5 ms·

I have also replaced battery from iFixit kit, I don’t know if I have the same brand, my machine sometimes while in sleep restarts by itself and I hear chime sou

I have also replaced battery from iFixit kit, I don’t know if I have the same brand, my machine sometimes while in sleep restarts by itself and I hear chime sound during the night while I’m sleeping. I have late 2013 MacBook Pro 15” Retina with integrated graphics.

eatbitseveryday 6y ago
Are Apple-genuine batteries no longer available?
- LIV2 6y ago
  It costs a fortune because Apple will also replace the top case, keyboard and trackpad while they’re at it
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - Reason077 6y ago
    $199 for any retina MacBook Pro or 12-inch MacBook. $129 for a MacBook Air. https://support.apple.com/mac/repair/service#battery https://support.apple.com/mac/repair/service#battery
    - manyxcxi 6y ago
      Assuming the cost of the batteries were the exact same, that means that Apple is charging an extra $60-$100 for the battery install. If it took all of 30 minutes, that’s a labor rate on par (or better) with most automotive/mechanic/trade shops in my area. I would love to be able to pay Apple just for the battery and do it myself, but I don’t know many people that want to learn how (even though it’s very simple). This is where I get torn about how angry I should be... I feel like Right to Repair laws should (exist in the US in the first place...) require that wear items be made available on their own. Not as an expensive assembly, not requiring authorized repairs when out of warranty, and not being DRMed. I think that certain classes of items should always be considered wear items- batteries, for instance. However, at a certain point regulation (in the US at least) tends to either be SO broad or specific as to become regulatory capture for the incumbents or basically toothless. On the other hand here, Apple is giving users a viable, quality option at what could be deemed a reasonable price. To be clear, I’m not patting them on the back- I’m sure lawsuits forced their hand, they’re still making money, and they’re protecting their brand. I guess the point I’m trying to get across is that it sucks that my options are battery of unknown origin which can have literal catastrophic implications or paying a non-inconsequential amount of money to repair a piece of equipment that is likely important to one’s daily life.
      - Reason077 6y ago
        Per the above post, in some models the battery modules are glued to the top case, which also contains the keyboard and trackpad. This makes replacement either quite a labour-intensive job, or a job that also requires replacement of the top case.
        Nullabillity 6y ago
        Which is a design choice that Apple made when they designed the laptop.
        nicoburns 6y ago
        Don't know why this is being downvoted. Manufacturers absolutely shouldn't be designing their products to be unrepairable in this way.
        rbanffy 6y ago
        The other day I read about car makers considering using batteries as structural elements to cut weight.
        the_pwner224 6y ago
        That doesn't necessarily mean they're not replaceable; just that the battery bears load. The engines on most modern motorcycles are structural elements but you can still easily take them out and work on them / replace them. Of course, the manufacturer could design them to not be replaceable. But it's not a requirement that structural elements are nonreplaceable.
        samatman 6y ago
        On the contrary: Manufacturers should have the right to design their products in any way they want, so long as the product is safe, and compliant with relevant regulations e.g. labor and environmental laws. You want a laptop with a replaceable battery, I want one that's as thin as possible while still doing the job. Good thing you can buy a ThinkPad and I can buy a MacBook!
    - asadkn 6y ago
