Power issues for laptops, especially Macbooks can come from different problems even randomly while it’s powered on. Macbooks especially the way they are designed to be light and thin can just turn off on you one day and not be able to power back on. Here we’ll discuss how to assess the situation and what to do when you have power issues.
Diagnosing the Problem
First, we need to figure out why the MacBook has no power and not turning on. We can get some of the obvious questions out of the way like, was there anything spilled on the laptop or are there any signs of physical damage? MacBook batteries tend to swell up after time or when it has heat issues so there can be signs of the case being bloated which is a good sign the battery is the issue and needs to be serviced or replaced. If something was spilled on the laptop or has been through liquid damage, the issues can be as simple as the power button not working to something sophisticated like corrosion to the logic board. These repairs, no matter how simple or difficult should be serviced by a professional or someone that knows what they’re doing. Attempting this repair yourself after watching videos or tutorials can further damage the laptop without the proper knowledge and you can end up losing all your data. MacBooks these days have their data stored on the logic board itself so a dead logic board means your data cannot be recovered.
If you have the confidence and tools to check if the battery is bad, that might be one of the simpler fixes that anyone can attempt. Another issue that can be checked by anyone is if your charging adapter is bad by just trying to use one that you know works for other laptops. Other than these two checks, any other repair as I’ve mentioned should be seen by someone that has serviced MacBooks before.
The Fix
If you think you have the confidence to fix the Macbook yourself, here are just some things you can try. Recently released MacBooks have screws that need a special tool so you will first need to source one. Once you have the right tool, make sure you ground yourself before starting. This basically means that you need to rid yourself of naturally occurring static electricity from your clothes or after touching your hair. Any current that’s on your body can short out the parts inside the laptop by even just getting close to it or touching the parts inside. You can ground yourself by touching a metal object that touches the floor. After unscrewing all the screws on the bottom cover of the laptop, you can use a thin tool to remove it. If you need to change the battery, you can find the right model of the battery by checking the middle of the back cover. In very small letters there is a model number for your laptop that starts with the letter “A” and followed by four digits. Replacing a battery is fairly simple and videos and tutorials can be found on the internet by searching for the model number.
If you know the charging adapter is bad, you can just go to a local or big box electronics store to find a replacement adapter. Make sure you are buying an original, genuine charging adapter as third-party adapters can damage your laptop.
If it’s any other issue than these two, it’s best to take it to a repair center because I’m assuming you wouldn’t be reading this far if you already know how to service one.
Conclusion
We’ve covered some of the many issues that can keep your MacBook from powering on and as you can see it can come from any number of problems. One other thing that you should check is to see if you still have a valid Apple warranty before doing anything to see if you can get this done for free. Also, attempting repairs yourself may invalidate the warranty. Normally older models of MacBooks, you will need to take it to a repair center for professional servicing.