[Fixed] Why My MacBook Won’t Turn On But is Charging
Many Mac users may be troubled by this problem “Why won’t my Mac turn on?” It’s awful that you press the power button on your Mac, but nothing happens, especially when you need to finish your urgent work on your Mac.
Various potential causes can lead to this issue, including problems with the power connection, software, and even the macOS. This post will analyze those causes and help you figure out the issue you are facing. So that it could become straightforward to fix the error.
Main Causes of Mac Not Turning On
As mentioned above, there are many causes of MacBook not turning on. In this part, you will get more information about them and you can compare them to your practical situations.
1️⃣ Faulty Battery and Power Connection
If you can’t open your Macbook, the first thing you need to check is the battery. Sometimes, you may find that your MacBook battery is dead. Then, try to open the MacBook after charging it for a while. However, your Mac may still turn on. In this situation, it’s advisable to try another charging cable.
2️⃣ Display Issues
This problem is very easy to recognize. If you can hear the noise when you start this device, but nothing shows on the screen, it will be almost certain that there is a display issue on your Mac screen.
3️⃣ Hardware Failures
Some important components of the Mac, such as SMC and RAM, may also be damaged and lead to the issue of the Mac not turning on. In some cases, the RAM can get damaged by water. That is why you should check for the signs of liquid damage.
4️⃣ Problems with macOS
If there is an interruption during updating the macOS, such as a sudden power loss, it will lead to a corrupted macOS installation. As the corruption will cause startup issues, it’s likely your Mac won’t turn on.
How to Fix the Problem of Mac Won’t Turn On
In the previous part, we analyzed some of the main reasons why Mac won’t boot. Then, we will offer you several solutions to solve your problem.
Fix 1. Check the Screen
As mentioned above, you can determine if there is a display issue by listening to the noise from the machine. After confirming this is the cause of your Mac not turning on, you can take the following steps to fix it.
✅ Press the F2 key to check the screen brightness in case the kid randomly presses on your keyboard.
✅ If it still doesn’t work, you need to check that connection cables are securely connected to the display power cable.
✅ Remove any extenders, switches, and other devices between the Mac and monitor.
✅ Use a different monitor or adapter to check for display problems.
Fix 2. Avoid Short Circuit
Make sure your Macbook doesn’t connect to anything when you can’t turn it on. Because the fault may lie with connected accessories, such as a keyboard, mouse, SD cards or USB drives.
Once you start your Macbook, it will detect a short circuit with an attached accessory and protect your device without turning on your Macbook.
Therefore, you need to remove everything except your power cable and try to restart your Macbook again to avoid the security feature.
Fix 3. Reset SMC
SMC is also known as the System Management Controller, and it works to control many aspects of your Mac‘s behaviors. For instance, SMC is related to power management and other system-level functions on your device. In other words, when there are some problems with the above-mentioned aspects, resetting the SMC may be an effective solution.
For different models of MacBook, there may be some differences in the specific operations of resetting the SMC. You can choose a suitable tutorial based on the MacBook you are using.
👉 For those who are using MacBook with non-removable batteries (post-2009 models), you need to:
Step 1. Shut down the MacBook.
Step 2. Hold down the Shift + Control + Option + Power button for 10 seconds.
Step 3. Release all these keys on your MacBook.
Step 4. Wait for a few seconds. Then, you can try to restart your device.
👉 For those who are using MacBooks with removable batteries or desktop Macs, you need to:
Step 1. Shut down your Mac and disconnect the power cable.
Step 2. Remove the battery of the MacBook, or unplug your desktop Mac from the power source.
Step 3. Press the power button and hold it for about 5 seconds.
Step 4. Reinstall the battery or reconnect the power cable. Finally, turn on your Mac.
Fix 4. Reset PRAM/NVRAM
PRAM is also known as NVRAM (for Intel-based Macs) and it’s used to store the settings information related to your macOS, such as the display settings. As mentioned above, the display issues may lead to the problem of the MacBook not turning on, so the PRAM/NVRAM can restore the system configurations to solve the problem that the Mac won’t turn on.
