charger plugged in, but macbook 'not charging'--help! *gulp*

[roisin and mac]

HELP guys, I'm freaking out :eek::eek: I just noticed that my when I got my macbook plugged in, it's not charging. The icon is the one you got when it's plugged in (with the little fork-shaped thing in the middle), but instead of it saying 'charging' like when the battery isn't full, or 'charged', when it is, it just says 'Not Charging'. It's like it can see the magsafe connectore inside, but the juice isn't coming through to the battery, even though the computer itself is powered by the charger since when I click on the power symbol I get 'Power source: Power adapter'.

Also, the magsafe connector itself isn't lit. It used to be green for a bit, but a much weaker green than normal, and before that it wasn't even lit--I've tried with three different wall outlets, one of which was outside my house where I usually use it (it was in a starbucks). Also, when I disconnected the magsafe to get a reading for the battery, it was only 1:35, even though the magsafe light was green (albeit a weak green).

If it matters, I'm running 10.5.3. The macbook is still fairly new, bought mid-december, all updates current as I got it set to checking daily and install the minute I get the notice. Any ideas what could be the matter?

[flopticalcube]

Take it to an Apple store. Could just be the Magsafe is faulty.

[italiano40]

it maybe your battery is a dead battery, take it to an apple store

[roisin and mac]

Take it to an Apple store. Could just be the Magsafe is faulty.

you mean just the connector or the whole charger? Just asking to have more info, 'cause I live in a back-end sort of plae that doesn't have proper applestores, only a importer guy who covers service, and they are real cowboys*, so I wanna know a bit more about it :)

it maybe your battery is a dead battery, take it to an apple store

already? I've only had it since christmas, and the use has by no means been heavy.



*not just my experience, people, it's widely known around here

[lamina]

Hello friend.

Shut the computer down. Press and hold the power button until you hear a terrifying BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP sound. Wait till the front LED flashes. Release.

See if that fixes it.

[roisin and mac]

Hello friend.

Shut the computer down. Press and hold the power button until you hear a terrifying BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP sound. Wait till the front LED flashes. Release.

See if that fixes it.

Hey, thanks for the advice

Just to make sure I understood it right before i do it, could you please (if it's not too much hassle) confirm the steps as set out below are ok?

1) Go to :apple:>Shut Down, and wait 'til it's done shutting down as normal.
2) Press and hold power button until crazy loud BOOOOOOP, and continue pressing until little white led (sleep light, in front of computer next to IR dot) starts flashing (would it flash fast, blinking, or like it does when it's asleep?)
3) Restart by pressing down the power button briefly to start up, and check whether it sorted itself out.

Also, if I got that right, could you tell me if there's a name to this procedure/why we do that? I like to know so I can also learn something :)
And sorry to be picking nits like that, I'm not so secure with computer innards, so I always want to know exactly what is supposed to happen at each stage so I can tell whether everything is going ok :)

[lamina]

Hey, thanks for the advice

Just to make sure I understood it right before i do it, could you please (if it's not too much hassle) confirm the steps as set out below are ok?

1) Go to :apple:>Shut Down, and wait 'til it's done shutting down as normal.
2) Press and hold power button until crazy loud BOOOOOOP, and continue pressing until little white led (sleep light, in front of computer next to IR dot) starts flashing (would it flash fast, blinking, or like it does when it's asleep?)
3) Restart by pressing down the power button briefly to start up, and check whether it sorted itself out.

Also, if I got that right, could you tell me if there's a name to this procedure/why we do that? I like to know so I can also learn something :)
And sorry to be picking nits like that, I'm not so secure with computer innards, so I always want to know exactly what is supposed to happen at each stage so I can tell whether everything is going ok :)

This is called resetting the PRAM. I think that's what it's called with the newer machines.

Step 3 isn't necessary. The machine will reboot itself. You can't mess anything up by doing this.

Let us know if it works.

[roisin and mac]

This is called resetting the PRAM. I think that's what it's called with the newer machines.

