10.9.2 Won't Allow MBP Retina to Charge off TBD

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Level 1

5 points

10.9.2 Won't Allow MBP Retina to Charge off TBD

Hey Guys....

Ever since I upgraded my mid-2012 Macbook Pro Retina to 10.9.2, I've noticed a lot of weird things. Most important of them all being, after updating, my mabook pro retina refuses to charge off the ThunderBolt Display Power Cord now. Before the update, it charged fine.

To do some elimination, I've taken my ThunderBolt Display Power Cord/Magsafe and plugged it into my girlfriend's Macbook Air -- It charges fine. I've take another charger to my Macbook Pro and it charges fine. So I know my laptop will take a charge, and I know the magsafe on the thunderbolt display is operating.

When I plug the power adapter with magsafe converter into my Macbook Pro, it recognizes that it's plugged in to a power source, but it says "Battery is not Charging." The most bizarre part of all of this is that while plugged into the thunderbolt display power cord, the battery will remain at that certain power %, but it won't charge. So if I plug it in with 32% on the battery, it will remain at 32% but will not go any higher.....if i plug it in at 2%, it'll stay at 2%.

I've reset PRAM and SMC....anyone else having weird issues???

Matt

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Mar 4, 2014 2:32 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 4, 2014 2:50 PM in response to splizaat

IIRC, the MacBook Air only uses a 45W charger. Your MBP could use a 60 or 85W charger, so it is possible that the charger on the TB display is not providing enough power to charge your MBP. I had that with a third party adapter I had purchased through Amazon. It was sold as an 85W adapter, but when I used it on my 17" MBP and ran full out, the battery would still drain quickly. After some research, I found that the adapter I bought through Amazon was only 45W and not 85W like they claimed.

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Answer 2

splizaat Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 4, 2014 4:36 PM in response to GeekBoy.from.Illinois

I agree that COULD be a possibility...however, it has charged my macbook pro for the last year without a problem. When I updated to 10.9.2 is when the issue began.

I've also tested my thunderbold display power cable on my mid-2009 13" macbook pro running 10.9.1 and it appears to be working properly. I assume the 13" macbook pro runs off the same power draw as my 15" retina?

I will update the mid-2009 macbook pro to 10.9.2 and see if that has the same issue.

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Answer 3

splizaat Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 4, 2014 4:46 PM in response to GeekBoy.from.Illinois

also, I'm not sure if it's normal and I've just never noticed but it says "Power Source: Power Adapter" under "Battery it not charging"

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Answer 4

splizaat Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 4, 2014 9:43 PM in response to splizaat

Well taking it into the apple store was a laughable experience. Reset SMC, twice. Used different magsafe 2 converters....Tested all hardware using some ethernet diagnostics tool.

-Everything hardware wise ran through diagnostics with green check marks.

-Macbook pro charges perfectly on stock chargers but will not work on anything with magsafe 2 converters.

-Was told my magsafe connector on the mainboard is going out and it's $600 to fix....

Coincidence that this all happened the day I updated to 10.9.2? I think not. How can you tell me that my motherboard is going out when the results are the same everytime - it charges fine without converter....shows plugged in but "battery not charging" WITH any charger using magsafe 2 converter.

Is there some sort of voltage regulator in those converters maybe? Something that software would be telling it not to charge?

something fishy. It'd be awesome if apple would support something for once. I've got $10k in Apple equipment in my house and can't get anyone to help me.

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Answer 5

Mar 6, 2014 11:52 AM in response to splizaat

I just noticed I am having the same problem. Charging via Thunderbolt display worked great until I upgraded to 10.9.2 yesterday (from 10.9.1). Using late 2013 15-inch Retina MBP. Power source reported as Power Adapter w/ the plug but also says "battery not charging" and...it isn't charging.

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Answer 6

splizaat Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 6, 2014 12:17 PM in response to dericknaef

Awesome! I knew I wasn't the only one. Turns out after more testing, any power charger with a magsafe 2 converter will not charge my MBP (not just the tbd cord). Only the chargers that came from the factory with magsafe 2 (without converter) will.

When plugged into ANY magsafe 2 converter on a magsafe charger, it recognizes that it's plugged in - but remains "Battery Is Not Charging" The battery doesn't drain OR charge, it just stays at the same percentage as it was when I plugged it in.

