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How many years after I purchase a 2013 rMBP can I have the battery replaced by Apple?

M

mrumor1981

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 19, 2013
15
0
I want to keep my purchase for a long time (minimum of 8 years) as I hate looking for a new computer.

I know that over time the battery will need to be replaced, my question is:

How many years after I purchase my 2013 rMBP can I have the battery replaced by Apple?

I don't care the how much it costs but I'd hate to have my computer 5 years and have Apple say "Nope, your out of luck. Go throw that computer in the trash and buy one of our new $2000 machines" :(
 
In the US, 5 years since that model is removed from sale. Unless purchased in California, then 7 years.
 
Intell said:
In the US, 5 years since that model is removed from sale. Unless purchased in California, then 7 years.
Click to expand...

Thank you :)

Just curious, where did you get this information from?

This way I'll have it so years from now when I get the rep that doesn't know what he's talking about by telling me "we don't replace batteries for laptops that old" I'll have something to prove they do.

PDFierro said:
This sentence right here is troubling.
Click to expand...

Why do you say that? I have a real aversion to change and like to keep my electronics for as long as humanly possible (granted they still are zippy). I'd rather put a lot of money into a top-of-the-line machine early on and have it last 8 years or more rather than buy a base machine and have to replace it every few years.

Is that a bad way to go about it?
 
mrumor1981 said:
This way I'll have it so years from now when I get the rep that doesn't know what he's talking about by telling me "we don't replace batteries for laptops that old" I'll have something to prove they do.
Click to expand...

Well, Apple still sells batteries for 5 year old laptops. So i guess 5-6 years is the minimal span you can expect support for your machine

mrumor1981 said:
Why do you say that? I have a real aversion to change and like to keep my electronics for as long as humanly possible (granted they still are zippy). I'd rather put a lot of money into a top-of-the-line machine early on and have it last 8 years or more rather than buy a base machine and have to replace it every few years.
Click to expand...

Because it does not make much sense. In 3 years, the cheapest macbook air will be faster then your op-of-line current machine. Economically, you are much better off getting a base model and renewing it after 2-3 years. Of course, its your decision and is your preference. There is another, and more important, issue however - the likelihood that your laptop survives so long is quite low.
 
At least 8 years is an ambitious life span for any computer. Good luck!
 
I would think 5 years is what you can EXPECT. if they are willing to replace it even further out, it is their own discretion so I would not expect it to happen after 5 years.

So for example, 8 years ago you are looking at a October 19 Power Mac G5 dual core Power Macintosh discontinued August 7, 2006.

If you brought a power mac into apple today, saying I want a logic board replaced, I don't know how well it would go over.
 
I've still got a base model iBook G4 I got 9 years ago. The battery only lasts half an hour (no issue as it's always plugged in) and I replaced the hard drive from 60GB to 160GB. As a web server it's fine, slow and reliable, but does what it needs to do. 'Free' dropbox.

Realistically with SSD's, RAM, Processor speeds nowadays a 13 or 15" rMBP could last 4-5 years no problem, people however always want more as they need to remain competitive if it is their job. For purely personal use then I wouldn't say it's unreasonable to expect any Apple iMac or Laptop to last up to 8 years - Apple themselves support 2007 Macs with Mavericks so they must also have a similar opinion.
 
Intell said:
In the US, 5 years since that model is removed from sale. Unless purchased in California, then 7 years.
Click to expand...

Vintage and obsolete products

So a product becoming vintage means, that Apple will no longer manufacture parts or accumulate stock, but does the remaining stock get scrapped? Can ASPs still get remaining parts from Apple, or do repairs to vintage products if they happen to have the parts in their own stock?

From the linked site I gathered, that vintage and obsolete are practically the same thing everywhere outside California. Or is there some other difference I didn't notice?
 
Last edited:
mrumor1981 said:
Thank you :)

Just curious, where did you get this information from?

This way I'll have it so years from now when I get the rep that doesn't know what he's talking about by telling me "we don't replace batteries for laptops that old" I'll have something to prove they do.
Click to expand...

The link below and Apple's tech manuals.

laurihoefs said:
Vintage and obsolete products

So a product becoming vintage means, that Apple will no longer manufacture parts or accumulate stock, but does the remaining stock get scrapped? Can ASPs still get remaining parts from Apple, or do repairs to vintage products if they happen to have the parts in their own stock?

From the linked site I gathered, that vintage and obsolete are practically the same thing everywhere outside California. Or is there some other difference I didn't notice?
Click to expand...

