1 Battery icon displayed when connected to charger only, then shuts down
Got a used 15” Macbook Pro 2015 DG. Plugged it into a third-party charger, fans spin up and screen displays a battery icon with a little bit of red and a lightning symbol below it. No light on the magsafe connector. Shuts off after a few seconds. Same behavior when I power it on with just battery with the addition of a plug icon. I disconnected the battery and tried powering on with just the charger, but no change. Also tried resetting SMC.
Eventually I replaced the magsafe board and also moved all components (except battery and touchpad) to a new upper case. Magsafe connector now lights up, initially green and then stays on orange, but still shows battery icon and won’t boot. I have a genuine charger on the way for further testing. I’ve not found any information describing the exact same symptoms I’m seeing.
Is this a good question?
Be weary of third party chargers as they can damage Apple devices. Danj would be a better resource for answering this but from what I'm guessing is that the battery is in a deep discharge state and needs a little bit of time to charge up (if it even holds a charge). The third party charger may not be providing adequate amperage (power) so maybe give it an hour or so before trying to boot up.
by DunCanP
@dunc Thanks for the feedback! Would the laptop boot up and work normally if it was running off of a genuine 85w charger without the battery connected? And would the magsafe connector have a constant green or orange light?
by Simon S
@dunc - Review these!
● Don't Replace Your MacBook Charger With a Cheap Knockoff
● OEM MagSafe Chargers vs Cheap Imposters: Teardown for Truth
● Lacking safety features, cheap MacBook chargers create big sparks
● FAKE Magsafe MacBook Chargers on eBay - Watch before buying a Mac Charger
ONLY USE A REAL APPLE UNIT! And only directly from Apple Apple 85W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter (for MacBook Pro with Retina display)
by Dan
@danj , not sure why I should review 3rd party adapters since I don't use them, condone the use of them or buy them... LOL. I use only genuine apple adapters after watch Jessa Jones showing how iPhones die with non-apple charging cables or chargers.
In fact, my first statement made it clear. I think you meant to post that to the OP @amujee
by DunCanP
@amujee Your MBP should work with a geniune apple charger with no battery connected. Since there is no battery to charge, it would stay "green" but may momentarily change to "amber/orange" at initial connection.
by DunCanP
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