How to Boot MacBook Pro Without a Battery (Older Models 2006 – 2011)
You may have noticed that sometimes you can not power on and boot a MacBook Pro when it doesn’t have a battery installed. Let’s say you had to remove the battery of an older MacBook Pro because it was swelling, or the battery failed for some other reason, but when you go to power on the MacBook Pro, nothing happens. (To be clear, this article is aimed at older MacBook Pro model years, like a 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, back when replacing a battery, hard disk, RAM, was all fairly easy to do by opening the bottom case).
In this situation, if a battery is removed or totally dead and you attempt to start the MacBook Pro, nothing happens – there is no sound, no system boot, no startup chime, nothing. It turns out that some model year MacBook Pro computers will not boot with a simple power button press after the battery has been physically removed or disconnected.
Of course if you happen to have a replacement battery then you can typically just replace the missing battery with a working battery and the MacBook Pro will boot, but that is not always an option. So let’s discuss how to boot an older MacBook Pro when there is no battery present at all.
How to Boot MacBook Pro with No Battery Installed
We are assuming the MacBook Pro has no battery installed in the computer, meaning there physically is no battery installed. Then, when attempting to boot the Mac or pressing the start button, nothing happens. In this case, you can force the MacBook Pro to boot by following these steps:
- Unplug the MagSafe power cable
- Hold down the Power button for 10 seconds and continue to hold it down
- While still holding the Power button, connect the MagSafe power cable to the MacBook Pro and continue to hold the Power button for another 10 seconds
- Release the Power button, then press the Power button as usual to power on the computer and boot the Mac
When the MacBook Pro does boot, the fans will be blasting at full speed for the entire time you are using the Mac (resetting SMC or PRAM does not stop the fans running, only replacing the battery will).
Also it appears that the MacBook Pro will reduce its own clock speed in this situation, thereby reducing performance.
The only way to stop the fans from running at full speed and to return the clock speed to regular performance is to install a new battery into the MacBook Pro.
I experienced this scenario on an old MacBook Pro 2010 model after removing a swollen battery. Once the battery was removed you can press the power button but nothing happens. However, the above method of disconnecting and reconnecting MagSafe while holding the Power button was successful in starting up the Mac – with fans running at full speed and at reduced clock speed however. Nonetheless, Snow Leopard still runs well!
As you can see in the screenshot below, the “No Battery” indicator is visible, but the MacBook Pro is booted and working.
And indeed, this particular MacBook Pro has no physical battery installed as you can see the internals in this picture:
Powering Up a MacBook Pro After Replacing Battery, Logic Board, Hard Drive, RAM, etc too
Apparently the same aforementioned scenario of the MacBook / MacBook Pro not starting up can also unfold when replacing other internal components on these older model year MacBook Pro (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, etc), including replaced logic boards, internal hard drives, RAM, battery, and perhaps other hardware components too.
With some other internal component replacements, sometimes simply plugging in the MagSafe adapter and holding the power button for 10 seconds is enough to cause the MacBook Pro to start.
Also, Check the Power Adapter Wattage
For what it’s worth, in some scenarios where the battery appears dead but is not actually (ie, the charge is long drained but the battery itself isn’t completely useless yet), then you may be able to successfully boot the MacBook Pro with a proper wattage MagSafe power adapter of 85W. These older model year MacBook Pro computers use 85W power adapters, whereas the MacBook and MacBook Air of the same generation used 60W power adapters. Sometimes simply plugging in the proper higher wattage power adapter will allow the MacBook Pro to boot.
This MagSafe power button pressing solution was found on iFixIt forums and it worked for me, so if you’re in a similar scenario with an older MacBook Pro then try it out yourself. If for some reason the above method does not work, the original forum poster does state the following possible workaround involving moving a RAM module to a different slot (if applicable):
“If that doesn’t work then try to remove one RAM memory [module] and switch places and [repeat] the method”
In my case this juggling of the RAM module was not necessary to boot the MacBook Pro (a 2010 model year) without a battery, but that additional tidbit may be valid to you.
This article is obviously aimed at older MacBook Pro hardware, but it may be relevant to other older MacBook models too, including similar model year (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) MacBook and MacBook Air, and perhaps even some newer MacBook Pro models too. By the way, if you’re rocking an older Mac and want to speed it up, check out these tips.
Of course newer model year MacBook (Pro & Air too) hardware does not have user serviceable batteries and in some cases the battery is glued to the top case, so in those situations the ability to end up in a situation where the computer doesn’t have a battery is much less likely, and any troubleshooting scenario is going to be much more extreme requiring a more thorough hardware repair that is far beyond the scope of this particular article. In those situations, take the Mac to a certified Apple Repair Specialist or an Apple Store instead.
Long live the old Macs! Does this qualify for retro status yet? Probably not… give it a bit longer.
Hi there. Mid 2011 MacBook Pro boots just fine without battery installed. Fans also seem to operate normally while playing a DVD at home. But seeing as this machine doesn’t go anywhere and DVD is all I now use it for I don’t care to install a new battery after the previous replacement swelled.
But lets think about this for a minute. You can use a laptop while charging the battery, and from what I can tell over the last 13 years of using Apple laptops is they perform just fine using and charging at the same time. But without a battery installed, all that power that would otherwise be charging the battery can now be used for system performance. In other words, removing a battery should have zero effect on performance, at least I have noticed no difference after the battery was removed. Or am I missing something?
hi, brother my MacBook late 2009 it is working fine but is it safe to run MacBook in this situation without a battery?I mean the fan is blasting will it harm the machine? How long I can use my computer on this situation? Please your answer will safe me
Worked fine to bring a 2009 MacBook Pro with a dead battery back to life !
