How do I get a new battery from Apple for free?

eddx · Apr 13, 2008

I have had my macbook pro since June 2006. Obviously I have Apple Care which covers the computer till June 2009. Six months ago I began to notice my battery life had gone down from around 2 hours to really rubbish. I timed really rubbish last night - 6 minutes, from fully charged to complete switch off, no warnings no nothing.

At Christmas I took it in to the Genius Bar and they said the battery wasn't covered under AppleCare but they could send the machine away for 7-10 days to get the problem looked at. I can't afford 48 hours without my only computer let alone 7+ days.

I read that people have done this, and I can not afford £99 ($195) for a new battery.

How do I get a new free battery for this computer?

EvanLugh · Apr 13, 2008

Run in
Grab a battery
Run out

If you have AC i don't see why they won't repair it. Ring up, I was told to pay for my iPod stuff but I phoned up and they shipped me a box, straight out homie.

eddx · Apr 13, 2008

EvanLugh said:
If you have AC i don't see why they won't repair it. Ring up, I was told to pay for my iPod stuff but I phoned up and they shipped me a box, straight out homie.

Sorry, you miss understood me. They offered to repair the computer for free but I can't afford the time with the machine.

What I need to them to replace the battery without having to have them take away the machine for testing.

Yes, I could go to the Apple store and buy a new battery, but surely there must be people who have had similar issues and got their battery replaced for free?

EvanLugh · Apr 13, 2008

If they will repair it for free, take the option or keep suffering, I don't see the problem. And I *need* to have and read my emails within the second I get them, So I bought a cheap Laptop and an iPhone.

eddx · Apr 13, 2008

EvanLugh said:
I *need* to have and read my emails within the second I get them, So I bought a cheap Laptop and an iPhone.

I have an iPhone for this. I am a photographer who uses my MacBook Pro for work seven days of the week. Being my only computer 7-10 days of not being able to do my job would be impractical.

Sadly, I am not successful enough to afford a second mac at this point in my life.

The computer is very userable, it is just annoying when out on a photo shoot and a client wants to preview some samples or get copies of some high quality files - we have to go around looking for a power outlet because "my battery is rubbish".

Please give me some advice about what I can say - maybe I should email Steve Jobs?

EvanLugh · Apr 13, 2008

They won't repair it there and then, it'll be gone for atleast 2 days if you send it to an authorized service centre.

DerekS · Apr 13, 2008

You don't get one free - you're out of the normal battery lifetime and/or warranty (even with Applecare.)

However, you MIGHT be able to swap it if your battery was one of the ones affected by recall:

https://support.apple.com/macbookpro15/batteryexchange/

Chaszmyr · Apr 13, 2008

If your battery is one of the ones recalled then they will replace it. They will want to make it take several days and have you send it in and Apple send you one back, but if you go to the store and are really insistent that you have a reason that you need a battery soon, they'll likely swap it out in the store. Again, though, this is only if it's one that was recalled.

eddx · Apr 13, 2008

DerekS said:
However, you MIGHT be able to swap it if your battery was one of the ones affected by recall:

https://support.apple.com/macbookpro15/batteryexchange/

I have checked a similar page before but thought I would just remove my battery to check. Its still bad news. My battery has the correct model number for replacement "A1175" however the serial number above the bar code does not end in any of the three codes they have on that page.

Can someone please tell me what the battery policy is for the macbook pro and applecare customers? Thanks

Vanarak19 · Apr 13, 2008

eddx said:
I have had my macbook pro since June 2006. Obviously I have Apple Care which covers the computer till June 2009. Six months ago I began to notice my battery life had gone down from around 2 hours to really rubbish. I timed really rubbish last night - 6 minutes, from fully charged to complete switch off, no warnings no nothing.

At Christmas I took it in to the Genius Bar and they said the battery wasn't covered under AppleCare but they could send the machine away for 7-10 days to get the problem looked at. I can't afford 48 hours without my only computer let alone 7+ days.

I read that people have done this, and I can not afford £99 ($195) for a new battery.

How do I get a new free battery for this computer?

Policy:
your battery is a CONSUMABLE. after 1 year good luck. Apple doesnt have to replace squat for you. Batteries loose their abilities after about a year, they decline. Its just life.

But apple doesnt owe you anything! Not even with applecare.

spend the money if it annoys you. Dont expect a company to shell you out another battery just because the one you have has been used.

QuarterSwede · Apr 13, 2008

Chaszmyr said:
If your battery is one of the ones recalled then they will replace it. They will want to make it take several days and have you send it in and Apple send you one back, but if you go to the store and are really insistent that you have a reason that you need a battery soon, they'll likely swap it out in the store. Again, though, this is only if it's one that was recalled.

Even though his battery isn't one of the ones affected by the recall I'm still going to clear this incorrect post up.

I had a 12" PB battery that was affected a while ago. What Apple does is send you a new battery and once you get it put the recalled one in the box and slap the shipping label they give you on it and ship it back. You won't be a day without a battery (not that it matters in his case).

Chaszmyr · Apr 13, 2008

QuarterSwede said:
Even though his battery isn't one of the ones affected by the recall I'm still going to clear this incorrect post up.

I had a 12" PB battery that was affected a while ago. What Apple does is send you a new battery and once you get it put the recalled one in the box and slap the shipping label they give you on it and ship it back. You won't be a day without a battery (not that it matters in his case).

