked on the battery display - the first time I recall it's gone below 10 minutes remaining. This morning I connected it to the PSU, but the cable light remained green, not orange as per normal. When I disconnect the cable, the Macbook dies.

The telltale on the battery flashes when the check button is pressed, so my tale of woe is pretty much the same as the others above. The battery has been cycled about 40 - 50 times since new.

This is unfortunate and I'll report back on how Apple responds to my query in the morning.

--- Raukan.

[Raukan]

Contacted Apple. The troubleshooting consisted of removing the battery and resetting the PRAM but no more than that. They are sending me a replacement battery, with instructions to return my one on receipt.

Sounds excellent (good customer support,) but what happens when it reoccurs?

[sunfast]

I had this problem myself (see this thread (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=261407)). I took it to the apple store yesterday and the genius gave me a replacement battery on the spot.

[Jo-Kun]

I have a different battery problem,

yes since the firmwarefix (and leaving the macbook in hte shop for the second repair) in the beginning it didn't find the battery, disconnect, connect, fixed... but it happened not this much and doens't happen anymore since...

what's the new problem?

battery goes until 16% and then just powers off the macbook, no warning, no sleep... just OFF... I'm calling them later this afternoon to ask what's the problem...

anyone had this???

[Toomato]

After 5 months of having my Macbook, I too began seeing a "X" trhough my battery. It would not charge and as soon as I would unplug the cord, the MB would lose all power.

Thankfully I have AppleCare and the nearest Apple Store replaced the battery at no cost. I have had the computer 5 months since and it has been working perfectly. Apparently there has been an issue with the batteries. About a week before it stopped charging, I noticed that it was showing less and less time when it was fully charged until it eventually died.

[andysc]

Definitely calibrate your battery when you first get it. Use the MacBook out of the box with the battery; let it drain all the way dead. Then fully charge it and keep using it until it's dead. Then fully charge it again.

[spindlethin@gma]

Well, at least I'm not alone. I bought my macbook six months ago, and I've been to the shop three times since then (the first time, oddly enough, was the same day my phone support ran out... well played, apple;)

I had the same problem (the x through the battery), and the guy at the local store gave me a new battery, which is nice, they were vary fast about it. The bad side is it's already doing it again - it's only been three hours since I brought it home!! Did I just manage to get another bad battery, or is this a problem with something else?

For those who found it's still working even though there's no battery charge showing, mine was doing that to, (the first time, and now as well) but it got worse untill there was no battery at all. so save you stuff before you move from room to room

hope this has a solution soon

spin

[tpr007]

i've only ever used windows until this week when i decided to buy a refurb macbook from the apple site.

it arrived today, all sealed as new, plugged it in etc... and the power cable just has a permanent green light

it will not work on just the battery even for a few seconds, and just switches off imediately upon the cable being removed :(

i assume it's duff!?

[Chile Mac]

I have the same problem of many people. I have a black X on the battery icon at the top right corner of my desktop and its impossible to charge or work only with battery, because if I unplug the A/C cord of my MB the computer shut down instantly.
I also read many forums and posts referring to this problem and it look like its a massive topic. I bought my MB in NYC in last september. I wonder if Apple is recognized this problem officialy, and if they gave any reason to explain this shameful problem.
I asked in a Apple authorized store here in Chile for this problem and they got a compromise with me that in the next 10 days I'll have a new battery, but no explanations.

Regards from Chile.

[alexbrie]

same thing happened to me this morning, after an (obviously failed) attempt to recalibrate my battery. green led, x symbol, shut down, it's all there. OSx upgrade 10.4.8 - which is quite annoying, i might say


What do you guys thing about a tiny class-action lawsuit against Apple? I'm furious!

[teachermac]

same thing happened to me this morning, after an (obviously failed) attempt to recalibrate my battery. green led, x symbol, shut down, it's all there. OSx upgrade 10.4.8 - which is quite annoying, i might say


What do you guys thing about a tiny class-action lawsuit against Apple? I'm furious!

Count me in for the class-action lawsuit. This is my third Mac that has been defective right out of the box. I have been using Apple computers since the early 90's. My recent experiences with my MacBook battery along with other issues have me dissappointed and thinking of switching to a ----. I'm really not that ticked yet.

[sbganske]

It is clear fro all the posts on this forum and others that Apple has a big problem and it has been going on since the launch of the product. I would love to see a class action suit make them own up to the problem. They obviously know about it and have yet to find a solution. I guess Apple doesn't "Think Different" about customer service because it seems it always takes a law suit to get them to fix a problem.

[DrRick]

... for the stories from those who have suffered the same fate.

My MacBook jbttery just died. I have had it since August - no problems. I put it to sleep on Wednesday, and tried to wake it today - the battery was dead. I plugged in the charger, and the computer runs but the battery won't charge. The charger light stays green, and one light on the battery flashes when I press the button. No amount of charge time changes this.

Oh well, it's the first Mac failure I've had in 20+ years - I can't complain. I'll call Apple and see if they will send me a new battery quickly.

[DrRick]

Called Apple this morning and a new battery is on the way.

