80% Battery after 346 cycles, covered under AppleCare?

[tcphoto]

My battery was fifteen months old, 344 cycles and health was all over the road. It was steady at 80% and in a couple of days jumped to 100% and to 14% the next. I took the MBP into my local Apple Store and the "genius" said, that's normal I can sell you another. After receiving the Apple online survey regarding my genius bar experience, a manager from the store called and offered to replace the battery. I'd make an appointment and see what they think about the performance.

 

[davidg4781]

Ok, I'm off today and I'm going to try out how long it actually lasts.

It is 11:24a. I've just unplugged it. I'm going to just really use it casually throughout the day, no streaming through as I'm sure that taxes the system more. Well, maybe a youtube video or something while I wash dishes. Screen brightness will be where I need it and same goes for keyboard backlight.

MBP is telling me I have 4hrs 21min remaining.

Just an update for anyone following along... It's 1:51p and I have 1hr 55min remaining.

Listened to an old Ricky Gervais XFM show on youtube. I also let the display sleep while washing dishes and making breakfast.

 

[el-John-o]

Just an update for anyone following along... It's 1:51p and I have 1hr 55min remaining.

Listened to an old Ricky Gervais XFM show on youtube. I also let the display sleep while washing dishes and making breakfast.

I've been using mine all day, since about 8:40 AM. Casual use, mostly work (web browsing, e-mail, MS Office, calendar, etc., light stuff). Haven't closed the lid since 8:40 this morning, it's 1:54PM right now, I'm at 20% and showing an even 1 hour left. So, just to give you a reference anyway, mine only has a few cycles and was brand new in December of '12.

 

[davidg4781]

I've been using mine all day, since about 8:40 AM. Casual use, mostly work (web browsing, e-mail, MS Office, calendar, etc., light stuff). Haven't closed the lid since 8:40 this morning, it's 1:54PM right now, I'm at 20% and showing an even 1 hour left. So, just to give you a reference anyway, mine only has a few cycles and was brand new in December of '12.

Thanks!

I think the 2012 model battery is different from the 2010. It looks like mine is pretty easy to just pop out and replace. I think after my model they started really getting creative with the shape to increase the amount.

I could be wrong. Anyone know on this??

 

[el-John-o]

Thanks!

I think the 2012 model battery is different from the 2010. It looks like mine is pretty easy to just pop out and replace. I think after my model they started really getting creative with the shape to increase the amount.

I could be wrong. Anyone know on this??

On the retina, yes. But on the non-retina, which is what I have, it's the same. As a matter of fact, I believe it's the same battery / same part number. Once you take the bottom panel off, it's just a couple of screws and the battery lifts right out.

 

[davidg4781]

On the retina, yes. But on the non-retina, which is what I have, it's the same. As a matter of fact, I believe it's the same battery / same part number. Once you take the bottom panel off, it's just a couple of screws and the battery lifts right out.

That's right. The older ones just had the battery pop off, like the original MacBooks, right?

 

[el-John-o]

That's right. The older ones just had the battery pop off, like the original MacBooks, right?

Well there were basically three designs;

The first one was a traditional laptop battery, an aluminum enclosed battery was in the bottom, and could be swapped.

The second, was a flip open 'tray' that opened up revealing the battery, which could then be removed.

The current, (And I thought what you had with your 2010 but I could be wrong) is a completely enclosed battery. Just a plain black battery pack attached with a short cable and screwed in to the laptop enclosure. The reason is, by getting rid of the aluminum battery enclosure, and the 'socket' the battery went in, they could make the battery a bit bigger. It's not technically user serviceable per Apple (though other components like the RAM and the Hard Drive ARE per Apple), but it's not difficult to service either.

 

[davidg4781]

Ok, battery icon just turned red.

Says I'm at 21% and 1hr 10min remaining. Weird because I've seen it with around 30 minutes remaining and still black. It's now 2:48p

 

[davidg4781]

Alright. 3:55p and MacBook went to hibernate. So basically 4.5 hours. Guess that's not that bad for a 3 year old MacBook Pro.

 

[davidg4781]

Here's an update.

I'm getting a Service Battery warning now. I may try "calibrating," but I think these batteries don't need calibrating. Either way, I'll make an appointment for Thursday and see what the Genius say.

 

[brop52]

Here's an update.

I'm getting a Service Battery warning now. I may try "calibrating," but I think these batteries don't need calibrating. Either way, I'll make an appointment for Thursday and see what the Genius say.

If you do show the screenshots to a genius at the Apple store you should be aware they don't accept coconut battery as proof of battery issues. Use what Apple says in the Apple System profiler.

 

[hellfire88]

How much do rMBP 15" battery replacements cost from Apple anyways? Around $129?

 

[GGJstudios]

how much do rmbp 15" battery replacements cost from apple anyways? Around $129?

$199

 

[saturnotaku]

On a tangential note to this topic, if the OP is considering an SSD, you need to be careful about what brand you pick as some models can actually use more power than a spinner HDD.

The Samsung 840 and 840 Pro are among the best for performance and power consumption.

 

[davidg4781]

Now in the system information it's showing battery as normal. Same as battery icon.

I think I may take it in anyway and see what it says. I have a screen shot. And it'll give me an excuse to go to Austin. Been wanting to watch Iron Man 3.

 

[hellfire88]

$199

Thanks for the information. Kind of a bummer on the $199 cost since the non-retina Macbook Pro batteries cost $129 from Apple. Oh well.

 

[davidg4781]

Finally got around to taking it in.

I told them the Service Battery notification was coming up and said I had some screen shots. He wasn't worried with them. He ran a diagnostic on the MBP and pulled up a screen that had a large green rectangle over a red and yellow square. The green rectangle had a black dot (where my battery was at) right over the middle part of the red square. He said it looked like my battery was failing prematurely and is going to replace it user warranty.

I also mentioned I was having some weird screen distortion issues and that I had a screenshot of it. I also posted this in another thread but couldn't find it as of yet.

He said they could keep it over night to run the ADS to make sure the video part was ok. AppleCare ends in a few weeks so I wanted to make sure this stuff was sorted. Hopefully I'll be able to pick it up in a few days.