Now I can get on the Net and arrange for some Apple Hardware testing
But yes, like you said, this makes the fans go at full speed and make wheezing sound. earlier this wasn’t the case
It was a great help ! thanks you man !
i had been using my 2011 MBP without a battery since last 3-4 years..initially it used to startup as soon as i plugged in the Magsafe..gradually i had to re connect & disconnect the adapter a couple of times before it booted. But since last few days it would take me around 5-10 mins of reconnecting & disconnecting the plug continuously..
but hen Your trick helped me big time !!
Hi. I have a white 2006 macbook. I haven’t used it in years becasue the battery died and it’s a mission to plug in all the time… Needless to say I got a new one but now I went to dig up this old one to see what information and photos were on there…the battery at the bottom was half popped out… Like it can’t go back it and it was locked. I unlocked it and removed. It won’t go back into the case. What’s the quickest way to transfer the info from this old MacBook using your method mentioned in article…as in no battery in macbook. I don’t want to go and buy one just so that I can put the laptop on to get info off of it
Confirmed working for late 2008 unibody aluminum non-pro Macbook. First time it only made it halfway through boot, second time worked. Also found that I only had to press pre-magsafe for a couple of seconds, not ten. Helped to confirm that a replacement battery I was sent had failed.
My mid 2009 macbookpro 15 inch unibody model does not boot after battery has been removed
,tried this 10 second power button press process but it only makes beep noise and does not progress.
Help please.
P.k.Datta
I tried it but my magsafe doesn’t turn green light fully on when i use this method but without this method the green light turns on very well its a 2006 model how do i go about it
I have a 2011 MacBook Pro. Computer charger will not show the amber light, computer does not turn on. I did get it to turn on with this reset method but it shows a white screen with the apple logo and when the loading bar gets 3/4 of the way done the screen goes black and it starts doing the same thing over and over. Can I access my computer this way somehow or do I need a new battery?? Thanks
Same issue with macbook pro 15, late 2011
Did you get this resolved?
Hi guys, hello from Italy,
I have an old mid 2009 MBP 17″.
The instructions worked fine but I’d like to know if it is possible to adjust the fan speed and clock speed somehow in this no-battery mode.
Thanks a lot for the hints. It works for my MBP 2011 15”.
Hi Andrew: your help let me bring to life my old MacBook Pro from a long period of useless. Thanks a lot.
JUAN
Oh my Lord! You are my hero today! I removed my swollen battery from my MacBook Pro that I haven’t used in years. I was curious if it was worth popping another battery into, but when it didn’t fire up I thought aww man it must be dead dead. I googled but was sure I wasn’t going to find help for my situation. You rock!
Thanks Andrew, glad to hear this helped you boot your battery-free MacBook! Enjoy!
If not pro only macbook late 2009 , how run ?
See here for doing the same on recent macbooks
https://portugnole.blogspot.com/2020/05/running-macbook-without-battery-lets-go.html
I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro 13″. This trick does not work on it. It seems completely dead. The magsafe connector doesn’t even light up. Guess I’ll have to buy a new battery. This will be the third time I’ve had to change the battery since 2011.
You might want to give it a few tries, the first attempt I had with a 2010 MacBook Pro did not work but I got it working eventually. Unfortunately without a battery the fan goes constantly and the computer runs very slow, making the MacBook Pro less useful than with a battery aside from not being a laptop.
I had the issue on my late 2011 mbp 15″ where I could only power it up using the trick as stated above. But, fans would surge and I had no image, just a black screen. My battery is completely dead and I realized that the charging adapter is the incorrect wattage. Once I got the correct charger, it showed normal signs of life. I also had the notorious GPU defect that I had to resolve as well. I also removed the back cover and unplugged the battery.
Thanks for your guide but is not the whole thing ridiculous? Battery swelling is kinda became a norm and Apple’s managers don’t seem to give a s*.
Why on the earth should we replace those batteries every years an so just to fix something that should’ve been addressed years before and also why on the earth a laptop should not be bootable without battery? Is this normal?
And why you are reducing performance? Is not it should be reverse? I should get max performance when it is connected to the power cord? Every other laptops are doing this…
And I also surprised of those blind loyal smart doofs here that are kind telling: “we have no issue… no need to this article”… go and eat your food and let other people do their jobs here…
So Does this affect the Backlit keyboard ? Mine is not turning on.
Worked for me! I tried resetting the SMC, unplugging and replugging numerous times but found this, followed steps exactly and finally booted. :-)
I have a Macbook Pro 5,1 (Late 2008 Model) without the battery installed, and it boots without the fans blaring.
Yes, I have a lot of these Macs, and while they will work without a battery, they will be very very slow! The Non unibody MBPs don’t seem to have that problem.
Left this yesterday but it didn’t post. I ran a 2.23Ghz 13′ MBP without a battery for 2 years and never had to go thru any of this, just pressed the power button and it booted and ran just fine.
Apple laptops boot just fine with no battery, I ran a 2.23Ghz 13″ MBP without a battery for over 2 years with no problems and didn’t have to go thru ANY of what is described here.
Cool story, but it depends on the model. You probably had one where you could remove the battery without opening the case. I had one of those too and it’d run without underclocking if you removed the battery.
Then Apple changed how they built laptops.
Most of the Macs where you have to open the case to remove the battery do not run without the battery as described, or at least unless you hold the Power button for 10 seconds, then the fans run like a jet engine and the CPU underclocks performance. You have to put a battery in there to stop all of that.
I beg to differ, but I’ve been using a 2006 MacBook Pro (one of the very first, with the 1.83GHz CoreDuo CPU) without battery for years, and all I’ve ever had to do to make it boot was to plug the MagSafe string and push the Power button.
Granted, CPU could be underclocked when operating without battery, but that’s the only negative thing I can think of at the moment. Fans are running at the right speed too.