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MacBook Air (Original, Late 2008, and Mid 2009): About the battery diagnostic

Posted in Apple Portable Computers

Summary

Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASPs) can use the MacBook Air's sleep indicator light (SIL) for troubleshooting certain issues. In addition to its other functions, the sleep indicator light provides diagnostic information including battery health. The sleep indicator is located along the front edge on the right side, just left of the IR window.

Products Affected

MacBook Air, MacBook Air (Original), MacBook Air (Late 2008), MacBook Air (Mid 2009)

If the MacBook Air's sleep indicator light flashes 5 times at power on and the pattern repeats after a brief pause, the computer's battery may require service. If the power adaptor is present and connected to a working power source, the MacBook Air will continue to start up normally; however, the battery should be serviced by Apple (or an AASP) at your earliest convenience.

This 5-flash pattern may also occur when waking the computer from sleep if the power adaptor is connected and the battery requires service. This is intended to let you know that the MacBook Air's battery requires service but will still accommodate continued operation until it can be serviced by Apple or an AASP.

Important: It is important to note that the "Safe Sleep" function may be unable to recover unsaved data if the MacBook Air's power is interrupted while in this state.

Additional Information

To learn about other Power On, Self-Test diagnostic beeps and LED blinks, see this article. To learn more about the Intel-based Mac startup sequence and error codes, see this article.

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