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MacBook Pro Randomly Stops Charging when Plugged Into USB-C Monitor

For years, I've had the exact same setup. MacBook Pro, charging via the USB-C monitor it was plugged in. One day, the batter drained all they way to 1%. I saw a message that the power souce was the power adapter, but it was not charging. The only way I was able to get the computer to charge was to do a random comnination of opening the lid, resetting the monitor cable a few times, plugging in and out the provided power adapter. As this behavior started happing more and more, I started troubleshooting.


Battery health is "normal". I've tried all combination of the battery saving settings. Turned them all off, turned them all on, one by one turning them off. Each time I thought it was improving, but it would invetibally revert. (Note: OS updates override your batter health settings every time, which was frustating during the troubleshooting process)


Then, I use to think it was because it was in clamshell mode. Leaving the lid open seemed to fix it for a bit, but now I'm experiencing the same thing.


Now when I wake up, its almost guaranteed died in the middle of the night


If I leave the power adapter and the montior connected, the same behavior persists.


I reset the PRAM and SMC, unfortunately that made no difference.


I've reset the monitor to factory settings, and power cycled it.


It's not faulty cables.


From what I can tell, the computer is 100% fine if it's not plugged into a monitor.


Equipment:

  • 2019 16" Intel MacBook Pro
  • 2021 LG 32UP550-W (32" USB-C Monitor with 96w Power Delivery)


At this point, it seems like im the only one in the world having this issue.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.1

Posted on Nov 13, 2024 11:05 AM

Reply
1 reply

Nov 13, 2024 12:20 PM in response to raminea

my wild guess is that the Mac "choosing the best" power supply really means chooses the FIRST power supply, and latches onto it permanently, even if a better power supply is available, and even if the first power supply shuts down to a standby level.


if that first power supply is a 'display that reduces its supplied power when the display goes dim' that might explain your strange charging behavior. The Mac can't change when not enough power is coming in.

MacBook Pro Randomly Stops Charging when Plugged Into USB-C Monitor

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