Macbook Air. Battery icon has an X over it.

Mine: mid-2011 Macbook Air (MBA) that has exhibited power/charging problems repeatedly for 3 years. Battery "X" appears, charging function stops, no battery recognized, and sometimes the keyboard+trackpad locks up and requires external USB keyboard and mouse if the device is still running.

I have created cases for it, chatted with Apple online and at store, had the device tested at Apple Store 2x and submitted for fix. No cause nor cure found. My assumption is that Apple is too lazy to troubleshoot this (apparently - per google results) common problem. I lump the battery/charging/keyboard/trackpad problem together because the symptoms ytpically have direct 1:1 association.

My only remedy strategy thus far is to (1) connect USB input devices if MBA is still working but keyboard locked, then shut down and reboot (50% success rate); (2) disassemble MBA to allow disconnection of battery from main board, then reconnect and try restart (80% successful... which means I've done this 5 times and the method failed once); and (3) replace battery, which has worked 1 of 1 times (when battery disconnect didn't resolve issue).

What I have not yet attempted:

A. Main board replacement - too expensive a "fix" for a problem that should not exist.

B. MagSafe daughter board replacement - I've done this previously for troubleshooting wife's Macbook Pro.

What has proven inconsequential:

MagSafe charging adapter swap - no effect.

MagSafe connector cleaning - all clean, no effect.

OSX upgrades - several upgrades since this problem started, and no resolution.

So, I'm posting this mostly as warning to others with similar battery/charging/keyboard/trackpad problems... and on the off chance that some dear soul at Apple gives a crap and might actually troubleshoot and resolve the problem.

Good luck.

Your Mac can't detect your battery. The first thing you should try is to reset the SMC > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964 Do the same with PRAM > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

If nothing works, and as a different battery didn't work, the logic board is damaged, so take the computer to an Apple Store or reseller. It will be an expensive repair, because near everything is soldered onto the logic board, so it will be like having a new Mac inside. Make a backup of your files before taking the MacBook in

lionelappling wrote:

Hi mende1,

Appreciate the immediate response and your kind assistance. Kindly advise me if what I had done was right:

Step 1 I off my mac, held on buttons "shift", "control", "option" and the power keys.

Step 2 I release the keys and turn on the Macbook Air with the power key.

Step 3 I held on buttons "option", "command", "P" and "R" keys until a 2nd restart process was activated.

Correct. On a MacBook Air, a logic board replacement may cost half the price of a new MacBook Air or more. That's why we recommend to purchase AppleCare, because this repair is free with AppleCare. Furthermore, on a reseller the cost may be higher than on an official Apple Retail Store (in Spain I have seen embarrasing experiences with Apple resellers)

You are welcome

If your charger light also isn't on, then you need to do a SMC reset, this 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 tried all of the suggestions on my airbook. My 13inch Mid-2011 model did not respond to any of the suggestions. What did work was to allow my airbook battery to completely "die". I plug in my external power and everything was back to normal. Green light now works on my adaptor and the battery is showing in the status bar.

You can't take it in to an Apple store to resolve this issue. I have done it at least 4 times and every time they look at me like they've never heard of such a thing....It's a lie and a scam, they know EXACTLY whats wrong with my computer and refuse to fix it.

Trust me, I don't get off bashing APPLE...it just is what it is. I spent the ridiculous amount of money on the top of the line MBP and then they want you to go in to the Apple Store CONSTANTLY because there are so many issues.

I KNOW there are a lot of issues because it is always PACKED when I go in there with people that all have issues with their beloved Apple devices...I am very frustrated. If someone tells me to go to an Apple Store again I will take my $3000 MBP in, set it on the desk, smash it with a sledge hammer, and walk out.

This was the only solution that worked for me. 2013 11" air would boot up but there would be an x over the battery icon and the wireless was not working. Followed sailboatchick's steps and it resolved both. THANKS!