M3 MacBook Pro (Nov 2023): MagSafe LED on, but macOS shows no power connected (only acknowledges power when shut down)

Hi all,

My Nov 2023 MacBook Pro (M3 Pro) stopped charging and, more importantly, doesn’t acknowledge external power while it’s powered on. The MagSafe LED lights up, but in macOS the battery menu and ioreg both act like there’s no adapter connected. If I shut the Mac down, it does acknowledge power (LED stays on, and it appears to trickle/attempt to charge while off), but once booted, macOS goes back to acting like it’s on battery only.

What I see (while powered on):

• Battery menu: “Not charging” / behaves as if on battery only
• System Information → Power: Connected: No (or Charging: No / Amperage: 0 mA)
• ioreg -r -n AppleSmartBattery highlights:
  • ExternalConnected = no
  • PMUConfigured = 0
  • TrueRemainingCapacity = 0
  • Voltage ≈ 10762
  • CycleCount = 161
  • DesignCapacity = 8579
• MagSafe LED does light (so the physical handshake happens)

What I’ve tried:

• Multiple known-good Apple chargers/cables (MagSafe 3 and USB-C), multiple outlets, multiple ports
• Fully powering down, unplugging, waiting, reconnecting (Apple-silicon “SMC-like” reset)
• Leaving it off while plugged in for 30+ minutes
• Apple Configurator Revive (completed) and full update to macOS 15 (“26”)
• Apple Diagnostics tried but wouldn’t run due to “no internet”

This feels like the PMU/charging path isn’t being enabled when macOS is running (since PMUConfigured = 0), despite firmware being current and the adapter handshake succeeding. Has anyone seen this on M3 MBP where power is only acknowledged while shut down? Was your fix a battery pack replacement (safety lock) or a logic-board charging controller replacement? Any other steps worth trying before I book service?

Thanks!