My MacBook 12" 2016 model has the same issue. This isn't only a MacBook Pro issue. For more than a year my laptop sometimes won't go past 1% for hours and when it does go past 1% and hit 100%, it immediately shuts off as soon as the power cable is taken off. Dropped $1,400.00 for a laptop whose battery went bust after almost 4 years. My iPhone 7 Plus was purchased during the same year and even though the battery life has depreciated, it still charges and discharges perfectly fine.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Offering Free Battery Replacements for 2016-2017 MacBook Pros That Can't Charge Past 1%
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Don't forget the burngate (which Apple, btw, has still not admitted to).
Google "2017 macbook pro yellow discoloration"
The internal hardware testing and quality assurance test harness needs more work. This should never happen, let alone across multiple hardware product models.
Nvidia is one example where it was another company's fault. All the rest are Apple's fault. Good example is the butterfly keyboard.
Oh. That's, uh, convenient I guess.
I shudder to think of the repair costs for these models where the solution to everything is "new top case". Many many machines will be scrapped needlessly early in the future due to lack of affordable parts.
I’ve had no problems getting things serviced or replaced here in Japan. (I’m from the USA.)
Only time they wouldn’t cover something was when too much time had passed. e.g. +4 years on a staingate rMBP.
I even had some keyboard issues on a 2016 MBP that was past the 4years of free replacement keyboards.
They didn’t replace the whole keyboard, but they took it in the back and cleaned out the affected keys and replaced the keycaps on those affected keys.
I’ve had good customer service from my local Apple Store.
They’ve been using adhesive since the 2012 retina MBPs debuted. Since they use adhesive for the battery, I’m sure it is just more cost effective for them to swap out the top case instead of trying to pry out the battery and put in a new one.
You can replace the battery yourself though. I’ve replaced the battery on different MBPs with the battery stuck in with adhesive. It just takes a flat plastic tool to get under and cut through the adhesive. IPA can help as well.
Last edited:
I have and MacBook Pro 2017 and after Big Sur 11.2 I got the "Service Recommended."
Should I ask the change of the battery?
I have not had issues with the 1% charge.
Should I ask the change of the battery?
I have not had issues with the 1% charge.
It is that too, but the release notes for the supplemental update also fix the battery charging problem. It includes an SMC update for at least the 2017 non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro.
My battery stopped charging after I updated to Big Slur on my 13' 2016 MBP . I paid full price for Apple to replace my battery on Nov 24 . The battery was normal with 55 cycles but stopped charging one day.
Do I get my money back ?
Any thoughts or suggestions ...
Do I get my money back ?
Any thoughts or suggestions ...
Call them up. Escalate to a supervisor if necessary. Be polite but firm.
I think it is a bit premature to praise Apple...
From the original post here on MR:
"If your MacBook Pro exhibits this behavior, Apple says to contact the company for a battery replacement, free of charge. Apple says it will examine the notebook prior to service to verify that it is eligible for the free replacement."
This is the boilerplate language that Apple uses for all of their repair programs that guarantees that not everyone experiencing the issue will get it resolved.
Perhaps the most egregious example of abusing that disclaimer was with the 2011 Macbook Pro GPU issue. In order for the board to be replaced, it must "pass" their test. If the unit was too far gone to even run the test, it was not eligible.
It'd be nice if they were still offering battery replacement for the 2014 MBPs, which still experience swollen batteries. Mine was replaced on under the recall, and the replacement has now swollen again and presents a safety hazard due to the possibility of explosion or fire.
The Apple "advisor" I spoke with about this issue last night indicated that Apple was no longer replacing the defective batteries, and instead offered to transfer me to sales. I'm hesitant to buy another MBP due to the Intel->AS transition, and I don't want to deal with the 1st gen AS chips due to several currently unresolved issues (specifically, the sporadic Bluetooth connectivity, incompatible apps, single external display). I'm also hard-pressed to invest in another MBP since Apple has essentially already written them off, regardless of its promises to release & suuport future Intel-based MBPs.
The Apple "advisor" I spoke with about this issue last night indicated that Apple was no longer replacing the defective batteries, and instead offered to transfer me to sales. I'm hesitant to buy another MBP due to the Intel->AS transition, and I don't want to deal with the 1st gen AS chips due to several currently unresolved issues (specifically, the sporadic Bluetooth connectivity, incompatible apps, single external display). I'm also hard-pressed to invest in another MBP since Apple has essentially already written them off, regardless of its promises to release & suuport future Intel-based MBPs.
I just wish they'd come up with a Battery replacement program for my particular Laptop... Mid year 2015 MBP... The number range closes me out, and Mine was purchased within the right time frame and is the correct model... just not the right serial number. Kinda sucks to need the replacement and have to pay out of pocket for it. Swollen Battery works fine, but I wish it fell into one of the "recalls"... Probably just buy a new one when the new M! big players come out. (or other Apple Silcon, M2, or M1X or whatever)
This happened to me (and others) last year after an OS update (late 2016 MBP) - there was a thread on Apple's forums and Apple even phoned and took diagnostic files from me, but came back and told me it was a hardware issue that I had to pay for.
In the end, the laptop also suffered from flexgate, so I took it in, told them the keyboard was iffy and they replaced the battery, the keyboard and the screen all at once, under warranty but if I hadn't realised the battery was part of the keyboard replacement, I'd have been stuck with the cost.
It's almost certainly this same issue - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251405002?answerId=252747326022#252747326022
In the end, the laptop also suffered from flexgate, so I took it in, told them the keyboard was iffy and they replaced the battery, the keyboard and the screen all at once, under warranty but if I hadn't realised the battery was part of the keyboard replacement, I'd have been stuck with the cost.
It's almost certainly this same issue - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251405002?answerId=252747326022#252747326022
I have a MacBook Pro 2017 non-touchbar and It's has been the worst purchase I've ever made. I'm suffering from flexgate issue and Apple won't even acknowledge this problem . A problem that Apple already made a recall program for 2016 models only.
I'm pretty sure Apple knows this problem but they are ignoring it for unknown reason.
This is from a recent chat with Apple Support.
This is really frustrating to have a device that cost much having serous design flaws and Apple want us to pay for the repair. Such problems like:
- Stage Light / Flexgate
- Butterfly keyboard
- SSD problems
- And recently battery problems
I'm pretty sure Apple knows this problem but they are ignoring it for unknown reason.
This is from a recent chat with Apple Support.
This is really frustrating to have a device that cost much having serous design flaws and Apple want us to pay for the repair. Such problems like:
- Stage Light / Flexgate
- Butterfly keyboard
- SSD problems
- And recently battery problems
Last edited:
I have this exact problem on my 2017 MBP 2 thunderbolt ports. I can't get it fixed any time soon due to covid lockdown while being abroad. But the most annoying thing of this problem is that the CPU gets throttled to max 1.5GHZ, as can be seen in the Intel Power Gadget. I could live with the 1% no charging if it was just running at normal CPU speeds.
After installing this update still 1% battery, no charging.
After installing this update still 1% battery, no charging.
I was running 11.3 beta.
I wonder if running the SMC reset could help? I can't try as mine is somewhere between the Apple Store and wherever they're fixing these things.
I had this issue summer of 2020. It took a month due to COVID and had to get it fixed with an authorized retailer. Fortunately, they did cover the repair, I did not have AppleCare for my 2017 MBP 13.