Step 3 isn't necessary. The machine will reboot itself. You can't mess anything up by doing this.

Let us know if it works.

ok got it *deep breath* off to do it

[flopticalcube]

This is called resetting the PRAM. I think that's what it's called with the newer machines.

Step 3 isn't necessary. The machine will reboot itself. You can't mess anything up by doing this.

Let us know if it works.
Resetting the SMC.

Resetting MacBook and MacBook Pro System Management Controller (SMC) (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303319)

This is resetting the PRAM:

Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238)

[roisin and mac]

okay lamina, tried it but no luck. Shall I try what's in your other link floptical? What do y'all think?

[flopticalcube]

I doubt it will work but it doesn't hurt to try. You may need to ring up AppleCare on this one and be prepared to send it to Apple for repair.

[roisin and mac]

I doubt it will work but it doesn't hurt to try. You may need to ring up AppleCare on this one and be prepared to send it to Apple for repair.

eeek, that's bad news since where I am there isn't even decent apple representation, much less AppleCare (this is kind of a backwater place computing-wise, lol). Last time I had a problem it was a Dellian experience dealing with the Apple Representatives, nothing like what I read of Apple-quality service on these forums and elsewhere :rolleyes:

So I guess I'll try the procedure, even if it's a long shot. Just to clarify then, the one I already tried was the first, resetting the SMC. Now i try the second, resetting the PRAM--did I get it right?

Gawd, I hope it works :( I've come to dread these guys from last time *



* http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=480295

[flopticalcube]

Yeah. Power on and then press CMD-option-P-R at the same time.

[roisin and mac]

Yeah. Power on and then press CMD-option-P-R at the same time.

option is the same as alt, right?

[flopticalcube]

option is the same as alt, right?
correct

[roisin and mac]

Ok I just did it, no difference *re-gulp* I think I'm gonna have to take it in, wish my luck everyone, 'cause I'll need it. I hope the woman from customer service I ended up talking to is still there, because the other one at the counter where you handed in the stuff was pretty uncooperative :p

[Robbieklow]

Don't panic. I'm assuming that although you can't go to an apple store easily, you can still call Apple and ask for help. Your macbook is still under warranty, most likely, Apple will make it right.

My battery started doing exactly the same thing a few months ago. My macbookpro was out of warranty, but Apple had extended the warranty on the battery in my particular model to cover 24 months due to some earlier battery problems. In fact, this battery had been one they had replaced.

You, my friend, are in better shape, as you are still in the one year warranty.

It sounds like your problem is either the battery, as it was in my case, or your charger is bad.

The easiest way to narrow it down is to try someone else's charger. Or if that is not possible, just buy a second charger and try it. It's not a waste to get a second charger even if the battery ends up being bad, it's good to have an extra. You could keep one in your laptop bag and one plugged into the surge suppressor under your desk so you don't have to keep unplugging it when you want to take the laptop out of the house. (I have always had at least one extra charger for each of my three Mac laptops. Chargers do eventually go bad.)

If it's not the charger, as I verified in my own case, call Apple. Have the serial number of your battery ready. IN fact, while I'm thinking about it, check the Apple website and see if there are issues with your battery model.
Do all those PRAM things suggested above. Then you can tell Apple what you have already done.

In my case, they sent a new battery, I think it took two days to arrive. I packed up the old battery and sent it back using the DHL prepaid label they supplied. You even get to call DHL and tell them to come to your house and get the battery.

They might ask for a credit card and say they'll charge it if you don't send the old battery back. They accidently charged mine, because of the 24 month replacement, it confused their system, but I called them and they gave me a credit very quickly.

Good luck, and I hope this helped.

[roisin and mac]

Don't panic. I'm assuming that although you can't go to an apple store easily, you can still call Apple and ask for help. Your macbook is still under warranty, most likely, Apple will make it right.

My battery started doing exactly the same thing a few months ago. My macbookpro was out of warranty, but Apple had extended the warranty on the battery in my particular model to cover 24 months due to some earlier battery problems. In fact, this battery had been one they had replaced.

