MacBook Pro will not come out of sleep IF plugged in

Hello, my MacBook Pro 13" mid-2010 does not wake up from sleep when plugged into a power source.

If it runs on battery it wakes up just fine.


I've tried to reset PRAM and SMC (although I'm not sure the latter was successful, I read somewhere that the light on the MagSafe should change color, mine does nothing).


Also, I have run the AHT test, both, the fast one and the extended. Same result, no trouble found.

I've done a clean install of OS X El Capitan with a brand new SSD hard drive.

Doing so didn't fix my issue, but it slightly changed it...*


Before (with Lion) the MacBook wouldn't wake up after closing the lid if plugged in, but it would wake up after going to sleep with the lid open.*

Basically, I could never close the lid while charging the laptop.*

If that happened I had to shut down the computer holding down the power*button and start it again...


Now it does not wake up at all if plugged in, regardless of the lid!*


I've found people online having the opposite problem, as in their MacBooks don't wake up when using the battery, but work fine while plugged in.

Changing the battery fixed their problem.

So I'm wondering, could the MagSafe cause my issue?

Any suggestions?


Sorry if it somewhat confusing, but English is not my first language, so hopefully it is clear enough...

Thanks in advance for your help!

Joe Pafumi said:

I've tried to reset PRAM and SMC (although I'm not sure the latter was successful, I read somewhere that the light on the MagSafe should change color, mine does nothing).


Click to expand...

If you're not 100% sure if the SMC Reset was done properly…here's the official procedure:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

- Nick

Hi Nick and thanks for helping me!

I followed that exact procedure, but I'm not sure it actually reset the SMC. (Nothing Happened or changed)

Do you know how I can verify if the SMC reset is successful?

Joe Pafumi said:

I followed that exact procedure, but I'm not sure it actually reset the SMC. (Nothing Happened or changed)

Do you know how I can verify if the SMC reset is successful?

Click to expand...

I don't think that there is any special indication that the SMC was reset. If the procedure was followed…then the SMC was reset.

- Nick

Well, my problem remains though

Do you have any ideas on what may cause it?

Does the MacBook Pro's battery charge ok with the charger?

- Nick

Yes it does, but I used to get the "service battery" alert with Lion.

The battery is at about 40% design capacity and has 942 load cycles, I don't know if that is related to my issue.

Joe Pafumi said:

Yes it does, but I used to get the "service battery" alert with Lion.

The battery is at about 40% design capacity and has 942 load cycles, I don't know if that is related to my issue.

Click to expand...

The battery in your MacBook Pro (according to Apple)…is designed for 1000 cycles. But this means at 1000 cycles…it should still get 80% of the battery runtime on a single charge that it got when new. Which would be in the neighborhood of 8 hours (original runtime 10 hours).

- Nick

So Nick, do you think the battery may be the problem?

Even though the MacBook wakes fine on battery and does not while charging?

Joe Pafumi said:

So Nick, do you think the battery may be the problem?

Even though the MacBook wakes fine on battery and does not while charging?

Click to expand...

You've done a lot of great testing/troubleshooting so far. Did SMC and PRAM Resets…and reinstalled the OS.

* Just so we know. When you try to wake your MacBook Pro from sleep…what do you actually do (how do you do it)?
* Also…do you have any 3rd party apps installed on this computer that could be affecting things. A good place to look is:

- Apple Menu
- System Preferences
- Users & Groups
- Login Items tab

* Finally…what I usually try to find out first is…do we have a software or a hardware problem. One great way that I've always found to do this is…boot the computer from an external hard drive that has had a fresh install of the OS installed on it (nothing else). Just the Mac OS installed on it. Then boot the computer from this external HD.

- If the problem disappears…then we have a software/OS issue on the internal HD.
- If the problem remains…then we have a hardware issue.

If the problem is a hardware issue…then all the troubleshooting we're doing will not turn up any solutions…since something hardware related is at fault.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

* Just so we know. When you try to wake your MacBook Pro from sleep…what do you actually do (how do you do it)?

Click to expand...

I tried everything I could:
- Clicking on the trackpad
- Pressing keys on the keyboard
- And pressing the "power button"

pigoo3 said:

* Also…do you have any 3rd party apps installed on this computer that could be affecting things.

