How does Apple replace the rMBP battery?

[Fimeg]

I have been trying to verify something that was told me about the battery swap. Does apple replace the keyboard, trackpad and the whole main body? Do they take the motherboard out and put it in a new case? Or do they somehow remove the battery and place a new one in?

I only have 512 charge cycles so I at least have another 4-5 hundred. But am curious about this swap.

Thanks!

 

[priitv8]

Yes, on the Retina models, the battery is replaced with complete topcase.

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.

 

[zI INFINITY Iz]

So basically if your battery needs to be replaced, you pay like 200 (?) dollar/euro for it, but also get a new Top Case, Keyboard and Trackpad "for free"? In that case 200 doesn't sound that bad I guess. Or am I missing something?

 

[Starfyre]

So basically if your battery needs to be replaced, you pay like 200 (?) dollar/euro for it, but also get a new Top Case, Keyboard and Trackpad "for free"? In that case 200 doesn't sound that bad I guess. Or am I missing something?

Apple consumers pay the premium. Apple doesn't. Parts like those are cheaper than you might think.

 

[ecrispy]

So basically if your battery needs to be replaced, you pay like 200 (?) dollar/euro for it, but also get a new Top Case, Keyboard and Trackpad "for free"? In that case 200 doesn't sound that bad I guess. Or am I missing something?

The battery costs a lot less than 200. And they make a profit by not allowing 3rd party parts and user upgrades.

 

[zI INFINITY Iz]

Apple consumers pay the premium. Apple doesn't. Parts like those are cheaper than you might think.

I'm a third year Industrial Product Design student so yes I can imagine those parts are cheap when made in mass production. Still, 200 euro sounded nasty for a battery replacement, but when I know they also replace the Top Case, Keyboard and Trackpad it suddenly doesn't feel like a horrible deal. After 2-3 years, you can basically "renew" a considerable part of your 1500-2500 euro laptop for 200 euro.

I have a "bigger problem" with the price you pay for the laptop itself then the price they ask to replace all this stuff. Again maybe I'm missing something but it doesn't sound that bad. The battery, Top Case, Keyboard and Trackpad together probably cost around 50-80 euro. Add the working hours costs, transportation, etc. And some money for Apple. Still I think 200 isn't that bad.

 

[marc55]

1. Do we know for sure the cost will be $200; with all those replacement parts, $200 actually seems pretty low to me.

2. What is the average time in years/months before a battery needs to be replaced?

 

[aristobrat]

1. Do we know for sure the cost will be $200; with all those replacement parts, $200 actually seems pretty low to me.

Yes, it's published here (click on the Battery Replacement > How much does battery replacement cost?):

http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=servicefaq&geo=United_States&product=Macnotebooks

2. What is the average time in years/months before a battery needs to be replaced?

They don't measure in "years/months" because that's a relative term -- a battery cycle for you may be 4 days, whereas for someone else, it may be once a day.

Like the iPad, Apple's statement for the rMBP battery is "80% capacity after 1000 full cycles."

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

 

[marc55]

Yes, it's published here (click on the Battery Replacement > How much does battery replacement cost?):

http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=servicefaq&geo=United_States&product=Macnotebooks


They don't measure in "years/months" because that's a relative term -- a battery cycle for you may be 4 days, whereas for someone else, it may be once a day.

Like the iPad, Apple's statement for the rMBP battery is "80% capacity after 1000 full cycles."

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

Thank you for the information; $200 is very-very reasonable. I'm thinking that price will go up as batteries actually begin to be replaced in the rMBP's.

I know the battery is measured in cycles, but I was just wondering what the average user has experienced in actual time (years/months)

 

[laurihoefs]

Edit: Sorry, I had not refreshed the page before starting to answer, ariatobrat already answered the questions

1. Do we know for sure the cost will be $200; with all those replacement parts, $200 actually seems pretty low to me.

The price is on the Apple support site: Service Answer Center - Mac notebooks (Battery Replacement -> How much does battery replacement cost)

2. What is the average time in years/months before a battery needs to be replaced?

Depends on usage. Usually years anyway.