You, my friend, are in better shape, as you are still in the one year warranty.

It sounds like your problem is either the battery, as it was in my case, or your charger is bad.

The easiest way to narrow it down is to try someone else's charger. Or if that is not possible, just buy a second charger and try it. It's not a waste to get a second charger even if the battery ends up being bad, it's good to have an extra. You could keep one in your laptop bag and one plugged into the surge suppressor under your desk so you don't have to keep unplugging it when you want to take the laptop out of the house. (I have always had at least one extra charger for each of my three Mac laptops. Chargers do eventually go bad.)

If it's not the charger, as I verified in my own case, call Apple. Have the serial number of your battery ready. IN fact, while I'm thinking about it, check the Apple website and see if there are issues with your battery model.
Do all those PRAM things suggested above. Then you can tell Apple what you have already done.

In my case, they sent a new battery, I think it took two days to arrive. I packed up the old battery and sent it back using the DHL prepaid label they supplied. You even get to call DHL and tell them to come to your house and get the battery.

They might ask for a credit card and say they'll charge it if you don't send the old battery back. They accidently charged mine, because of the 24 month replacement, it confused their system, but I called them and they gave me a credit very quickly.

Good luck, and I hope this helped.

That's a lot of interesting information, thanks :)

I have a few questions on it though:

First, do i need a surge protector after all? I asked them when I bought this machine, and they said I didn't really need it with just one notebook, especially since after all, I would be taking it outside the house where presumably the surge protector would sit, so what would I do, take the big surge protector along? So I never got one, was that bad? We did have computers in this house before (two laptops, one old desktop, all PCs), and nothing untoward went down, and since they told me I didn't need it, I didn't get it.

I'll try to go to the apple showroom place and try one of their chargers (yep, no apple stores in this country...just apple showrooms :P), because at 150 bucks a pop plus weeks of waiting for the special order to come in when buying locally, or cheaper but still a long wait for buying online, it's not very practical.

I know this is gonna sound really ignorant, but where do I find the serial number and model for the battery, and how do I check if there were problems with it like you said?

If I get the treatment you got, I'll deffo be happy with that, lol. The worse thing is I was a bit hesitant about buying the laptop when I did (even though my previous Acer one had died), because I knew how cr@ppy the situation is in this country when it comes to macs especially, but really all apple products (okay, didn't know quite how bad, but I knew it was subpar compared to Apple). I just thought since I intend to move abroad before the first year is up anyway, I'd lie low during that then go crazy afterwards, but the MB didn't think so as it turns out :P To give you a clue how bad things are around here, it seems that at least on the anecdotal level, this has gotta be the only european country where the majority of music players you see walking around are NOT ipods, which just tells you really--everybody's rocking to an ipod, except here! It's pretty lame. but what do you expect? This country has the lowest broadband penetration in all of Europe, compared to oversaturation of the cell phone market, atjust over 4% of all households (and that's not even looking at how often they're actually using it--many use it only a couple of times a week for a few hours). In other words, yak yak yak amongst one another on your cell (or both of them, since more and more seem to have more than one :rolleyes: ), but no opening up to the big wide world what. so. ever.
/rant

[Robbieklow]

I can't advise you on the surge protector.

Look in "about this Mac" to see if your serial number and battery model number are listed.

The serial and model numbers should be on the label on the battery itself. You have to take it out to look at it. Shut down your computer. Disconnect the power supply. Turn the macbook over. Take out the battery.

Look in the Apple discussions, in the macbook folder, there may be another folder for batteries. The discussions are part of the support section on the website. I always look there for answers to problems with my macs.

I didn't realized you weren't in the US, I'm not sure how support works abroad. Good luck!

Good luck.

[Superdelphinus]

er are you sure this isn't just because your battery is like ~96% charged or something? It won't attempt to charge a small amount like that and so will say 'not charging' it's perfectly normal and is designed not to damage the battery. I'd let it run off the battery for a few hours and then charge again to see if it starts charging then rather than taking into a store etc!!

