Apple replaced my battery too???

[negativzero]

Sent in my 2017 MacBook for keyboard repairs, just got it back and realised they swapped out my battery too even though there was nothing wrong with it. This battery has 1 cycle on it.

Do they frequently do out of scope replacements too???

 

[Queen6]

Top case and keyboard are a modular unit, with the battery being literally glued to the top case.

Q-6

 

[casperes1996]

Top case and keyboard are a modular unit, with the battery being literally glued to the top case.

Q-6

Sure. But isn’t the battery more lower chassis?

 

[Queen6]

Sure. But isn’t the battery more lower chassis?

Top case on the 2016/2017 I believe, those with the same work completed will be able to confirm as it will be on the invoice.

You can clearly see the glued in battery has to be removed to access the keyboard, great for Apple's production & supply chain, equally totally hostile towards the customer ...

Q-6

 

[Sterkenburg]

Sent in my 2017 MacBook for keyboard repairs, just got it back and realised they swapped out my battery too even though there was nothing wrong with it.

That's because swapping the entire top case is the only way to repair a keyboard on the 2016/2017 models. Since the battery is glued to it everything has to be thrown away and replaced, even if the problem is literally a single failed key. I went through the same process and can confirm.

While I generally do like the new MBPs, this is an example of an asinine, customer-unfriendly design choice that I find very hard to defend even as a staunch Mac supporter. And it's backfiring big time due to the problematic keyboards.

 

[casperes1996]

Top case on the 2016/2017 I believe, those with the same work completed will be able to confirm as it will be on the invoice.

You can clearly see the glued in battery has to be removed to access the keyboard, great for Apple's production & supply chain, equally totally hostile towards the customer ...

Q-6

Gotcha.
And I watch Rossman's content too

 

[leman]

Its the cheapest and quickest way for them to replace your keyboard. I suppose the components get refurbished and/or recycled down the line.

 

[negativzero]

That's because swapping the entire top case is the only way to repair a keyboard on the 2016/2017 models. Since the battery is glued to it everything has to be thrown away and replaced, even if the problem is literally a single failed key. I went through the same process and can confirm.

While I generally do like the new MBPs, this is an example of an asinine, customer-unfriendly design choice that I find very hard to defend even as a staunch Mac supporter. And it's backfiring big time due to the problematic keyboards.

Yup, I can confirm this, I just checked my invoice and battery replacement was part of the repair too. Thankfully I didn't need to fork out a single cent!

 

[hallux]

Yup, I can confirm this, I just checked my invoice and battery replacement was part of the repair too. Thankfully I didn't need to fork out a single cent!

As noted, the "topcase" includes the keyboard and battery. The "topcase" is literally the main mass of the computer, the frame, the chassis. Including the battery was not an option, it's forced and this is NOT an easy swap to do (I've done it, I service Macs but oddly enough I've only seen ONE for this issue).

 

[jerryk]

As noted, the "topcase" includes the keyboard and battery. The "topcase" is literally the main mass of the computer, the frame, the chassis. Including the battery was not an option, it's forced and this is NOT an easy swap to do (I've done it, I service Macs but oddly enough I've only seen ONE for this issue).

I suspect if the issue persists you see more repair requests in the future. Right now many systems (2016 and 2017) are still under warranty, so Apple is where they go for repairs. But over time users will be looking for lower cost 3rd party repairs.

 

[hallux]

I suspect if the issue persists you see more repair requests in the future. Right now many systems (2016 and 2017) are still under warranty, so Apple is where they go for repairs. But over time users will be looking for lower cost 3rd party repairs.

Actually, I do repairs in support of a customer of my company. I work at a customer site, my company is an AASP and I do Apple warranty repairs for my site and mail-in for others across the country.