MacBook shuts down randomly with still battery charge left

MacBook shuts down randomly with still battery charge left

Lately my macbook randomly shuts down when working on it. I can work on it for about 2 hours, shut it down, but when I want to start it again later the same day, it will start and immediately after login turn back off. When I try restarting at that point the dead battery sign comes on. I know the battery is not dead, because when I plug the laptop back in, the battery is still at 40% or higher.

Asked by: Guest | Views: 147

Total answers/comments: 6

Comments display order:

bert [Entry]

"First you should get an app that can help you see the battery condition. Here's a free one: CoconutBattery.

As to why your system is shutting down while it has still lots of power is often a messed up SMC. What happens it the SMC holds a high and low watermark (the batteries charge) so it can go into power save mode so you don't loose what you are working on. I would reset it following this Apple T/N: Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac. Then after your system is fully charged let it fully discharge at least two times this will reset the low water mark to be at the correct level."

bert [Entry]

"Hi Guys.

I had the same problem with my battery, showing 40% and shutting down. I did everything as suggested so, in the end I contacted Apple support as my MacBook Pro still had Apple cover. They did everything over the phone but could not solve the problem. So, they arrange an appointment at one of their stores. One of the Tech guys there did a system check and came back five minutes later and said it’s the battery even though all the checks showed the battery was ok. He showed me a graph on his test system, if your battery is ok it shows a white dot in a green box and it should move from top left to bottom right. But the white dot in my test , was showing it was moving vertically down in the green box. He said it shows the battery will fail, and that’s why you are getting the problems. If the dot is in the green box the system will always say the battery is ok but it’s not. They changed the battery and have had no problems since.

Michael"

bert [Entry]

"Dan, does it matter at what battery charge level you should do the SMC reset? That is, should it be done when the battery is low or when it's fully charged?

And the other question - should the magsafe be plugged into the computer while doing the SMC reset? The Apple support instructions do not specifically point out this detail."

bert [Entry]

How do you check the low-water mark? Is it one of the measurements in coconutbattery?

bert [Entry]

"Hi

I am seeing this strange behaviour where my MacBook 2015 shuts off with 75% battery remaining. I have tried resetting the SMC three times but to no avail. I must admit I haven’t been able to drain down the battery as it shuts off after 75% and I can’t check the status without connecting to ac source again. The coconut battery status shows a discrepancy of nearly 5% between the OS status and the reading on the coconut app. Also it shows a design capacity of 44% does it mean the battery is in poor health?"

bert [Entry]

"Hi,

Even I have the same issue with my Mac, experiencing sudden shut down. Then the apple service center asked for the battery replacement.

I bought a battery from Amazon and replaced it, but still with in 20 min it asked me to replace the battery again. Then I completely removed the OS and installed fresh, then the issue got rectified and never had an issue there after.

I didn’t put the old battery again because it is a very time taking and hectic process. If any one facing the similar issue please try to install the OS, if the issue is not resolved then only go for replacing the battery."