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Do Macbook Pros have Soldered Batteries?

P

PhilMacbook

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 16, 2018
185
219
Britain
Hopefully Apple will release a nice update next month as my 2012 Macbook Pro needs replacing. I know Apple now solder Ram and SSD but do they also solder the battery in place and if so what happens when the battery starts to not hold charge as well or begins to fail?

If they are like previous Macbook batteries after a few years they will probably need replacing but how do you do that? Does it have to go back to Apple for replacement?

Pro machines are used constantly and being able to replace a battery without waiting days for a repair centre is important.
 
Schranke said:
What model are your 2012 machine?
If it is not a retina version a lot of new life can be added by putting in and SSD, more RAM and even getting a new battery.
Click to expand...

It is a non-retina machine. I have already replaced the battery and put 16GB Ram in. An SSD would be the only thing to add. In the last few months the machine has had occasional problems waking from sleep so I get the impression it is just getting old, won't last forever and could do with beng replaced.

I don't mind the new machines having Ram and SSD soldered but batteries don't last more than a 2 or 3 years and having to then lose the machine for a week or so seems stupid for a pro machine. It's fine if someone is using it for YouTube and Facebook but a business machine is needed daily so it seems like a strange design choice from Apple for a pro machine.

They must at any one time have thousands of machines going back to them for a simple battery replacement.
 
No machine will last forever. but I got to say those pre retina models comes close.:D
An SSD might help with the sleep issue, there should be dedicated threads about it. Otherwise I will be a nice backup or guest machine. Even a decent gift for one who just needs something to write on.

But I completely agree, being without a machine for a few days is not a good solution. But I think they are able to do a 1 day change if you have a decent apple store nearby or a good authorised service provider.
 
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Don't let "wake from sleep" problems mess up your head.

If the MBP is still running well otherwise, keep using it.
 
Thanks but wake from sleep problems aren't acceptable on a business machine. I don't think at this point it is cost effective to take it to a repair store as it is 6 years old and hopefully Apple will launch something great in June.

If the sleep problem wasn't there I would probably stick an SSD in the 2012 MBP and keep using it but I need something reliable and have had more than good value from the old machine. I wanted to upgrade in 2016 but didn't like Apple's offering so will hope the June launch brings something good.

I will definitely take Schranke's idea of keeping the old machine as a backup.

Let's hope Apple give us something good next month. The temporary loss of the machine when the battery fails is a pretty bad flaw for a pro laptop. I think I'm like a lot of users in that I'm ready and willing to buy but unhappy with what Apple is offering us at the moment.
 
PhilMacbook said:
Hopefully Apple will release a nice update next month as my 2012 Macbook Pro needs replacing. I know Apple now solder Ram and SSD but do they also solder the battery in place and if so what happens when the battery starts to not hold charge as well or begins to fail?

If they are like previous Macbook batteries after a few years they will probably need replacing but how do you do that? Does it have to go back to Apple for replacement?

Pro machines are used constantly and being able to replace a battery without waiting days for a repair centre is important.
Click to expand...

Not many are capable of fixing their own.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Battery+Replacement/10365
 
canuckRus said:
Not many are capable of fixing their own.
Click to expand...
I would say more unwilling then incapable. I'm not trying to split hairs, but I'm capable of replacing the battery of my 2012 MBP, but I chose to let Apple do the work. That way, they own the risk of damaging it, and also I get the work warrantied.
 
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Schranke - it might make this thread go off topic but I will explain the issue.

Quite often (once every 2 days on average), when I lift the lid to wake the MBP from sleep, the sign on screen appears but I can't type anything in the password box or move the cursor. When I close the lid again the white light at the front of the lower case comes on but it is then on constantly rather than slowly flashing off and on which would indicate normal functioning. The white light goes off again if I lift the lid.

Eventually after many minutes the machine reboots or I get impatient and reboot it myself. I read some threads on here when this first started happening to no avail.
 
PhilMacbook said:
Schranke - it might make this thread go off topic but I will explain the issue.

Quite often (once every 2 days on average), when I lift the lid to wake the MBP from sleep, the sign on screen appears but I can't type anything in the password box or move the cursor. When I close the lid again the white light at the front of the lower case comes on but it is then on constantly rather than slowly flashing off and on which would indicate normal functioning. The white light goes off again if I lift the lid.

