Macbook Air - Intermittently Charging , Now not at all

I've been facing a similar problem.

I've found that actually shutting down my MacBook Pro makes it charge in one go.

I first kill all applications, then shut down tha Mac.

After that it works for a couple of days.

I think it has to do with how many applications I've got up and running in the background.

C

Same problem with my MacBook Air. This was happening around 4-5 months ago but went away after a day or two. Now this problem has come back. It's been 2 days since I was able to get any light indicators on the magsafe.

This is a serious problem!

Crazy, but the blowdryer trick worked. Very hi-tech! However it is now only recharging to 99%, so the icon never goes to 'full' but stays on the 'recharging' symbol. Not sure how good this is for the battery.

Warming up the power brick definitely fixed the issue of my laptop not charging.

I had the problem previously and it went away but then came back and refused to charge until I heated it up. I hope I don't have to do this every time. :/

I too had this exact same problem, but heating up the power brick worked! Please improve your products APPLE, this is a bit silly.

After heating up the charger for a few weeks to charge I finally went in to the Apple store. I brought in the old charger and they tested it and it didn't work. Apple ran diagnostics on my MBA and ten minutes into the test my old charger started working, but they agreed the charger was bad. He said he had never heard about or seen that problem. I told him about the discussion board about this problem. He said it is just a drop in the bucket compared to how many are out there. I think they are probably built to fail just after the warranty is up but a few fail early. Anyway the new one works like its supposed to, for now.

So far the charger is working after blow-drying the brick three days ago (ridiculous!). But now it doesn't seem to jive with the indicator icon, which only went to 99%, then yesterday only to 98%, now it says 100% but the image is still the little 'charging up' fork, not the solid black battery. So what is it really telling me? something's out of whack. Ryan, not sure what you meant about the drop in the bucket...you mean this problem, other problems, or discussion topics? Because I wonder how (and if) Apple gets the info that we're all blow-drying our chargers?

I was referring to the problem with the charger not working. The Apple Genuis person who helped me said its not a problem because he had not heard about it. I told him of the discussion board and he said its only a few compared to the tens of thousands sold. But it's extremely frustrating when I or you have to deal this problem.

I posted about the same problem before and by the time, I went to the Apple Store and they replaced my power supply. Problem solved for now but the Genius person didn't care to look at the problem mentionned here (I had the conversation printed).

Considering the fact that other people report the same problem again and again, even after replacing the power supply, I look forward to get some feedback from Apple!

I am a web designer and I cannot rely on intermittent technology. In the same manner, I am thinking of a slick website, with all the social bells and whistles, picturing Apple's hair dryer technology. What do you think? May be it could put some emphasis on us, the fews upon tens of thousands.

We pay for premium technology and we expect premium service. Are you there Apple ??

Simon A.

Just an update from my original post...
It was starting to get a bit bothersome to go out of my way to get a hair dryer and blow it. Since I still had a couple of days on my warrenty, I knew I needed to get the thing replaced at the Apple store. The thing is, the last time I went there, it just happened to work inside the Apple Store when I had tried almost all my outlits at home. Today, I put the Charger in the freezer and let it stay there for an hour or so, and then drove to the store. They tested it and bam, didn't work. They replaced the charger for free and told me many others seem to have this problem, especially during cold weather such as now. Even though the trick I showed before usually works, the best solution is to just go to the apple store and replace it with a new one if its still under warrenty.

It's actually my new one that isn't behaving..I just got the old one replaced under warranty 2 weeks ago (the cord had worn right through, otherwise it was charging fine.) But good luck with it.

Same problem here. Never tried the hair dryer but seems kind of out there. I get mine to work wiggling the mag adapter or flipping it around. Sometimes lights red but shows 5 hrs charge time with 85% remaining. Seems like a poor conection in the mag connector. Possibly arcing damage.

Was at the Apple store in my travels but could hardly get a little help with other issues.

I found the Genius's more like arragont ***** for the most part. You go there for help not someone to treat you like an idiot. It is their job to know it inside out and help, and know this is far from my first computer experience. I have used them for work continuously since 1987 and worked on software and programs.

Do and SMC reset, which won't affect any of your settings

SMC reset instructions for a MacBook Air are:

1. Shutdown your MacBook Air (go to the Apple menu and choose “Shut Down…”).
2. Make sure your MacBook Air has external power. Connect the power adaptor, if it isn’t already.
3. Using the Air’s built-in keyboard (not a plug in keyboard or bluetooth keyboard), of the left hand side of the keyboard press Control-Shift-Option and on the top right of the keyboard, the power key at the same time.
4. Release all the keys at the same time.
5. Press the power key to start the computer.

I had the same problems. I think there is a structural issue with the Mac Air charger.
I now just use an old charger from a 2006 Mac Book - much better design and no problems so far.

Same problem with my 2011 MBA. Tried different power outlets. Tried jiggling the magsafe plug in the computer. No luck. Narrowed problem to the power brick by testing the computer with an MBP 2011 power brick which charged the MBA.

After reading this forum, I put the power brick under a heating pad. It worked.

Does anyone have any idea why heating a power brick would make it function?

Thanks stone4345 for this helpful tip.