This is the story of How I Fixed My Sister’s Dead MacBook Air M1 a couple of days ago.
As soon as my sister announced the arrival of her new bundle of joy, she also revealed that she would be taking a break for a month to care for the little one.
As an avid workaholic, she decided to turn off her MacBook Air M1 for the duration of her leave. However, when she tried to turn it on after a month, it wouldn’t charge.
She tried all the methods available on the internet, but nothing worked. That’s when I decided to put my knowledge of battery chemistry to use and fix the problem.
Trying the Common Solutions
Before I could do something on my own, I tried all the common solutions that I could find on the internet.
My sister had already tried them all, but I decided to give them another shot. I tried resetting the System Management Controller(SMC), holding down the power button for a few seconds, and pressing weird key combinations like Command+Option+P+R, but nothing seemed to work.
Utilizing the BASIC Chemistry knowledge I had
I knew that the battery was the culprit, but I wanted to understand the reason behind it. Lithium-ion batteries, which are used in most modern laptops, have a designated voltage range.
When a battery fully drains, the voltage on its terminals can drop to zero, hence the MacBook Air M1 motherboard can not even able to detect if a battery is even attached or not, leading to the charging issue.
Batteries work at an optimum temperatures and lower temperatures can also drop the voltage. Now keep that in mind.
The Fabric Hack
After understanding the battery chemistry, I decided to use a simple hack to revive the battery.
I took a piece of fabric and warmed it with an iron. After that, I kept it on the underside of the MacBook Air M1 to warm it up. The idea was to warm up the battery enough to change its chemical properties, making it possible to recharge.
I repeated this process a couple of times until I could feel the warmth on the underside of the MacBook Air M1. Then, I plugged it in, and voila! It started to charge again.
Why Did the Fabric Hack Work?
The fabric hack works because it utilizes the chemical properties of the lithium-ion battery. When the battery is cold, the lithium ions tend to stay in the positive electrode, making it difficult to recharge. By warming up the battery, the lithium ions move to the negative electrode, making it possible to recharge.
However, it’s essential to note that this hack works only if the battery is not completely dead. If the battery is damaged beyond repair, this hack won’t work.
Conclusion
The MacBook Air M1 charging issue is a common problem that many users face.
Understanding the battery chemistry is essential to fix the issue; sometimes, a simple hack can do wonders.
In this case, the fabric hack did the trick, and my sister was back to work in no time. It’s important to remember to take care of your laptop’s battery so it lasts longer and you don’t have to face issues like this.
