Early 2015 13" MBP - Battery Replacement Issue

[Jaifresh]

Hey Macrumors friends.

I am having an issue with my Early 2015 13" Macbook pro battery replacement and need your help.

I recently installed a new iFixit battery using the iFixit guide with no issues at all.
The battery worked amazingly and the laptop was like new again.

All of a sudden my laptop wouldn’t charge and won’t recognise the battery anymore.
The charger light stays on orange and I cant use my laptop unless its plugged in with the charger.

I used my laptop everyday for about 2 weeks since installing the new battery with no issues and then it stopped working.

I have reset the SMC and downloaded coconut battery with no luck.

Here is a screenshot below from coconut battery for your reference:

I asked Ifixit for a solution and they just sent me another battery to replace it with. The exact same issue has happened again after Ifixit sent me another new replacement battery. The issue has happened in the exact same way within roughly the same amount of time.

My laptop does not show a battery icon in the menu bar and it will not turn on unless plugged into the power.

Is there something wrong with my laptop / logic board or is there something wrong with this batch of batteries that Ifixit are sending me?

Please help. I am stumped.

Cheers, Jai

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Coconut gets info from: About This Mac>System Report>Hardware>Power. I take it it's the same lack of readings there too? Also, was all the relevant info re battery displayed properly within the weeks it actually worked?

 

[Jaifresh]

Coconut gets info from: About This Mac>System Report>Hardware>Power. I take it it's the same lack of readings there too? Also, was all the relevant info re battery displayed properly within the weeks it actually worked?

It is the same lack of readings there too, yes.

Also, was all the relevant info re battery displayed properly within the weeks it actually worked?

It was all displayed correctly until it stops working. So odd

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Sounds highly unlikely 2 batteries are displaying exactly the same fault, within the same time frame. If you've ruled out the charging port not having any gunk in it, I would try another charger.

A hardware failure in the charging circuit may be the DC-In board gone bad. See here:

MacBook Pro 13" Retina Display Early 2015 MagSafe DC-In Board Replacement

Use this guide to replace a faulty MagSafe DC-In board.

www.ifixit.com

 

[Jaifresh]

Sounds highly unlikely 2 batteries are displaying exactly the same fault, within the same time frame. If you've ruled out the charging port not having any gunk in it, I would try another charger.

A hardware failure in the charging circuit may be the DC-In board gone bad. See here:

MacBook Pro 13" Retina Display Early 2015 MagSafe DC-In Board Replacement

Use this guide to replace a faulty MagSafe DC-In board.

www.ifixit.com

Agreed. I have tried another charger already.

The battery doesnt show up at all in the computer and has an X logo where the battery icon should be.

I am happy to buy a used DC in board and try the replacement if I am sure that it will fix the problem.

Can you think of anything else that would cause this?

Thanks for the help btw.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Agreed. I have tried another charger already.

The battery doesnt show up at all in the computer and has an X logo where the battery icon should be.

I am happy to buy a used DC in board and try the replacement if I am sure that it will fix the problem.

Can you think of anything else that would cause this?

Thanks for the help btw.

I'm puzzled by this repeated 2 week event, perhaps a faulty charge rate brings the batteries to absolute depletion in roughly that time? Just speculation on my part. I've never seen an X instead of battery icon before either.

I'm actually on my second DC-in board now but the charge failures showed Mag Safe remaining green on 20% battery charge.

Still thinking it's a board hardware failure but I wouldn't like to wager your money on this. This leaves you to perhaps taking a multimeter direct to the battery to see if it's truly at zero. Or reinstalling the OS in case there's an issue with the charge circuit on a software level? Or visit an Apple store and ask kindly if they can perform a quick hardware test, yes I've had luck with this irrespective of the devices age.

How much are the boards? You can tell, I'm a bit out of ideas at this stage also.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

@Jaifresh One last 'unlikely', but least invasive thing to try is a NVRAM reset. I say unlikely as you've already gone the obvious power related SMC route previously.

Hopefully someone on here can chime in with some fresh diagnostics ideas or experiences.

 

[Jaifresh]

I'm puzzled by this repeated 2 week event, perhaps a faulty charge rate brings the batteries to absolute depletion in roughly that time? Just speculation on my part. I've never seen an X instead of battery icon before either.

I'm actually on my second DC-in board now but the charge failures showed Mag Safe remaining green on 20% battery charge.

Still thinking it's a board hardware failure but I wouldn't like to wager your money on this. This leaves you to perhaps taking a multimeter direct to the battery to see if it's truly at zero. Or reinstalling the OS in case there's an issue with the charge circuit on a software level? Or visit an Apple store and ask kindly if they can perform a quick hardware test, yes I've had luck with this irrespective of the devices age.

How much are the boards? You can tell, I'm a bit out of ideas at this stage also.

Thank you so much for your help @Alpha Centauri. I really appreciate the insights.

I think I will take the computer into apple and do a proper diagnostics on it. I would love to save the laptop but I am buying a new air anyway and could probably recycle this one at apple if the diagnostics are not looking good.

I have tried a NVRAM reset already with no luck. I will try a OS reinstall as well.

Please let me know if you think of anythign else in the meantime.

Cheers!

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Please let me know if you think of anythign else in the meantime.

Might as well go the OS reinstall on it. Even though I'm still veering toward a hardware based fault, there's always creating a new user account or even safe mode. Ok, this will probably achieve nothing. I just happen to have those links left over from a previous post.

Apart from this I have no more "One More Thing"s left I'm afraid.

I do agree it be quite a shame to see it end its life like this, but a functional battery in a laptop is a necessary luxury. I suppose if Apple comes back with unfavourable (it usually is) news, you could try sell it for parts? I've no idea what's sought after on this model but I'm sure you'll get something.

What ya getting? Specced M2 Air?

 

[Jaifresh]

Yeh M2 MBA 512gb ssd and 16gb ram.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Fishrrman]

Maybe the battery itself is "bad". I've read other complaints about ifixit batteries here on macrumors (although I've never used one myself).

If nothing else works for you, and if you are anywhere close to a brick and mortar Apple Store (NOT a "3rd party provider", a REAL Apple Store), take it to them and inquire about the $199 battery replacement.

For that money, you get:
- A REAL Apple-labeled battery
- Installation
- A short warranty.

A pretty good deal.

 

[KrazyKanuck]

Thank you so much for your help @Alpha Centauri. I really appreciate the insights.

I think I will take the computer into apple and do a proper diagnostics on it. I would love to save the laptop but I am buying a new air anyway and could probably recycle this one at apple if the diagnostics are not looking good.

I have tried a NVRAM reset already with no luck. I will try a OS reinstall as well.

Please let me know if you think of anythign else in the meantime.

Cheers!

Hi @Jaifresh

Did you ever resolve this issue? I just started experiencing the EXACT same thing with my mid-2015 15-inch MacBook Pro. I installed an iFixit battery in May 2022, and the computer (and battery) worked perfectly until today when these symptoms started. The computer runs when connected to the charger (although it's sluggish), but turns off when the charger is disconnected. If I try powering it up without the charger connected, I get the low battery startup screen, which suggests that the battery is at least providing some power to the computer.

PRAM reset & SMC reset haven't fixed the problem. I'm not opposed to replacing the DC-in board, but I'm inclined to think that this isn't the issue, since the computer is able to run when connected to the charger. I've also tried a couple of different chargers.

Curious to know if you had any luck with your troubleshooting.

Thanks!