6 Common Macbook Problems and How to Solve Them

According to one survey, about 9.5% of all PC users use a MacBook.

If you’re one of those MacBook users, you’ve probably also run into a few MacBook problems. 

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways that you can fix them; you just need to know where to look! If you’ve been struggling with your computer recently, make sure you keep reading to find out how to fix it. 

  1. External Drives Not Working

Sometimes you need to plug some external storage into your computer. However, sometimes the computers don’t recognize the connection, which means that you can’t use the external drive. 

To fix this, there are a few things you can try. 

The first thing to try is to unplug the hard drive and then restart your computer. One of the ports may not have been registering the connection, but restarting it could help. 

When you restart it, make sure that you launch it into Safe Mode at first. This will help you figure out if you have any unnecessary plugins that are affecting the ports. 

If that doesn’t work or you don’t want to reboot, you can try plugging it into a different port. Sometimes you’ll also need to install new driver updates in order for the computer to register it. 

If all else fails, try plugging the external drive into a different computer. You might find that it’s the external drive that’s the problem and not your computer.

  1. Bluetooth Won’t Work

If you have a set of AirPods, you’ll need to use Bluetooth to hook them up to your MacBook. But sometimes there can also be problems with Bluetooth on your computer.

To try and fix it, you should first open the system preferences menu. Once you’ve found the Bluetooth menu, make sure that it’s turned on. If it is, you should be able to see a list of possible devices you can connect to.

If it won’t let you connect to any of them, disconnect it from all of your devices. Let it sit off for a minute, and then try reconnecting it. If that doesn’t work, you can restart your MacBook as well. 

If that doesn’t work, you can open the Terminal window. Type in this command to force Bluetooth to restart: “sudo rm -R /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist”.

It may ask you for your password to confirm, and then from there, it should be working again.

  1. Battery Not Charging

When you run into the issue of your MacBook Pro not charging, there are a few things that you can try, like inspecting to see if the charger is in good working condition. If there are any burns, wear, or tear, it might not have a good connection for your laptop. 

If the charger itself isn’t the problem, you can check the battery of the MacBook itself. You can remove the battery from your computer and connect the system to an AC cord. If it connects fine there, you probably have an issue with the actual battery itself.

Sometimes that won’t fix the problem either, however. You can try resetting the NVRAM/PRAM to help fix this. If that doesn’t work, you might want to take it to a professional for them to fix. 

  1. FaceTime Isn’t Working

One of the best features of having a MacBook is to FaceTime with your contacts, so it can be really frustrating when it doesn’t work. Many users have complained that the camera image is low resolution, which makes it hard to even FaceTime. 

If you find that you have this issue, it’s probably not a hardware problem with your computer. That means the camera works just fine, especially if you can use it for other things and it works just fine. 

When the camera works fine on other applications that means that you need to check to see if there are any updates for your Mac computer. If there are, the software update may automatically fix the camera. 

  1. Backup Doesn’t Work

In order to make sure you don’t lose all of your data, Apple installed an app called Time Machine to back up your data. However, sometimes it doesn’t work or files go missing. 

If you’re having issues with that, make sure that your computer is up to date first. If it is, check the Airport menu. Sometimes there will be needed updates hiding there as well.

Another reason your backup might not be working is if you have some kind of network issue. The servers all have to be connected in order to send your data to the Time Machine. 

  1. The Spinning Beach Ball

Lastly, you might be running into the issue of the rainbow spinning beach ball. When you see this, it means your computer is thinking and working on something. It’s the computer’s way of telling you that it needs more time.

Usually, this is nothing to worry about. But if you see it for an extended period of time, you might want to open the Activity Monitor on your computer. This will tell you what app on your computer is using a large amount of your CPU. 

Once you find the app, you can close it and the problem should resolve itself. 

Discover More of the Common MacBook Problems

These are only a few of the most common MacBook problems, but there are many more of them that could cause issues with your laptop.

We know that dealing with any kind of technical difficulty can be overwhelming and stressful, but we’re here to help you out!

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