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User profile for user: lauren-e
lauren-e Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

No idea what’s wrong with my MacBook

I have a 13” MacBook Air that I got in 2017 and haven’t had any problems with it that required more than a quick and simple fix. Today I go to turn on my laptop and do some schoolwork like normal and I can’t get it to turn on. It was plugged in to charge but the charger wasn’t lighting up, tried different outlets and a spare charging cord, nothing. I keep trying to power it on with no luck, so I contacted Apple support.


I had to do a couple SMC resets to get it to finally power on, it only worked once I unplugged the charging cord from the Mac as soon as I was done pressing buttons. It powers up and I think everything is back to normal, then I realize that the volume isn’t working. When I press any of the volume buttons, instead of showing the volume level the screen showed a little circle-backslash “no” symbol. My laptop still wasn’t charging but showed the normal charging symbol in the top right corner. Hitting the option key then the volume symbol showed that I had the power source plugged in but it wasn’t charging. The battery percentage never went down the whole time it was plugged in, it stayed the exact same for at least 2 hours.


The person from Apple support walked me through some diagnostics and resets and had me update to the most recent OS version (Big Sur 11.2.3 I believe) because I was behind. Every time I’d reset I’d have to do the SMC reset + unplugging the charger combo. Neither of us were able to figure out what’s going on with it. I’m sure an issue with the battery is part of it, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the only thing going on.


Any advice/input would be super appreciated, I’m really lost.

Thanks!


Posted on Mar 10, 2021 10:32 PM

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User profile for user: TheLittles
TheLittles
User level: Level 10
195,711 points

Posted on Mar 10, 2021 10:59 PM

lauren-e Said:

"No idea what’s wrong with my MacBook:[...] Neither of us were able to figure out what’s going on with it. I’m sure an issue with the battery is part of it, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the only thing going on. Any advice/input would be super appreciated, I’m really lost."

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Troubleshoot Power:

A. Try a New Charger:


B. A Few Links to Refer to for Power:




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User profile for user: TheLittles
TheLittles
User level: Level 10
195,711 points

Mar 10, 2021 10:59 PM in response to lauren-e

lauren-e Said:

"No idea what’s wrong with my MacBook:[...] Neither of us were able to figure out what’s going on with it. I’m sure an issue with the battery is part of it, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the only thing going on. Any advice/input would be super appreciated, I’m really lost."

-------


Troubleshoot Power:

A. Try a New Charger:


B. A Few Links to Refer to for Power:




Reply
User profile for user: TheLittles
TheLittles
User level: Level 10
195,711 points

Mar 10, 2021 11:27 PM in response to lauren-e

lauren-e Said:

"No idea what’s wrong with my MacBook:[...] The person from Apple support walked me through some diagnostics and resets and had me update to the most recent OS version (Big Sur 11.2.3 I believe) because I was behind. [...] Seems like it. But I feel like there’s more to it, I could be wrong though. The battery’s definitely part of what’s going on, but I don’t know if it explains the weird volume issue."

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Troubleshooting Volume:

Volume would have to do with the installation - So, try reinstalling the macOS. Once installed, all should be fine from there. What may have happened is probably it is an application creating this malfunction.


Reset the Core Audio:

See the screenshot in the below reply

  1. Boot into Recovery Mode: [Hold Down: command + R upon boot]
  2. Enter: your credentials (if prompted)
  3. Click: Utilities menu (at the top of the window)
  4. Select: Terminal
  5. Enter: this command, then press the return key, and then enter the admin password.
sudo killall coreaudiod


Reinstall the MacOS:

As for fixing all of this power issue, you may need to reinstall the macOS. Reinstalling the macOS will place moved items back to where they should be, and will replace damaged system files.

1. First, Back up your Mac:

If you can boot up, create a Time Machine backup of your Mac, so that you can have something to restore your Mac from, should anything go wrong with the reinstall. Use an external Hard Drive of at least 1.5 times the size of your internal hard drive.

2. Then, Reinstall the macOS:

Nothing would be deleted. It's just that items that have become corrupted or deleted, would be replaced or reinstalled back to where they should be. Go Here: How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

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No idea what’s wrong with my MacBook

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