2017 MacBook 12 - Power On Problem

[joleat]

Let me preface by saying this is my first Mac, so I'm not aware of the usual Mac troubleshooting steps other than the obligatory shutdown/restart. If there are other basic steps I need to take, please let me know.

On to the problem...

On the morning of September 24th, I used my MacBook for light computing (internet browsing and music). When finished, I closed the lid and plugged the power cord into the Mac as I've done just about every single time since I purchased the MacBook back in June.

Later that day, I unplugged the Mac and opened the lid. However, unlike every other time I've done this, the computer did not power on/wake up. I pressed the power button and received no response. I did a quick search and found I could hold the power button for about 10 seconds, release, and then press it again. That did the trick and I didn't think much else about it. After all, I would be updating to High Sierra the next day and any quirky setting would surely be remedied, right?

I installed High Sierra the following day and the MacBook functioned normally. I used it off and on several times. Each time, I closed the lid when finished and it resumed when opened.

Fast-forward to today and again, the laptop would not resume automatically when opening the lid. I had to hold the power button for 10 seconds, release, and then press again to get the computer to boot.

This may be unrelated, but it took the computer about 5 minutes to find my wi-fi network when it booted this time. I've had issues with wi-fi connectivity for a couple of months and have opened a ticket with Apple. I was hoping the High Sierra installation would fix the connection dropping issue, but that remains to be seen at this point.

 

[Audit13]

Is the Macbook connected to a charger when you close the lid? Plenty of battery power before closing the lid?

 

[joleat]

Audit,

Generally, the MacBook has 40% or more battery when I close the lid. Almost immediately after closing the lid, I plug in the cable and place the laptop on my side table. When the laptop powers on/wakes up the next time, the battery is always at 100%.

By the way, I just opened the MacBook and I had to use the 10-second trick to get it to power on. This is the third time this has happened in the last 3 days.

 

[Audit13]

This does not sound normal. It's a long shot but make an appointment to take it to an Apple Store for diagnosis. It's possible that they will be able to isolate the problem.

It's best to try and get it to not "wake up" before you take it in.

I had a power issue with an iPad Mini whereby I could not power it up if I leave it powered down for more than five hours. When I took it in, it powered right up and their diagnostics indicated no problem so I took it home, powered it off, went back, they couldn't power on without a hard reset, and it passed the diagnostics again. They were stumped and just replaced it and the replacement works the way it should.

 

[joleat]

I appreciate your insight.

It is unfortunate I'll need to take it to an Apple store; the nearest one is 130+ miles away. However, I do have more than one issue for them to investigate.

I know it's the luck of the draw when it comes to electronics, but I certainly haven't had a good experience as a first-time Mac owner or a first time iPhone owner. Once or twice a month, I have to do a hard reset on my iPhone SE in order to receive calls. I only find out I'm having an issue when a family member tries to contact me, but can't get through. They have to call my wife's phone to tell her my phone isn't working again. I hope these issues are remedied with relative ease. My wife has not had any issues with her phone.

I'm one for three, Apple. Are you listening to this?!

EDIT: I just finished a chat session with an Apple rep. They suggested I reset the SMC. I just completed the reset, so we'll see what happens over the course of the next day or two.

 

[joleat]

Well, this is interesting...

After resetting the SMC, I have to press the power button to wake the MacBook. At least I don't have to hold it for 10 seconds like before, but I miss just being able to open the lid to wake.

 

[joleat]

This is becoming increasingly frustrating. I still do not have to hold the power button, but I do have to press it two or three times to get the computer to wake. I've also noticed, on a few occasions, the screen flashes an image of a charging battery right before the computer wakes. The battery is red as if it were almost completely discharged, but the MacBook is 100% charged when this occurs.

Aside from this, an intermittent wi-fi issue is increasing in frequency. The wi-fi icon (fan shape) is black and when I Option+Click, everything appears to be connected and functioning normally. However, webpages will not load. Unless I want to wait 2-3 minutes for it to work, I must manually disconnect and reconnect to correct the problem.

I'm experiencing a few other strange behaviors, but these new issues didn't pop up until I upgraded to High Sierra. My email icon no longer identifies new emails by displaying a small red circle with the number of emails. Instead, I have to open the email and wait for emails to be retrieved. This may be a setting that I need to explore. With the other issues, it just hasn't been a priority for me at this point.

The most recent issue is with receiving texts through Messages. Prior to upgrading to High Sierra, this functionality worked perfectly. Since upgrading, I had to remove my phone connection from the Mac and reestablish. This worked for a little while, but stopped again recently.

I know it seems like I'm complaining about this a lot, but don't take this as Apple bashing. If I had to start over, I would buy the MacBook again 10 out of 10 times. I think my frustrations are amplified because of my insufficient experience with Apple products and also because there is, in fact, an underlying issue (at least with the powering on and wi-fi connectivity).

I may just need to make that 130 mile trip...

 

[Eelen]

Hi joleat, i have the same problems you describe. Did you get rid of your problems?