Noticing strange behavior in your Mac related to power performance? Maybe it’s not charging correctly, prompting a warning message, shutting suddenly, or getting hot. Don’t panic, these behaviors are normal in the lives of electronic devices — refurbished and brand new alike. To get to the bottom of your power issue, try these troubleshooting tips that may give your Macbook a new lease on life.
Situation 1: Your MacBook isn’t charging
If there is no led on your charger (depending on the model of your MacBook), the battery status menu indicates that it isn’t charging or the status isn’t charging while it’s plugged in, or your Macbook is not powering at all, here are some things you can try to troubleshoot.
Check the source – Make sure your MacBook is connected to an AC power source that has enough power to charge the battery.
Check your charger – Make sure the charger is compatible with your Mac’s model.
Reset – Press and hold down the power button on your MacBook for at least 10 seconds, then release. Press the power button again.
Cross test – If you have another charger and another MacBook, you can do a cross test to determine which component is at fault. This is simply testing whether your charger works on another MacBook and if another charger works on your MacBook.
Situation 2: Your MacBook’s battery is unreliable
If you suspect that your MacBook charger’s reliability is wavering, your Mac shuts down unexpectedly, or you see a message about battery service that says “Service Recommended” with a warning icon, try the following.
Restart – Restart your Mac to exit out of energy-sucking apps you might not even know are running.
Check your battery health – Run a diagnostic or use coconutBattery to check your battery’s health. You can read more about how to do this in our article: What you should know about refurbished MacBook battery health and longevity
Reset SMC – Reset the system management controller (SMC) which controls how your computer manages power, including regulation of temperature and battery performance. You can learn more about how to reset the SMC of your Mac here
If you're still having trouble with your MacBook charger, reach out to Back Market Customer Care logging in to your account > My orders > "Ask for help"
Tips for optimizing the performance of your MacBook charger
You can level up the performance of your MacBook charger by monitoring how your device is running. Here are some tips for how you can do this.
Check your activity monitor – Monitor your overall energy use and even the granular stuff with the Activity Monitor on your Mac. Just go to the Activity Monitor app on your Mac and select the “Energy” tab at the top. This is where you can terminate the apps that are using the most energy
See also the "CPU” tab (central processing unit) to see how much of the CPU (i.e. the computer’s brain) is being utilized.
Update your apps and software – Make sure to update all your apps or each software program individually. If they run on an old version, it can slow down the performance of your device.
Update your macOS – Making sure your MacBook is always updated to the latest macOS can prevent you from running into issues.
Optimize your settings – Checking your Mac’s energy, brightness, Wi-Fi, applications, and peripherals can do wonders for your charger.
- Energy: The Energy Saver preference pane includes several settings that determine power levels for your MacBook. Your MacBook knows when it’s plugged in and runs accordingly. When using battery power, it dims the screen and uses other components sparingly. If you change this setting to maximize performance, your battery will drain more quickly.
- Brightness: Dim the screen to the lowest comfortable level to achieve maximum battery life.
- Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi consumes power, even if you are not using it to connect to a network. You can turn it off in the Wi-Fi status menu in the menu bar or in Network preferences.
- Applications and external devices: Quit applications not in use and disconnect external devices (e.g. mouse, keyboard, printer). Eject your SD card if you’re not currently accessing it.
Don’t let other devices drain your MacBook – When you’re using your MacBook to charge other devices with a USB, make sure it’s plugged in and powered on or those devices may drain your MacBook’s battery faster than normal. Conversely, if another device is connected to your MacBook when it’s turned off or in sleep or standby mode, the device’s battery may drain.