13" Macbook battery stopped working?

[vette982]

I went on vacation for 1 month and when I came back my mac wouldn't charge! In the corner it would say "Not Charging" and and the battery lights do not turn on when I press the button on the battery itself. The mac only works when I have it plugged in.

Anyone else had this problem? Do I need a new battery?

It's a 13" white macbook... about 2.5 years old. It has the Intel processor but not the Core2Duo.

 

[Buskape]

Try resetting the SMC, if it doesn't work then it might be your charger, try with a different one too.

 

[Maserati7200]

Call Apple/Take it to an Apple store ASAP if you bought apple care. They could replace the battery for free if it's faulty. This should not happen to a battery 2.5 years old.

 

[vette982]

Try resetting the SMC, if it doesn't work then it might be your charger, try with a different one too.

What's an SMC? lol

 

[pyth]

First, I'm not sure if you had the battery in the computer and if you followed Apple's instructions for long term storage of a battery which would not be in use, but if you didn't, the result is that your battery is just screwed up.

Call Apple/Take it to an Apple store ASAP if you bought apple care. They could replace the battery for free if it's faulty. This should not happen to a battery 2.5 years old.

Generally, batteries don't last 2.5 years well. But if it was working fine beforehand, I would reset the SMC like the other poster said and if that doesn't work, go to the apple store or call apple.

 

[clyde2801]

Download and install coconut battery and see what it tells you. If its dead, but a new one (applecare only lasts a year and/or 300 charge cycles).

You may get a little more life out of the old one by using the old putting the battery in the freezer trick. Wrap it in a paper towel put it in a ziplock baggie, and let it sit in your freezer for a day or two. Let it thaw completely and see if it charges. Repeat if necessary. I've used this with success on a couple of dead powerbook batteries.

 

[ltldrummerboy]

I talked to about 5 people at Apple today and they said they absolutely would not replace a MacBook battery that has over 300 cycles, even if I had the extended warranty. I was at 530 cycles and 98% health when it suddenly stopped charging.

 

[Sedulous]

I believe Apple did issue a warranty extension on the batteries in Macbooks from that "era". Unfortunately I think you are still well past the extended warranty period.