Are the iFixit batteries any good?

[DMG35]

I have a 2015 MacBook Pro that is in excellent condition except for the battery. Its not horrible, but could be much better and I noticed that the battery was replaced at some point with an iFixit battery. It only has a few cycles on it but I was wondering if the battery life would improve with an OEM battery.

Does anyone have any experience with the iFixit batteries and if so is it comparable to the OEM ones from Apple? Thanks!!

 

[EugW]

I haven't used one myself, but their batteries do not have a great reputation online. Definitely not like OEM.

Be aware that changing a 2015 MacBook Pro battery yourself can be a pain, since they use adhesives. I don't know if Apple would replace an iFixit battery.

 

[DMG35]

I haven't used one myself, but their batteries do not have a great reputation online. Definitely not like OEM.

Be aware that changing a 2015 MacBook Pro battery yourself can be a pain, since they use adhesives. I don't know if Apple would replace an iFixit battery.

Thanks of the info. I was going to see if I could get Apple to replace it for me. I set a genius appointment and will see what they say.

 

[Fishrrman]

IF you have a 2015 MBP
and
IF you need a new battery
then
The best/easiest way is to have Apple do their $199 battery replacement.

You get:
- A new APPLE-LABELED factory battery (not 3rd party of unknown origin)
- Installation (if anything goes wrong, THEY fix it)
- A short warranty.

As Roger Daltrey sang with The Who,
"I'd call that a bargain..."

 

[Madhatter32]

In my experience, OEM batteries are better than the third party batteries. If you plan to keep the laptop for another couple of years, my advice would be to go for the OEM replacement despite the outrageous cost. You will get a new top cover as well.

 

[EugW]

In my experience, OEM batteries are better than the third party batteries. If you plan to keep the laptop for another couple of years, my advice would be to go for the OEM replacement despite the outrageous cost. You will get a new top cover as well.

New keyboard too.

I'm just worried they will refuse to replace it because of the non-OEM battery currently installed.

 

[wilberforce]

Well, here's a counterpoint: I replaced a battery in a 2015 MBP with a $50 Chinese one from Amazon, and found it just as good as the original OEM (when the OEM was new).

I suggest try coconutBattery to just some actual data on your battery (if you aren't already), rather than just guessing it is worse than OEM

 

[EugW]

Well, here's a counterpoint: I replaced a battery in a 2015 MBP with a $50 Chinese one from Amazon, and found it just as good as the original OEM (when the OEM was new).

How old is the battery now, and what are your charging habits? BTW, what is the brand? I've occasionally had good results with 3rd party batteries, but it's been more the exception than the rule.

Plus while often times the battery does OK in the first several months or even first year or so, after that I find that the cheap no-name batteries more often behave erratically or lose capacity quicker, or have a higher chance of dying after full discharge. I'd guess the problem is likely related to the fact that the batteries do not have have the proprietary battery circuitry that comes with OEM Apple batteries.

Basically I'm saying that if you want to save money and go third party, that's fine and sometimes you'll get decent results, but don't be surprised if the battery doesn't tolerate poor charging practices (like a few full discharges to 0%) or has other problems after several months.

BTW, how long did it take you to do the swap?

 

[DMG35]

In my experience, OEM batteries are better than the third party batteries. If you plan to keep the laptop for another couple of years, my advice would be to go for the OEM replacement despite the outrageous cost. You will get a new top cover as well.

You get a new top cover for a battery replacement?

 

[DMG35]

IF you have a 2015 MBP
and
IF you need a new battery
then
The best/easiest way is to have Apple do their $199 battery replacement.

You get:
- A new APPLE-LABELED factory battery (not 3rd party of unknown origin)
- Installation (if anything goes wrong, THEY fix it)
- A short warranty.

As Roger Daltrey sang with The Who,
"I'd call that a bargain..."

Thank you. Do you happen to know if they do this in store?

 

[EugW]

You get a new top cover for a battery replacement?

I recently received a used eBay purchase of a 2015 13" MacBook Pro with 29 cycles on the battery.

When I opened up the laptop, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the keyboard and top case also looked brand new. It turns out that is because the battery is glued to the top case and covers the keyboard, so when you pay for a battery replacement for this model, you get all three parts, and trackpad too.

Unfortunately, it also means it's quite expensive to replace.

Is this battery a legit Apple OEM battery?

A legitimate Apple battery replacement on these computers would replace the top case which includes the keyboard and trackpad. Apple does not sell the batteries as a standalone part.

forums.macrumors.com

In contrast, the battery replacement on the 2015 MacBook Air is much cheaper. I suspect part of the reason is that it is dead simple to replace that battery. It's just a few screws, and it's not glued in. The keyboard and top case are not replaced for that model.