Eventually after many minutes the machine reboots or I get impatient and reboot it myself. I read some threads on here when this first started happening to no avail.
Click to expand...
What OSX version are you on?

It does not sound like the same issue, but have you looked through various topics discussing this issue on their newer Macbook Pros with High Sierra?

Example: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/weird-sleep-issue.2077367/
 
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I am running Sierra. The root password issue put me off High Sierra. I know that bug has been fixed but it was shoddy so I have given that upgrade a miss. Hopefully Apple will increase quality control with the next version of Mac OS.
 
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PhilMacbook said:
I am running Sierra. The root password issue put me off High Sierra. I know that bug has been fixed but it was shoddy so I have given that upgrade a miss. Hopefully Apple will increase quality control with the next version of Mac OS.
Click to expand...
That's a smart move.
 
Thanks for the forum link. As you say, most of those people have High Sierra but someone recommended setting standbydelay to 86400, standby to 1 and hibernatemode to 3 so I have done that and will see what happens.
 
Last edited:
PhilMacbook said:
Schranke - it might make this thread go off topic but I will explain the issue.

Quite often (once every 2 days on average), when I lift the lid to wake the MBP from sleep, the sign on screen appears but I can't type anything in the password box or move the cursor. When I close the lid again the white light at the front of the lower case comes on but it is then on constantly rather than slowly flashing off and on which would indicate normal functioning. The white light goes off again if I lift the lid.

Eventually after many minutes the machine reboots or I get impatient and reboot it myself. I read some threads on here when this first started happening to no avail.
Click to expand...
If you haven't done so an SMC reset may do the trick. Might as well do an NVRAM reset in the same go to incase it is just SW and not a power issue.
 
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PhilMacbook said:
I am running Sierra. The root password issue put me off High Sierra. I know that bug has been fixed but it was shoddy so I have given that upgrade a miss. Hopefully Apple will increase quality control with the next version of Mac OS.
Click to expand...

What is (was) the root password issue?
 
Your issues happened to me on my MBP2011 running high Sierra.

Turns out it was something to do with Some start up programs.

Try this:

Stop all programs starting up on login.
Restart.

Try if same issues arise.

Once you are happy, try re adding those startups one at a time. You may be able to isolate the issue.

PhilMacbook said:
Schranke - it might make this thread go off topic but I will explain the issue.

Quite often (once every 2 days on average), when I lift the lid to wake the MBP from sleep, the sign on screen appears but I can't type anything in the password box or move the cursor. When I close the lid again the white light at the front of the lower case comes on but it is then on constantly rather than slowly flashing off and on which would indicate normal functioning. The white light goes off again if I lift the lid.

Eventually after many minutes the machine reboots or I get impatient and reboot it myself. I read some threads on here when this first started happening to no avail.
Click to expand...
 
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@davidmartindale - thanks. I tried these resets when it first started happening.

@saqibhasan - thanks. Now that I have changed the settings mentioned in the link Powerslave12r posted I will monitor how that goes and if it doesn't solve it I will give your suggestion a try.

@Schranke - you are right. The pre-retina MBPs are pretty durable. I never intended keeping this Mac for 6 years but aside from the sleep issue, a battery replacement and an HD failure (after 4 years) it has been durable. It gets used fairly heavily on the road so all things considered I think it has done well.
 
PhilMacbook said:
It is a non-retina machine. I have already replaced the battery and put 16GB Ram in. An SSD would be the only thing to add. In the last few months the machine has had occasional problems waking from sleep so I get the impression it is just getting old, won't last forever and could do with beng replaced.
Click to expand...
I have a three year old 2012 MBP that I bought new at BestBuy in 2015. Like you, I upgraded the ram to 16GB and I installed an 512GB Samsung SSD. Installing the SSD solved my wake from sleep problems. The sleep problem may be the same problems that you have encountered. I had read somewhere on the Apple site that to solve the sleep problem to either install an SSD or insert an SD card into the slot and just keep it there any time you sleep the computer.

My 2012 is pretty much brand new. I rarely used it in the last three years because I bought a 2015 MBP the same month I bought the 2012. I sold the 2015 back in February and my 2012 is now my main Mac.
 
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