Q: My MacBook Air (2013) won't turn on

I tried everything and still didn't succeed. So I tried one last thing and it worked.   I used a hairdryer , low heat level, around the macbook air. I  decided to try that  because It has been raining a lot last days and the humidity was high.

This worked for me this morning. Unplugged it. Half open. Shake like you mean it while holding the start button. Chime! Lights on now back to work.

I tried everything listed in this thread and nothing worked. Then I finally figured it out. I held the computer in front of an air conditioner and cooled it right down. It then started immediately.

This has happened to me too, twice.

Latest was just this morning. Computer working properly last night, plugged into charger, green LED showing.

This morning, all dead, except green LED. VERY annoying as am travelling and needed to urgently access computer file. had to risk using insecure internet access. Computer was cold to touch and has not been dropped, shaken (or stirred).

Tried again after about 4 hours and, Bingo!, all started normally.

This is the second time the problem has happened to me and, reading correspondence here, is not at all uncommon.

My request is to Apple - please let us, your customers, know what is causing this issue and, if possible, provide a solution.

Thank you,

Adair

This seemed like a long shot, but tried it before heading to my Genius Bar appointment after a couple hours of desperatey trying to bring it back to life. I shook my MBA like I hated it (which I did at that point) and boom - started right up after being left for dead! What an amazing and ridicilous fix!!!!!

The cooling solution doesn't work consistently. This happens to me quite regularly now. It's really annoying. I end up just waiting and eventually it comes back on. Apple *** is going on and how do I fix it? Seems like it's too common a problem. This was the best computer I've ever owned until this started happening. I'm close to abandoning apple products completely.

Like jkatme, I have found my MacBook Air to be far and away the best computer I have ever owned. BUT when I want to use my computer I expect to be able to use it NOW. I should not have to shake it like crazy, blow it with a hair-dryer or do anything else apart from opening the cover. This power-up problem appears to be widespread and, frankly, is quite unacceptable. I would imagine that Apple are aware of it (though some acknowledgement from them would be nice).

As a related question and a matter of interest, does the MacBook Air actually contain a SMS (Sudden Motion Sensor)?

Just interested.

Thanks

Adair

Completely works on MacBook Air 13-inc Early 2015!!! Thank you.

I took it to a repair shop. It was the battery. Cells were dying. Maybe thats why the shaking thing works for people.

Wow, my 2012 pro was dead to the world this morning. After many button combinations leaving me no computer I came across your post and Wow!

THe good shake worked first time. Thank you Mjolnir4Life for sharing this daring fix three years ago!

Perhaps this is just a coincidence, but my problem happened while I was staying in a house in an area with very high humidity and no AC. By the way, it has been almost 2 years (knock on wood) and my MacBook Air has not had a recurrence of this issue.

Unfortunetly I have the similiar problem with my MBA. Good to know that I am not alone, though no solution on my side yet.

I had my MBA since Oct 2013, all was good; since few weeks it started to shut down itself and needed to turn it on again (and it always worked). The day before yesterday the Mac shut down itself, and power button did not work to turn it on. i tried again few hours later - there were few "beeps" and then silence. Tried again - no beeps anymore.. Yesterday brought my work laptop home and did online search for solutions, including this thread. Unfortunately different keys combinations and shaking did not bring it to life...

I live now in Liberia (Africa! and there is no Apple store, Apple geniuses, Apple authorised repair stores etc anywhere around... Apple seems not to provide any kind of help if you are in this part of the world...

I read somewhere that it might be problem with RAM and to try to open the back lid of the MBA, to take RAM out and back... I haven't opened any computer before... Hmmmm.

I too have had the same experience with an newly-purchased secondhand 2012 vintage 13" MacBook Air. Lovely machine but on several occasions it has 'died' but revived after a good shaking.

The supposition is that the reawakening is something to do with jiggling up the Sudden Motion Sensor. However does the Mac Air post 2010, when internal hard drives were replaced by SSDs, have such a thing? According to Apple "The Sudden Motion Sensor is designed to detect unusually strong vibrations, sudden changes in position, and accelerated movement. If the sensor detects any of these, it instantly parks the hard drive heads to help reduce the risk of damage to the hard drive in case of impact."

After the last and most severe episode I phone Apple's helpline and was talked through resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) followed by resetting the NVRAM. Since then it's behaved, but it's less than 24 hours so fingers are still crossed. The Apple phone help is very good.

After working fine for a couple of days it has happened again after the computer had been asleep all night. This time holding down the power button, shaking the machine and pulling out my hair had no effect. Later in the day I checked again and heard the cooling fan going full belt. The mains cable was plugged in - indicator light was green. I disconnected from the mains and held down the power button and after 15 seconds or so the computer restarted.

Where to go from here - apart from the Genius Bar?

Genius Bar looked at it - had been functioning normally for about 4 days. Confirmed that this model doesn't have an SMS, so if shaking is actually helping that's for some other reason. Only suggestion was that it might be a logic board problem - £400 to replace. I don't think so! Took it home again.

Vendor tells me that he's never had this problem - I think I believe him. It seems to have occurred when the computer has been asleep for a long time (e.g. overnight) so maybe a simple solution is to power off at the end of the day. Startup is so quick that that's not going to be a nuisance.