Never Used MacBook Pro from Feb 21with Dead Battery?

[kat.hayes]

A family member bought a brand new MBP February 2021. It is the one that still has the LED strip above the keyboard. It was never even used, turned on maybe once, but never configured, never walked through the initial start up steps. The family member passed, and we inherited it.

We just turned it on and the battery seems to be dead. After charging it with different chargers, the battery will not work. Does this seem normal for a MacBook Pro battery that has basically never been used and only been in hibernation?

Thanks

 

[chrfr]

A family member bought a brand new MBP February 2021. It is the one that still has the LED strip above the keyboard. It was never even used, turned on maybe once, but never configured, never walked through the initial start up steps. The family member passed, and we inherited it.

We just turned it on and the battery seems to be dead. After charging it with different chargers, the battery will not work. Does this seem normal for a MacBook Pro battery that has basically never been used and only been in hibernation?

Thanks

Yes, this can happen. If the computer is under AppleCare, Apple will replace the battery for free, but otherwise the owner will probably have to pay for a replacement.
Batteries will naturally discharge over time, and there are also components in Mac portables which will draw power even when the computer is off.

 

[kat.hayes]

The thing that doesn't make sense is even when plugged in, it does not seem to ever turn on beyond the dead battery icons that show up on the screen.

 

[Isamilis]

Have you checked charger or cable? Maybe try different charger?

 

[chrfr]

The thing that doesn't make sense is even when plugged in, it does not seem to ever turn on beyond the dead battery icons that show up on the screen.

Unfortunately, this is the way the failure manifests. The battery will never take a charge and the computer will never start.

 

[jav6454]

A family member bought a brand new MBP February 2021. It is the one that still has the LED strip above the keyboard. It was never even used, turned on maybe once, but never configured, never walked through the initial start up steps. The family member passed, and we inherited it.

We just turned it on and the battery seems to be dead. After charging it with different chargers, the battery will not work. Does this seem normal for a MacBook Pro battery that has basically never been used and only been in hibernation?

Thanks

If it was used once and never charged, the battery discharged and went into deep discharge. Under those situations, the battery will die or might come back to life with impacted capacity. At this point, I'd say take it to Apple and have them diagnose what is going on. Likely, you'll need a new battery.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Do you have a brick-n-mortar Apple Store anywhere near?
(NOT a "3rd-party service provider", but a REAL Apple Store)

If so, take it to them.
Explain what happened.
Let them check the battery.
They MIGHT offer you the "$199 battery replacement" option.

If they DO offer this to you, TAKE THEM UP on it.
You'll get:
- a new Apple-labeled battery
- installation
- a short warranty.

A good deal.

 

[BanditoB]

It might be worth doing an SMC reset to see if that will allow the battery to charge.

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/if-your-battery-wont-charge-mh29198/mac

 

[robotica]

If the battery is totally discharged it might be an idea to leave it plugged in overnight to give it a trickle charge to try and reactivate the battery. If its still quite new then just take it to apple and they will fix it for you.