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Answer 7

Mar 9, 2014 9:43 PM in response to splizaat

My brand new macbook pro retina is having magsafe charging issues since the update as well. Not even the stock charger works. I have a presentation tomorrow morning to give with my laptop and I only have 8% left and going fast....

This *****...

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Answer 8

Maitas80

Level 1

0 points

Apr 3, 2014 6:37 AM in response to splizaat

Same here, I have a 2012 15" retina MBPro that now only accepts the native magsafe 2 charger that came with the machine. Bummer, since i have two old Magsafe 1 chargers with adapters that are now useless. All chargers are 85W. Problems started after update to 10.9.2. Coincidence? I don't think so...

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Answer 9

Apr 24, 2014 1:24 PM in response to splizaat

I'm having the same issues here with my mid 2012 MBP (running 10.9.2).

Took it in to get 'fixed', tested fine with all the diagnostics they ran. They took it in and replaced the charging port because they thought maybe it wasn't charging properly because of a faulty prong. Got my computer back after 1 week and it's been working generally OK until it shut off again this morning.

Apparently battery was completely drained even though it was plugged into my TB (with magsafe 1-2 converter) all morning.

Battery meter didn't even indicate that it was low. So frustrating! Do these converters just not work anymore? Or is it because of the software version?

Now I'm going to have to take it back to the store... :[

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Answer 10

Apr 24, 2014 1:27 PM in response to michelleskimo

I wouldn't waste your time taking it back to the store. It is definitely a problem in 10.9.2 OS.

My Mac charged fine until I went from 10.9.1 to 10.9.2. Nothing else changed. It charges fine on other adapters.

Hopefully it will be fixed in 10.9.3.

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Answer 11

splizaat Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 24, 2014 2:04 PM in response to dericknaef

unless something changes before final release, i can tell you 10.9.3 has not fixed it.

Perhaps Apple is forcing upgrades.....again......

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Answer 12

dotBAH

Level 1

8 points

May 12, 2014 7:40 PM in response to splizaat

I have the same problem. Last week I started noticing that the ThunderBolt Display power cord green light was not routinely turning on every time I attach the MacBook Pro Retina (late Summer 2013 vintage). And one morning I arrived at work and could not get MBP to power-on at all even though it was plugged in to TBD all night.

Seems to work fine at the office with regular power cord that came in the MacPro box...Tonight, the ThunderBolt Display power cord was extremely hot (when apparenly not even charging, but I did not notice until down to 4%) and it took a bunch of jiggling to get the TBD power magsafe connector green light to come on and finally switch into "Power Adapter" mode.

After searching these Discussions I switched to power my MBP via wife's wall charger, not the TB Display (due to high temp).

Wondering how to proceed...I need to be able to reliably charge my laptop without having to baby sit it!

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Answer 13

kscheidt

Level 1

9 points

Jun 4, 2014 5:47 PM in response to splizaat

Having the same issue with new MacBook Air with magsafe 2 plug. When plugged into TBD with magsafe 2 adapter, charging status = "Battery is not charging" and there are no lights on for the power cord. If I take older MBA charger with magsafe original and use magsafe 2 adaptor (no TBD), again no charging and no indicator light.

My upgrade to OS 10.9.3 did not solve the problem (as predicted above). Does anyone have a solution for these power issues? Could it really be the magsafe2 adaptor?

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Answer 14

splizaat Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 4, 2014 7:04 PM in response to kscheidt

same here. 10.9.3 final still didn't fix my issue. it's without a doubt, a software issue that apple is BRUSHING OFF!!! MY $2000 laptop won't charge off my $1000 monitor. This is absolutely absurd!!!

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Answer 15

Jun 22, 2014 12:17 PM in response to splizaat

I too am observing the same behavior with MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013) running 10.9.3 connected to Thunderbolt Display.

I suspect something on the display side. My Thunderbolt display at work charges the MBP as expect. However at home, using a different Thunderbolt Display I am seeing the same "battery is not charging"problem. It is also noteworthy that the light on TBD power plug glows a very faint green when this is happening. In the past (when this same monitor was properly charging), the green light was fully lit.

I am guessing that there is some faulty signaling between these two devices - hoping 10.9.4 can resolve.

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