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Best sub $50 3RD PARTY 2008 MBP Battery?

Astroboy907

Astroboy907

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 6, 2012
1,387
15
Spaceball One
Just bought myself a used late 08 macbook pro. The battery included is the removable type, but has some 650 cycles on it. Time for it to be replaced. I am trying to do this as cheap as possible and need a good, third party battery as apple ones are slightly more... expensive.

Basically, I just need a good battery that will get me 3 or so hours of charge. Anybody have any luck out there with non OEM batteries?
 
I wouldn't trust or recommend any non-Apple battery, due to the number of problems reported with "knockoff" batteries. Also, there is no assurance that knockoff batteries have the same charging technology that Apple uses, involving the battery, the MagSafe adapter and the Mac's logic board.

Battery Replacement
Replacing the built-in battery in your MacBook Pro
Replacing the Battery in your MacBook Air
Intel-based Apple Portables: How to replace or service a built-in battery

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
 
I found one on eBay with 89% health but a pretty high cycle count (200 something). It's oem. Any good, Or too close to failing?
 
astroboy907 said:
I found one on eBay with 89% health but a pretty high cycle count (200 something). It's oem. Any good, Or too close to failing?
Click to expand...

Your gonna be better off spending a little extra and getting a brand new battery from apple. It will just be better in the end and you'll know its genuine and you'll get a great amount of battery health and life.
 
You can get a new genuine Apple battery from a high rated eBay seller for $64 (free shipping).
Why not add $14 to get a much better battery?
 
AppleMacFinder said:
You can get a new genuine Apple battery from a high rated eBay seller for $64 (free shipping).
Why not add $14 to get a much better battery?
Click to expand...

Because saving $14 is better than using the right parts in a $1k plus computer dammit!

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
Don't listen to the naysayers. There is nothing intrinsically special about Apple batteries. Why spend the extra money on so-called fancy Apple electricity?
 
Puevlo said:
Don't listen to the naysayers. There is nothing intrinsically special about Apple batteries. Why spend the extra money on so-called fancy Apple electricity?
Click to expand...

Well, just go onto apples site and look at the battery- it has like a 3 star rating because it sucks so bad... swelling, low power, less charge... its hit or miss with them it seems :)
 
I would not recommend 3rd party batteries for any computer. Poor quality and terrible reliability are the main problems if you go that route. Cheap batteries often come with fewer cells and use lower quality components which results in shorter battery life, and fewer cycles before the battery is no longer able to hold a charge.
 
Puevlo said:
Don't listen to the naysayers. There is nothing intrinsically special about Apple batteries. Why spend the extra money on so-called fancy Apple electricity?
Click to expand...

It's special because Apple has designed proprietary on-board controllers for their batteries which are not licensed to anyone else. In addition, many third-party batteries for Apple computer end up having much lower build quality and are more likely to experience problems (since after all, none are licensed and therefore Apple is not checking their quality in any way).

The only third-party batteries I would trust for Apple are OnCore, because I've used them, but they don't make them for the unibodies with built-in batteries.

jW
 
astroboy907 said:
Well, just go onto apples site and look at the battery- it has like a 3 star rating because it sucks so bad... swelling, low power, less charge... its hit or miss with them it seems :)
Click to expand...

Or it's because people that bought them (who were the only ones that could review) were just irked because they had to replace a battery (the horror!!) that they down voted it.
 
mikeo007 said:
I would not recommend 3rd party batteries for any computer. Poor quality and terrible reliability are the main problems if you go that route. Cheap batteries often come with fewer cells and use lower quality components which results in shorter battery life, and fewer cycles before the battery is no longer able to hold a charge.
Click to expand...

This

Ccrew said:
Or it's because people that bought them (who were the only ones that could review) were just irked because they had to replace a battery (the horror!!) that they down voted it.
Click to expand...

and this.

The third party ThinkPad batteries we use at work are nowhere near as good as the OEM type. Shorter life and we're lucky if they last over 12 months.
 
astroboy907 said:
Point me the way, kind sir!
Click to expand...

Please, check your inbox messages.
As it turned out, the genuine battery costs $59.99, or $59.52 ;)

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bozz2006 said:
Same here. I need a new battery, too. If you could share which seller you're talking about, that'd be great.
Click to expand...

Please, check your inbox messages.
Advertising in any form is not welcome on forums, so I cannot post it right here.
 
AppleMacFinder said:
Please, check your inbox messages.
As it turned out, the genuine battery costs $59.99, or $59.52 ;)

----------



Please, check your inbox messages.
Advertising in any form is not welcome on forums, so I cannot post it right here.
Click to expand...

Please point me as well! Thanks so much!
 
dbernie41 said:
So how legit does everyone think this seller is?
Click to expand...

I'm a bit wary, especially to order overseas. I found a US seller with an ad that looked almost exactly the same. I messaged him (asked if the batteries were genuine apple, and here is the reply):

dear friend ,
thanks for your message , the battery is from apply , we have show on eBay,if you need it ,you can pay in our Paypal account xxxxx@xxxxx.com directly , then we will send the item to you when receive your clear payment !
thanks and regards
kingkun02


- kingkun02

Took out the email but the seller name is still there.
 
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