Does anyone in Washington DC have a P5 pentalobe screwdriver I can buy or borrow?

[savoirfaire]

Attending a conference in DC until Thursday. This morning, my 2012 MBP wouldn't turn on. I had it charging overnight. It turns out that I can power it on when it's plugged in, but when I disconnect the power, it abruptly turns off. The battery is stuck at 53% charge and is not charging when it is plugged in. At least as of a couple of weeks ago, Coconut battery was showing good battery health. I did replace the top case and keyboard about a month ago so I am wondering if the battery connector is somehow loose, but I don't have any tools with me to open it up and can't find anything near the convention center/Apple Carnegie Library where they might sell a pentalobe driver. At worst, I can just keep the laptop plugged in, but I'm thinking there must be a MR member nearby who has one I could borrow, rent, or buy!

 

[canuckRus]

Attending a conference in DC until Thursday. This morning, my 2012 MBP wouldn't turn on. I had it charging overnight. It turns out that I can power it on when it's plugged in, but when I disconnect the power, it abruptly turns off. The battery is stuck at 53% charge and is not charging when it is plugged in. At least as of a couple of weeks ago, Coconut battery was showing good battery health. I did replace the top case and keyboard about a month ago so I am wondering if the battery connector is somehow loose, but I don't have any tools with me to open it up and can't find anything near the convention center/Apple Carnegie Library where they might sell a pentalobe driver. At worst, I can just keep the laptop plugged in, but I'm thinking there must be a MR member nearby who has one I could borrow, rent, or buy!

Walmart or hardware store nearby?

 

[maerz001]

I can recommend the internet to order online

 

[canuckRus]

I can recommend the internet to order online

Attending a conference out of town? Amazon carries them though.

 

[savoirfaire]

Attending a conference out of town? Amazon carries them though.

Thanks, there are a couple of Walmarts and an Ace within a mile radius of me, but it doesn't look like any of them have pentalobe screwdrivers in stock. I do have plenty of tools at home, but I did not think to bring any "emergency" tools with me. I will say that the last time I tried to fly with a wire stripper/crimper they took it away from me in the security line.

 

[savoirfaire]

Looks like the Best Buy in Columbia Heights ~2 miles away has an iFixit tool set with what I need, so I'm going to head over there now!

 

[RokinAmerica]

Should be easy to find. Those a holes have been screwing us for decades.🤣

 

[macsound1]

I assume you've done a PRAM and SMC reset. I had one machine I needed to do it 7 times in a row for it to start charging again.
PRAM Option + Command + P + R > Apple chime twice (or 7 times)
SMC Hold Shift-Control-Option

 

[MacManiac76]

I assume you've done a PRAM and SMC reset. I had one machine I needed to do it 7 times in a row for it to start charging again.
PRAM Option + Command + P + R > Apple chime twice (or 7 times)
SMC Hold Shift-Control-Option

.

 

[savoirfaire]

I assume you've done a PRAM and SMC reset. I had one machine I needed to do it 7 times in a row for it to start charging again.
PRAM Option + Command + P + R > Apple chime twice (or 7 times)
SMC Hold Shift-Control-Option

Thanks for that suggestion, I did try doing a PRAM and SMC reset a few times without any luck. (I didn't do it 7 times, though!). After I opened it up, cleaned off the battery connector, and reseated it, it still wouldn't work. Luckily, I just happened to have an unused NuPower battery so I switched them out and now it seems to work fine. It seems strange to me, though, that the battery is shown as holding 51-53% but won't charge and won't keep the Macbook on without being plugged in. Has anyone else encountered that situation before?

 

[Fishrrman]

I think it's time to start shopping for a replacement.
MacBook Pro 14" or 16"...