Macbook Air - Intermittently Charging , Now not at all

If you want to fix it yourself, here are some instructions:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+MacBook+Air+11-Inch+Mid+2011+I-O+Board/63 10/1

This is for a mid 2011 MBA. There are instructions for other models on ifixit as well.

Hi Jim,

after I found the tip on internet, I just went to a Genius Bar in Rome. I paid 64 Euros for the spare part. Labor was for free, because of a previous intervention made in the same GB for the same problem which resulted to be completely ineffective.

S

thanks fo the tip, anirudh582.

S,

Thanks for your reply.

J

I have this problem too on a 13" Macbook Air 2012 but I found if I put the charger plug the OTHER way (ie you block the left hand USB from being usable) the red light comes on again. Very annoying.

The problem is that the coating sparks off, if you look at those four little metal points, the coating disappears over time and the electricity doesn't flow correctly, reversing the plug works for a while, after that you have to eiter put weight on the plug or place something underneath to force it up so it connects.

I ordered a thrid party 1/0 board on Ebay, replaced it, works like charm! Also bought a fake power supply coz the original one had melted due to the messed up flow of electricity. Get your ***** together Apple coz you charge hansomly for them productas.

Same problem. Apple store charger worked. Then able to get mine to work by "uncoiling" the charger line a bit until light came on. But no confidence it won't reoccur. Seems like the fault is the charger, not the computer

I have the same issue. I went to apple store last year and got adapter replaced. Now, same issue happens again!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FWIW, that worked for me to...and will hopefully continue to work for me until I can afford to get it fixed. Thanks! 😀

Fluff...

thank goodness, stone. the blowdryer tricked worked instantly.

How on earth did you come up with this solution? Im at work right now but will sure try it when i get home. I've had my MBA for all of 5 days and i already cannot charge it up! (bought it branc new from appla on monday) This is bananas. Is the problem with the laptop itself or the brick? Im not sure i want to have to blowdry my brick to charge my laptop everytime, i live in canada. Should they not replace everything for me? But will my replacement be afflicted with the say defect??? Shame on Apple!

So I was having these exact same symptoms and I have two magsafe 2 power adapters. They both stopped working around the same time and I bought a refurbished apple charger off ebay and it worked for a very short time before failing. I figured it was something weird with my MBA but just discovered that my magsafe connector itself (what plugs into my MBA) had lost one of the two connections from the power source. I resoldered the leads and viola! Charges perfectly every time, no heat radiator required. I would strongly recommend to check these wires and seeing if the adapters themselves are simply loose or partially connected. FWIW, there were absolutely ZERO signs of wear on the plug. Everything was underneath the adapter and not visible without disassembly. I followed this DIY on youtube -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOb-8Tutt7M --

Hope this helps!

2012 13" MacBook Air with only sporadic charging. Even after replacing the charger it is getting worse every day.

Heating up the brick is not helping in my case. The action most likely to initiate charging is pulling and reattaching magsafe.

I have changed my reply. Now it seems heating the brick helps!

I have the same problem for my 2011 MBA recently! And I find the blow dry method works perfectly! Thanks for the useful trick! Btw, Can we request apple for replacement cord?