[roisin and mac]

Well, it turned out to have been one of those spectacular-looking-but-not-really-serious sorts of things: apparently some tiny debris had gone inside the magsafe port (probably via the connector; they told me it hapens even if you're really careful to always keep the connectore covered with the little plastic lid thing when it's not connected to the macbook, as I am). The debris prevented the thing from charging, though for some reason it could stil get power. Anyway they cleaned it and charged it, and it's been working fine. the best thing is it took them less than a day to take care of it, and the woman at the counter was a lot nicer, possibly because I'd caused kind of a stink last time, guess they remembered me lol ;-) You still can't talk to a real live tech, but at least she willingly called them and asked when I had a wuestion (still, you guys better check your 'puters before you take a trip to Greece, you wanna skip this lot if possible lol)

It took me a while to get back and let you know what went down, 'cause I wanted to check it was alright a few days, but I wanna thank you all for helping with this; offline, I don't know anybody else with a mac, so having access to such a lovely bunch of mac-knowledgeable people to ask online is all the more invaluable!





Robbieklow, I know about those forums, and use them too. I just like macrumors better for most things because it's got more of a community feel, so I hang out here more than the other place, and end up posting more of my help questions here than over there. Like the macrumors forum format better too, easier to use <shrug>

Superdelphinus: Naw, it wasn't actually charging even though the battery was at 33%. Besides, I think in those cases like you mentioned, I get one of the other messages: 'Charged', or 'Finishing charging'

[GTGeorgz]

This is what happerned to mine i sat there all day trying to see what was wrong. Could not see anything and tried everything posted here. Then what i did was took the charger out of the mac and left the battery to go completely flat and then it charged all the way back up again and i have never had the error again.
hope this helps.

[GlenL]

same thing happened to me.. I just unplugged the cord from the surge protector... took out the battery.. and wiped down the magsafe connector.. and it fixed it... so one of those things was the key...

probably the magsafe connector being dirty although I'm not sure how..

[Patriks7]

If it matters, I'm running 10.5.3. The macbook is still fairly new, bought mid-december, all updates current as I got it set to checking daily and install the minute I get the notice. Any ideas what could be the matter?

I thought we're at 10.5.6 :confused: so how can have all updates?
Anyway, I had the same issue a couple months ago, and it ended up being a broken charger. So I either suggest you find someone with a Mac close by and try his/her charger, or go to that service store you talked about and ask to use one of theirs.
If that won't work, you will have to send it in I'm afraid.

[Samuriajackon]

My Book is doing the same thing you initially described. Dim or no Light on the MagLight piece, no charging, blah blah blah. Cocoanut Battery says all is well, just not chargeing. I got a new 3rd Party Battery(see my post this forum for the fun) and i'm still not chargeing, i've had a 2nd power adapter sent to me, can't go to macStore because I'm in Iraq ....but I think it's the power adapter cause If I mess with the cord a bit it charges until i move the cord again....

[NewMacbookPlz]

I thought we're at 10.5.6 :confused: so how can have all updates?
Anyway, I had the same issue a couple months ago, and it ended up being a broken charger. So I either suggest you find someone with a Mac close by and try his/her charger, or go to that service store you talked about and ask to use one of theirs.
If that won't work, you will have to send it in I'm afraid.
The original first post is over a year old

[aznguyen316]

I didn't want to start a new thread, but I am having a similar issue..

MacBook says (Not Charging) but power source: power adapter, green light is on, on the Magsafe. It looks like it's running off the power source but not battery? Coconut says charged plugged in, not charging and it's at 95% full.

Cycles: 27
MB is 5 months old.

Suggestions? Should I reset the PRAM or whatever? Sigh, it was working well last night, not sure what happened this morning. I checked the magsafe, the cord looks fine and intact.

[JustOneQuickONe]

Hello friend.

Shut the computer down. Press and hold the power button until you hear a terrifying BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP sound. Wait till the front LED flashes. Release.