Click to expand...

Nope, as the problem remained even after a fresh install of El Capitan, with only that on a brand new SSD Drive. (I did not restore my backup in order to try to isolate the problem)

pigoo3 said:

* Finally…what I usually try to find out first is…do we have a software or a hardware problem. One great way that I've always found to do this is…boot the computer from an external hard drive that has had a fresh install of the OS installed on it (nothing else). Just the Mac OS installed on it. Then boot the computer from this external HD.

Click to expand...

Same as above.

Most definitely a hardware problem.
By the way, I have a relatively new Ram(I experienced the issue with the old one as well), and new SSD.

I am guessing there is something wrong with the Logic Board or the battery or maybe even the MagSafe.
Although I'm not an expert by any means so I'm not sure if either the battery or charger can cause something similar.

Joe Pafumi said:

I am guessing there is something wrong with the Logic Board or the battery or maybe even the MagSafe.

Click to expand...

If you're convinced it's a hardware issue…here are the things it could potentially be:

- battery
- logic board
- magsafe charger
- DC-In board

If I had to guess…I would say that the logic board and Magsafe charger are low probabilities…and the battery and the DC-In are the higher probabilities. Of these two the DC-In board would be my first choice…and is actually the less expensive repair (but it is a fairly involved replacement procedure).

Here's the procedure for replacing the DC-In board:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2010+DC-In+Board+Replacement/4301

Here's a possible place to purchase the replacement DC-In board from:

http://www.powerbookmedic.com/Magsafe-DC-IN-Board-for-MacBook-Pro-15-Unibody-p-17273.html

HTH,

- Nick

I hope it is not the logic board, as I think it is not worth changing it.

I'm going to replace the battery (already have a new one), hoping to solve the issue.
Is there any way to find out which part doesn't work? Apart from changing every component listed until the problem is solved...

I'll let you know how it goes with the new battery! Thanks

Joe Pafumi said:

I hope it is not the logic board…

Click to expand...

Don't be so pessimistic! That's why I listed things above in the order that I would investigate things if it were my computer. The DC-In board is the least costly replacement part. But the battery is MUCH easier to replace (and test first).

Joe Pafumi said:

...as I think it is not worth changing it.

Click to expand...

You would be correct (unless you could find a really inexpensive replacement board). But again…I would not suspect the logic board at this point.

Joe Pafumi said:

I'm going to replace the battery (already have a new one), hoping to solve the issue.

Click to expand...

Good deal. If you already have it…might as well try it. Hopefully you have the correct screwdriver to remove the battery. It's a special uncommon screwdriver for the special & uncommon screws.

Joe Pafumi said:

Is there any way to find out which part doesn't work? Apart from changing every component listed until the problem is solved…

Click to expand...

Not really. For us DIY at home computer repairers…got to swap potentially bad parts with known good parts. If the swap goes well & the problem is solved…then the bad part is found. If not…got to try something else (plan B, plan C, plan D, etc.).

Joe Pafumi said:

I'll let you know how it goes with the new battery! Thanks

Click to expand...

Awesome. Can't wait!

- Nick

Hey Nick,

pigoo3 said:

Good deal. If you already have it…might as well try it. Hopefully you have the correct screwdriver to remove the battery. It's a special uncommon screwdriver for the special & uncommon screws.

Click to expand...

I do actually, am not expert but I do my homework! Thanks for mentioning it though!

pigoo3 said:

Awesome. Can't wait!

Click to expand...

Battery replaced, bad luck unfortunately.

Joe Pafumi said:

Battery replaced, bad luck unfortunately.

Click to expand...

Too bad. If it were me…the next thing I would try would be replacing the DC-In board.

- Nick

Hi Nick,

I have noticed something else.
Often the fan in my Mac goes on(very loud), in my opinion without an excessive CPU/RAM Usage, just Chrome with about 10 tabs.

Also, it is pretty random, at times it does, sometimes with the exact same tabs it does not.

Also, the battery (which is brand new, 5 cycles) gets pretty hot, in the neighborhood of 35 degrees,(it was the same with the old one) and I have the impression that it drains too quickly…

What can cause that?

Is there anything I can verify?