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Battery replacement service

pete1

pete1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 19, 2008
136
76
London, UK
I have an early 2011 15" Macbook Pro that is due for a replacement battery. There are no warnings, but I feel that battery life has diminished significantly since I first bought it. I had been considering taking it to an Apple Store for service here in the UK.

According to this page:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624

It is considered an obsolete model. What are my options at this stage?
 
Last edited:
Isn't it still a vintage model? Remember, not the date of introduction matters here, but rather the date it was no longer sold as new by Apple. If it's vintage, Apple will still do a battery replacement for you. If they don't, get a battery off ebay and do it yourself. Lots of glue, but it's not too difficult to do.
 
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I replaced the battery in my late 2011 13" MBP. It is very easy and most batteries come with the tools (a funky Phillips head screwdriver for the battery and a tiny Phillips for the bottom case). I did my homework and felt I bought a quality battery and I didn't cheap out. I think it was $50-$60 off Amazon.

All this said, the battery life really did not improve that much. I get a few hours of use on a full charge. I think it is a combination of old energy sucking hardware and also a thirsty feature filled OSx. The poor battery life of my really fast vintage model is pretty much the only reason I think of getting a new one.
 
Audit13 said:
It wouldn't call it a funky Philips, I'd just call it funky :)
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LOL!! Yeah, trouble for me is my old eyes. I have all my miniature screw drivers in a drawer and even with my readers on, I have a tough time seeing the difference between the Phillips for the bottom case screws and the tri-wing and I think there is another similar screwdriver tool for the SDD/HDD enclosure/hold down! Mine are all black metal with the same handle!
 
Fishrrman said:
There's no "glue" involved in changing the battery on a 2011 15" MBPro:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Unibody+Early+2011+Battery+Replacement/5889

You can do this yourself, but you'll need the right tools (see the article above for what to buy).

Don't buy a cheapo battery. Some won't last long.
Spend a little more and you're more likely to get one that will charge adequately and give several years of service.
Click to expand...
Right! which ones are the best? I assume that the ones made by Newertech and iFixit are as good as the original part from Apple? I could also get the original part from an AASP, though they are pricey! I am prepared to pay for quality in this instance.
 
I purchased a 3rd party battery from eBay for a 2010 15" MBP and it worked perfectly. A big drawback with eBay is you can never really tell whether the battery you get will be of really high-quality. It's been about 5 months and the battery is holding up well. Given the age of the laptop, I didn't want to spend too much on it.
 
LarryJoe33 said:
All this said, the battery life really did not improve that much. I get a few hours of use on a full charge. I think it is a combination of old energy sucking hardware and also a thirsty feature filled OSx. The poor battery life of my really fast vintage model is pretty much the only reason I think of getting a new one.
Click to expand...

Ah, could this be the reason I am getting poor battery performance? I don't see any 'service battery' message.

Here is some more info:

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: D86139308ERDGDLA8
Manufacturer: SMP
Device Name: bq20z451
Pack Lot Code: 0
PCB Lot Code: 0
Firmware Version: 406
Hardware Revision: 2
Cell Revision: 158
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh): 5350
Fully Charged: No
Charging: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 6207
Health Information:
Cycle Count: 719
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -2036
Voltage (mV): 11464
 
pete1 said:
Ah, could this be the reason I am getting poor battery performance? I don't see any 'service battery' message.
Click to expand...

The stated full charge capacity does look quite good to be honest. I'm not sure - is Coconut Battery just pulling the numbers from the system information? If you could verify these numbers using that app that would give you a better picture.
 
How open are you to replacing the machine? (I realize that sounds ridiculous and I apologize for making the recommendation if you have zero interest in doing so - the reason I mention this is because of the huge design fault that model has [I own one.] As your system is currently working, it is still worth several hundred dollars at least in the US - and depending on condition, more. Once the GPU fails, at least in the US, the value then goes kaput.)
 
ZapNZs said:
How open are you to replacing the machine? (I realize that sounds ridiculous and I apologize for making the recommendation if you have zero interest in doing so - the reason I mention this is because of the huge design fault that model has [I own one.] As your system is currently working, it is still worth several hundred dollars at least in the US - and depending on condition, more. Once the GPU fails, at least in the US, the value then goes kaput.)
Click to expand...

Well, it’s actually quite a sensible recommendation, as I will need to get a new model soon-ish (I use it for graphics work, and it would be beneficial). The computer is still blazing fast and rock solid reliable, but I would really like to have a retina display. The problem with your suggestion is that I’d been planning to give this one to my aunt when I upgrade it, as she’s struggling on with an ancient and unreliable Core 2 Duo Macbook. She can’t afford to replace it, and insists on having a Mac; I feel a bit sorry for her. I know vaguely about the graphics problem my Mac model has and fingers crossed it doesn’t afflict my machine. Knowing her luck, it will probably go bad the week after she inherits it!
 
ZapNZs said:
How open are you to replacing the machine? (I realize that sounds ridiculous and I apologize for making the recommendation if you have zero interest in doing so - the reason I mention this is because of the huge design fault that model has [I own one.] As your system is currently working, it is still worth several hundred dollars at least in the US - and depending on condition, more. Once the GPU fails, at least in the US, the value then goes kaput.)
Click to expand...

Agreed zapNZs it’s a computer that isn’t really worth investing in, that money would be better spent put towards a new computer.
 
OP wrote:
"The computer is still blazing fast and rock solid reliable, but I would really like to have a retina display. The problem with your suggestion is that I’d been planning to give this one to my aunt when I upgrade it"

Given that scenario, if you don't mind spending about $75-90 for a replacement battery and the right tools to install it, it's probably worth putting that much into it.

It will keep it going until you replace it, and perhaps give it a few years of life once you "pass it on" ...
 
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