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macbook air won't charge & no light on charger

I charged 2011 Macbook Air yesterday and it was fine last night and again this morning. Then, when it was running low on battery today I plugged in the wall charger (which is a new one I got in July) and suddenly my screen went black and the charge light wouldn't come on. So, I unplugged the charger and then my screen came back. Plugged in charger again and screen went black again. I restarted my computer and still same problem. I even shut down and rebooted but same problem. Of course I didn't back up my files so I scrambled to transfer some to our portable hard drive but I was on reserve power and the transfer did not complete. So, now I have a dead computer. I even just tried the charger of a friend with a MB Air but her charger didn't work for me either. So, now I have just plugged my charger in with the hope that it will mysteriously start working again -still no light showing.

And ideas? I live in southern Mexico and closest Apple Store is in Mexico City...not very close to me :-(

MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Dec 20, 2012 1:02 PM

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Posted on Dec 20, 2012 1:06 PM

Power or other problems related to unexpected system sleep, shutdown, lights or fans call for an SMC reset:


Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own


  1. Shut down the computer.
  2. Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
  3. On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
  4. Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
  5. Press the power button to turn on the computer.
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Question marked as Best reply

Dec 20, 2012 1:06 PM in response to silveroak

Power or other problems related to unexpected system sleep, shutdown, lights or fans call for an SMC reset:


Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own


  1. Shut down the computer.
  2. Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
  3. On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
  4. Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
  5. Press the power button to turn on the computer.

Dec 20, 2012 1:19 PM in response to silveroak

Examine the MagSafe power connector and the MacBook Air's socket for contamination or damage. If you are lucky you may find something obvious.


I realize it is may not be convenient for you, but the only other suggestion is to try another MagSafe adapter that is verified to work, before suspecting your MacBook Air's charging circuit is faulty.

Dec 20, 2012 1:25 PM in response to John Galt

I cleaned the power connector and the socket...and I also tried a friend's magsafe adaptor (hers works fine to charge her Macbook Air) but no luck with that either.


This is so strange because I have never encountered any problems before and it charged absolutely fine yesterday.


Is there any way to connect the Air to an iMac and try to charge it that way...or connect just to access my files so I can transfer them off.


Thanks for your help!

Dec 20, 2012 1:43 PM in response to silveroak

silveroak wrote:


... Is there any way to connect the Air to an iMac and try to charge it that way...or connect just to access my files so I can transfer them off.


The only way to charge a Mac is through its charging socket. Without power, you will be unable to read its disk contents either.


I wish I had better news for you but the only option left is to contact Apple and send it to them or an authorized service provider for repair.


Check this website to determine your options:


https://expresslane.apple.com/GetSASO.action?locale=en_MX&PRKEYS=PF2

Dec 20, 2012 1:54 PM in response to John Galt

Thanks John...just a minute ago I unplugged the adaptor for what must be the tenth time and when I plugged it back in the red light on the adaptor came on. So I will leave it alone for awhile and hopefully that means it is charging...fingers crossed.


If not, then I will contact one of the dealers on the link you sent me and hope that it won't take too long to get back - bad timing with the holidays!


Cheers

Apr 3, 2013 10:26 PM in response to silveroak

Hey guys, I have had the same issue. Been charging my MacBook Air just fine for just about two years now and all of a sudden it doesn't light up and charge. I took it in to the Apple Store and had really poor luck because they plugged it in and it worked fine...got home and didn't work again. So I plugged in the extention cord for the magsafe and it suddenly started working. Anyway, I just wanted to share my endeavors in hope this helps someone, somewhere.

May 7, 2013 9:28 AM in response to silveroak

It seems I found the solution.


First, I tried the method mentioned on this blog:


http://www.johnro.net/2012/12/28/help-my-macbook-airpro-wont-charge/


Basically, sitting on it to try to "heat it up".


As I am at an office, I just turned up the air conditioning to hot, placed the power cord/adapter right in front of the hot air output.


After a few minutes (at top temperature) I thought it was hot enough, tried it and... it worked !


So, it seems that in some cases, the power cord/adapter won't work if it is too cold.

Sep 25, 2013 5:31 PM in response to silveroak

hello

i have had my macbook air for about 2 years now

yesterday before i went to bed i checked my email

it was then that i noticed that my charger did not have the orange light that meant it was charging

i checked to make sure it was plugged in

it was

i then checked to see if my computer socket was dirty

i tried plugging it in to all of the sockets in my house

it still did not work

i then found this page

it said to heat it up

that did not work

it said reset Smc

still did not work

i cleaned it and did tons of other stuff people said would work

geuss what still did not work

please help me

i only have 30% left

thank you

macbook air won't charge & no light on charger

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