Chosen Solution
I recently replaced the battery on my late 2013 Macbook Pro 13” running Mojave 10.14.3 and it seemed like everything went well. I gave the computer to my wife and went about my day. Later that evening after it was shut down and I had to login and it wasn’t taking her account password. She mentioned that earlier it had the same issue but it worked after 4 or 5 tries so she thought she was just entering the password incorrectly. Since then I’ve tried all kinds of things and nothing has worked: Tried: Reset password with Apple ID (password works in Recovery OS)Reset SMCReset PRAM (did not seem to work correctly as noted in issues)Replace I/O cable (thought I may have damaged during battery replacement)Put old battery back in Keyboard Issues: Several keys do not function correctly in login screen (m, c, i, p, l, k do not type anything, typing h performs a backspace). This is an issue with the built-in keyboard and a separate USB keyboard.All keys function normally in the password Recovery ModeCommands during restart (enter rescue mode, select boot device, reset PRAM, etc) do not work at all. The only way to enter any kind of Recovery OS is to wait on the login screen until it says “If you’re having a problem entering your password, press and hold the power button on your Mac to shut it down. Then press it again to start up in the Recovery OS“, then holding down the power button to turn it off and then turn it back on again. This takes me directly to the Reset Password tool. Other Issues: Fans turn to high RPM a short while after starting and stay on like that.After a short while being on in Recovery OS will turn offUnable to install MacOS from Recovery OS. Says files are needed to download and are unable to at this time even though it is connected to the internet.Will not boot from USB to reinstall MacOS, though USB device is detected in the Recovery OS in Disk Utility.There are time machine backups available but every time I try to restore from them the computer restarts before it can begin restoring. At this point I’m looking for suggestions on what the problem is and what the recommended solution is.
In case anyone else is wondering: liquid damage is a heck of a thing. As it turns out I must have used too much adhesive remover during my battery replacement. Replacing the trackpad (temperature sensor) solved the fan issue. Replacing the logic board solved the keyboard issue. An expensive mistake to be sure… All of running well now though!
At this point I’m going to assume you either have had a liquid spill at some point damaging the keyboard or the battery is pressing on the keyboard cable. I would still try to find a USB wired keyboard to see if you can get diagnostics running. Sadly, Bluetooth keyboards need to wait until the OS has loaded so it won’t offer what we need here. In any case let’s take the bottom cover off to check the battery and see if doing a forced reset makes a difference. Follow this guide MacBook Pro 13" Retina Display Late 2013 Battery Replacement to Step 5. With nothing connected press the power button for a good 30 secs, then with the system on its side with the MagSafe charger did the system spontaneously start? Is the battery cells nice and flat or blistered in any way?
