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MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Avatar Rick Churchill
My next project is to replace the failing battery which lasts just over an hour now. Apple will kindly install one for about £200, iFixit will supply one for about £100 or I could obtain one from Amazon for about £50.
I have 2 issues:
1) Should I buy an expensive one from iFixit which is likely to be of good quality or a cheaper one from eBay?
2) Adhesive remover? From watching YouTube videos the brute force removal, without using adhesive remover dribbled under the battery though a syringe, is fraught with danger. For another £7 iFixit will supply a kit including this but I believe it is nothing more than Acetone which I already possess.

Has anyone replaced their laptop battery or would like to comment?

Re: MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Avatar Richard I
I really think it is false economy to buy a cheap battery. If it burst into flames (which some do) then you have lost the whole mac and perhaps your home too.

It is just not worth it.

Re: MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Avatar Eleanor Spenceley
I did a battery replacement a few months ago. Here is the entry.

Re: MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Avatar Rick Churchill
Thank you Eleanor I missed that post.
I know that Acetone can damage the screen coating but I am more concerned about tearing the Lithium battery sheathes. I watched a YouTube of a man who regularly replaces these batteries wrestle with a credit card which he used to dig away at the glue and didn’t much like that. Your fishing line approach seems less damaging but still tricky.

I will watch more YouTube videos before making my decision. It’s a lot harder than my old PC laptop where the battery lifted out after sliding a catch.

You may be right Richard although from my radio control electric plane experience I find cheap batteries swell and lose charge quickly rather than burst.

Re: MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Avatar Trevor Hewson
Is there no chance of cutting through the adhesive, e.g. with dental floss? Buying batteries off eBay is always a bit of a lottery. However I have done it with an old ‘clamshell’ iBook and for an iPhone 4 and been pleased with the results.

Re: MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Avatar Drew McFarlane
In 2019 I replaced the battery on both my 2010 MacBook Pro and 2011 MacBook Air without a problem.

At the moment I can't remember where I bought the batteries from but will look and report back tomorrow.

Re: MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Avatar Drew McFarlane
I bought the MacBook Pro battery from Techtronix Ltd (Amazon) in October 2019 for £55. MacBook Air Battery a month later at a cost of £65, also from Techtronix.

Re: MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Avatar Rick Churchill
Thank you Trevor and Drew.
Looking at more YouTube videos it seems quite difficult to remove the battery and then the remaining glue without resorting to fluids. I may have my Acetone on standby after attempting to use fishing line or dental floss.

I cannot find Techtronix, they do not seem to be using Amazon anymore (There is a company based in Bangalore who service phones and computers)

Re: MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Avatar Rick Churchill
UPDATE
I bought my battery from E EGOWAY on Amazon. Replacing the battery was fairly straight forward. I also bought a set of syringes which allowed me to dribble a little Acetone underneath the batteries to soften the adhesive after wrapping the screen in aluminium foil in case of any spillage. Without the Acetone trying to force a credit card beneath was too difficult for me. I had some dental floss on standby but felt this too would be a struggle.
The only mistake I made was to follow the supplier’s advice and keep the thin transparent film on until the battery was installed. I should have removed this before installing the trackpad ribbon cable, so forgetting to disconnect the battery plug, I removed and reconnected the cable “live”.
Because of this mistake the following incidents had me worried:
1) the MacBook didn’t power on with the first press of the power button and
2) the Magsafe power connector light failed to illuminate until I waggled the plug.
After cycling the battery, About this Mac > System Report shows cycle count 2 and a capacity of 7000mAh which exceeds the 6560 mAh original Apple battery capacity. Whether the life of this battery will exceed the 6 years of the previous we shall see.
It’s a pity Apple have soldered in the RAM as this would be my next upgrade.

Re: MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Avatar Mick Burrell
I have a soldering iron you could borrow Rick ;-)

Re: MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Avatar Tony Still
Just ram it in...?
 
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