 

[wilberforce]

How old is the battery now, and what are your charging habits? BTW, what is the brand? I've occasionally had good results with 3rd party batteries, but it's been more the exception than the rule.

Plus while often times the battery does OK in the first several months or even first year or so, after that I find that the cheap no-name batteries more often behave erratically or lose capacity quicker, or have a higher chance of dying after full discharge. I'd guess the problem is likely related to the fact that the batteries do not have have the proprietary battery circuitry that comes with OEM Apple batteries.

Basically I'm saying that if you want to save money and go third party, that's fine and sometimes you'll get decent results, but don't be surprised if the battery doesn't tolerate poor charging practices (like a few full discharges to 0%) or has other problems after several months.

BTW, how long did it take you to do the swap?

Thanks for the questions.

I had the replaced battery for 2 years before I recently traded it in for a 14" MBP.

Charging habits were poor: leaving it plugged in most of the time. This is what I think led to the original battery swelling. These older MPBs and MacOS's did not have the improved charging now provided by Apple.

The brand was Puredick (!):

Puredick A1582 A1502 Battery, Replacement Battery A1502 for MacBook Pro 13 inch Retina [ Early 2015, Mid 2014, Late 2013 ] A1493 - High-Performance and Longevity [11.36V 74.9Wh 18Months Warranty]

Puredick A1582 A1502 Battery, Replacement Battery A1502 for MacBook Pro 13 inch Retina [ Early 2015, Mid 2014, Late 2013 ] A1493 - High-Performance and Longevity [11.36V 74.9Wh 18Months Warranty]

www.amazon.com

It appeared to last a good day when on battery, but I did not do any rigorous comparison testing, so is just an impression.

This was for a base 13" 2015 MBP, which is very underpowered by today's standards, so I was not prepared to spend much at all on it, planning to keep it only for another year or two. For a better spec 15" 2015 MBP, it would probably be worth spending more.

It took me a few hours and lots of Youtube DIY videos, because I took it slow and careful. Not recommended for those uncomfortable with this sort of thing.

I actually think the Apple replacement with top case and new keyboard is a pretty good deal, if you are prepared to spend $200 on an old laptop. More so for the 15" than the 13".

Anyway, my point isn't so much recommending OP replace battery themself, as suggesting don't assume a non-OEM (iFixit) battery is no good. It would be somewhat disappointing to spend $200 on an old laptop only to discover the battery life is not much better.

 

[MBAir2010]

As Roger Daltrey sang with The Who,
"I'd call that a bargain..."

the best they ever had?

 

[EugW]

The brand was Puredick (!):

That's awesome. WTF though.

Anyway, my point isn't so much recommending OP replace battery themself, as suggesting don't assume a non-OEM (iFixit) battery is no good. It would be somewhat disappointing to spend $200 on an old laptop only to discover the battery life is not much better.

Well for iFixit, they get really mixed reviews for their batteries.

From that I deduce that they aren't anything special when compared to other Chinese batteries. Perhaps they have somewhat better than average suppliers but they certainly aren't known to have the quality and consistency of the OEM batteries. But your point is well taken.

 

[wilberforce]

The brand was Puredick (!):

That's awesome. WTF though.

Yeah, there are some pretty amusing (juvenile?) review comments and Q&A about the product on Amazon.

 

[DMG35]

Thanks for the questions.

I had the replaced battery for 2 years before I recently traded it in for a 14" MBP.

Charging habits were poor: leaving it plugged in most of the time. This is what I think led to the original battery swelling. These older MPBs and MacOS's did not have the improved charging now provided by Apple.

The brand was Puredick (!):

Puredick A1582 A1502 Battery, Replacement Battery A1502 for MacBook Pro 13 inch Retina [ Early 2015, Mid 2014, Late 2013 ] A1493 - High-Performance and Longevity [11.36V 74.9Wh 18Months Warranty]

Puredick A1582 A1502 Battery, Replacement Battery A1502 for MacBook Pro 13 inch Retina [ Early 2015, Mid 2014, Late 2013 ] A1493 - High-Performance and Longevity [11.36V 74.9Wh 18Months Warranty]

www.amazon.com

It appeared to last a good day when on battery, but I did not do any rigorous comparison testing, so is just an impression.

This was for a base 13" 2015 MBP, which is very underpowered by today's standards, so I was not prepared to spend much at all on it, planning to keep it only for another year or two. For a better spec 15" 2015 MBP, it would probably be worth spending more.

It took me a few hours and lots of Youtube DIY videos, because I took it slow and careful. Not recommended for those uncomfortable with this sort of thing.

I actually think the Apple replacement with top case and new keyboard is a pretty good deal, if you are prepared to spend $200 on an old laptop. More so for the 15" than the 13".