See if that fixes it.
what exactly is this doing? I tried it bc I am having battery issues but it didn't help, just wondering exactly what I'm resetting or what not when doing this.

[NewMacbookPlz]

I didn't want to start a new thread, but I am having a similar issue..

MacBook says (Not Charging) but power source: power adapter, green light is on, on the Magsafe. It looks like it's running off the power source but not battery? Coconut says charged plugged in, not charging and it's at 95% full.

Cycles: 27
MB is 5 months old.

Suggestions? Should I reset the PRAM or whatever? Sigh, it was working well last night, not sure what happened this morning. I checked the magsafe, the cord looks fine and intact.

With the unibodies that's normal. It won't charge between 95 and 100%. If you're that worried, unplug it and use it for 10-15min, then plug it back in, and all should be well.

[aznguyen316]

With the unibodies that's normal. It won't charge between 95 and 100%. If you're that worried, unplug it and use it for 10-15min, then plug it back in, and all should be well.

Well this never happened to me before, but after a few hours of just leaving it plugged in not charging, it went to charged status.. so all is well thanks for the input

[mfchapman]

My macbook won't charge. The battery is totally discharged but good according to Apple store. I replaced the DC in board and still nothing. I've tried resetting the PRAM and all that also, still nothing. Logic board passed diagnostics test at Apple store. I'm completely stumped, any suggestions?

[Joshua G.]

I am having the same problem. It seems that Mac, as awesome as they are, need to seriously revise this setup. I hope they already have because I am in the market for a new laptop soon (the Mac is my wife's) and this happens very freuently. We are on our second charger in less than a year. It's her schools so we haven't had to pay, but just waiting for the stuff is very annoying.

Now, as far as cleaning the Magsafe, what do people use? A soft toothbrush? I tried blowing on it, but I am not sure how to get IN there. Also, I don't see any debri. Is that the experience with others who have cleaned theirs?-- there was no debri but cleaning it still helped?

Argggg.... frustrated with Mac for this.

Joshua

[thewright1]

I just ran into the same issue. When I connect my charger, it says "Not Charging" I took it into the Apple Store yesterday and they told me it's either two things, 1. the battery or 2. the power supply, and since they plugged the computer up with their own power supply, the "Genius" told me it's my battery but since I didn't have my warranty papers on me, I couldn't get it checked properly but I'm pretty sure that's what it is.

[ars5386]

Hi all, I am new to this site, but I referred to it when I was looking for help. Just to let you all know, my mac did the same thing that you all are describing. I eventually broke down, took my computer apart, and replaced the magsafe board. This is a small 25 dollar part that is easily installed if you are comfortable taking a mac apart. This fixed my computer, and I am now charging with no problem. Hope this helps everyone!

[BStyle105]

I had the same problem on my Macbook, all of a sudden my battery wouldn't recharge. I tried everything mentioned here except letting the battery run down an hour or so and then plugging it in again. As a last resort I tried this and, lo and behold, it worked!:o Of all the solutions offered this seemed the most unlikely one but amazingly it worked.

I have no idea what caused this to happen. Over the last month I have only been using AC power so that may be a factor and I just needed to run the battery a bit to keep the Macbook happy.

[quantum003]

Thanks for bumping this thread... I'm having the exact same problem with a Macbook and there's some great tips in here. I've got a few new things to try out now! How funny will it be if all I have to do is spray some compressed air in the magsafe port... :D

Thanks all for the posts. :apple:

[thewright1]

Thanks for bumping this thread... I'm having the exact same problem with a Macbook and there's some great tips in here. I've got a few new things to try out now! How funny will it be if all I have to do is spray some compressed air in the magsafe port... :D

Thanks all for the posts. :apple:

It did end up being my battery and since I have the Apple Care extended warranty, I was able to get it replaced on the spot (which saves you about $100).

[indiekiduk]

wiping the magsafe with my finger fixed it for me. Weird.

[lonesometwin]

My charging failed this way the third day of owning my new and v v v overpriced macbook pro. Not had chance to take it in yet, tho might investigate cleaning more thoroughly.

