2019 16" MBP Battery Requires Service. 6 Battery Cycles Only?

[yus]

Hi guys,

Have a 2019 macbook pro 16" that I bought to sell. Battery was working fine when I tested it before sending it out to an international customer. Customer received the mbp and said that the battery doesn't charge. I've received it back and have tried to replace the flex cable of the battery and that has not fixed the issue. I've done an smc and pram reset etc too. Here's a screenshot of the battery info

Thanks in advance

 

[Sanpete]

I read the design capacity for that battery was 8790mAh, so this might have been plugged in all the time (I'm supposing you bought it used), in which case the battery cycles wouldn't reflect the condition of the battery. Don't know what might be the problem, though.

 

[OhMyMy]

Sounds like you've been scammed. What was the cycle count when you sent it out? Some scammers are known to replace genuine parts with cheap fakes and then ask for a refund.

 

[yus]

Sounds like you've been scammed. What was the cycle count when you sent it out? Some scammers are known to replace genuine parts with cheap fakes and then ask for a refund.

It's unlikely that I've been scammed as the serial number of the mbp matches to the one I sent out and the buyer would have had to pay the customs charges (around £200+) too.

I've added a coconut battery image to the OP

 

[OhMyMy]

It's unlikely that I've been scammed as the serial number of the mbp matches to the one I sent out and the buyer would have had to pay the customs charges (around £200+) too.

I've added a coconut battery image to the OP

I don't think you've read my post right. I'm saying the buyer may have swapped the original battery for a cheap fake unless you've checked the cycle count prior to sending it out and it's consistent with what you're seeing now.

 

[Christopher Kim]

I don't think you've read my post right. I'm saying the buyer may have swapped the original battery for a cheap fake unless you've checked the cycle count prior to sending it out and it's consistent with what you're seeing now.

I think it's unlikely a scammer would go through all that just to get an Apple battery... Especially on these 2019 16" where batteries are glued to topcase, they couldn't even really sell it / use it elsewhere that easily.

OP, 2 things that come to mind potentially:
1) As @Sanpete mentioned, did you have this plugged in for most / all of the time before you sold it? There's quite a lot of anecdotal evidence that 2016 and later MBPs (both 13" and 15/16") when plugged in all the time would frequently experience battery degradation / expansion / health issues, that were very divergent from what we typically though of in terms of cycle counts. So battery health would be much lower than what you'd expect from a low cycle count (given battery not being used much from being plugged in)
2) How did you ship it internationally? I think anything with batteries like laptops / phones, have to be sent via carriers that use pressurized planes. Otherwise, I think there's a risk of explosion and I think also potential for batteries to get damaged (eg. from extreme cold temperatures, etc.) Maybe a combination of (1) and (2) led to premature battery death?

Either way, because MacOS showing poor battery health, you should be able to get the battery replaced for the US$199 cost (which comes with a new topcase / keyboard / trackpad / speakers). If it's still within 1st year since you bought it, (or you have AppleCare+) it would be a free replacement.