You're correct on the vintage status. That's the simplest way of describing it. Everywhere outside of CA that is in the US. Other countries may have different supported periods based on their local laws.
 
leman said:
Because it does not make much sense. In 3 years, the cheapest macbook air will be faster then your op-of-line current machine. Economically, you are much better off getting a base model and renewing it after 2-3 years. Of course, its your decision and is your preference. There is another, and more important, issue however - the likelihood that your laptop survives so long is quite low.
Click to expand...

If you ask me THAT is the most troubling statement. Be it a fact or not.
 
mrumor1981 said:
Why do you say that? I have a real aversion to change and like to keep my electronics for as long as humanly possible (granted they still are zippy). I'd rather put a lot of money into a top-of-the-line machine early on and have it last 8 years or more rather than buy a base machine and have to replace it every few years.

Is that a bad way to go about it?
Click to expand...


you are doing absolutely nothing wrong

just a lot of people on here (and on the internet generally) think people who choose different options to themselves are justifying being flamed
 
Bri in Mtl said:
If you ask me THAT is the most troubling statement. Be it a fact or not.
Click to expand...
I agree with you, although I wouldn't have 5 years ago. Computer's aren't improving at the rate they used to, and they're already at a level that's good enough for many uses. Not to mention all the time you spend migrating stuff to your new gear. It'd be nice if you could just get something and use it until it wears out in 50 years ...that's not going to happen anytime soon, but I don't think 8 years is out of the question. If you look at businesses (who can't just throw money away without going bankrupt), a lot are still using XP. If you look, you can probably find people still using Windows 3.
 
mrumor1981 said:
Why do you say that? I have a real aversion to change and like to keep my electronics for as long as humanly possible (granted they still are zippy). I'd rather put a lot of money into a top-of-the-line machine early on and have it last 8 years or more rather than buy a base machine and have to replace it every few years.

Is that a bad way to go about it?
Click to expand...

Upgrading a Windows machine was always a pain in the ass. When I got my current MBP it was trivial to migrate from my 5 year old MBP. Only issue was having to re-enter the MS Office license code. With that ease I don't mind upgrading at a reasonable interval. That said, I've had my MBP for almost 2 years now. With the SSD upgrade, I expect to keep it for another 2 or 3 years at least. I couldn't imagine trying to work with my old MBP that would now be 7 years old because it was limited to 3gb of memory.
 
I have an iBook G3 (466) that still has a battery that lasts 5 hours. And it's from 1999. Ha! On OS 9, but it still does the job!

I will keep my current MacBook Pro as long as you probably. Mine's going on its third year after this Christmas actually and still does the job. I don't have the money to replace my tech every few years.
 
The only flaw I see with this plan is the fact that the battery is glued in place. This means that almost the entire case needs to be replaced to accomplish that one task. Many of us figure they'd just take your SSD and maybe logic board and put those in a new case. If that's the case (hah) the likelihood of Apple keeping the cases in stock just for battery replacements for longer than 5 years in unlikely.

If you're looking at that kind of life for a laptop, I'd consider a non-retina MacBook Pro while they're still around. On those models you can replace just about everything yourself. You can either get a new-in-box 2012 13" and upgrade the hard drive and RAM yourself or check out the refurbished store for higher specs.
 
laurihoefs said:
Vintage and obsolete products

So a product becoming vintage means, that Apple will no longer manufacture parts or accumulate stock, but does the remaining stock get scrapped? Can ASPs still get remaining parts from Apple, or do repairs to vintage products if they happen to have the parts in their own stock?

From the linked site I gathered, that vintage and obsolete are practically the same thing everywhere outside California. Or is there some other difference I didn't notice?
Click to expand...

There's nothing in your link. Just opens up the "Reply to Thread" page.
 
leman said:
Because it does not make much sense. In 3 years, the cheapest macbook air will be faster then your op-of-line current machine. Economically, you are much better off getting a base model and renewing it after 2-3 years. Of course, its your decision and is your preference. There is another, and more important, issue however - the likelihood that your laptop survives so long is quite low.
Click to expand...

I like this logic because I'm on the fence still deciding whether to buy a new rMBP to replace my 2011 13" MBP or not. I already installed a SSD and it still runs reasonably fast. The only reason I'm considering getting a new machine is I started working in cinema 4D and rendering can be better. And the screen estate would be another reason. But it's not like my MBP is dying.
 
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