Good news is that altho it claims that its not charging it is, just not very fast, nothing like what you get when it plays ball, but leave it plugged for a day or so and the battery WILL recharge. Happily that's been good enough so far, but for a company with such tight QC Apple needs a good kicking for this :mad:

[thewright1]

My charging failed this way the third day of owning my new and v v v overpriced macbook pro. Not had chance to take it in yet, tho might investigate cleaning more thoroughly.

Good news is that altho it claims that its not charging it is, just not very fast, nothing like what you get when it plays ball, but leave it plugged for a day or so and the battery WILL recharge. Happily that's been good enough so far, but for a company with such tight QC Apple needs a good kicking for this :mad:

If you just bought it and it's acting up like that, take it back. Don't even try experimenting or messing around with possible solutions. 3 days out of the box, there should be no cleaning necessary. If you just paid full price for that thing, then you deserve to have it work for you without fail. Take it back to them.

[damgmd]

Clean it! Seriously, take a q-tip and clean the connector of your charger after you unplugged it from the outlet and also clean the connector of your macbook. My battery status went from "not charging" to charging. After that I recommend a battery calibration ;-)

[lonesometwin]

No need to take it in coz it just started working on its own. Doubtless its waiting for the most inconvenient time before it dies again :(

[CaptMurdock]

I'm having similar issues with mine. I gave the charger plug a good shot of air and that seems to have helped for now.

Edit: having examined the plug again, I noticed at least one of the four tines has been pushed in farther than the others. This pic will show you what I mean...
http://www.gadgetrepublic.com/fs/img/news/627x/magsafe.jpg

[kw832]

Hello friend.

Shut the computer down. Press and hold the power button until you hear a terrifying BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP sound. Wait till the front LED flashes. Release.

See if that fixes it.

You're a legend mate. I was messing myself when my mb-pro was "Not Charging" - all fixed now. thanks.

[dravenrocks]

Hey guys. Similar problem so didn't want to start a new thread.

I have a 13 inch MacBook. Bought in 2008. My Charger cable has been playing up for ages.

*Powering the computer,but not the battery.

*Green/Amber light not working properly.

*Having to press it in,twirl the cable to get it to charge.

Any how,i borrowed a cable from my Sister to see if it was the cable that was the problem,and her's works perfectly.

I've been looking online for a new one and the ones listed for MacBook are all different to mine. The magsafe end seems to be different,and i don't want to pay 50 kwid and it not be the correct one.

Forgive my naivety,but will these cables work? And if not,where can i get one that does.

Thanks in advance.

[dravenrocks]

Quick update. The new MacBook Mag Safe chargers do work with an old MacBook. I rung apple just to check the wattage. Recieved today,and working perfectly.

[acovrig]

I've had the same problem as most 2 times, first time I went to Apple and they said the battery was 'consumed' and that I needed a new one, I was in warrenty 1 day, so I got my current battery for free, but now, ~1yr later I am experiencing the same problems, also it charges slow and discharges fast (sad combination lol). I looked for a mac channel and found one (freenode/#macosx), jeb said that a cycle is where you reach 100%, so if I get a new battery and keep it at a max of ~95% will I not need a new battery next year:D? What jeb said makes sence given I keep mine at about 80-100, died only ~5 times this year, and I have 317 cycles in <1yr!

[Shivneil]

Check your battery's health (Using iStat).
And check your battery's condition by holding down the Option button, then clicking on the battery logo on the menubar (near the spotlight search).
It should say:
Condition: Normal

[cs5477]

had the same problem pop up last night. this morning i noticed that one of the pins on the magsafe plug was not out all the way. tried pushing it with a pen to no avail, then finally just whacked it (not too hard) on the table and the pin popped out. plugged it back in and the "Not Charging" message went away and charging resumed.

maybe that will work for someone else...


cs5477
black macbook 2.4ghz, 10.6.4

[Gimoli]

