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15" 2008 unibody battery?

I

insignificantMB

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 24, 2008
72
0
Lakers!
I have an 08 unibody that I got on oct 14 2008. Right now I have 1055 charge cycles on the battery and I am wondering if it is time for me to get a new one. My battery health is only at 65% and it lasts for less than 2 hours with regular internet and productivity apps like word.

Where can I get a new battery and what kind does this laptop take? I have applecare for 3 years so will Apple replace my battery? If not what is the model so I can purchase it on amazon?

Lastly, is it normal for this model of mbp to have the CPU run at around 70C under normal usage and fans at 3500 rpm? Or is that a problem that Apple will fix?

Thanks!
 
insignificantMB said:
I have an 08 unibody that I got on oct 14 2008. Right now I have 1055 charge cycles on the battery and I am wondering if it is time for me to get a new one. My battery health is only at 65% and it lasts for less than 2 hours with regular internet and productivity apps like word.

Where can I get a new battery and what kind does this laptop take? I have applecare for 3 years so will Apple replace my battery? If not what is the model so I can purchase it on amazon?

Lastly, is it normal for this model of mbp to have the CPU run at around 70C under normal usage and fans at 3500 rpm? Or is that a problem that Apple will fix?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I would first try calibrating your battery to see if that will correct the reporting issues.

If calibration doesn't work, take it to the Apple Store and have them run the diagnostics check to see if your battery passes or fails. They will only replace it if it fails; AppleCare doesn't cover batteries showing signs of general use/depletion over time.

If they don't replace it, you can purchase a new one through Apple or through a cheaper third party vendor. Ask them for the battery model or even try a Google search.

Your heat temps and fans are fine, ignore the posts you're reading here or elsewhere.
 
insignificantMB said:
I have an 08 unibody that I got on oct 14 2008. Right now I have 1055 charge cycles on the battery and I am wondering if it is time for me to get a new one. My battery health is only at 65% and it lasts for less than 2 hours with regular internet and productivity apps like word.
Click to expand...
Your battery life from a charge is dependent on many factors, such as screen brightness, WiFi, bluetooth, apps/widgets/processes running, etc.
insignificantMB said:
Where can I get a new battery and what kind does this laptop take?
Click to expand...
Click the Battery Replacement link near the top of the Battery FAQ.
insignificantMB said:
I have applecare for 3 years so will Apple replace my battery?
Click to expand...
AppleCare only covers defective batteries, not depletion from normal use.

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
insignificantMB said:
Lastly, is it normal for this model of mbp to have the CPU run at around 70C under normal usage and fans at 3500 rpm?
Click to expand...
Again, many factors go into "normal usage", such as Flash content on websites, multimedia apps, etc.
 
You are pretty unlikely to get a warranty replacement on a battery with 1055 cycles on it, and actually it seems to be doing quite well for the health to be as high as 65%. I had a 2008 15", and even when it was new it didn't last much more than two hours with medium brightness and wifi on.
 
my battery is at 89 percent and get 2 hours so that sounds about right
 
DIMEZ said:
my battery is at 89 percent and get 2 hours so that sounds about right
Click to expand...

I get well over 3 hours and 30 minutes on the 15 inch late 2008 macbook pro I bought from my friend last week. He barely must have used the battery lol. Its at 97% health and only has 193 charge cycles on it.

Also, 70C does seem a bit high at 3500RPM. My fans are running at 2000 RPM and the highest Ive seen browsing the internet was 55C and that was with the macbook on my lap.
 
70C @ 3500rpm is pretty high for just standard browsing etc.

Heater on, on my bed with the vents partially covered by my blanket (and my legs underneath)... browsing I can stay under 55C. On a table on just idle it sits at 42-46C. These are all CPU temps.

It was running about 5-10C higher before, but I took everything apart and cleaned it. If you've never cleaned it, the dust and fluff inside could easily put you at those temperatures IMO. :D

This is a late 2008 Unibody, 2.4GHz 15".
 
Replacement MacBook Pro Battery

I also have a MacBook Pro 2.4 ghz (Late 2008) model. I recently upgraded the laptop to 8GB of RAM. When I tried putting the battery back in, I noticed it was swelling/bowed a bit which prevents the cover from complete fitting on properly.

Normally the laptop is plugged in. Cocunut Battery lists the capacity as 3650 of 4600 and iStatPro lists the health at 79% with 63 cycles.

I've read the Apple Battery FAQ, but I have heard instances of Apple replacing defective batteries even without AppleCare?

If Apple won't replace, are there any worthwhile third party batteries. I see a variety in the $60 range or should I just place it safe and go with Apple?

Thanks
 
Apple will replace that regardless of apple care. If it's less than 80% with less than 300 cycles for your model, it's considered faulty, plus it's swollen, so that's another fault.
 
Apple Replaces Battery

alust2013 said:
Apple will replace that regardless of apple care. If it's less than 80% with less than 300 cycles for your model, it's considered faulty, plus it's swollen, so that's another fault.
Click to expand...

Success with Apple! I made a Genuis Bar reservation and went to my local Apple Store in Short Hills, NJ. It was clearly evident the battery had issues even with the light usage. Within two minutes the Apple rep pulled out and brand new battery and replaced it on the spot even though it was out of warranty and I had no AppleCare. Way to go Apple! Let's see HP or Dell ever do that. What a runaround that would have been.
 
have a macbook pro late 2008 since feb 2009. 85% health cycles 98. is it good or bad. i see people with more cycles and better health percentages than mine.

i get around 3h30 to 4 hours max.

and the last 2 weeks my the computer shut down sometimes without any warning at around 25%-30% when on battery.

i have tried to calibrate it but didn't fix anything.
 
GGJstudios said:
If it shuts down with that much showing and the battery is properly calibrated, try resetting the SMC. Also, read the Battery FAQ I posted earlier for answers to your questions.
Click to expand...
GGJstudios thanks for the info.
i have tried that. it didn't solve anything.
on that day you gave me the answer my hard drive failed. because it wasn't starting at all even plugged in. it has a new hdd now.

i just suprise my mbp having all this problems at one time after more than 2 years problem free.
 
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