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AnnaCody

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 21, 2010
121
3
CAPE COD
I'll be needing to replace the battery in my mid 2010 (bought August 2010) MacBook Pro. Is this something I can do myself or should I take it to the Apple store where I bought it?

And would you happen to know approximately how much it will cost either way?

Thanks so much,
Anna
 

Shrink

macrumors G3
Feb 26, 2011
8,929
1,727
New England, USA
I'll be needing to replace the battery in my mid 2010 (bought August 2010) MacBook Pro. Is this something I can do myself or should I take it to the Apple store where I bought it?

And would you happen to know approximately how much it will cost either way?

Thanks so much,
Anna

I took mine to the Apple Store due to insufficient technical skills on my part.:p

I have an early 2011 15" MacBook Pro...it cost $129.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
I'll be needing to replace the battery in my mid 2010 (bought August 2010) MacBook Pro. Is this something I can do myself or should I take it to the Apple store where I bought it?

And would you happen to know approximately how much it will cost either way?

Thanks so much,
Anna
Take it to Apple.

The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.
 

AnnaCody

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 21, 2010
121
3
CAPE COD
Thanks for the quick replies. I guess that's what I'll do too cuz I sure don't want to mess anything up.

And thanks for the battery info link. I use it throughout the day....drain the battery then charge it up again. I don't like being tethered to the power cord.

I figure 3 years 4 months is pretty good for that type of wear and tear.

I'm presuming it's not damaging anything else and if I wait until it's hardly charging at all, that is OK too?
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
I use it throughout the day....drain the battery then charge it up again. I don't like being tethered to the power cord.

I'm presuming it's not damaging anything else and if I wait until it's hardly charging at all, that is OK too?
Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug any time you need to, regardless of the charged percentage, and you never need to completely drain your battery. Just make sure you don't run on AC power exclusively, as your battery needs to be used regularly to stay healthy.
 

Miss Terri

macrumors 6502
Nov 11, 2010
408
0
US East Coast
When my mid-2010 MBP needed a new battery, I looked the replacement procedure up on iFixit, and I felt comfortable that I could handle it myself. However, iFixit was out of stock on batteries, and noplace else could get one to me very quickly (without breaking the bank), so I took it to an Apple store and had them do it. Solely because I could be back home in four hours with a new battery vs. waiting up to a week to get one via mail order.

I don't remember the exact figures, but it was something along the lines of $125 to order one and $135 to have Apple do it (or if that's wrong, the concept is right). So not a huge premium (not counting gas to Apple store and back if you are far away). In other words, probably a no-brainer if you are not comfortable doing it yourself anyway.
 

AnnaCody

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 21, 2010
121
3
CAPE COD
Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug any time you need to, regardless of the charged percentage, and you never need to completely drain your battery. Just make sure you don't run on AC power exclusively, as your battery needs to be used regularly to stay healthy.

This is good to know. Thank you!

----------

When my mid-2010 MBP needed a new battery, I looked the replacement procedure up on iFixit, and I felt comfortable that I could handle it myself. However, iFixit was out of stock on batteries, and noplace else could get one to me very quickly (without breaking the bank), so I took it to an Apple store and had them do it. Solely because I could be back home in four hours with a new battery vs. waiting up to a week to get one via mail order.

I don't remember the exact figures, but it was something along the lines of $125 to order one and $135 to have Apple do it (or if that's wrong, the concept is right). So not a huge premium (not counting gas to Apple store and back if you are far away). In other words, probably a no-brainer if you are not comfortable doing it yourself anyway.

aHA, that's where I'd seen that it could be done ourselves. I do have an Apple store close by but I just might check iFixit out again. The Apple store is a little vague with doing this kind of work....."we might be able to do it today blahblahblah". It's self run so doesn't take appointments. If I can avoid it I'd rather :rolleyes:
 
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