MacBook Pro cannot wake from sleep when on battery power

Question

Level 1

8 points

MacBook Pro cannot wake from sleep when on battery power

Hello guys,

This is a recurring problem.

My MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) works fine when it is running on AC adapter. It also runs fine when it is running on battery power. However, if I close the MacBook Pro and unplug the AC adaptor with the battery life under 80–90% (give or take), it will refuse to wake from sleep later on. Or rather, the keyboard lights will light up, the screen will be lid (but black), but nothing happens. I often have to perform a hard reboot with the AC adapter plugged in in order to make the computer run again. Sometimes the screen shows me the 'Your mac restarted because of a problem' page, and I have to press any button to allow it to boot again.

I am very confused because the MacBook Pro 1) works fine when plugged in 2) works fine if it is unplugged 3) has a fresh battery installed several months ago. I checked the Battery Health, and I've only gone through 18 cycles and the status says 'Normal'.

Posted on Jun 2, 2021 2:25 AM

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Answer 1

dominic23

Level 10

84,018 points

Jun 2, 2021 2:42 AM in response to PsYkOoOoO

Try resetting SMC and startup in Safe Mode.

Reset SMC: How to reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support Choose the appropriate method.

Quote:

Resetting the system management controller (SMC) can resolve certain issues related to power, battery, fans, and other features.

Startup in Safe mode. https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201262 Choose the appropriate method.

To leave Safe Mode, choose “Restart” at the bottom.

Quote:

Safe mode prevents your Mac from loading certain software when it starts up, including login items, system extensions not required by macOS,

and fonts not installed by macOS. It also does a basic check of your startup disk, similar to using First Aid in Disk Utility.

And it deletes some system caches, including font caches and the kernel cache,

which will be created again automatically as needed.

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Answer 2

dominic23

Level 10

84,018 points

Jun 2, 2021 5:40 AM in response to PsYkOoOoO

We can run Apple Hardware Test - Apple Diagnostics , but the results are not conclusive.

Apple can run the test remotely.

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-apple-diagnostics-mh35727/mac

Contact Apple support.

Click inside the box to choose an option.

https://getsupport.apple.com/?caller=kbase&PGF=PGF63005&category_id=SC0245&symptom_id=23362

Genius bar

https://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/

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Answer 3

PsYkOoOoO Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 2, 2021 4:14 AM in response to dominic23

Hello there,

Thanks for replying.

I've reset the SMC several times and the problem persists.

I just tried restarting the MacBook Pro into Safe Mode. I unplugged my MacBook Pro, let it run for a while on battery power, then closed the computer and put it to sleep. After about 10 minutes, I opened it again and tried to log in. However, halfway through the log in process, the computer blinked out — and the same thing happened. The keyboard lights were lit, the screen was black (though also lit). I then had to plug the AC adapter in and perform a hard reboot into Normal Mode.

Any other options?

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MacBook Pro cannot wake from sleep when on battery power

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