MacBook Pro 16" (2021) M1Pro Charging issue?

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.

To fix this currently you need to do the following:

System Preferences -> Battery -> Battery -> Disable optimised battery charging

Apple has confirmation that it is a software issue, it's being investigated and will likely be fixed in an update shortly.

The confirmation came from the apple engineering team communicated through the apple support advisor team over the phone.

If someone can try Restoring their Mac using Apple Configurator 2 (ver. 2.15) this might help. The restore will erase the Mac but it will also update any firmware chips if available…. Make sure your magsafe charger is plugged in while you do this, so the Mac can communicate with the chip in the cable…

https://support.apple.com/guide/apple-configurator-2/revive-or-restore-a-mac-with-apple-silicon-apdd5f3c75ad/mac

… If this doesn’t work, keep in mind that a future software update will update the firmware of the chips on the MacBook which will most likely resolve the issue

I definitely wouldn’t freak out and return the computer because it’ll take another two months to get a new one

Has anyone tried Restoring their Mac using Apple Configurator 2 (ver. 2.15) .. this might help. The restore will erase the Mac but it will also update any firmware chips if available…. Make sure your magsafe charger is plugged in while you do this, so the Mac can communicate with the chip in the cable… 

How to restore Mac using Apple Configurator 2 

https://support.apple.com/guide/apple-configurator-2/revive-or-restore-a-mac-with-apple-silicon-apdd5f3c75ad/mac

… If this doesn’t work, keep in mind that a future software update will update the firmware of the chips on the MacBook which will most likely resolve the issue

I definitely wouldn’t freak out and return the computer because it’ll take another two months to get a new one

I received a similar problem 4 days into buying my new MacBook Pro 16 inch M1 Pro: The MagSafe just keeps on blinking on and off whenever I charge the MacBook when it is completely shutdown. My guess, from what I've read from this thread, is that it is a problem with the Monterey 12.0.01 OS, as I didn't receive the problem when I took the Macbook Pro out of the box. So instead of completely returning it to the store, I decided to be a bit geeky and factory reset the entire device & reinstalled MacOS Monterey in the MacOS Recovery panel (which for M1 macbooks can be activated by pressing and holding the power button when booting up). My Mac reinstalled Monterey 12.0.01, but surprisingly, the MagSafe blinking issue was now gone. I can just plop the MagSafe in, and the thing charges seamlessly.

From this whole experience, I can conclude two things: (1) The MagSafe blinking issue is most likely a software issue, and (2) Monterey 12.0.01 might not be the issue here.

Hence, I would strongly recommend that anyone who experiences this issue either factory reset their device, or, for convenience's sake, just spend some extra money and just buy a USB-C to USB-C cable as a substitute for charging until Apple releases a new OS patch that solves the issue (do recognize that USB-C charging will only accept 94W maximum, which means that it will charge slower than the MagSafe).

Hope this helps.

I have the same issue and found that if I connect the MagSafe to the MacBook while it is still on, then shut down the machine and close it, the amber light glows steadily and the computer charges properly.

Hmmmmm.... Strange. The 12.1 update has indeed solved the issue for me and is noted in the release notes here:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212585

I have tested this personally - No more worries.

I will do some further testing and report back.

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.

The majority of the complaints on this discussion are about Macs that charge, then stop, then start, then stop -- in a span of seconds, especially when connected to power after being shut down.

The winning suggestion is to disable "Battery Health Management" feature, and the problem goes away.

OR exchange your Mac for a different one.

I am positive now that all of the MacBooks have this issue and it is related to the fast charging.

I picked up a second MacBook from an Apple store in a different state and it has the issue as well. So it is most likely from a different batch and still has it.

The reason why the Apple store employees are unaware of this issue is because the MacBooks on display at the store are always plugged in and on. So they will not get the chance to see the MacBooks charging behavior when the battery is below 80% and off.

I do not recommend keeping it past the 14 day return window. Years ago when I purchased a MacBook it had an issue with the audio. I kept the MacBook because I was waiting for a software fix that never happened. So the MacBook was as good as a paperweight since I wanted to use it for audio. Apple was reluctant to help me because they didn’t want to invest the time into fixing it because it was an intel MacBook and they knew M1 was coming.

Rest assured if you kept it past the 14 day window. Because it is such a widespread problem, I think they will fix it. But I will be returning the second one until this issue is fixed to make sure I’m not stuck with a broken MacBook again.

Fwiw. I've had my mbp m1 max 1tb 32gb ram 16" for 5 days. Just noticed this issue an hour ago. I guess I just left it on while charging the past few days and never noticed until now.

In anycase. I've had my unit in "automatic" battery mode... charging blink and bleep occurred when shutdown w lid closed.

I switched it to "High power" mode, shut down laptop- Closed lid, connected mag safe and now its charging... no bleeps or flashing lights. Can anyone else try this to confirm?

Regards

So after waiting a week, I received the replacement that apple insisted on giving me. It took me about 4 hours to get the item from the store and reinstall all my applications and setting. I also lost my $30 skin due to the exchange.

On the replacement machine, the charging was flawless, at 50%, before the Mac OS update. After the Mac OS update, the charging issue returned.

Here are the take aways:

1. There is a total or at least partial software component to this problem.

2. Don't waste your time trying to fix it.

3. If apple asks for a "Capture" [exchange] tell them no and save your precious time.

Yes. I’ve had the same problem. Other people (here and on Reddit) have said their MacBook Pros beep when plugged in.

I found the solution for me:

Plug in your laptop while it’s still on. Then turn it off.

Crazy but mine would blink orange while closed and off.. Would only charge while open and On. But once I did the update, it's fixed.....

Not sure if you've tried the update but it fixed this issue for me