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start up only when connected to power

I have a MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) on Big Sur. After the last system update, my computer will start, and then power off - if I am not connected to a power source, even if the battery is at 80%. The battery says "normal", and no other indicators of issues. Right now, it's not a major inconvenience because I am working from home. But, it would be nice if it would work properly. Any quick fixes?


Posted on Jan 6, 2021 1:09 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 6, 2021 8:13 PM

Try an SMC Reset.


Run the Apple Diagnostics.


Does this happen if you disconnect all external devices from the laptop?


Is Big Sur completely up to date at version 11.1 and all security patches applied?


Try booting into Safe Mode. If you cannot boot into Safe Mode, then try booting into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R or from a bootable macOS Big Sur USB installer so you can run Disk Utility First Aid on the SSD. I recommend running First Aid on the hidden Container for better results. Within Disk Utility click on "View" and select "Show All Devices" so that the physical drive and Container appear on the left pane of Disk Utility. Even if First Aid shows everything is "Ok" click on "Show Details" and look for any unfixed errors. If there are unfixed errors, then you will need to erase the whole physical SSD and restore from a backup or clone.


I don't know if this is relevant, but check out this Apple article about "Reviving" and "Restoring" the T2 firmware:

https://support.apple.com/guide/apple-configurator-2/revive-or-restore-an-intel-based-mac-apdebea5be51/mac

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 6, 2021 8:13 PM in response to BeffromNY

Try an SMC Reset.


Run the Apple Diagnostics.


Does this happen if you disconnect all external devices from the laptop?


Is Big Sur completely up to date at version 11.1 and all security patches applied?


Try booting into Safe Mode. If you cannot boot into Safe Mode, then try booting into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R or from a bootable macOS Big Sur USB installer so you can run Disk Utility First Aid on the SSD. I recommend running First Aid on the hidden Container for better results. Within Disk Utility click on "View" and select "Show All Devices" so that the physical drive and Container appear on the left pane of Disk Utility. Even if First Aid shows everything is "Ok" click on "Show Details" and look for any unfixed errors. If there are unfixed errors, then you will need to erase the whole physical SSD and restore from a backup or clone.


I don't know if this is relevant, but check out this Apple article about "Reviving" and "Restoring" the T2 firmware:

https://support.apple.com/guide/apple-configurator-2/revive-or-restore-an-intel-based-mac-apdebea5be51/mac

start up only when connected to power

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