Anyway, my point isn't so much recommending OP replace battery themself, as suggesting don't assume a non-OEM (iFixit) battery is no good. It would be somewhat disappointing to spend $200 on an old laptop only to discover the battery life is not much better.

Point taken and I don't disagree. My other main concern is leaving this thing plugged in accidentally and it catching fire because I have no clue about the quality of the battery.

 

[DMG35]

Thanks for the advice here everyone. I took it to the Apple Store this morning and they did a diagnostic test and opened it up it up to take a look at it. They told me that the battery installed was excellent and whomever installed it did an excellent job. They said I could get it replaced if I like but that from what they could see it absolutely wasn’t worth swapping out.

 

[Hombre53]

FWIW: I recently replaced the battery in my iPhone 10 with a battery from iFixit. Specs of original Apple battery: Manufacturer: Desay Corp Charge Cycles: 1,255 Date Of Manufacture: 11/14/2017 Capacity: 74%. New Battery from iFixit: Manufacturer: Desay Corp Charge Cycles: 0. Date of Manufacture: 8/30/2021. Capacity 100%. Looks like iFixit is using identical Apple OEM batteries from same source? Data from Coconut Battery App. iFixit battery is charged and running at 100%. All good so far.

 

[TSE]

I've personally had multiple bad experiences with them, but I know a lot of people who haven't.

 

[MacLawyer]

The replacement battery they sent me for my 2017 MacBook Air is really great. Just be sure to follow their suggestions for calibrating the battery.

 

[harleymhs]

IF you have a 2015 MBP
and
IF you need a new battery
then
The best/easiest way is to have Apple do their $199 battery replacement.

You get:
- A new APPLE-LABELED factory battery (not 3rd party of unknown origin)
- Installation (if anything goes wrong, THEY fix it)
- A short warranty.

As Roger Daltrey sang with The Who,
"I'd call that a bargain..."

Mine is at my local apple store now, for a battery, it is def not $199.00 for the new battery replacement. It is NOW $429.00 !

 

[harleymhs]

I have the same situation: I installed a Best Skin on my 2015 Laptop and I must of got some water under trackpad and shorted the trackpad out. Apple quoted me $429.00 to change trachpad, I thought that was expensive, So I went into NYC to Laptop MD and they charged me $150! So I did it! BAD MOVE! When I got it back I noticed battery cycle count was at 0 now, I assumed that they removed the battery and that reset the count! WRONG . After using it for a few months I noticed that the battery now drops 60% in 2 hours with light use! So I brought it to apple last week and they informed me that there is an aftermarket battery in the laptop! I said WHAT ? THey explained to me that when they change the battery, u receive a new trackpad, Battery and keyboard. That's the only wan apple does a battery replacement. So they ass's at LAPTOP MD either switched my battery or never told me they will have to change the battery with an aftermarket battery! SO now Ill have apple install the NEW Battery, Track Pad and Keyboard for the $429 price. I'm only out the $150 from Laptop MD but lesson learned! I purchased this NEW and it is in pristine cond and love this laptop so for me its worth the price of the repair and get my battery life back ! I would say if you can have apple change it for $199 DO IT! Not sure why my apple store is telling me $429 but at this point I just want mine bck to OEM and go back to loving my MBP 13 ! With all the ports!

 

[startergo]

Apple quoted me $429.00 to change trachpad, I thought that was expensive, So I went into NYC to Laptop MD and they charged me $150!

Apple quoted you 429, but not only for the battery replacement. According to Apple, out of warranty 15" MBP battery replacement is 199

Mac Repair & Service - Apple Support

Need to repair your Mac? See your service options, their costs by coverage type, and how long they take.

support.apple.com

Also cheaper option is REWA A+ battery:

Macbook Pro RETINA 15" A1398 A1618 Battery Replacement Wholesale

Macbook Pro RETINA 15" A1398 A1618 Battery Replacement Wholesale

shop.rewa.tech

which currently sells for 84.54$ (with shipping)

 

[tphan91]

Apple quoted you 429, but not only for the battery replacement. According to Apple, out of warranty 15" MBP battery replacement is 199

Mac Repair & Service - Apple Support

Need to repair your Mac? See your service options, their costs by coverage type, and how long they take.

support.apple.com

Also cheaper option is REWA A+ battery:

Macbook Pro RETINA 15" A1398 A1618 Battery Replacement Wholesale

Macbook Pro RETINA 15" A1398 A1618 Battery Replacement Wholesale

shop.rewa.tech

which currently sells for 84.54$ (with shipping)

Hey, do you have any experience with the Rewa battery? I’m planning to buy one from them since their pricing is way more attractive than OWC or iFixit

 

[startergo]

Hey, do you have any experience with the Rewa battery? I’m planning to buy one from them since their pricing is way more attractive than OWC or iFixit

It is a quality battery, but the price is almost the same as OWC (including shipping).