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My 3 months old Retina MacBook Pro 15 2017 is telling me to replace the battery

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The system report metrics seem normal

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I've tried all four USB-C ports, done an SMC and NVRAM reset, still not charging.

With only 46 cycles and 6400 out of 6830 mAh, so 93.7% of the original capacity, I really doubt the battery is dead. It was lasting about 7 hours of normal usage before this occurred.

The power button does not work to power on the mbp, I have to close and open the lid, but the power button does work to shutdown the mac... It's also not playing the charging sound when I'm plugging the adapter. I'm successfully able to NVRAM reset, since after releasing the keys, the mbp boots, but SMC reset seems to do nothing, and I'm not sure it's resetting anything, and since there is no more LED on the USB-C charger, I can't know for sure...

What can I do?

I know it's still under warranty, but I'm far from any Apple store or Apple certified shops, maybe there is a procedure to SMC reset my Mac other than pressing ^ Control⇧ Shift⌥ Option ⦿ Power?

Would opening the mac and unplugging (not removing) the battery for a while reset the SMC? Would it void the warranty?

Could I use rEFIt to flash the SMC firmware? I'm not able to find the right firmware to flash for a MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2017) -MacBookPro14,3 on the official page...

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  • have you tried charging with another port? I'd just take it in for service. Book an appointment on the Apple Support website.
    – bret7600
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 20:42
  • @bret7600, yes, I've tried all 4 usb-c ports :/
    – anni
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 20:44
  • also, that is an abnormal decrease for the amount of charges on the battery. Mine has 201 charges and hovers at 96% of original capacity.
    – bret7600
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 20:45
  • @bret7600, good to know, can you tell me what do you see under System Report > Power > Battery Information > Model Information > Manufacturer please?
    – anni
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 20:46
  • 1
    Manufacturer: SMP
    – bret7600
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 20:48

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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Your MacBook Pro needs to go in for service.

There are two telling signs that there is a (serious) hardware issue.

  • The power button can't turn it on, but it will turn it off
  • You have 0A being measured at the battery

There could be an issue with the SMC chip itself (it's nothing more than a power controller chip) or the circuitry supporting the SMC (charging power is 12-16V while the SMC communicates and "controls" with 3V). Without putting hands on the actual unit, it would be impossible to tell.

In other words, the SMC could be failing to charge the battery or the circuitry that charges the battery could have failed.

As far as the battery goes, it's entirely possible it's fine, it's just that it's not being measured properly (0A) given the symptoms. However, it's not unheard of that a brand new battery with hardly any charge cycles goes bad and no longer holds a charge - it happens.

Again, without putting hands on, it would be next to impossible to tell and given the age (3 months), the best thing to do is send it in (mail in if possible).

It's a hardware issue and there's no getting around this. Firmware and a 3rd party boot loader will not address an issue concerning a chip that is technically supposed to be functional when the power is "off".

However, if you are so inclined to, open the back and disconnect the battery for 30 seconds. That should reset the SMC.

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I went to an Apple Store and they changed the top case, covered by the warranty, even though I had opened the back to disconnect the battery.

They were very comprehensive, and even ordered an US layout keyboard specially for me. I now have a brand new keyboard, trackpad, Touch Bar, USB-C ports, headphone jack and battery.

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