MacBook Pro battery total dead - replacement options?

F

flyingturtle

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 2, 2010
Messages
149
I've got a MacBook Pro 15inch that I bought early 2007. I've used it mainly as a desktop for final cut pro, garageband and photoshop work so it's always plugged in. As a consequence, the battery is totally dead. It'll last maybe 5 minutes if I'm lucky.

I remember hearing battery issues way back when I bought it, but I think that was related more to heat issues and batteries exploding. Anyway I assume it's too late to get it replaced. How much are new MacBook Pro batteries? Can I only buy them from Apple or are their alternatives?

Also what's the best procedure to make laptop batteries last longer? It sucks that laptop batteries longevity is rather short although it seems the MacBook Pro's have it worse than others. I've got other friends with MacBook Pro's with similar short battery charges. My cheap Dell seems to fair better with battery life.
 
flyingturtle said:
Anyway I assume it's too late to get it replaced. How much are new MacBook Pro batteries? Can I only buy them from Apple or are their alternatives?
Click to expand...

You would be surprised what Apple replaces for free, even out of warranty. Take it into an Apple Store and see what they'll do for you. And AFAIK you can only get batteries from Apple. At least, I've never seen third party MBP batteries.

Also what's the best procedure to make laptop batteries last longer?
Click to expand...

Calibrate once a month. On a more day-to-day level, turn off Time Machine, turn off unnecessary background apps (like Dropbox), turn down the backlit keyboard's brightness, turn down the display's brightness, run Safari in 32-bit mode, install ClickToFlash... I'm sure there are other things you can do, but that's plenty as it is. The less practical step would be to buy one of the new MBPs with the eight-hour battery life.
 
Last edited:
Look on the bright side... at least you own one the few Apple devices that allow you to change the battery! :p
 
I'll try hitting the Apple Store soon and see what they say. It's worth a shot so thanks, Terpfen, for that suggestion and the power-saving tips.

And thanks, CrazyCuz2k for the ebay suggestion. I'll look there as well.
 
About a month ago Apple swapped out the battery on my Mid/Late 2007 MBP. It is possible that they'd do the same for you. If not, I believe batteries cost $129 from Apple.
 
So what happens with the new MBPs when their batteries start crapping up? Will they be able to replace them instore or will you have to send the laptop to them by mail?
 
Tylerdurdened said:
So what happens with the new MBPs when their batteries start crapping up? Will they be able to replace them instore or will you have to send the laptop to them by mail?
Click to expand...

Apple usually does everything in-store. If they need to mail it off, the store handles sending and receiving, and calls you when it's back and ready to go.
 
flyingturtle said:
I've got a MacBook Pro 15inch that I bought early 2007. I've used it mainly as a desktop for final cut pro, garageband and photoshop work so it's always plugged in. As a consequence, the battery is totally dead. It'll last maybe 5 minutes if I'm lucky.

I remember hearing battery issues way back when I bought it, but I think that was related more to heat issues and batteries exploding. Anyway I assume it's too late to get it replaced. How much are new MacBook Pro batteries? Can I only buy them from Apple or are their alternatives?

Also what's the best procedure to make laptop batteries last longer? It sucks that laptop batteries longevity is rather short although it seems the MacBook Pro's have it worse than others. I've got other friends with MacBook Pro's with similar short battery charges. My cheap Dell seems to fair better with battery life.
Click to expand...

That seems odd that yours died so quickly. I have a late 2007 MBP and the battery is still going strong. Can still go about 2 hours of medium use or more than 5 if I am not doing much. I would guess it is related to the always plugged in bit? I am not sure, but that is all I can think of. Mine is on almost all day and spends my work hours (8-10ish hours 5-6 days a week) plugged in, but it is recharging from having the battery almost totally drained then as I carry it around to classes before. Could be you just had bad luck.


At any rate it is worth taking it to an Apple store and seeing what they say, if you have one close by.
 
I've read that these batteries do not suffer from overcharge because once the battery is full, it won't accept any further charge.
 
I've experienced that with any Li-Ion battery, if its not cycled on a regular basis its going to lose capacity and health over time. I discovered this on my first MBP where I thought "hey, if i leave it plugged in all the time I'll always have a nice fresh battery when I need it". I even went as far as seeing how few cycles I could have on it. I think after I year my battery had < 10 cycles on it (and 50% health). Consequently, when I tried to use the battery it crapped out after a short amount of time. Before my current unibody the last one I had was hard to tell what the capacity/health was because Apple replaced it 3 times for 'bulging'

On the unibody I've had this for over a year and the battery still has 99% health with 143 Cycles. I run it off battery several times a week.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top