2019 MacBook Pro bricked itself overnight

y_p_w wrote:

So I'm thinking it could be the battery, but I'm not sure how anyone is going to be able to determine that without just replacing it.

Disconnecting the battery will give some information at least with the Intel Macs, not sure about the Apple Silicon Macs. What information it provides will depend on what is seen/noticed and whether the problem returns. I have developed some methods of testing a battery in order to identify some borderline batteries which otherwise appear to be healthy. Apple batteries tend to reveal issues while being quickly drained & charged with most issues appearing when the battery is at less than 10% charge.

Usually the only time this is necessary though is when the battery has no charge on it, although there have been a few cases where I had to do this after performing an SMC Reset & PRAM Reset. The Intel laptops should at least power on with the battery disconnected (for the 2016+ it requires disconnecting a cable and removing a screw) although the laptop's performance may be so crippled it may or may not boot (some laptops may take a bit longer to boot, while others may take hours or most of the day...no idea why the difference when it is the same model). Many times I can get a battery with 0% charge level to actually charge by then hot-plugging the battery and allowing it to charge to 20%.

I'm assuming Apple performed an SMC Reset, but an SMC Reset is something the user can easily try themselves. Also, try connecting the charger to other USB-C ports especially on the other side of the laptop. Disconnecting all external devices is also recommended.

From supporting our organization's thousands of Apple laptops and reading these forums, I have noticed the 2019 models seems to have a lot of Logic Board failures compared to other USB-C Apple laptops (Intel).

If it won't power on at all, techs can't run a diagnostic. And if the battery is replaced and it doesn't do anything, I'm not sure what the resolution would be. Maybe undoing the replacement and returning everything the way it was before?

Undoing a battery replacement is not possible these days. If the problem is some odd intermittent issue, then there is no good way of confirming any repair is successful while a tech is still working & testing the laptop. Once Apple hands the laptop back to the user after a repair which a user pays for, Apple will only have a 90 day warranty on the part replaced, or if the laptop was mailed to an Apple repair depot (either by Apple, AASP, or user), then there would generally be a 90 day warranty on the whole laptop. The user will be responsible for any additional repair costs not covered by the 90 day part/repair warranty, unless Apple makes an exception (very rare these days) since the work was already done.

If you have an Apple Store available, they should have a lot more tools for something like this.

Usually an AASP may provide more thorough testing & troubleshooting (varies by techs & AASPs), but they also have some limitations imposed by Apple. An Apple Store may not have the same limitations as an AASP (after all an Apple Store is Apple), but Apple Stores seem to provide only basic testing & troubleshooting (from comments I've read from other users on these forums where Apple said the diagnostics passed and sent users home....this can vary by location as well), but an Apple Store may be able to make exceptions which an AASP is not permitted to offer the user. They each have their advantages & disadvantages.

HWTech wrote:

y_p_w wrote:

So I'm thinking it could be the battery, but I'm not sure how anyone is going to be able to determine that without just replacing it.

Disconnecting the battery will give some information at least with the Intel Macs, not sure about the Apple Silicon Macs. What information it provides will depend on what is seen/noticed and whether the problem returns. I have developed some methods of testing a battery in order to identify some borderline batteries which otherwise appear to be healthy. Apple batteries tend to reveal issues while being quickly drained & charged with most issues appearing when the battery is at less than 10% charge.

Usually the only time this is necessary though is when the battery has no charge on it, although there have been a few cases where I had to do this after performing an SMC Reset & PRAM Reset. The Intel laptops should at least power on with the battery disconnected (for the 2016+ it requires disconnecting a cable and removing a screw) although the laptop's performance may be so crippled it may or may not boot (some laptops may take a bit longer to boot, while others may take hours or most of the day...no idea why the difference when it is the same model). Many times I can get a battery with 0% charge level to actually charge by then hot-plugging the battery and allowing it to charge to 20%.

I'm assuming Apple performed an SMC Reset, but an SMC Reset is something the user can easily try themselves. Also, try connecting the charger to other USB-C ports especially on the other side of the laptop. Disconnecting all external devices is also recommended.

From supporting our organization's thousands of Apple laptops and reading these forums, I have noticed the 2019 models seems to have a lot of Logic Board failures compared to other USB-C Apple laptops (Intel).

If it won't power on at all, techs can't run a diagnostic. And if the battery is replaced and it doesn't do anything, I'm not sure what the resolution would be. Maybe undoing the replacement and returning everything the way it was before?

Undoing a battery replacement is not possible these days. If the problem is some odd intermittent issue, then there is no good way of confirming any repair is successful while a tech is still working & testing the laptop. Once Apple hands the laptop back to the user after a repair which a user pays for, Apple will only have a 90 day warranty on the part replaced, or if the laptop was mailed to an Apple repair depot (either by Apple, AASP, or user), then there would generally be a 90 day warranty on the whole laptop. The user will be responsible for any additional repair costs not covered by the 90 day part/repair warranty, unless Apple makes an exception (very rare these days) since the work was already done.