      That maybe only applicable to certain cases or is US-only. I was quoted ~$500 for rMBP 2015 due to swollen battery (which is entirely Apple's fault), from two of their authorized centers. I was told they assess the extent of damage and charge based on that, but the whole top assembly is changed in any case (glued). For example, if they believe the keyboard was in good condition, you won't get charged for it (and hence the baseline $200).
      - bigbob2 6y ago
        Honestly between "disabling legacy extensions" on Mac and it being absurdly expensive or beyond your control to install genuine parts, I'm not sure I can bring myself to own another Apple product moving forward. Just sucks that work places will be much slower to drop them. Pop! OS runs great for me these days, if I could only polish off the last few warts :(
      - Reason077 6y ago
        You can check the prices for various different countries by switching the country using the link at the bottom right corner of the page. In general, the price for battery service seems to be pretty consistent around the world, subject to local taxes etc.
- reaperducer 6y ago
  It seems to depend where you live. In the United States, there are hundreds and hundreds of Apple authorized repair stores that have access to genuine Apple batteries. But this is not always true in other places, which leads to the HN echo chamber of "evil Apple is forcing obsolescence to sell more computers!" I had a MacBook Air done at one of these this party authorized repair shops last year, and it cost the same as getting it done from Apple, itself: $129.
- seaghost 6y ago
  Apple authorised service provider asked me 400€ for the replacement battery and labour costs. So I decided to replace it myself with iFixit kit and it was worth it. The iFixit instructions are really nice and not too complicated if you have a little bit of patience.
corgihamlet 6y ago
I had a similar issue with 2012 MBP and an aftermarket battery which in tracked down to the connector being somewhat loose.
macjohnmcc 6y ago
A house in our neighborhood burned to the ground and the fire was started by a laptop battery (replacement) charging. It shot up through the roof of the kitchen into attic and started a fire that quickly consumed the house. I would never put in a battery not from the manufacturer after that not that that is a guarantee.
- Nextgrid 6y ago
  The problem with bad/unsafe replacement batteries is that Apple intentionally makes it impossible to obtain an original battery. If you could just walk into an Apple store and buy the original, Apple-endorsed battery at a fair price there would be no reason to go with third-party (and potentially unsafe) batteries.
  - jwr 6y ago
    Hmm. I walked into an Apple store and got a "Top Case Assembly with Battery Replacement" service for my 15" MacBook Pro. It was $199 total, which I thought was a fair price.
    - CogitoCogito 6y ago
      > It was $199 total, which I thought was a fair price. I'm a bit curious how you came to that conclusion the price was "fair". Did you compare it to the prices of others providing the service?
      - bradknowles 6y ago
        You mean, others that are providing real authorized battery replacements from the manufacturer of the original equipment? Ones that should be more likely to be covered by insurance if they do cause a house fire? Those alternatives?
      - jwr 6y ago
        Well, replacing that battery is not that easy, I assumed 30 minutes labor in total, the battery needs to be shipped, too, and there is tax, so out of $199 the battery itself was perhaps $100 or so. In other words, if I were to do this elsewhere, I would need to buy the battery, ship it, and pay someone (or perform the task myself) to do the replacement. The $199 price seemed entirely reasonable, especially as this was in California at the time. I think the price seems "outrageous" only if you ignore the costs of labor, shipping and taxes.
Fezzik 6y ago
I had this same thing happen with a battery from OWC that I dropped in a 2015 MacBook Air. It oddly works perfectly other than rebooting itself and turning itself on when closed. And I followed all the installation/system reset instructions to a T.

