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 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.

[momily]

Originally Posted by 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?

I'm having the same problem with my MacBook, I'm going to send it in soon to see what the experts say!

[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.

[KaiMac]

Originally Posted by 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.

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!!

[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?

[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]

Originally Posted by 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!

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.

[mr.barracudie]

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

[DrRick]

Originally Posted by mr.barracudie

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[brbubba]

Originally Posted by KaiMac

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.

[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.

[sunfast]

I had this problem myself (see this thread). 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.