As for those pondering "class action", I think it's a bit of an over reaction. Hardware is not perfect. Sometimes there are unanticipated problems. Apple has recognized this and is replacing the batteries with no hassle. Why would I want to engage in a lawsuit over that? :confused:

[Shaduu]

Called Apple this morning and a new battery is on the way.

As for those pondering "class action", I think it's a bit of an over reaction. Hardware is not perfect. Sometimes there are unanticipated problems. Apple has recognized this and is replacing the batteries with no hassle. Why would I want to engage in a lawsuit over that? :confused:

Because Apples hardware during the PPC times was pretty much bulletproof. The battery issues in the MBs isn't up to the standard we've come to expect of Apple; I know most people just want a MacBook that works properly and an explanation from Apple.

Also, with such a widespread problem you'd expect more from Apple. Sure, they switched to Intel and machines are bound to be faulty but not to this degree!

Those that are considering taking action, I'll back you, this isn't the Apple we love.

[DrRick]

Because Apples hardware during the PPC times was pretty much bulletproof. The battery issues in the MBs isn't up to the standard we've come to expect of Apple; I know most people just want a MacBook that works properly and an explanation from Apple.

Also, with such a widespread problem you'd expect more from Apple. Sure, they switched to Intel and machines are bound to be faulty but not to this degree!

Those that are considering taking action, I'll back you, this isn't the Apple we love.

What more am I supposed to expect than a replacement battery within two days? Maybe Steve is supposed to show up on my doorstep and install it himself and hand me a free iPhone too?

Personally, I think this class action stuff tends to reinforce the image that Mac users are whiners. This is from a dedicated Apple/Mac user since 1978.

As for the older machines being bulletproof, I think you forget the failing hinges, the paint falling off the exteriors, and the disappearing footpads as a few examples of past challenges.

My battery died and it's being replaced. I can get over it.

[mr.barracudie]

is there any way to fix this because there are no apple stores or dealers whare i live.

[DrRick]

is there any way to fix this because there are no apple stores or dealers whare i live.

I called Apple support and they handled it all by phone. They are mailing me a new battery.

[ChuckD1859]

Yep, I have exactly the same problem with my black MacBook that is only 1 month old. Was low on battery (3%) put it to sleep and just left it on my desk for the weekend...came back plugged it in and found that there was an X on my battery indicator. I immediately tried rebooting, resetting the PRAM and PMU...nothing worked.

This is an incredible oversight by Apple, my god. And with "don't let your battery go dead next time" as the company policy response, one wonders why there hasn't been a recall yet.

I live in Switzerland and the nearest official apple store is in London...great.

[brbubba]

Yep, I have exactly the same problem with my black MacBook that is only 1 month old. Was low on battery (3%) put it to sleep and just left it on my desk for the weekend...came back plugged it in and found that there was an X on my battery indicator. I immediately tried rebooting, resetting the PRAM and PMU...nothing worked.

This is an incredible oversight by Apple, my god. And with "don't let your battery go dead next time" as the company policy response, one wonders why there hasn't been a recall yet.

I live in Switzerland and the nearest official apple store is in London...great.

I think the lesson is not to let your Macbook run out of battery juice unless you are doing a once a month calibration. I used to leave it on all the time with the battery running and the screen blacked out overnight and I would just plug it in in the morning and start from hibernation. Which is also when my troubles started, when I one day went to plug it in and never got my battery back. Since getting the new battery I haven't once let it die out completely and its running great.

[Big_Baby_D]

I just went through this problem. I was calibrating my battery and it stopped working. I took it in to the Apple store (45 min away) and had them look at it. They were going to give me a replacement battery that they kept in the back, but were out. They were going to order it, but instead just gave me a new one off the shelf. Thanks Apple! I would have been a little ticked off if was going to have to come back later. But the new one works great!

[bbbbbbbbbbbb]

The support people you guys have been speaking with must be pretty crap at their jobs. either that or they are just trying to swindle you. The battery thing is a known problem, well publicised and even admitted by apple. There’s an update you download and if it doesn’t fix it (it won’t!) then you contact them and they replace your battery.

This is the official apple article http://www.apple.com/support/macbook_macbookpro/batteryupdate/

And some other links too http://vowe.net/archives/008592.html

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article1725627.ece

have fun

[Olivier L.]

This morning, when waking the macbook, I noticed no battery data was available, there was an X on the battery symbol in the menu bar; battery would not recharge; AC adapter cable LED was green instead of orange.

After restarting, nothing changed.

Then I perform an SMC reset:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411
Switch off, disconnect AC, remove battery, press power for 5 seconds, reinstall battery, reconnect AC, restart.

Everything went back to normal.

I have a white macbook from April 2007, 464 cycles, max health these days: 75%.

Just thought I would revive this thread that proved itself useful...

[momily]

My mother's MacBook has a similar problem. It has an X over the battery symbol. It won't boot with the battery. It will only boot on A/C. However, when it's running with the charger plugged in and then if you remove the charger, it continues to run on the battery. Anyone have any ideas?
I'm having the same problem with my :apple:MacBook, I'm going to send it in soon to see what the experts say!

[mango69]

Unfortunately my battery has done the same thing after I left it asleep whilst going on holiday for a week. I looked at the link above and it says that the offer of replacement is now closed as of May 09. Bummer!:(