Battery does not charge properly

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Level 1

4 points

Battery does not charge properly

When I plug in my power cord (fully functional when testing other laptops), my MacBook Pro 2017 often does not charge at all. On the rare occasions it does, it charges extremely slowly and often switches back to not charging. The battery percentage also jumps around (one moment "charging" at 16%, next second charging at 14% etc). My battery is normal and doesn't need replacement. In the past 30 minutes of "charging", the battery has gone from 10 to 13%. My macOS is 11.2.2.

Posted on Mar 5, 2021 2:13 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

K Shaffer

Level 8

35,314 points

Mar 5, 2021 2:41 PM in response to abcd0

There are a few things to try, and perhaps consider battery replacement since these

could go flat and perhaps leak or swell, & cause further damages to portable Macs.

• Determine battery cycle count for Mac notebooks - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201585

• How to check if your MacBook is eligible for a free replacement - 9to5mac

https://9to5mac.com/2021/02/10/macbook-pro-battery-replacement-charging/

• Get help with your Mac notebook battery - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204054

• How to reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

There are some indications a portable Mac may not report battery life correctly.

Three things may affect the charge system: battery is failing, power supply/cable

faulty, &/or the 'DC-in Board' may be failing. ~ Or there may be other issues.

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

60,428 points

Mar 6, 2021 4:13 PM in response to abcd0

Make sure you are using the correct charger & charging cable for your laptop. If you have multiple USB-C Macs make sure you are using a large enough charger for the laptop. A 15" or 16" laptop requires an 87W or 96W charger respectively while a 13" laptop can use any charger from 60/65W up to 96W.

Try using another USB -C port especially on the other side of the laptop if you have four ports. Also try rotating the charging cable connector 180 degrees upside down (yet it can sometimes make a difference).

See the information in this Apple article:

If your USB-C power adapter isn't charging your Mac notebook - Apple Support

Otherwise if these suggestions and those by @K Shaffer don't help, then you will need to have Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider examine the laptop to provide you with a repair estimate.

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Battery does not charge properly

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