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MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) Won’t turn on.

M

Macbook90

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 11, 2021
16
1
Hi everyone. I am trying to troubleshoot my MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015). I’ve had this laptop since 2016 and it just won’t turn on.

I’ve tried all of the keyboard reset prompts (NVRAM and SMC).

I’ve unscrewed the back panel, unplugged and replugged the battery connector, pulled out and reinserted the SSD and still no luck. When I plug in the mag safe charger, the light stays orange.

There is no start up sound or lights and I cannot hear the fan whirring.

Do I need a new battery? Do I need a new logic board?

I took some pictures of the heat sink as well. If I cleaned the heat sink and reapplied the thermal paste, would it help?

Is it worth replacing the battery and the logic board? I don’t really have the money to buy a new laptop at the moment.

Any advice is very much appreciated.
 

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Leave battery disconnected for maybe 10 mins. Then reconnect the battery. Put back on (you don't need any of the screws in.......)

Attach the Magsafe and should boot in a few seconds.
 
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I had this issue on one of my Macs. I disconnected my battery for about an hour then reconnected it, connected my power adapter via MagSafe then rebooted the computer. Haven't had an issue since.
 
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logana said:
Leave battery disconnected for maybe 10 mins. Then reconnect the battery. Put back on (you don't need any of the screws in.......)

Attach the Magsafe and should boot in a few seconds.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your advice! I’ll try this!
 
Macdctr said:
I had this issue on one of my Macs. I disconnected my battery for about an hour then reconnected it, connected my power adapter via MagSafe then rebooted the computer. Haven't had an issue since.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your advice. I’ll give this a go and see if it works
 
Audit13 said:
Leave battery disconnected for a few hours, connect the charger, and see if it boots.
Click to expand...
Hi again,
I have tried this today and it hasn’t worked. The MagSafe charger is not indicating that the battery is no fully charged but my MacBook still won’t turn on. I held the power button down for 30 seconds and nothing happened.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Macbook90 said:
Hi again,
I have tried this today and it hasn’t worked. The MagSafe charger is not indicating that the battery is no fully charged but my MacBook still won’t turn on. I held the power button down for 30 seconds and nothing happened.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Normally, with the battery disconnected, connecting the charger should cause the MacBook to boot up on its own.

When you connect the charger, do you see the fan spin?

Did you remove the heatsink for a particular reason?

Any loose connections?
 
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Macbook90 said:
Hi again,
I have tried this today and it hasn’t worked. The MagSafe charger is not indicating that the battery is no fully charged but my MacBook still won’t turn on. I held the power button down for 30 seconds and nothing happened.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
Audit13 said:
Normally, with the battery disconnected, connecting the charger should cause the MacBook to boot up on its own.

When you connect the charger, do you see the fan spin?

Did you remove the heatsink for a particular reason?

Any loose connections?
Click to expand...
Sorry about my terrible grammar before. I didn’t actually read your comment properly either sorry..
should I plug the charger in without the battery connected? I’ve made sure that everything is secured.
 
Macbook90 said:
Sorry about my terrible grammar before. I didn’t actually read your comment properly either sorry..
should I plug the charger in without the battery connected? I’ve made sure that everything is secured.
Click to expand...
No need to apologize.

Disconnect the battery, leave the bottom cover off, stand the MacBook on its side, connect the charger, look at the inside of the MacBook, don't press any keys, wait about a minute to see if the MacBook powers up on its own and whether the fan spins.
 

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Audit13 said:
No need to apologize.

Disconnect the battery, leave the bottom cover off, stand the MacBook on its side, connect the charger, look at the inside of the MacBook, don't press any keys, wait about a minute to see if the MacBook powers up on its own and whether the fan spins.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your patience. I’ve followed your instructions but unfortunately the fan is not turning and the MacBook has no signs of life…
image.jpg
image.jpg
 
I wouldn't replace the battery blindly. It could be either battery or logic board; sounds more like the latter except that the light never turns green. If there is a repair shop near you (one that actually does logic board repair - not just replacement) call and ask their price. If you like the price, bring it in and have them isolate the issue.
 
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brianmowrey said:
I wouldn't replace the battery blindly. It could be either battery or logic board; sounds more like the latter except that the light never turns green. If there is a repair shop near you (one that actually does logic board repair - not just replacement) call and ask their price. If you like the price, bring it in and have them isolate the issue.
Click to expand...
I think this will probably be my next step. Thank you so much for your advice!
 
Macbook90 said:
Hi again,
I have tried this today and it hasn’t worked. The MagSafe charger is not indicating that the battery is no fully charged but my MacBook still won’t turn on. I held the power button down for 30 seconds and nothing happened.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Have you tried disconnecting the MagSafe 2 DC-in board from the logic board then try rebooting off the battery? Since the MagSafe connector from your charger is not lighting up orange (charging) or green (charged) then perhaps this board is bad and causing your issue? Would not hurt to disconnect this from your logic board and see if you can get your laptop to boot.

The MagSafe 2 DC-in board looks like this...

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Genuine Macbook Pro Retina A1502 Late 2013-Early 2015 13" Magsafe 2 DC-in Board | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Genuine Macbook Pro Retina A1502 Late 2013-Early 2015 13" Magsafe 2 DC-in Board at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
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Macdctr said:
Have you tried disconnecting the MagSafe 2 DC-in board from the logic board then try rebooting off the battery? Since the MagSafe connector from your charger is not lighting up orange (charging) or green (charged) then perhaps this board is bad and causing your issue? Would not hurt to disconnect this from your logic board and see if you can get your laptop to boot.

The MagSafe 2 DC-in board looks like this...

Click to expand...
Hi thanks for your advice! I’ve just tried this and unfortunately the laptop still won’t boot.. I’m thinking that there is a serious problem with the logic board. Unfortunately I don’t have the skills or money to fix it at the moment. The laptop is quite old now, I’m not sure if it’s worth spending $500 to get it fixed. I’m thinking of saving up and buying a new MacBook Air.
Thanks for your advice though. I really appreciate it from both of you!
 
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