silveroak

Q: 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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Q: macbook air won't charge & no light on charger

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  • by John Galt,Helpful

    John Galt John Galt Dec 20, 2012 1:06 PM in response to silveroak
    Level 8 (48,595 points)
    Mac OS X
    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.
  • by silveroak,

    silveroak silveroak Dec 20, 2012 1:11 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 20, 2012 1:11 PM in response to John Galt

    Thanks John...tried that several times but no luck...any other ideas?

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Dec 20, 2012 1:19 PM in response to silveroak
    Level 8 (48,595 points)
    Mac OS X
    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.

  • by silveroak,

    silveroak silveroak Dec 20, 2012 1:25 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    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!

  • by John Galt,Helpful

    John Galt John Galt Dec 20, 2012 1:43 PM in response to silveroak
    Level 8 (48,595 points)
    Mac OS X
    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

  • by silveroak,

    silveroak silveroak Dec 20, 2012 1:54 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    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

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Dec 20, 2012 3:06 PM in response to silveroak
    Level 8 (48,595 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 20, 2012 3:06 PM in response to silveroak

    Good - when you recover from this make sure you retrieve your data.

  • by spaceyliz,

    spaceyliz spaceyliz Jan 29, 2013 10:13 AM in response to silveroak
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 29, 2013 10:13 AM in response to silveroak

    I am having the same issue. And it's happened twice. There seems to be some configuration where it won't charge, I don't know what it is. Very annoying.

  • by Macondray Steiger,

    Macondray Steiger Macondray Steiger Jan 29, 2013 10:35 AM in response to spaceyliz
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 29, 2013 10:35 AM in response to spaceyliz

    Yes, I tossed my Apple power adapter (saving its Mag plug & cord) and have been using my Kensington AC/DC travel adapter with no problems.  Seems it was the adapter, not my MacBook Air.

  • by Turd.Ferguson,

    Turd.Ferguson Turd.Ferguson Apr 3, 2013 10:26 PM in response to silveroak
    Level 1 (0 points)
    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.

  • by JohnnyCotia,Helpful

    JohnnyCotia JohnnyCotia May 7, 2013 9:28 AM in response to silveroak
    Level 1 (5 points)
    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.

  • by mjaumin,

    mjaumin mjaumin May 28, 2013 7:26 AM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 28, 2013 7:26 AM in response to John Galt

    Thank you - Fixed my problem - Mac Book AIr 13 inch n o power/ not charging - completly dead.- This procedure from " no power"  worked perfectly.

     

    Great tip.

  • by Kevin Kenney,

    Kevin Kenney Kevin Kenney Jun 24, 2013 6:33 AM in response to silveroak
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 24, 2013 6:33 AM in response to silveroak

    JohnnyCotia is onto it. Warming up the charger worked perfect for me I dangled it in front of my wood fire for about a minute either side and got it really warm, then plugged it in and my macbook come to life. definitely worth a try.

  • by BSZL,

    BSZL BSZL Jul 4, 2013 3:54 AM in response to JohnnyCotia
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 4, 2013 3:54 AM in response to JohnnyCotia

    Thanks. Fixed my problem.

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