You plug the charger in and nothing happens. Or it only charges if you hold the cable just so. Or macOS says it is connected to power but the percentage is not going up. Those are three different problems with three different causes, and you can tell them apart reasonably well at home.
Start with the cable and the adapter, not the MacBook
In a good share of cases there is nothing wrong with the computer. Cables fail at the strain relief, exactly where they are bent every day, and adapters deliver less current than they were built for after a few years. So first put a cable and adapter you know to be good beside your own. If you do not have one, bring your own charger along when you come in and we will rule it out in five minutes.
Check the wattage too. If you charge a larger MacBook Pro with a small phone adapter, it can draw more under load than the adapter supplies, and the percentage falls while it is plugged in. That is not a fault.
The four tests
- Try every port. This is the most important test and people skip it. If the charger fails in one port and works in another, you know enough: the MacBook and the battery are fine and it is that one port.
- Look into the port. Lint from a bag gets pressed in further by the connector until there is a hard plug of it at the bottom, and then the cable no longer seats deeply enough. Shine a light in. If there is debris, remove it carefully with a wooden or plastic pick — never anything metal, and do not blow compressed air into it.
- Watch the light (MagSafe). Amber means it is charging, green means it is full. No light means no power is arriving; a light that comes on with no percentage increase means power is arriving and something further along is failing.
- See what macOS says. The battery settings show the battery's condition. If it recommends service, that is a serious indication — but not proof, because a failed charging port can produce the same picture.
Watch for these two things
A swollen battery. This is the most important thing to look out for, because you have to act on it rather than because it is inconvenient. If your MacBook no longer sits flat on the table, rocks, the trackpad has stopped clicking, or the bottom plate is bulging, the battery is swelling and pushing from the inside against the trackpad and the case. Stop charging, stop using it and bring it in. Carrying on makes the swelling worse and at some point the battery damages the trackpad or the screen too, which adds a second part to the job.
Liquid. If something has been spilled on the MacBook, switch it off and leave it off. Charging on with moisture on the board is exactly how a small problem becomes a board repair.
What it usually turns out to be
- The cable or the adapter. The cheapest outcome and surprisingly often the right one.
- Debris in the port. Then cleaning is the whole repair, and you do not pay for a part you did not need.
- The port itself. On some models that is a separate part; on others it is soldered to the board and becomes soldering work. That changes both the price and the turnaround, and you hear which of the two it is up front.
- The battery. Worn or swollen: see above. There is a lifetime warranty on the battery we fit.
- The charging chip on the board. Usually after liquid or a surge from a poor adapter. Even then a new board is not automatic: we find the component causing the fault and replace that.
When to have it looked at
If the four tests get you no further, or you would rather not gamble on a part, we run a free diagnosis at Blue Apple in Amsterdam Zuid. We test with a cable and adapter we know are good, look into the port under magnification and measure the battery out. After that you know what it is and what it costs, and we only start once you agree. If you say no, you are under no obligation.
In short
Another cable, another adapter, every port, a light in the port. If it no longer sits flat or the trackpad has stopped clicking, stop charging and come in. Prices per model are on the MacBook page, and the options per repair on charging port and battery replacement.
