MacBook is plugged in but the battery isn't charging

Why it happens

Most of the time the cause is outside the Mac: a faulty or low-power adapter, a worn cable, a loose socket or lint in the port. A phone charger or a small USB-C adapter may only slow the drain rather than charge the battery. Your Mac can also stop at a set level on purpose, through Charge Limit or Optimized Battery Charging, or pause while the battery is warm.

How to fix it

1. Click the battery icon in the menu bar and read the message. Charging On Hold means Optimized Battery Charging or a warm battery has paused it. Charged to 80% Limit, or another number, means your Charge Limit stopped it, which you can change in step 6. Slow Charger means the adapter is too weak, so see step 2. Battery Is Not Charging usually points to the adapter, cable or port rather than a setting.

2. Unplug the adapter and plug it straight into a different wall socket, rather than a power strip, a monitor or a hub. Use the adapter and cable that came with your Mac, or one with at least the same wattage.

3. Try another port on your Mac if it has more than one. With MagSafe, check the light on the plug: amber means it's charging and green means it's full. No light at all points to the cable, adapter or socket.

4. Shine a torch into the port. Gently lift out any lint with a wooden toothpick or a soft dry brush. Never use anything metal, and don't blow into it.

5. Restart your Mac from the Apple menu with the charger connected, then watch the battery percentage for five minutes.

6. If it stops at a set level, open System Settings, click Battery, and click the info button next to Charging. Raise Charge Limit to 100% or turn off Optimized Battery Charging for now. Charge Limit is on Apple silicon MacBooks with macOS 26.4 or later.

   Battery›Charging

Charge Limit, and the Charged to 80% Limit message, need macOS 26.4 or later on an Apple silicon MacBook. macOS 27 has them in the same place.

Still not fixed?

1. To fill up once without changing your settings, click the battery icon in the menu bar and choose Charge to Full Now, if it's listed.

2. Let a hot Mac cool down. Charging can pause while the battery is warm, for example in the sun or while gaming. Quit heavy apps, move it to a cooler spot, and check again after 15 minutes.

3. Check the battery itself in Battery Health. Service Recommended means the battery is worn and may not charge properly any more.

   Battery›Battery Health

4. Install any waiting macOS update, because charging fixes sometimes arrive that way.

   General›Software Update

5. Shut the Mac down fully, wait 30 seconds with the charger connected, then turn it back on. A battery that was completely flat can take a few minutes before it shows any charge.

6. On an Intel MacBook Pro from 2019 or 2020 running macOS 26, reset the SMC, the chip that manages charging. Shut the Mac down. Press and hold Control and Option on the left and Shift on the right for 7 seconds, then keep holding them and press and hold the power button too for another 7 seconds. Let go, wait a few seconds, then turn the Mac on. Apple silicon Macs don't need this: the shutdown in the step above does the same job.

7. If no working adapter, cable or port charges it, the fault is hardware: the port, the charging circuit or the battery. Contact Apple Support or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, and bring the adapter and cable with you.