In addition to the display settings, the information about the startup disk and boot options is also stored on PRAM. When there is a conflict in the information, your Mac will not boot. Also, resetting the PRAM/NVRAM is a helpful solution to this situation. So, follow the steps to fix MacBook not turning on.
Step 1. Shut down the MacBook.
Step 2. Turn on the device and immediately press and hold the Option + Command + P + R keys.
Step 3. Keep pressing those keys for 20 seconds. When you hear the startup chime for the second time (old models) or see the Apple logo (new models), release the keys.
Fix 5. Adopt Safe Mode
If you still can’t open your Macbook, it’s time to start it in Safe Mode, which can help you figure out what’s wrong with your MacBook. Even if entering Safe Mode is difficult, it is one of the worthwhile solutions. Check the steps below to help you get into Safe Mode.
Step 1. Press the power button and hold the Shift key to enter Safe Mode.
Step 2. Fortunately, when you can see Continue in Safe Mode, you can release the Shift key.
Step 3. Here you can check for problems by going to System Preferences > Users & Groups.
Step 4. You need to remove some interrupting items from the system.
Fix 6. Run Disk Utility in Recovery Mode
What should you do if your Macbook is booting but the operating system fails to load? You may have a corrupted drive. Fortunately, you can fix this in Recovery Mode. Here we will show you how to run the disk utility in Recovery Mode.
Step 1. To enter Recovery Mode, you need to hold down the Cmd and R keys, and power up your Macbook again. Keep pressing the keys until you see the Apple logo.
Step 2. When you see startup options after holding the Power button, select Options > Continue to enter Recovery.
Step 3. Then you can click the “Disk Utility” option.
Step 4. Click the First Aid tab and try repairing your MacBook’s disk.
Here Disk Utility will find some errors with your disk, either fix them automatically or ask if you would like to repair them. What’s more, you can restore from a Time Machine backup or get help online in Recovery Mode.
Recover Files from MacBook That Won’t Turn On
The solutions mentioned in this post help fix the Mac won’t turn on. However, several approaches ask you to reset the settings of your macOS and this operation may lead to data loss. If you are facing the same situation, don’t worry, an easy-to-use data recovery tool is available.
ONERECOVERY, this powerful file recovery software is perfectly compatible with your MacBook or desktop Mac. It supports various kinds of Apple Silicon processors, including M1, M2, T2, etc., Its strong compatibility enables it to work on multiple commonly-used macOS, ranging from Monterey to Sonoma.
If you are seeking software for Mac data recovery, ONERECOVERY is the one worth trying. Follow these steps to get back the files you need.
Step 1. Download ONERECOVERY on your MacBook and launch it.
Step 2. Choose the folder from which you want to restore the lost data.
Step 3. Choose a suitable scanning mode (Deep Scan or Quick Scan) to scan on the selected folder.
Step 4. Select the files you want to retrieve from the search result. Then, press the “Recover” button to restore them.
This post offers you more detailed steps to restore data from a Mac hard drive: >> How to Recover Data from a Hard Drive on a Mac
Conclusion
In this article, you can take a deep breath if you can’t open your Macbook. Just check the issues one by one and you can resolve most of Macbook’s startup issues.
If you find that you still can’t open your Macbook, you need to seek customer service if you’re under warranty or need a specialist at an Apple Genius Bar to fix it. I hope you don’t lose your vital data on your Macbook.
By the way, you don’t need to worry about if there is a data loss in the repairing process. The versatile data restoring tool, ONERECOVERY, can even recover permanently deleted files on Mac with simple clicks.
Vanessa is a professional editor with a strong foundation in computer information technology. Since graduating, she has dedicated her career to create content in IT fields. In the past three year, she has accumulated sufficient knowledge in data recovery, computer problems troubleshooting and application of multimedia software.
She has been trying her best to bridge the gap between complex technical concepts and accessible, reader-friendly content.