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I have a retina MBP that according to my mum was working last time she put it under charge (with 15% left). However, as of now, I get no reaction at all after pressing the boot key. The screen stays off and I hear no noise. The computer has been under charge for several hours, but the charge indicator is not turning to green.

The laptop is under (European) warranty for the next few months. However, I'm reluctant in trying that route because I think it would be denied (at a charge) and I don't have file vault enabled.

Is there something I can try myself? I'm the kind of guy with a oscilloscope on his workbench.

Edit: The MBP started to work again out of the blue today without any action from my side. See my comment here.

cedivad
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  • By "boot key" I am assuming you mean power button. Hold that for 10+ seconds and see if there is any change. Now, if you are under warranty for the next few months, why would you think you wee going to get charged for a repair? – Allan Jul 08 '15 at 16:43
  • Just for grins and giggles - are you certain that the outlet you have the Apple power adapter is live? – Allan Jul 08 '15 at 16:50
  • Yes, I should have specified it better in the question. I've tried holding the power button, and several boot combinations with no success. Apple in Europe is officially honouring only the first year warranty, while applying for a free repair during the second year (the European warranty) is a process known as ECLC, that is often unsuccessful (and in that case you get charged for it).

    Yes, my power adapter is powering my other MBP just fine :)

     – cedivad Jul 08 '15 at 16:52
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    :-) Had to ask...you know how it is. I supplied an answer to what I think the most likely culprit is. I hope you can get it fixed. – Allan Jul 08 '15 at 17:13
  • The magsafe connector has a problem sometimes, so try to plug unplug few times to see ift he charging light comes on. – Ruskes Jul 08 '15 at 17:14
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    Since you have the tools, measure the voltage on the magsafe and clean the pins. The two outer are ground, then the 2 and 4 power, while the middle one is data pin. You are looking for 16 Volt. – Ruskes Jul 08 '15 at 17:18
  • I've left it in an angle for almost a month now, and it started to work again, out of the blue, today. My only guess at this point is that it somehow bricked and didn't properly reboot until when the battery died. I'm not sure of the chances of this actually happening. Let's hope the battery not to be completely ruined after this. – cedivad Jul 23 '15 at 18:03
  • "Bricking" and power issues are two different things. To "brick" something means something that would have been loaded and executed is corrupt an no longer working. When you plug in your adapter, at the very minimum you should charge your battery. There is no firmware involved in this process. If it isn't working, it's a physical issue and judging by your description, it sounds like a bad connection. – Allan Jul 28 '15 at 13:20
  • If as you are suggesting it was only a bad connection, can you explain why the power supply connector led was turning to orange instead of staying off like when not connected? Also why when forcing the power up I wasn't seeing any low battery warning on screen as it usually happens? – cedivad Jul 28 '15 at 22:53
  • I can't address what I can't see. Please clarify some points: "left it in an angle" and "forcing the power up." I have no idea what those terms mean. The light on your charger simply means that there is a connection between the mag safe and your the MagSafe DC board. The green light means there is sufficient voltage from the battery to indicate full charge. – Allan Jul 30 '15 at 11:26

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It could be something as simple as the MagSafe DC board or it could be the whole logic board. See below:

Magsafe 2 DC-In Board

Normally, I wouldn't recommend that a user change out this part as Apple goes out of their way to make a complex assembly, but since you have an oscilloscope on your workbench....

The part is relatively inexpensive as compared to a logic board and I have fixed MacBooks where this component has failed. Ifixit has excellent tear down instructions on how to get at this component.

You didn't specify which specific model, so I grabbed the 2013 model for reference. The link is: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Retina+Display+Early+2013+MagSafe+DC-In+Board+Replacement/17055.

If it isn't the right model, you can find the correct one on their site. I hope this helps...

Allan
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