Issue: MacBook Pro M2 Max — Charger Not Detected and Extremely Slow Charging
I have a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 Max chip. The Mac was working normally, but the charging problem appeared suddenly.
Symptoms
- MagSafe charger LED turns on, but the Mac does not properly detect the charger.
- Charging is extremely slow — approximately 4% in 30 minutes, even when the Mac is completely powered off.
- USB-C charging does not work.
- macOS reports that no AC charger is connected.
- The same charger detection problem occurs in Safe Mode.
- Apple Diagnostics also does not detect the charger as connected.
- macOS update attempts fail with:
- “An error occurred while downloading the selected updates. Please check your internet connection and try again.”
- I also experienced a file transfer to an external hard drive becoming stuck.
Recovery already performed
I have already performed macOS Recovery / recovery troubleshooting, but it did not resolve the charging or charger-detection problem.
The problem therefore persists after recovery and is not limited to a normal macOS installation.
Terminal diagnostics
pmset -g batt reports:
Battery Power — discharging
system_profiler SPPowerDataType reports:
- Fully Charged: No
- Charging: No
- Battery Condition: Normal
- Maximum Capacity: 88%
- Cycle Count: 304
- AC Charger Information:
- Connected: No
- Charging: No
ioreg reports:
- ExternalConnected = No
- AppleRawExternalConnected = No
- IsCharging = No
- However, one power-management field reports:
- FedExternalConnected = 1
This appears to indicate that one part of the power-management system can detect external power while the battery/charging subsystem does not recognize the charger as connected.
Additional observations
The Mac can charge slowly when completely powered off, but charging is far below normal speed. The issue persists in Safe Mode, and USB-C charging does not work.
Battery health appears normal at 88% maximum capacity and 304 cycles, so the battery itself does not appear to be reporting a failure.
I would like Apple Support to determine whether this is a power-delivery/charging-controller, firmware, or logic-board issue, and specifically whether the Mac requires a firmware revive/recovery or whether there is a hardware fault in the charging/power-delivery circuitry.
I have already performed recovery troubleshooting without improvement, so I would prefer to establish the specific diagnostic cause before replacing the entire logic board.