I have been experiencing the same problem. i usually disconnect the magnet end off the mac and put it back in usually helps change the light to show that its charging. if that doesnt work after a few tries id usually just wiggle the cord around the magnet end / i dunno how many times you can do this until your charger actually breaks :confused:

[soiltek]

I had the exact same problem. White MacBook would only power on while plugged in and battery wouldn't charge. I took it in and dropped it off. The "genius" at the Apple Store called me up to tell me that my $186 warranty had been voided because there seemed to be a water damage problem. He then proceeded to inform me that it would cost me $780 to replace the logic board which would fix the problem. Told him to screw off and took my pooter back home. I read this thread and decided to replace my magsafe board, buying a $19 used one online. After replacing the magsafe board myself and restoring my now fully functional computer, I am now convinced those guys aren't geniuses at all. BTW, the magsafe board I had to replace was covered with limey/chalky substance. Dont know if that was the "water damage" Mr. genius :apple: guy was referring to.

Lesson? EFF :apple: : although they do make good products, they have hired stupid some people. People who would have me fork out money I don't have. Thanks a lot :apple:!!!

[sethrocker]

I tried the several reboot suggestions here as well as cleaning out the connector, to no avail. I'm taking it to a genius tomorrow.

[anp27]

I just went through the exact same thing.. just got my FastMac battery which is replacing the original battery (now dead) that came with my Macbook Pro Santa Rosa. I decided to calibrate it immediately and everything seemed normal at first. When the battery was done charging, instead of the System Profiler saying 'Charged', it said that it was 'Not Charging'. In addition to this the System Profiler indicated that the MBP was not 'Fully Charged' nor was it 'Charging'. However, the menu bar said that it was 'Charged'. The Magsafe adapter had the green light indicating that the battery was indeed charged. I also got some good readings from Coconut Battery.

I was still worried about the 'Not Charging' message. So what I did (after reading this thread) to solve the problem was I unplugged the Magsafe with the MBP still on, wiped the connector a little, connected it back to the laptop and let it charge for a while, status changed to 'Charging'. Once it was done charging, status changed to 'Charged' at 100%, yay! I guess since it was a new non Apple battery, it just needed to reset itself or something. iStat Menus battery readings shows that my FastMac battery now has a capacity of 6024 mAh (after the first calibration), this is higher than the Apple batteries, only 5950 mAh! I would seriously recommend the FastMac batteries, they are now MADE IN THE USA and they were shipped out to me pretty quickly. And they're cheaper than the Apple replacement batteries, $99.00!

[tjc-wilts]

Well, it turned out to have been one of those spectacular-looking-but-not-really-serious sorts of things: apparently some tiny debris had gone inside the magsafe port (probably via the connector; they told me it hapens even if you're really careful to always keep the connectore covered with the little plastic lid thing when it's not connected to the macbook, as I am). The debris prevented the thing from charging, though for some reason it could stil get power. Anyway they cleaned it and charged it, and it's been working fine. the best thing is it took them less than a day to take care of it, and the woman at the counter was a lot nicer, possibly because I'd caused kind of a stink last time, guess they remembered me lol ;-) You still can't talk to a real live tech, but at least she willingly called them and asked when I had a wuestion (still, you guys better check your 'puters before you take a trip to Greece, you wanna skip this lot if possible lol)

It took me a while to get back and let you know what went down, 'cause I wanted to check it was alright a few days, but I wanna thank you all for helping with this; offline, I don't know anybody else with a mac, so having access to such a lovely bunch of mac-knowledgeable people to ask online is all the more invaluable!





Robbieklow, I know about those forums, and use them too. I just like macrumors better for most things because it's got more of a community feel, so I hang out here more than the other place, and end up posting more of my help questions here than over there. Like the macrumors forum format better too, easier to use <shrug>

Superdelphinus: Naw, it wasn't actually charging even though the battery was at 33%. Besides, I think in those cases like you mentioned, I get one of the other messages: 'Charged', or 'Finishing charging'


Ok.
I read the post above after my brand new macbook pro would intermittently charge when plugged into power sockets. When it would NOT charge, it would run on the power adapter - it just didn't charge the battery.