Well, I didn't remember the details, because my case was different. My battery was completely nonfunctional (it puffed up like a balloon), and I would have had to wait for Apple to send me a battery, so in essence I would have been completely without a battery.

Eraserhead · Apr 13, 2008

If the battery has less than 300 charge cycles, and is at less than 80% capacity, you should be able to get them to replace the battery under Applecare as its clearly a manufacturing defect. You can check this in Apple Menu>About this Mac>More Info>Power.

While Apple may want to take a look (or an authorised repair shop) themselves, I see no reason why they'd need to take your computer away from you for longer than 5-10 minutes to check out the battery stats are as you say.

I got a straight battery swap in the mail, though I have had a fair few issues with my MacBook.

eddx · Apr 13, 2008

Eraserhead said:
If the battery has less than 300 charge cycles, and is at less than 80% capacity, you should be able to get them to replace the battery under Applecare as its clearly a manufacturing defect. You can check this in Apple Menu>About this Mac>More Info>Power.

I got a straight battery swap in the mail, though I have had a fair few issues with my MacBook.

Health Information:

Cycle count = 126
Battery health = Fair
Orginial Battery Capacity = 5500 mAh
Current Battery Capacity = 4130 mAh (75%)
Current time on battery from full charge = 5-10 minutes

So ringing AppleCare on Monday morning armed with the above information I should be able to get them to send me out a new battery and when I receive it I can ship them this current defected one back, for free. Yes?

EvanLugh · Apr 13, 2008

To be honest mate, if you needed it that much you would just pay the cost to send the battery. But I don't think they'll charge you.

Eraserhead · Apr 13, 2008

eddx said:
Health Information:

Cycle count = 126
Battery health = Fair
Orginial Battery Capacity = 5500 mAh
Current Battery Capacity = 4130 mAh (75%)
Current time on battery from full charge = 5-10 minutes

So ringing AppleCare on Monday morning armed with the above information I should be able to get them to send me out a new battery and when I receive it I can ship them this current defected one back, for free. Yes?

At 75% capacity it should still last a lot more than 6 minutes, more like 2 hours.

To be honest if its only lasting 6 minutes, the battery capacity may not be the main issue. It is possible that it is just being mis-reported though, which make sense as to why the machine just spontaneously switched off.

However as they do owe you a new battery given the figures quoted in the system profile, and that is a fairly painless replacement, I'd push for it, but be nice to the staff on the phone

. You will also have to give your credit/debit card number in case you don't return the battery.

OllyW · Apr 13, 2008

The battery in my MBP was having similar problems to yours. It was only 9 months old having already replaced in the recall but it never seemed to be as good as the original battery, eventually it got so bad it would just shut down and lose my work without any warning.

I booked an appointment with a Genius at the Bullring Store and they changed it under AppleCare on the spot after running a few checks.

cwalex18 · Apr 13, 2008

Call AppleCare, and they should send you a new battery by mail, especially if you give them your battery health info. 75% Capacity should give you way more than 10 minutes. When you call, they ask for a credit card # incase you don't return your current battery back to them. Once you receive your new battery in the mail, you can send your current battery back to Apple for free in the same box they sent the new battery in. I have done it before, and it works out really well. At least in the US, they ship it next day air and even provide you with a tracking number to track your replacement battery as it is sent out to you.

eddx · Apr 16, 2008

cwalex18 said:
Call AppleCare, and they should send you a new battery by mail, especially if you give them your battery health info. 75% Capacity should give you way more than 10 minutes. When you call, they ask for a credit card # incase you don't return your current battery back to them. Once you receive your new battery in the mail, you can send your current battery back to Apple for free in the same box they sent the new battery in. I have done it before, and it works out really well. At least in the US, they ship it next day air and even provide you with a tracking number to track your replacement battery as it is sent out to you.

I have just got off the phone to Apple. I told them my serial number and he told me I have a 12 month old 15inch MacBook Pro. After about 20 minutes of him trying to put my details in the system its in the mail.

According to Apple I now have a FREE battery for my MacBook Pro on its way, it should be here in 5 working days. I told them the same as I told you guys above, that I had taken it in to the Apple Store and they wanted to send it away but I couldn't be without my computer for work. I told them I feel it was bad of Apple that they had expected me to pay £99 ($195USD) for a new battery when I had paid £279 ($550USD) on AppleCare.

I will post when I receive my new battery and let you guys know what kind of improvements it makes to my system.

Has anyone else had a similar macbook battery problem?

eddx · Apr 19, 2008

I have now had my new MacBook Pro battery for 48 hours. Yes, Apple Fedexed it over to me and it was with me in under 24 hours. It work fantastically well and after a full charge I now get at least 2 hours of a charge.

I got my FREE battery!!!

Currently lay in bed on my wi-fi network, been on battery for nearly an hour and it still says 2 hours 11 minutes / 72% remaining. Good times

ozziegn · Apr 19, 2008

and yet another fine story about how good Apple really treats their customers.

too bad not too many other companies can say the same thing.

marksman · Apr 19, 2008

Heartwarming tale.

It is crazy how much you Euros have to pay for apple stuff though.

$199 for a battery? $550 for Applecare?

Yikes.

How do I get a new battery from Apple for free?

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