eatbitseveryday 6y ago

Are Apple-genuine batteries no longer available?

LIV2 6y ago
It costs a fortune because Apple will also replace the top case, keyboard and trackpad while they’re at it
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- Reason077 6y ago
  $199 for any retina MacBook Pro or 12-inch MacBook. $129 for a MacBook Air. https://support.apple.com/mac/repair/service#battery https://support.apple.com/mac/repair/service#battery
  - manyxcxi 6y ago
    Assuming the cost of the batteries were the exact same, that means that Apple is charging an extra $60-$100 for the battery install. If it took all of 30 minutes, that’s a labor rate on par (or better) with most automotive/mechanic/trade shops in my area. I would love to be able to pay Apple just for the battery and do it myself, but I don’t know many people that want to learn how (even though it’s very simple). This is where I get torn about how angry I should be... I feel like Right to Repair laws should (exist in the US in the first place...) require that wear items be made available on their own. Not as an expensive assembly, not requiring authorized repairs when out of warranty, and not being DRMed. I think that certain classes of items should always be considered wear items- batteries, for instance. However, at a certain point regulation (in the US at least) tends to either be SO broad or specific as to become regulatory capture for the incumbents or basically toothless. On the other hand here, Apple is giving users a viable, quality option at what could be deemed a reasonable price. To be clear, I’m not patting them on the back- I’m sure lawsuits forced their hand, they’re still making money, and they’re protecting their brand. I guess the point I’m trying to get across is that it sucks that my options are battery of unknown origin which can have literal catastrophic implications or paying a non-inconsequential amount of money to repair a piece of equipment that is likely important to one’s daily life.
    - Reason077 6y ago
      Per the above post, in some models the battery modules are glued to the top case, which also contains the keyboard and trackpad. This makes replacement either quite a labour-intensive job, or a job that also requires replacement of the top case.
      - Nullabillity 6y ago
        Which is a design choice that Apple made when they designed the laptop.
        nicoburns 6y ago
        Don't know why this is being downvoted. Manufacturers absolutely shouldn't be designing their products to be unrepairable in this way.
        rbanffy 6y ago
        The other day I read about car makers considering using batteries as structural elements to cut weight.
        the_pwner224 6y ago
        That doesn't necessarily mean they're not replaceable; just that the battery bears load. The engines on most modern motorcycles are structural elements but you can still easily take them out and work on them / replace them. Of course, the manufacturer could design them to not be replaceable. But it's not a requirement that structural elements are nonreplaceable.
        samatman 6y ago
        On the contrary: Manufacturers should have the right to design their products in any way they want, so long as the product is safe, and compliant with relevant regulations e.g. labor and environmental laws. You want a laptop with a replaceable battery, I want one that's as thin as possible while still doing the job. Good thing you can buy a ThinkPad and I can buy a MacBook!
  - asadkn 6y ago
    That maybe only applicable to certain cases or is US-only. I was quoted ~$500 for rMBP 2015 due to swollen battery (which is entirely Apple's fault), from two of their authorized centers. I was told they assess the extent of damage and charge based on that, but the whole top assembly is changed in any case (glued). For example, if they believe the keyboard was in good condition, you won't get charged for it (and hence the baseline $200).
    - bigbob2 6y ago
      Honestly between "disabling legacy extensions" on Mac and it being absurdly expensive or beyond your control to install genuine parts, I'm not sure I can bring myself to own another Apple product moving forward. Just sucks that work places will be much slower to drop them. Pop! OS runs great for me these days, if I could only polish off the last few warts :(
    - Reason077 6y ago
      You can check the prices for various different countries by switching the country using the link at the bottom right corner of the page. In general, the price for battery service seems to be pretty consistent around the world, subject to local taxes etc.
reaperducer 6y ago
It seems to depend where you live. In the United States, there are hundreds and hundreds of Apple authorized repair stores that have access to genuine Apple batteries. But this is not always true in other places, which leads to the HN echo chamber of "evil Apple is forcing obsolescence to sell more computers!" I had a MacBook Air done at one of these this party authorized repair shops last year, and it cost the same as getting it done from Apple, itself: $129.
seaghost 6y ago
Apple authorised service provider asked me 400€ for the replacement battery and labour costs. So I decided to replace it myself with iFixit kit and it was worth it. The iFixit instructions are really nice and not too complicated if you have a little bit of patience.

corgihamlet 6y ago

I had a similar issue with 2012 MBP and an aftermarket battery which in tracked down to the connector being somewhat loose.

macjohnmcc 6y ago

A house in our neighborhood burned to the ground and the fire was started by a laptop battery (replacement) charging. It shot up through the roof of the kitchen into attic and started a fire that quickly consumed the house. I would never put in a battery not from the manufacturer after that not that that is a guarantee.

Nextgrid 6y ago
The problem with bad/unsafe replacement batteries is that Apple intentionally makes it impossible to obtain an original battery. If you could just walk into an Apple store and buy the original, Apple-endorsed battery at a fair price there would be no reason to go with third-party (and potentially unsafe) batteries.
- jwr 6y ago
  Hmm. I walked into an Apple store and got a "Top Case Assembly with Battery Replacement" service for my 15" MacBook Pro. It was $199 total, which I thought was a fair price.
  - CogitoCogito 6y ago
    > It was $199 total, which I thought was a fair price. I'm a bit curious how you came to that conclusion the price was "fair". Did you compare it to the prices of others providing the service?
    - bradknowles 6y ago
      You mean, others that are providing real authorized battery replacements from the manufacturer of the original equipment? Ones that should be more likely to be covered by insurance if they do cause a house fire? Those alternatives?
    - jwr 6y ago
      Well, replacing that battery is not that easy, I assumed 30 minutes labor in total, the battery needs to be shipped, too, and there is tax, so out of $199 the battery itself was perhaps $100 or so. In other words, if I were to do this elsewhere, I would need to buy the battery, ship it, and pay someone (or perform the task myself) to do the replacement. The $199 price seemed entirely reasonable, especially as this was in California at the time. I think the price seems "outrageous" only if you ignore the costs of labor, shipping and taxes.

Fezzik 6y ago

I had this same thing happen with a battery from OWC that I dropped in a 2015 MacBook Air. It oddly works perfectly other than rebooting itself and turning itself on when closed. And I followed all the installation/system reset instructions to a T.