Here's the hilarious part.

When I read "debris in the magsafe", I thought I would take a look. So I unplugged (it was NOT charging) and BLEW ON IT. It worked.

Shock. Horror. The power plug likes to be very, very clean. My advice ? Don't spend money. Blow on it.

Seriously.

[Agent A]

What happens if whilst trying to reset my PRAM, I don't get the "boooom" sound from my macbook? I have the same problem, the charger seems to be giving it power because it is running off it, yet it doesn't charge the battery and says "not charging" on the icon.

I blew on it and tried to clean it but still nothing. :(

[GGJstudios]

What happens if whilst trying to reset my PRAM, I don't get the "boooom" sound from my macbook? I have the same problem, the charger seems to be giving it power because it is running off it, yet it doesn't charge the battery and says "not charging" on the icon.

I blew on it and tried to clean it but still nothing. :(
PRAM/NVRAM has nothing whatsoever to do with battery, power or charging issues. You need to reset the SMC, instructions for which are in the following link. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
Apple Notebook Battery FAQ (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=9875442&postcount=23)

[bpwicker]

So i tried just blowing it out clean and that did nothing.....tried to clean it with my shirt.....nothing. Ended up using a wet q-tip and scrubbing as hard as possible.....and look that fixed it.

It looked totally clean before! Could not even see that it was dirty.....
GO FIGURE!:confused:

[goodwinc]

for me the issue was the outlet i was plugged into... if it's a bum surge protector or an old outlet or something that isnt giving the power adapter enough power, put it in an outlet you know works and see if the problem persists

[goldfield]

I had this problem and the solution was simple in this instance, I activated the battery indicator lights on the port side of the macbook and hey presto the battery started charging

[nomansohail]

Well, it turned out to have been one of those spectacular-looking-but-not-really-serious sorts of things: apparently some tiny debris had gone inside the magsafe port (probably via the connector; they told me it hapens even if you're really careful to always keep the connectore covered with the little plastic lid thing when it's not connected to the macbook, as I am). The debris prevented the thing from charging, though for some reason it could stil get power. Anyway they cleaned it and charged it, and it's been working fine. the best thing is it took them less than a day to take care of it, and the woman at the counter was a lot nicer, possibly because I'd caused kind of a stink last time, guess they remembered me lol ;-) You still can't talk to a real live tech, but at least she willingly called them and asked when I had a wuestion (still, you guys better check your 'puters before you take a trip to Greece, you wanna skip this lot if possible lol)

It took me a while to get back and let you know what went down, 'cause I wanted to check it was alright a few days, but I wanna thank you all for helping with this; offline, I don't know anybody else with a mac, so having access to such a lovely bunch of mac-knowledgeable people to ask online is all the more invaluable!





Robbieklow, I know about those forums, and use them too. I just like macrumors better for most things because it's got more of a community feel, so I hang out here more than the other place, and end up posting more of my help questions here than over there. Like the macrumors forum format better too, easier to use <shrug>

Superdelphinus: Naw, it wasn't actually charging even though the battery was at 33%. Besides, I think in those cases like you mentioned, I get one of the other messages: 'Charged', or 'Finishing charging'

hey i know this post is quiet old, but i got this problem now and i am posting it now hehe ... as you can see i donot post that much but i just had to come and say thank you i have been freaking out since i found this problem and the solution was very simple clean it with a wet cloth both the charger and the slot your charger goes into ur mac, both and let them dry ... and voila you are done thank you very much :)

[royclancy]

The exact same thing happened to me. I spent hours try to figure out what was wrong, reading forums and etc.
At a certain point I found my self over-frustrated with the piece of machinery as it was practically brand new.
At my wits end I pulled out the connector, blew on up, plugged it back and it worked like a charm.
LOL, reminded me of the time I smacked my computer (that happened to have been unusable for a few months) and it began working :D