 

[aristobrat]

Thank you for the information; $200 is very-very reasonable. I'm thinking that price will go up as batteries actually begin to be replaced in the rMBP's.

Guess we'll see. "Non-user replaceable" batteries are relatively new to the Retina MacBook/Pro lines, but Apple's been using them in MacBook Airs since early 2007. The original Airs with these types of batteries are now over seven years old. I haven't seen a preponderance of postings here on MacRumors from owners having the batteries replaced in the Airs. Hopefully the retina models do as well.

 

[marc55]

Guess we'll see. "Non-user replaceable" batteries are relatively new to the Retina MacBook/Pro lines, but Apple's been using them in MacBook Airs since early 2007. The original Airs with these types of batteries are now over seven years old. I haven't seen a preponderance of postings here on MacRumors from owners having the batteries replaced in the Airs. Hopefully the retina models do as well.

Very good point; thank you

 

[aristobrat]

Actually, I forgot, but it looks like MacBook Pros have had the "non-user replaceable" battery since 2009.

With the retinas, it's glued in and requires the top case to be replaced. It wasn't glued in with the 2009+ non-retina models, but it still wasn't a user-replaceable item.

So I guess there's 5 years worth of those models out in the field, in addition to the 7 years worth of Airs.

 

[SVTmaniac]

I'm new to Macbooks, is there a way to find out how many charge cycles your battery has gone through?

EDIT: Nevermind I already found it. Pretty cool that they have it on there for you.

 

[Fimeg]

Apple replaces the entire Top Case, Keyboard, Trackpad and Battery as a single part. They transfer your existing Screen, Logic Board, I/O Boards, Fans, Cables and even Screws across to the new Top Case assembly.

Essentially, it's like moving all your components across to a new body.

The same repair is performed for anything involving the Top Case with Battery assembly, so for example if your Trackpad fails, it's a complete tear down and rebuild of your machine. Same with the Keyboard, same with the Battery.

Has anyone here had this performed? Can one request to keep the older top assembly?

 

[alphaod]

Has anyone here had this performed? Can one request to keep the older top assembly?

No they don't let you keep the older assembly.

In fact you can't even order the part if you don't have the old part (like if the battery was missing you would need to get from a third-party, not Apple).

 

[macfacts]

Apple replaces the entire Top Case, Keyboard, Trackpad and Battery as a single part. They transfer your existing Screen, Logic Board, I/O Boards, Fans, Cables and even Screws across to the new Top Case assembly.

Essentially, it's like moving all your components across to a new body.

The same repair is performed for anything involving the Top Case with Battery assembly, so for example if your Trackpad fails, it's a complete tear down and rebuild of your machine. Same with the Keyboard, same with the Battery.

Here is my little story regarding this topic. My late 2013 Mbp retina was having random unresponsive keyboard and trackpad issues (USB kb+mouse worked) even after the recent update. When it happened to me again I didn't reboot and instead brought it into the apple store (closing the lid for a min didn't fix it).

The work authorization paper description line says "housing, top case with battery" for a cost of $399 Canadian and labor as $39 (cost to me is $0 as I just bought this laptop in November.)

Just an FYI. The current $129 quoted price might be for older models Mbp only.

 

[aristobrat]

Yeah, for the retina models, Apples website states US$199, CAN$229.

 

[Betfair39]

one more question i have late 2013 rMBP and when it does %100 it gets power from power battery or still using electricity via battery?

 

[mafaky]

one more question i have late 2013 rMBP and when it does %100 it gets power from power battery or still using electricity via battery?

AFAIK, if the charger remains connected to the MacBook, the laptop is fed by the external power (charge) and preserving the internal battery power. But it probably keeps on charging the internal battery on "trickle" (very sk-low) charge...

 

[JamesMike]

$200 is pretty cheap for what they replace.

 

[simonsi]

I know the battery is measured in cycles, but I was just wondering what the average user has experienced in actual time (years/months)

Daily work usage, I'm coming up to 1000 cycles at just under 4yrs - and still have 90% health reported.