I have a Macbook air that is a total paperweight, not even the power cable (and I've tried a known working one) lights up when plugged in. The power port appears to be clean and without debris. Any suggestions for anything else to try? I'm highly technical, so I've already taken the bottom off, removed the SSD and poked around, but there's not much else you can do inside a 2011 Air. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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Macbook air, no sign of life?
- Thread starter cameronjpu
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Disconnect the battery and attach the magsafe charger. Hopefully, the Macbook will power itself on.
Was the unit ever dropped or exposed to water? Maybe take it to the Apple Store to see if they can they get it started?
Take a peek at the 5 pins in the end of the magsafe cable. They're spring-loaded and sometimes get jammed. The middle one is the charge control pin; it determines whether the laptop should charge or not based on the voltage of the battery. If it's jammed in and not making contact with the laptop, it might not charge.
If you're handy with a multimeter, you could try checking the voltage on the magsafe cable as well. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repairing+Magsafe+charger+for+Apple+Macbooks+-+The+magnetic+end/6463
FWIW, I'd try to see if a known-working cable makes it power up before you go disassembling your magsafe cable and potentially fry the laptop beyond repair.
If you're handy with a multimeter, you could try checking the voltage on the magsafe cable as well. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repairing+Magsafe+charger+for+Apple+Macbooks+-+The+magnetic+end/6463
FWIW, I'd try to see if a known-working cable makes it power up before you go disassembling your magsafe cable and potentially fry the laptop beyond repair.
Yep, have tried other wall ports, and this one works with other computers.
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Apple store wants $400 just to look at it, bizarrely.
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Yeah, I had discovered that possible cause, but no luck, cable looks good. I also tried two cables, both of which work on other computers. Looks like something internally is just fried I'm guessing.
I recently took two vintage/legacy Macbook Pros to my local apple store and they ran the diagnostics for free.
This is an unsolicited review - KT Electronics contacted me directly via PM after this thread went silent, suggesting that they could repair the computer for a $150 flat fee, with no charge if they could not fix it. I mailed the computer off to them and within a day of receiving it, they confirmed that they could fix it. They sent the computer back in another day, and $150 later, I have a working computer back. Highly recommend. I am getting no remuneration of any kind for this post, nor was it suggested in any way that I write this post.
http://ktelectronics.us
http://ktelectronics.us
Can't be a logic board replacement. My guess is some sort of power chip / cable replacement.