Joe Pafumi
Level 1 (8 points)
Notebooks

Q: MacBook Pro will not come out of sleep IF plugged in

Hello, my MacBook Pro 13" mid-2010 does not wake up from sleep when plugged into a power source.

If it runs on battery it wakes up just fine.

 

I've tried to reset PRAM and SMC (although I'm not sure the latter was successful, I read somewhere that the light on the MagSafe should change color, mine does nothing).

 

I've done a clean install of OS X El Capitan with a brand new SSD hard drive.

Doing so didn't fix my issue, but it slightly changed it...

 

Before (with Lion) the MacBook wouldn't wake up after closing the lid if plugged in, but it would wake up after going to sleep with the lid open.

 

Basically, I could never close the lid while charging the laptop.

If that happened I had to shut down the computer holding down the power button and start it again...

 

Now it does not wake up at all if plugged in, regardless of the lid!

 

I've found people online having the opposite problem, as in their MacBooks don't wake up when using the battery, but work fine while plugged in.

 

I also have a new battery which I'm going to put in in the next few days.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Sorry if it somewhat confusing, but English is not my first language, so hopefully it is clear enough...

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on Apr 1, 2016 2:09 PM

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Joe Pafumi

Q: MacBook Pro will not come out of sleep IF plugged in

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  • by my ginger,

    my ginger my ginger Apr 1, 2016 2:53 PM in response to Joe Pafumi
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Apr 1, 2016 2:53 PM in response to Joe Pafumi

    The mid 2010 Macbook Pro came with Snow leopard. Which would have also had an install disk. To do a fresh install of El Capitsn on a new drive , you would have had to start by using the Snow Leopard disk and update to 10.6.8 first. Or have a usb installer for El Capitan or clone you original drive. Which did you do?  And did you have a backup on time machine or anything else that you then reinstalled onto the new drive? Also with the original install disks there is one that allows you to do an AHT test. You could run that to check for a hardware problem.

  • by Joe Pafumi,

    Joe Pafumi Joe Pafumi Apr 1, 2016 11:25 PM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 1, 2016 11:25 PM in response to my ginger

    I did a fresh install of El Capitan from an USB drive.

     

    I do have a backup on time machine but I did not reinstall it yet, I've installed El Capitan just yesterday and would love to find out what's the problem with my mac before starting to put software and stuff back into it.

     

    I also have done the AHT test in the past which gave me no errors, but I'll try again with the extended test.

     

    Thank you.

  • by Joe Pafumi,

    Joe Pafumi Joe Pafumi Apr 2, 2016 3:13 AM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 2, 2016 3:13 AM in response to my ginger

    I have run the AHT test, both, the fast one and extended. Same result, no trouble found.

     

    I'm wondering, can the MagSafe cause all that?

  • by my ginger,

    my ginger my ginger Apr 2, 2016 8:39 AM in response to Joe Pafumi
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Apr 2, 2016 8:39 AM in response to Joe Pafumi

    Just in case the magsafe is a problem. Here is some  things to check.  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203207 Also when doing the SMC reset by holding down the Control Option Shift keys and power button. I recommend doing it for 5 to 10 seconds. Does this problem occur even if the computer goes to sleep only for a few minutes? Some times in a deep sleep, it can take up to a minute to wake. I have also seen where you have to press the space bar several times to wake it up.

  • by Joe Pafumi,

    Joe Pafumi Joe Pafumi Apr 2, 2016 10:27 AM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 2, 2016 10:27 AM in response to my ginger

    The MagSafe has none of the problems showed in that link...

     

    I did hold the keys down for 10 seconds, but nothing happened or changed.

    Do you know how I can verify if the SMC reset was successful?

     

    The problem occurs even if the mac goes to sleep for just a few minutes.

    It happened 2/3 times that it woke up if I opened the lid immediately after closing it, but I'm talking about 1 second!

     

    I'm pretty sure mine does not wake up even after one minute or by pressing the space bar. I may try it once more, just in case...

     

    But again, why does that happen only when it is plugged in? I mean, even in deep sleep it wakes up instantly if it isn't plugged into the MagSafe.

     

    Also, I am 100% sure something changed by installing El Capitan. Because with Lion, even plugged in, it used to wake up as long as I let the lid open.

  • by my ginger,

    my ginger my ginger Apr 5, 2016 4:36 PM in response to Joe Pafumi
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Apr 5, 2016 4:36 PM in response to Joe Pafumi

    AHT tests are not definitive. The tests at the genius bar are better. When doing a SMC reset, you do not see anything necessarily happen. It drains power from the smc chip causing it to reset itself. That is not exactly what it does , but close. More like a factory reset of the chip.  Have you tried a pram reset.   https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063 If you have done all of this, including a fresh install and the problem is still there. It may be a hardware problem.

  • by Joe Pafumi,

    Joe Pafumi Joe Pafumi Apr 6, 2016 1:16 PM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 6, 2016 1:16 PM in response to my ginger

    Hi, I was able to perform the SMC reset (the led didn't change color because I was doing the reset with a full battery, so the led didn't change, doing it with a half full battery did the trick)

     

    Yes, I have done a pram reset.

     

    It is definitely a hardware problem.

    By the way, I have new Ram, SSD and battery. So it has to be something else.