Macbook Pro failing to sleep -> hard reboot with dead battery

[sirceddiego]

Hello!

I have a 2017 Macbook Pro which failed to sleep correctly more than 50% of the time. At the end of the day, I eject an external time-machine drive and then manually set the laptop to sleep before disconnecting a USB-C docking station connected to an external monitor and peripherals. I have gotten into the habit of listening to the fan to verify that the computer has indeed entered sleep.

The next day, the computer will not wake or boot. The keyboard and mouse are not responsive, but the trackpad does have haptic feedback unless the battery is completely dead. Either way, the only way to start the computer is to charge it for a few minutes, then hard-boot (power button for 10s).

The problem has persisted for over one month, over the 2 most recent Ventura updates.
I reset the NVRAM and the SMC. Then I tried to diagnose the problem.

Here is an example of the battery information following one of these incidents. You can see the laptop was put to sleep before 18h, and it slept normally until 0:15h. Then something strange happens... The next day, the battery is fully drained and needs a hard reboot.

At that time, even the system clock is messed up. I needed to open the time-zone settings to resync.
(It was 10am, not 1pm)

The fact that the computer was sleeping correctly made me suspect a problem with Power Nap, but I have it set to Only on Power Adapter.

Google suggests to check if there are apps preventing sleep. I don't think this is a useful suggestion since the screen does turn black and the fan stops spinning when I issue the sleep command. Indeed, none of the apps in my workday are Preventing Sleep.

Does anybody have suggestions on what to try next?

Macbook Pro
model A1708: 2017 2.3 GHz Intel Core I5 16GB 2133 MHZ.
Ventura 13.2.1
Battery was replaced in April 2021 by the Genius Bar, and is at 85% health.

Thanks!
Cedric

 

[TonyAguila]

Hello!

I have a 2017 Macbook Pro which failed to sleep correctly more than 50% of the time. At the end of the day, I eject an external time-machine drive and then manually set the laptop to sleep before disconnecting a USB-C docking station connected to an external monitor and peripherals. I have gotten into the habit of listening to the fan to verify that the computer has indeed entered sleep.

The next day, the computer will not wake or boot. The keyboard and mouse are not responsive, but the trackpad does have haptic feedback unless the battery is completely dead. Either way, the only way to start the computer is to charge it for a few minutes, then hard-boot (power button for 10s).

The problem has persisted for over one month, over the 2 most recent Ventura updates.
I reset the NVRAM and the SMC. Then I tried to diagnose the problem.

Here is an example of the battery information following one of these incidents. You can see the laptop was put to sleep before 18h, and it slept normally until 0:15h. Then something strange happens... The next day, the battery is fully drained and needs a hard reboot.
View attachment 4685

At that time, even the system clock is messed up. I needed to open the time-zone settings to resync.
(It was 10am, not 1pm)
View attachment 4686

The fact that the computer was sleeping correctly made me suspect a problem with Power Nap, but I have it set to Only on Power Adapter.
View attachment 4687

Google suggests to check if there are apps preventing sleep. I don't think this is a useful suggestion since the screen does turn black and the fan stops spinning when I issue the sleep command. Indeed, none of the apps in my workday are Preventing Sleep.

View attachment 4689

Does anybody have suggestions on what to try next?

Macbook Pro
model A1708: 2017 2.3 GHz Intel Core I5 16GB 2133 MHZ.
Ventura 13.2.1
Battery was replaced in April 2021 by the Genius Bar, and is at 85% health.

Thanks!
Cedric

This might be a silly question, and maybe I did not read your post closely enough, but, do you have the MBP connected to power after you put it to sleep for the night?

 

[sirceddiego]

No, I unplug it.
Rather, I only face this bug when the laptop is unplugged.

 

[TonyAguila]

No, I unplug it.
Rather, I only face this bug when the laptop is unplugged.

Try keeping it plugged and charging overnight. It will not hurt your Mac. “Power Nap” means it will wake up automatically to perform routine maintenance chores and that is the reason for the battery drain. It’s better if you occasionally unplug it during the day even when you are pushing it. In fact, it’s better to let it drain to 50% or less before connecting to power instead of keeping it at 100%. What is not good is if it goes down to 0% because it will use up a full recharge cycle, and those cycles are not limitless.

 

[sirceddiego]

Leaving it plugged in works fine. power nap works fine.

But WHEN I unplug the laptop in order to take it home with me, the battery drains from full to empty within 12 hours and the computer will not boot.

 

[TonyAguila]

Leaving it plugged in works fine. power nap works fine.

But WHEN I unplug the laptop in order to take it home with me, the battery drains from full to empty within 12 hours and the computer will not boot.

Seems like an errant process going on. Before deciding that it’s a hardware fault, try the usual suspects—SMC reset and PRAM zap first. Then do a hardware test by restarting and immediately holding down the D key until hardware test comes up. If it comes back with nothing, I would try reinstalling macOS. It might seem like a lot of work but the experience is always worth it.

For all you know, it could simply be a bad battery. It might be time to call Apple support and schedule an appointment at an Apple Store. I wouldn’t make it a first recourse. My experience with those “geniuses” has been below 50%. Well below.