The issue of a MacBook failing to power on can arise from various factors. These can include a recent operating system update, changing the battery or charger, or physical damage, such as from a fall or exposure to liquids. Severe weather conditions like extremely low temperatures can also be a trigger – for example, if the MacBook is accidentally left in a car in -30 degrees Celsius weather.
Symptoms
Symptoms of this issue can vary. For some users, the MacBook may show no signs of activity or emit the usual startup chime when the power button is pressed. Others may encounter a black screen, or hear only the MacBook’s fan running. There have been cases where the charger’s light turns green upon connecting it to the MacBook, indicating that the battery is charging, but the MacBook still fails to power on. Alternatively, there may be no charging light at all. In some situations, the MacBook’s keyboard may light up, but the system itself does not power up.
1. Press the Power Button and Shake the Device
If your MacBook Air isn’t turning on, a potential cause might be a loose internal connection. In such a case, lightly shaking your MacBook while holding down the power button may help. This can jostle any loose connections into the correct position. Additionally, shaking the MacBook can also activate its Sudden Motion Sensor, which could potentially assist in powering the device. However, please be gentle when shaking your MacBook to avoid causing any additional damage.
2. Force Restart or Try Other Boot Methods
The MacBook Air will not turn on if it is stuck in a deep sleep. Here, force restarting the MacBook will do the trick. Moreover, if due to OS issues, you are not able to boot the MacBook in the normal mode, then booting into the other modes like Safe, Recovery, or Diagnostic Modes will solve the problem. If these steps don’t work, connect another display unit to the MacBook and check if the display is shown.
3. Try Another Charging Method or Port
You will not be able to turn on the MacBook Air if its battery has died and the charger is failing to charge the unit. This can happen if the charger is not working or the charging port or the socket is faulty. Here, trying another charging method or socket/port will do the trick. Additional tips:
4. Heat or Cool the laptop
Extreme temperatures badly affect any electronic device and the MacBook is not an exception. You will face the issue under discussion if your MacBook is either too cold or too hot. Here, normalizing the temperature can help. Firstly, check if your MacBook Air is heated or cold.
5. Perform a Thorough Cleaning
You will fail to power on a MacBook Air if its charging point is not clean. If this is true, this will not let the charger properly connect with the device and thus the charging will fail. Moreover, if dust/debris has accumulated around the power button or vents of the machine, then that will cause similar issues. Here, properly cleaning the device will make sure issues like these are resolved and proper connections are made.
6. Try to Power on after Disconnecting the Battery
Another possibility is that your MacBook’s battery may be faulty. Moreover, if the device’s power button is not functioning, that could also cause the problem at hand. In both these cases, powering on the MacBook after disconnecting the battery will solve the problem as the MacBook will automatically turn on bypassing the power button and battery. First, we will try to reconnect the batteries only. This will rule out any potential connection issues. If this doesn’t work, you can move forward and disconnect the battery from the device.
7. Perform an SMC Reset of the MacBook Air
The System Management Controller (SMC) manages important physical components of your MacBook. These hardware functions include status lights, cooling fans, system performance, and most importantly, the power supply configuration which is responsible to turn on the system. If the configuration on this chip has become invalid, then that will not let it power on the MacBook Air. In this scenario, performing an SMC Reset on your MacBook will resolve the issue.
8. Reset the PRAM or NVRAM of the MacBook Air to the Defaults
Parameter Random Access Memory (PRAM) or Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM) are types of memory in your MacBook that retain crucial system settings. These settings range from the time and date to display properties and speaker volume. If your MacBook isn’t booting up, it could be because these settings in the PRAM or NVRAM are incorrect or have become corrupt. This malfunction can prevent your MacBook from turning on as it should. To remedy this, a reset of the PRAM or NVRAM could do the trick, bringing the system settings back to a correct state.
9. Revive or Restore the MacBook
Your MacBook may fail to power on if its operating system (OS) has been corrupted. This could occur, for instance, if an update didn’t apply correctly to your current OS installation. If this is the case, reviving or restoring the MacBook might be the solution. This process will require another MacBook, and potentially result in data loss (if a restoration is performed), so it’s crucial to ensure your data is backed up elsewhere or retrievable online. Also, be aware that this operation is currently supported only on MacBook Air models from 2018 to 2020. To revive or restore your MacBook, you’ll need the following: If the issue persists, contact Apple Support or visit a Genius Bar to rectify the issue. If under warranty, you may ask for a replacement.
