Battery not charging after macOS Catalina Update

Talked with Support. Ran through this process:

Called Apple Tech Support. With them I did the following:

1) Ran Diagnostics. - Everything checked fine.

2) Reset SMC. - No go.

3) Reset Parameter Ram. - No go.

3) Tried to reinstall OS to current version (Option-Command-R) but could not because the install wouldn't work because you could not charge. Could not update without the computer plugged in.

4) At a loss and crying now. Brand spanking new. Ugh.

5) Now have to send Mac back to Apple. They will not guarantee a brand new computer over the phone. Said maybe a refurbished model. They don't know.

6) I repeat, this was right out of the box. Brand spanking new. Could not handle Catalina. I guess.

• Frustrated in the Mountains.

I have just noticed this problem on my macbook air 2018 while using the digital av multiport adapter. The macbook charges fine plugged directly into the charger, but if I try charging through the multiport adapter sometime it doesn't charge and sometimes it does.

I'm chatting with apple support now and they suggest replacing the multiport adapter so i'll give that a go.

The problem for me was fixed with the 10.15.4 Supplemental Update, released on 08 April 2020, but returned with the 10.15.5 update released on 01 April 2020. The update included changes to the Energy Saver preferences and Battery Health Management options, which seems to be doing something wonky with the charging. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211094?cid=mc-ols-energy_saver-article_ht211094-macos_ui-04022020

Hi Truthischeap, if you haven't tried this already, recommend to reset the System Management Controller (SMC): https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

Background: After my post above (Nov 1, 2019 1:44 AM) didn't permanently work, I reset the SMC (twice, actually). Result: The problem went away -- or at least, has not recurred in the ensuing 60 hours. I'm calling that a win for now. Battery now charges. May be worth a shot for you.

Good luck!

An interesting article by Apple on 2019 MacBooks randomly shutting down, and to do an OS update to fix it!

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210615

May want to help them realize it goes beyond 2019 models. I sold mine off and have migrated to an iPad Pro for my workflow, but thought ya’ll might find this helpful.

I hate Catalina! The worst software from Apple ever... I also have this problem = And after having spend since November with Apple support, and countless Tests, they sent me to the Genious Bar - not so genious, as it happens on all my macs that run catalina, and covid 19 has genious bars closed... This related??? Catalina constantly crashing when Sleep

I see a lot of people posting that they think this has to do with whether or not the charger is plugged directly into the Macbook, or perhaps its their docking station, etc. It is none of these things - it is ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY related to the Catalina update, period, and Apple needs to step up and fix this. There is nothing anyone can do to fix this except Apple.

Here is what I tested:

1. Connected the power cable (USB-C) directly to the Macbook by itself (with NOTHING else hard wired to the Macbook). Macbook charges fine.
2. Connected the power cable (USB-C) directly to a basic single cable USB-C hub (aka "docking station"), then connected the hub to the Macbook by itself (with NOTHING else hard wired to the Macbook). Macbook charges fine.
3. Added to the #2 scenario noted above my USB Wacom pen tablet (with NOTHING else hard wired to the Macbook). Macbook charges fine.
4. In addition to scenario #3 above I added to one of the Macbook's other USB-C ports on the opposite side of the Macbook another small hub, with nothing connected to the second hub. Macbook charges fine.
5. In addition to the second hub (scenario #4 above) I added an external USB hard drive that requires power from the USB port to run. Macbook charges fine.

So far so good. With all of the above connected the Macbook charges fine.

However...

In addition to all of the above, I then added my HDMI external monitor to the first hub (#2 above) and BOOM, the Macbook no longer charges. I then stripped ALL of the devices noted in the steps above from the Macbook, and ONLY added back Steps #2 - #3 above, confirmed the Macbook was indeed charging, and then re-introduced my external monitor via HDMI and again the Macbook stopped charging.

Here's the interesting part... I then disconnected the HDMI monitor (charging resumed again) and instead connected my iPad Pro as a second monitor using Sidecar and AGAIN the Macbook stopped charging (regardless of how I connected it - whether via Bluetooth or via USB-C). Even though the iPad was not pulling power directly from the Macbook (i.e. it was connected via Bluetooth so it wasn't sharing power in order to charge it) the Macbook still stopped charging.

My conclusion... This may be a bug with the new Sidecar feature of Mac OS Catalina.

My Macbook specs are:

• MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)
• 3.1 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
• 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3
• Intel HD Graphics 630 1536 MB

External Display: Dell UltraSharp U3415W 34-Inch Curved LED

Just tried the same thing and it worked:

• Closed the screen and re-opened.
• Battery now shows as "charging".
• Verified I can pull the charger out and it doesn't brick: in other words, suddenly it recognizes the battery again.

Thank you SO MUCH stevegogo! Hoping that gets me through until Apple fixes this bug.

This is aweful. bought a new charger, and still - it charges whenever it wants to. Apple PLEEEEAAAASEEE take this seriously, my battery will go to crap before this is solved. Can't believe it says 9hrs until Full - ***.

Both of my MacBooks are now afflicted by the same problem.

The 2015 MacBook Air is misbehaving most times that I use it.

Here's what it was saying at mid-day today.

For no obvious reason, it woke up, a few minutes later and started charging, but still with no LED light

on the Magsafe charger. Later, the charging light on the Magsafe re-appeared.

Prior to the Catalina upgrade, there were no such problems. Never even once.

This is a Catalina issue, and both of my MacBooks are now unreliable. Thanks Apple, you achieved a 100% failure rate on your new OSX release.

I started having this issue after upgrading to Catalina. MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017). The power source is the Power Adapter, but the battery doesn't charge. Tried resetting the SMC and PRAM. The only way I can get it to charge, is by disconnecting all other USB-C devices (monitor, keyboard, external drive).

I have this issue as well. If I do a SMC I sometimes get it to charge from the Dell Displaylink, but if I unplug it and then plug it back in it wont charge. If I shut the MacBook Pro 2018 down and leave it with the USBc cord in it will sometimes charge.

Normal charger works.

Yeah, it's a bizarre problem and I haven't been able to pinpoint what's causing it. I'm on a late 2016 15" Macbook Pro, and this issue cropped up during the Catalina beta and hasn't resolved in the public release.

I purchased a brand new charger from the online Apple Store just to see if it was the charger, and it's not the culprit. I did a system check and here's info from that:

Model Information:

  Serial Number: D866423A388HDWC4P

  Manufacturer: SMP

  Device Name: bq20z451

  Pack Lot Code: 0

  PCB Lot Code: 0

  Firmware Version: 702

  Hardware Revision: 1

  Cell Revision: 3925

  Charge Information:

  Charge Remaining (mAh): 4073

  Fully Charged: No

  Charging: No

  Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 6416

  Health Information:

  Cycle Count: 70

  Condition: Normal

  Battery Installed: Yes

  Amperage (mA): -602

  Voltage (mV): 11595

Even right now, it's not charging while connected to the charger. Sometimes a restart fixes it, but sometimes no change. I've tried all four Thunderbolt ports, but the results are the same. The scary part is that sometimes the device won't power on at all if the battery is drained completely for days, and then out of random it just seems to power back on, fully charged.

Probably going to purchase another USB-C cable to rule that out as a possibility as well. Hopefully something is figured out, this is really aggravating.

Received brand new MacBook Air (2019). Worked and charged fine with Mojave. Upgraded last week to Catalina. Now computer won't charge. Something wrong with the usb-c port? Not sure. Created case but no resolution. Support wanted me to reinstall OS but can't because an adapter "not plugged in." Ugh...