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MacBook Pro 16" (2021) M1Pro Charging issue?

Just bought the 16" MBP M1Pro and noticed when I "shutdown" the MacBook, close the lid, plug in the supplied MagSafe charger to the Mac, the MagSafe indicator light flashes amber and making a connect/disconnect sound from the Mac. Now if the Mac is powered on, charging works as it should. Spoke with Apple Support on this and they have no clue on this type of issue. Anyone else experiencing this issue?

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Oct 28, 2021 1:24 AM

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Yes, I can confirm upgrading to macOS 12.1 has resolved the issue in my case.

Posted on Dec 14, 2021 11:29 AM

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Nov 3, 2021 1:42 PM in response to knowme215

I skipped on sending it in for a replacement and followed a tip I found somewhere about the "Battery Optimization" feature. Don't even really understand what its supposed to do, my comprehension skills aren't the best but I guess its supposed to help with the battery life by following your charging habits. What I took it to mean is that it wont charge my laptop when I plug it in based on some arbitrary AI trying to track my sporadic and random habits of charging.


So.... Turned that feature off and I can safely say that my laptop charges whenever I plug it in, close the lid, shut down, etc. No more blinking on and off with the charger light going on and off. Works like normal.

I did also update after receiving it, i'll assume its the 12.0.1 (I'm not on that laptop right now to check but im sure Monterey hasn't had that many updates since I got the laptop a week ago.)


Hope this helps someone out.

109 replies

Oct 28, 2021 1:40 PM in response to Spiro Magoulas

I had to return the MacBook M1 Pro that I purchased because of this issue. This is not the intended behavior. It was the same for me. It charged when the computer was turned on. When the computer was powered off, the charging indicator would blink on and off.


The people at the Apple store were unaware of this problem and it happened when we tried it at the store as well.


It would be nice to know when this is fixed so that I may purchase a working model.

Nov 3, 2021 7:06 AM in response to Spiro Magoulas

Bro... I just did my replacement in Apple Store. I did testing in store and the issue disapear at first when the system is 12.0.0. I charge the new Mac only when the battery below 80% to allow fast charging be activated. However, when I did system update to 12.0.1, under the same condition the issue happened again. Took me two hours in store just to test this out. My conclusion is do not update to 12.0.1 if you mind this issue. If you have updated to 12.0.1, just hope they will fix it soon.

Question marked as Helpful

Nov 3, 2021 1:42 PM in response to knowme215

I skipped on sending it in for a replacement and followed a tip I found somewhere about the "Battery Optimization" feature. Don't even really understand what its supposed to do, my comprehension skills aren't the best but I guess its supposed to help with the battery life by following your charging habits. What I took it to mean is that it wont charge my laptop when I plug it in based on some arbitrary AI trying to track my sporadic and random habits of charging.


So.... Turned that feature off and I can safely say that my laptop charges whenever I plug it in, close the lid, shut down, etc. No more blinking on and off with the charger light going on and off. Works like normal.

I did also update after receiving it, i'll assume its the 12.0.1 (I'm not on that laptop right now to check but im sure Monterey hasn't had that many updates since I got the laptop a week ago.)


Hope this helps someone out.

Nov 3, 2021 4:05 PM in response to Spiro Magoulas

Have the same issue, took my 16" MBP M1 Pro to the Apple store, the guy didn't know why it was flashing orange when turned off. Got a replacement, finished migrating a backup... only to find the new replacement MBP has the same issue.


I've updated to Ver 12.0.1, perhaps an issue with this? I've tried disabling "Battery Optimisation" as suggested in this thread, but it didn't solve the issue for me :(


Frustrating not knowing if it's a hardware issue or something with MacOS, but two macs in a row? Hoping an update can fix this.

Nov 3, 2021 6:40 PM in response to OrfordTom

Keep an eye on it to see if it comes back. I went with the battery optimization option knowing that if all else failed i could charge though usb-c. Still sucks though, you never want to worry about any new product especially at this price point and I hate going to the Apple store. I'd either deal with it or try to get a replacement online before going to the store so I can stand there with my laptop like a loser until someone notices me.

Nov 6, 2021 5:40 PM in response to Spiro Magoulas

I have 2 of them with same issues: MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro and M1 Max charging issues with MagSafe 3 140W form Apple, while turned off. Not charging, left for 30 minutes and same issue. Restarted, same issue.


Both are having same problems, Apple support unable to help.


One is MacBook Pro16 2021 M1 Pro 16 GB ram 1 TB

Second is MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Max 32 GB ram 1 TB



MacBook Pro 16" (2021) M1Pro Charging issue?

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