Macbook pro 2012 battery not recognized, x over icon

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Level 1

8 points

Macbook pro 2012 battery not recognized, x over icon

Hey there. My computer (Macbook pro mid-2012, 2.5g i5, 16g RAM, 1TB SSD, running OS X El Capitan 10.11.6) is not recognizing my battery after a hard drive upgrade. When plugged into power I can boot my computer and Instead of showing percentages I have a black "x" over the battery icon. If I am not connected to power I cannot turn it on. Below is the System Information report.

I just upgraded my hard drive to an SSD because my original SATA HD died (flashing folder). I also changed the HD cable because that is anothering thing my research pointed towards from the flashing folder issue.

I have reseated the battery (note that both the tabs where the screws anchor are broken but the battery still seats well and this was the case prior to my SATA HD failing and had no battery problems). I have also reset the SMC to no avail. Please help!

Battery Information:

Charge Information:

Charge Remaining (mAh): 0

Fully Charged: No

Charging: No

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 0

Health Information:

Cycle Count: 0

Battery Installed: No

Amperage (mA): 0

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Feb 27, 2018 6:18 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

y_p_w

Level 6

17,642 points

Feb 28, 2018 4:03 AM in response to teiali

Could be a complete, catastrophic battery failure. How did those tabs break? That might be a consideration into whether or not Apple considers it "tampering" of a part that's not considered user-serviceable. More than likely this is just a coincidence that it happened around the time of the drive upgrade.

There are a couple of things that might affect if Apple or an AASP will replace the battery with an OEM one. One is broken tabs that might suggest "tampering". The other is that you've replaced the SATA cable. I know these are pretty simple things, but other than the drive and the memory, nothing is considered user-serviceable and handling those yourself may violate Apple's policies where they might refuse any out of warranty service, including battery replacement.

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Answer 2

teiali Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 28, 2018 4:12 AM in response to y_p_w

Hey y_p_w, thanks for the quick reply! I am not worried about Apple servicing the computer per se, but that is good to know. Are you suggesting I buy another battery and try it out? I do also have my wife's 2011 Macbook pro (which takes the same SSD so assuming its the same battery)...would it be worth just plopping that in and see if it works?

Any chance it could fry that battery too? What I mean is...are there any other problems with a computer that could cause it to fry a battery on start-up? I had not a single battery issue prior to this hard drive swap. It was still running strong just a few weeks ago (I could surf the internet and email for about 3.5 hours without any problems).

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Answer 3

y_p_w

Level 6

17,642 points

Feb 28, 2018 9:02 AM in response to teiali

Nothing should damage a battery. Do you have an external enclosure?

If you're comfortable then dropping in the other battery is worth a try. I really doubt that the SSD killed the battery. It sounds like a crazy coincidence more than anything else. Maybe ESD killed the battery's smart battery board? It just sounds really odd.

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Answer 4

teiali Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 1, 2018 6:28 AM in response to y_p_w

No external enclosure on the computer. I too am wondering if it was an ESD that killed both the battery and the hard drive. The really weird thing is that it doesnt recognize that my battery is plugged in as you can see in the report I copied in the first post. I guess my only option is to try a new battery.

I will do that soon and report back. Again, thanks for your help!

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Answer 5

teiali Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 3, 2018 10:33 PM in response to teiali

So I finally had the chance to switch batteries and I have the same problem. My wife's battery which I know has no problems will not charge in my computer nor will the computer start up from battery power. When I put my battery in her computer it has no problem. I can start her computer on battery and the battery charges. So I believe the problem has to do with the computer recognizing the battery. Here is the report on the battery from the System information once again. As you can see it says "Battery installed: no" which tells me it is not reading the battery at all (both with my battery and my wife's it says this). Have any more ideas or helpful suggestions?

Battery Information:

Charge Information:

Charge Remaining (mAh): 0

Fully Charged: No

Charging: No

Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 0

Health Information:

Cycle Count: 0

Battery Installed: No

Amperage (mA): 0

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Macbook pro 2012 battery not recognized, x over icon

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