I have a 12" MacBook Retina and its battery is dead. since the battery is preventing it from booting, will the macbook function without the battery?
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No battery in MacBook Retina 12"?
- Thread starter Philbergstein_
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Papanate
macrumors 6502
It should function normally when you have the PowerCable plugged in - are you saying that it doesn't because the battery is dead? That doesn't sound right - it seems like something else is wrong.
chrfr
macrumors G5
It may function but it will run at about half speed or less so it's far from an ideal setup.
dasjati
macrumors regular
Why would a plugged-in laptop run at "about half speed"? I've never heard this before or experienced that. The opposite might be true for older devices.
And to the OP: I don't understand the question: Why is the battery "preventing it from booting"? Have you plugged it in and tried? Or what is the problem exactly?
GMShadow
macrumors 68030
Because Intel Macs run things through the battery, and so without one they'll throttle.
chrfr
macrumors G5
Exactly as explained in the post above mine. Mac portables (and many Windows computers too) can draw more power than the AC adapter can provide at times of high load, so to prevent an unexpected shutdown, the maximum speed is capped at about 800MHz.
dasjati
macrumors regular
Mac user since 1993 and I've never heard about this before. Had a look at Apple's support forums and for anyone else wondering: Yes, this is a thing. It seems these laptops are constructed in a way that assumes the power supply and the battery are both there for peak performance. If the battery is missing, the system is throttled.
dasjati
macrumors regular
I concur with the performance statements above. Typically if a battery has died from old age, the MacBook has been able to power-on (though slow).
I have had one exception: one MacBook refused to power-on, which contained an off-brand battery that had failed. That one MacBook had an extensive history of physical damage and repairs, so I do not know if something in the computer's history was the culprit or the use of an off-brand battery. Regardless, it regained full functionality when I replaced the battery.
I have had one exception: one MacBook refused to power-on, which contained an off-brand battery that had failed. That one MacBook had an extensive history of physical damage and repairs, so I do not know if something in the computer's history was the culprit or the use of an off-brand battery. Regardless, it regained full functionality when I replaced the battery.