Battery problems or not?

[waring192]

Hi, i have a mid 2011 13" macbook air which I stupidly bought of ebay as it had the full extended warranty. Worked fine for about 3 months then the battery packed in. Showing service now and now showing no battery available.

I took it to the apple store and they took it into the back room and came back saying its been opened up before and said that parts had been replaced, warn screws etc and wouldn't be covered. I was so angry, id bought this for around £600.

Contacted the seller who buys and sells lots of macs and he claims he never opened it... Anyhow, its my fault for buying it on ebay.

So I bought a battery off ebay, genuine one and plugged it into the mac and its still saying no battery detected.

So my question is, what part do a replace now? Im tempted to take the loss and sell on ebay mentioning the problems as I'm just sick of this now.

Thanks

 

[jmoore5196]

How does it function with the power adapter?

This strikes me as a software issue. Were you able to see these "warn" screws, or any other indication that the case had been cracked?

 

[waring192]

Yep, functions just fine when plugged in.

Im not sure if its a software issue as when it started happening it was only when moving the mac.

 

[jmoore5196]

If the problem only began when the MBA was being physically moved, I'd suspect the battery connection to the logic board. If you've replaced the battery, the only other thing to replace is the connection, which probably means replacing the board.

Since you've replaced the battery, however, I imagine you've effectively voided the warranty ... no matter what the previous owner did or didn't do.

If you do end up having to replace the board, I think I'd to consider the MBA beyond economic repair. The only thing I can suggest - and it's a long shot - is to have the folks who opened it up the first time write some sort of attestation to the worn screws, etc., and then ask the original eBay seller to make good. My guess is that the bacteria count on his milk of human kindness is too high, but you never know!

eBay isn't a bad place, necessarily. You just have to be willing to accept some degree of risk when buying used equipment. Sounds as if this MBA may have been misrepresented to you.

 

[GGJstudios]

Hi, i have a mid 2011 13" macbook air which I stupidly bought of ebay as it had the full extended warranty. Worked fine for about 3 months then the battery packed in. Showing service now and now showing no battery available.

I took it to the apple store and they took it into the back room and came back saying its been opened up before and said that parts had been replaced, warn screws etc and wouldn't be covered. I was so angry, id bought this for around £600.

Contacted the seller who buys and sells lots of macs and he claims he never opened it... Anyhow, its my fault for buying it on ebay.

So I bought a battery off ebay, genuine one and plugged it into the mac and its still saying no battery detected.

So my question is, what part do a replace now? Im tempted to take the loss and sell on ebay mentioning the problems as I'm just sick of this now.

Thanks

This is another reason why I wouldn't trust or recommend any non-Apple battery or charger, due to the number of problems reported with "knockoffs". Also, there is no assurance that non-Apple components will have the same charging technology that Apple uses, involving the battery, the MagSafe adapter and the Mac's logic board. Apple has not licensed its MagSafe adapter technology to any 3rd party. It's not worth risking your Mac to save a small amount of money.

• Battery Replacement
• Mac notebooks: All about batteries

​

The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[DisplacedMic]

definitely take it up with ebay.
in my experience they always go out of their way for the buyer when there's a problem. i would do it quick though as it has already been "about 3 months" which in my experience usually translates to more like 4-5

 

[waring192]

If the problem only began when the MBA was being physically moved, I'd suspect the battery connection to the logic board. If you've replaced the battery, the only other thing to replace is the connection, which probably means replacing the board.

Since you've replaced the battery, however, I imagine you've effectively voided the warranty ... no matter what the previous owner did or didn't do.

If you do end up having to replace the board, I think I'd to consider the MBA beyond economic repair. The only thing I can suggest - and it's a long shot - is to have the folks who opened it up the first time write some sort of attestation to the worn screws, etc., and then ask the original eBay seller to make good. My guess is that the bacteria count on his milk of human kindness is too high, but you never know!

eBay isn't a bad place, necessarily. You just have to be willing to accept some degree of risk when buying used equipment. Sounds as if this MBA may have been misrepresented to you.

The warranty was already void after I went with it to the apple store in December.

I can remember the guy I saw in the store but i doubt he would remember me. I did tell the seller all this but he claims he never opened the mac. He said it had some parts replaced in April and when I called apple they said it was true. But I highly doubt apple would leave worn screws etc. My guess is the seller had water damage and tried to repair.

Not had a problem with ebay purchases before, I really should of just spent the extra for a new one. It was misrepresented as it was sold with a current warranty, which it does not.

definitely take it up with ebay.
in my experience they always go out of their way for the buyer when there's a problem. i would do it quick though as it has already been "about 3 months" which in my experience usually translates to more like 4-5

You got me, it was purchased in September. I tried, eBay will not touch it as its after the 40 or 45 days.

 

[Beachguy]

It's not worth risking your Mac to save a small amount of money.

I was looking at a new power cable which was a knockoff. I could have saved just under 25 bucks. I then realized over the two years I expected to use the device, that was $2 a month, and risking a couple of thousand dollar Macbook Pro.

I spent the extra 25 and got a real Apple part.