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1 Will this MacBook Pro boot without a battery?
To first add some context: My one year old MacBook Pro (A1708) which quite inconveniently ran out of warranty just a while ago, started getting its battery swelling up. The battery replacement program for this model says my serial number is not eligible, and my country has no Apple Stores or any places that will repair this even for a price. So I’m left to repair this on my own, or get a new laptop if that fails.
So my question is, until I can get myself a battery, would it be possible to boot this thing without one? I’ve heard MacBooks downclock when you remove the battery, and that’s fine with me. I just haven’t been able to find anything about this on the newer models, so I just want to know if I can boot this, as I can’t afford to go without this for long.
(Alternatively, Apple says this is not a safety issue, so I suppose I can continue using this as is until I can replace the battery, but I don’t know if I can really trust them here.)
Update (05/24/2020)
Sorry for the bump, but I just wanted to report back on this.
The battery was getting way too ballooned up for comfort so I took the laptop apart and pulled the thing out. (Now I have to find a way to dispose of that but that’s another story.)
So now as mentioned in this thread, the CPU was being throttled when powered on without the battery inside. To be specific, it was being throttled down to half of the base clock. But turns out the way this is being done is by utilizing the Intel CPU’s “BD PROCHOT” feature. I’m no expert at this, but as far as I could find out, this is meant to be used by a computer to throttle the CPU when something outside it is going wrong.
Now on macOS, I have no clue what to do about this. However, on Windows, disabling BD PROCHOT is a very simple thing. And that’s exactly what I’ve done. Did so and then ran a few CPU stress tests. Machine is chugging along pretty well. Going to be running it like this for a while to see just how things will turn out in the long run, but so far (used for like two days this way now) it sure seems like Apple’s throttling is nothing but a method for them to sell replacement batteries.
Ist dies eine gute Frage?
970 
10 Kommentare
@starjet - Well... I don't quite agree on Apple using this to sell replacement batteries. I will agree its a bit aggressive of them to push the system in to Safe Mode instead of disabling the batteries charging logic so it only is able to run off of AC only with a banner telling you why.
As it stands now if they didn't push to safe mode you would likely have 'A flaming hot time in the Mac time tonight!' Which you really don't want!
von Dan
No, I mean that right now I have forced their throttling off, and the MacBook is running just as well as it always has. Temps are all good too. This is why I'm doubting Apple's reasons for throttling.
(Note that while the bulging battery was inside, there was no throttling. If anything, with that in is how I could have had a flaming hot Mac time.)
von starspark905.chz
I think we are saying the same thing here. The systems SMC needs the thermal input of the battery as its not able to see it it should go into safe mode as if it didn't you could be charging your battery over its thermal threshold - Poof flames and smoke! So this is the right direction for Apple to protect you and them selves.
I agree when you took the battery out Apple could have added a bit more logic to sense the battery was missing and then not go into safe mode. But, then again Apple is not expecting people to be running their MacBook Pro's without a battery! Don't forget, If you yank on the MagSafe cable you can corrupt your drive and loose what you are working on! Not any different from pulling the AC cord out of the computer while it's rendering a video of something important - Oops! Sorry boss we lost it.
von Dan
The computer can clearly tell that there is no battery. It will tell you as much, when you power it on. There's no risk of flames in this situation.
Also, this doesn't even have magsafe, because Apple removed that from these models, putting form over function. (In hindsight, that should've been a sign indicating the direction they're going now) That aside, if I were to stupidly rip the power cable out and something happens, CPU throttling will do nothing to protect it.
There is no sensible reason for this.
von starspark905.chz
@starjet Hey there I know this thread is a bit old but I've just come across the same issue where I now use my Macbook Pro without a battery. Could you explain how you were able to stop the throttling?
von MacStein
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