If you have an Apple Store available, they should have a lot more tools for something like this.

Usually an AASP may provide more thorough testing & troubleshooting (varies by techs & AASPs), but they also have some limitations imposed by Apple. An Apple Store may not have the same limitations as an AASP (after all an Apple Store is Apple), but Apple Stores seem to provide only basic testing & troubleshooting (from comments I've read from other users on these forums where Apple said the diagnostics passed and sent users home....this can vary by location as well), but an Apple Store may be able to make exceptions which an AASP is not permitted to offer the user. They each have their advantages & disadvantages.

In my case it was really odd because I thought that with a completely failed battery that powering it with the adapter and no battery connected would at least power on even with a throttled CPU so as to not stress out the power system. But it didn't power on at all.

Also - the warranty on a Mac battery service (done at an Apple Store) is one year. Mine is still under warranty.

Legal - Retail Store Service - Apple

Apple further warrants to the extent permitted by law, that batteries installed as part of Apple’s battery replacement service for Apple portable Mac computers will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for one (1) year from the date of service.

Yes. In my case the battery had completely failed and without some battery power it wouldn't power on at all even with the power adapter connected. Not even the "charge now" icon when trying to power on after the battery reached 0%. Some Macs will work that way with a throttled CPU to limit power consumption with just a power adapter and no battery detected. It's really weird because the battery indicator will show "no battery" (a red X through the battery icon).

But mine was a mid-2012 Unibody model. And when I brought it back to an Apple Store last year it powered on and was working again while I was in the store waiting for the tech to look at it. But the battery health was under 80% so they replaced it (for a cost) and I imagine they would have done so even with a "healthy" battery since the battery had registered a faulty condition.

So I'm thinking it could be the battery, but I'm not sure how anyone is going to be able to determine that without just replacing it. If it won't power on at all, techs can't run a diagnostic. And if the battery is replaced and it doesn't do anything, I'm not sure what the resolution would be. Maybe undoing the replacement and returning everything the way it was before?

If you have an Apple Store available, they should have a lot more tools for something like this.

y_p_w wrote:

In my case it was really odd because I thought that with a completely failed battery that powering it with the adapter and no battery connected would at least power on even with a throttled CPU so as to not stress out the power system.

That is what I have experienced and would expect.

But it didn't power on at all.

The only thing I could imagine is perhaps there was a keyboard failure which may have affected the power button (or Trackpad failure) and prevented the laptop from powering on without the battery (assuming an official Apple battery repair which involved replacing the Top Case Assembly giving you a new keyboard, trackpad & power button in addition to the battery).

Unfortunately the 2019 models seem to have a lot more Logic Board failures. Even on seemingly healthy 2016-2020 Intel Apple laptops, I have seen quirky power related issues. So many times I've had to connect the charger on an Intel USB-C Apple laptop (2016-2020) even though the battery showed significant charge level once booted leading me to suspect that the Logic Board somehow thought (or perhaps did) temporarily lose power from the battery. I've ignored the issue since none of the users have complained since it is an intermittent occurrence which would be extremely hard to determine whether the issue was with the Logic Board or the Battery (my guess is the Logic Board...I think it may have occurred once with a new battery). I have seen the same thing happen with iPads as well, although I've never had it happen with my iPhone.

HWTech wrote:

y_p_w wrote:

In my case it was really odd because I thought that with a completely failed battery that powering it with the adapter and no battery connected would at least power on even with a throttled CPU so as to not stress out the power system.

That is what I have experienced and would expect.

But it didn't power on at all.

The only thing I could imagine is perhaps there was a keyboard failure which may have affected the power button (or Trackpad failure) and prevented the laptop from powering on without the battery (assuming an official Apple battery repair which involved replacing the Top Case Assembly giving you a new keyboard, trackpad & power button in addition to the battery).

Unfortunately the 2019 models seem to have a lot more Logic Board failures. Even on seemingly healthy 2016-2020 Intel Apple laptops, I have seen quirky power related issues. So many times I've had to connect the charger on an Intel USB-C Apple laptop (2016-2020) even though the battery showed significant charge level once booted leading me to suspect that the Logic Board somehow thought (or perhaps did) temporarily lose power from the battery. I've ignored the issue since none of the users have complained since it is an intermittent occurrence which would be extremely hard to determine whether the issue was with the Logic Board or the Battery (my guess is the Logic Board...I think it may have occurred once with a new battery). I have seen the same thing happen with iPads as well, although I've never had it happen with my iPhone.

Mine was a mid-2012 Unibody and only the battery was replaced. I was surprised they still had it, but Apple announced that battery replacements could be up to 10 years although I believe the model was discontinued less than 7 years when I got the replacement.

I really don't know exactly what the deal is, and the battery (even after it started working again) was eligible for a replacement since it was under 70%.

I still don't know but the only logical conclusion I can come to was that the battery was temporarily malfunctioning and it wouldn't work without a functioning battery.