MacBook Pro is equipped with OS X or macOS that are notoriously stable and rarely get into trouble. Likewise with MacBook Pro hardware that has good quality so it is very rare to experience problems as well. But, some of you have experienced that the MacBook Pro keeps shutting down randomly. Sometimes it takes a while before it can be turned on again because it still will not turn on immediately.
The problem such as your Macbook Pro keeps shutting down can be a mild problem or even become a severe problem. Starting from software problems to hardware problems. If it is a software problem, you can still fix it by yourself. However, if the problem is your hardware, it is better for you to go to an authorized service center to replace the damaged part.
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7 Tips to Fix MacBook Pro Keeps Shutting Down
You can try these 7 tips to resolve your MacBook Pro keeps shutting down in a sudden. Good luck!
1. Reset PRAM or NVRAM
Some MacBooks have problems that cannot be defected by OS X or macOS. For this reason, resetting PRAM or NVRAM on MacBook will be very helpful and worth to try. Some of these problems can be the screen resolution suddenly changes, or the MacBook Pro keeps shutting down randomly.
For those of you who want to know how to reset NVRAM and PRAM, you can follow the easy tutorial below:
- Turn off your MacBook, if your MacBook is still on, just shut down your MacBook.
- Wait for a few minutes after your MacBook turns off. Do not turn on your MacBook immediately.
- Prepare the Command (⌘), Option, P, and R buttons on the keyboard. Do not press just yet, but just prepare yourself to press the key combination in the next few steps.
- Turn on your MacBook and you will hear a boot or Mac startup sound before the Apple logo appears.
- Press and hold the Command (⌘), Option, P, and R buttons on the keyboard when you hear the boot sound. Afterward, hold down the buttons.
- Continue to hold until the MacBook restarts. Wait for the MacBook to restart a second time and you will hear the second boot sound.
- You can release the buttons and wait until it is booting and login into the desktop.
Some information such as resolution, clock, speaker volume, etc will change immediately. Of course, you can change everything again after the NVRAM reset process is successful. Resetting NVRAM and PRAM can solve some MacBook problems if the macOS reset process is not working.
2. Booting Into Safe Mode
If your MacBook Pro keeps shutting down unexpectedly while it is booting normally, try running OS X or macOS into safe mode. Booting into Safe Mode can isolate all software problems that can cause a MacBook shuts down by itself.
The boot process to Safe Mode takes a long time because Mac OS X or macOS do various activities such as verifying the disk and so on. If it has booted successfully and you want to exit the Safe Mode, simply restart your MacBook and do not press any key.
You can follow the steps below to boot the Safe Mode:
- Start or restart a Mac, immediately press and hold the Shift key, and wait until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
- If you see the entry window, you can release the Shift key. If your start disk is encrypted with FileVault, you may ask to sign in twice: once to unlock the start disk, and when you enter the Finder.
3. Fix The Disk through Recovery Mode
Another way you can try is to fix the disk through Recovery Mode. Maybe there really is an error on the startup disk that causes the Mac shuts down suddenly. Recovery Mode is a mode in which everything related to system repair and recovery will be done.
The problem that is usually solved is a software problem, but it can also resolve the hardware in a certain degree. Recovery mode appears in the GUI display so it helps the users.
It is very easy for you to enter the Recovery Mode. All you need to do is as follows:
- Restart the Mac if the Mac is still on, or turn on the Mac if the Mac is still off.
- When you hear the OS X Boot sound, immediately press Command + R.
- The loading process does take several minutes. Just wait until you see the recovery mode display on the screen.
4. Run an Apple Diagnostic Test
Apple has its own method and way to diagnose Mac damage. The method is named Apple Diagnostic or previously named Apple Hardware Test, to test all hardware whether there is a problem or not.
The way Apple Hardware Test of Diagnostics works is to thoroughly check all the hardware. All you need to do is run it and then wait until the checking process is complete.
If there is a hardware problem, then Apple Diagnostic will display the results of your MacBook hardware inspections. After checking, you can choose to do a number of things suggested.
You can do these steps to run an Apple Diagnostic Test:
- Make sure all peripherals and external devices are completely disconnected.
- You have to make sure the power does not turn off while checking the Apple Hardware Test. For MacBook Pro users, make sure the battery is full.
- Shut down your Mac before starting the hardware diagnosis.
- Afterward, you can turn on the MacBook, press then hold the D key.
- Continue to hold until the screen displays the language selection.
- If the language is immediately recognized, then you will immediately see the hardware checking process. This means that the diagnostics process has begun.
- The process can take several minutes. Wait until everything is finished.
- If there is a problem, Apple will provide a Mac hardware error reference code.
- You can do the test again by pressing Command + R seeing details of hardware problems, or restarting and shutting down the Mac.
- When it is done, you can immediately search on the Internet for the error code.
5. Reinstall Your Mac
The easiest way to fix problems on MacBook is to reinstall macOS. Follow these steps if you want to reinstall your Mac:
- Make sure you have backed up your important files.
- You can use Time Machine to back up your Mac.
- Turn on your MacBook and if you heard the boot-up sound, then immediately press Command + R.
- Wait for the Apple logo to appear and you enter macOS or OS X Utility.
- If you are not connected to the Internet, you will be asked to connect the Internet.
- Select reinstall Mac OS X and follow the installation instructions.
- The installation tends to be easy, what really makes it difficult is to wait for the download. It is because the file is quite large; it can be several GB.
- The downloaded OS X is the latest version and is downloaded directly from Apple’s servers. So you do not need to doubt its authenticity.
- Wait for it to finish and after you installing macOS, Mac OS X will be in a completely in new condition.
6. Install SMC Fan Controller
When your MacBook Pro keeps shutting down, it can be possible the fan is dirty and not spinning normally. However, sometimes the Mac still can boot and enter the desktop, but it will hang or your MacBook Pro keeps shutting down in a sudden. If your Mac showing those indications, try to install the application to check the fan rotation, such as SMC Fan Controller, Stat Pro, or others.
You have to measure whether the fan rotation shows a very small score that is below 100 rpm or 0 rpm. If the answer is yes, it means that the fan is dirty or completely dead. The solutions are you have to disassemble and clean it or replace with a new one.
7. Check Your Battery Condition
Try to check the condition of your battery, if your Mac battery drops, it can cause your MacBook Pro keeps shutting down unexpectedly. There will be no sleep sign or other notification that your battery runs out. If the battery runs out quickly but does not drop, usually there is a notification on your mac that the battery has run out.
The solution is you should try to find the source of the electricity and charge your mac. If your MacBook Pro is still shutting down, it might be your battery is totally damage. But if your MacBook Pro using the charger and it does not shut down randomly, so you have to replace the battery.
Those are the solutions to fix if your MacBook Pro keeps shutting down unexpectedly. Try to apply the methods outlined above, and hopefully, it will work. If those methods do not work, you can go to an authorized service center to fix your Mac.
