iFixit Launches Repair Guides for Retina MacBook Pro

[Peter Stegemann]

Apple is into customer experience, and for most customers, a more pleasant experience at the Genius part is a major part of it. Don't expect Apple to make things harder on Geniuses any time soon.

Getting the battery replaced in an instant at the Genius bar instead of having to wait a week would definitely be a better customer experience, don't you think so?

ignoring the fact that batteries have changed. The newer batteries keep a charge longer, and they have the same life expectancy as the devices they're in.

So, the life expectancy of the current MacBooks is just 3 years? This is the maximum how every Lithium based battery (except for the LifePo) I owned has lived. And it's no surprise if you understand how they work chemically. Yes, sometimes they will live longer. But the average is simply stuck at 3 years and it won't change much before someone brings us entirely new batteries.

This isn't 1979, when almost every computer owner needed to have a soldering iron on hand.

We're talking about replacing a battery here. Apple has shown how it can be done in older MacBook models. No need for soldering.

 

[chaosbunny]

Repair guide for rmbp directly from Apple:

1. Throw it away.

2. Buy new one.

 

[oxfordguy]

I really don't know why Apple felt the need to glue the battery in on the rMBP, they didn't on the Macbook Air and that's hardly a fat computer...

 

[KevinC867]

I really don't know why Apple felt the need to glue the battery in on the rMBP, they didn't on the Macbook Air and that's hardly a fat computer...

Yes, it's baffling. Not only did they glue it in, but they used *really* strong glue. They could have used something much weaker. It's not like the battery is going to go anywhere.

 

[Galatian]

Even though I really don't agree with able on using glue to attach the battery to the frame, I really don't care about upgradeability any more.
Notebooks have never been very upgradeable anyway, at least not those that tried to be as thin as possible. Ok you have MMX for graphic cards, but those cost you around 500€ a piece and it is not a guaranty they work within your notebooks thermal envelope. CPUs are usually soldered in anyway. You already get 8 GB of RAM standard and the upgrade prices from Apple are actually for the first time in years not as bad as they used to be. Not to mention the fact that the average user will not need more then 8 GB of RAM. Same goes for SSD. The only reason I opened up my 2008 MacBook Pro was to install more RAM and replace my HDD with an SSD. My MacBook Air already comes with an SSD and so does the rMBP.
Let's face it: Upgrading a notebook was always a niche and has become even more pointless since availabilty of RAM and SSD has reached the point where people don't need more. For those few that still do need more: you can always opt to pay the upgrade prices on the Apple store.

 

[chaosbunny]

Even though I really don't agree with able on using glue to attach the battery to the frame, I really don't care about upgradeability any more.
Notebooks have never been very upgradeable anyway, at least not those that tried to be as thin as possible. Ok you have MMX for graphic cards, but those cost you around 500€ a piece and it is not a guaranty they work within your notebooks thermal envelope. CPUs are usually soldered in anyway. You already get 8 GB of RAM standard and the upgrade prices from Apple are actually for the first time in years not as bad as they used to be. Not to mention the fact that the average user will not need more then 8 GB of RAM. Same goes for SSD. The only reason I opened up my 2008 MacBook Pro was to install more RAM and replace my HDD with an SSD. My MacBook Air already comes with an SSD and so does the rMBP.
Let's face it: Upgrading a notebook was always a niche and has become even more pointless since availabilty of RAM and SSD has reached the point where people don't need more. For those few that still do need more: you can always opt to pay the upgrade prices on the Apple store.

It's not only about upgrades, but repairs! RAM and HDs/SSDs are most likely to fail after a couple of years. With the "oldschool" mbp if your HD fails after 3.5 years it's $100,- for a new one (or a little bit more for a SSD). With a rmbp it will be $1000,- for a new mainboard with processor, gpu, ram and everything or $2500,- for a new machine.

And the average user will not need more than 8gb ram? 2 years ago the average user did't need more than 4gb, 4 years ago not more than 2gb, ...

 

[dweezle3]

Windows is a pane

Lol I get it

 

[AlPlPlLE]

I really don't know why Apple felt the need to glue the battery in on the rMBP, they didn't on the Macbook Air and that's hardly a fat computer...

Because its a simple sign of "hey, don't **** with this". There are safety concerns when messing with it.

 

[Galatian]

It's not only about upgrades, but repairs! RAM and HDs/SSDs are most likely to fail after a couple of years. With the "oldschool" mbp if your HD fails after 3.5 years it's $100,- for a new one (or a little bit more for a SSD). With a rmbp it will be $1000,- for a new mainboard with processor, gpu, ram and everything or $2500,- for a new machine.

The SSD is replaceable and will probably stay as such, because Apple knows this is one if not the most replaced part in repairs. I just had my faulty SSD replaced in my brand new Mac Book Air. No big deal. You can even get after market ones if you really want to safe a few bucks.
And let's face it: It is much more likely that your RAM will fail shortly after you received your unit, because that's just how it is. They don't "progress" into failing. If there is a manufacturing defect it will appear within weeks of purchase (as happened with me). So if your Mac Book Pro was running fine for the last 2-3 year on the same RAM sticks it will probably do so another 3 years.

And the average user will not need more than 8gb ram? 2 years ago the average user did't need more than 4gb, 4 years ago not more than 2gb, ...

You didn't get what I wanted to say: The normal customer will be fine with 8 - 16 GB of RAM. There is nothing out there except of professional software that will need more RAM and there will be no foreseeable change in that. We've reached a singularity here.

 

[cgk.emu]

The crap being spewed in this article is amazing. Consider one thing: you rant and rave about how Apple should "take note" of your tantrum. Folks who frequent this forum make up an amazingly tiny percentage of Mac users. Apple doesn't care what a few fanatic OCD users have to say about their products. Drop the ego and get a life.

 

[alfistas]

The crap being spewed in this article is amazing. Consider one thing: you rant and rave about how Apple should "take note" of your tantrum. Folks who frequent this forum make up an amazingly tiny percentage of Mac users. Apple doesn't care what a few fanatic OCD users have to say about their products. Drop the ego and get a life.

You're funny!!!

 

[neil1980]

It used to be that you could lift your engine out of your car and replace it with a more powerful one.

Erm yes you can... I've seen enough of that including swapping engines from other manufacturers.

Also now you can (and I have) remap you're car by uploading your cars engine map, emailing to a specialist who tweaks it, emails it back and then reflash it yourself.... tell me how you can change ignition, fuel and boost, gain around an extra 40 bhp without getting your hands dirty with a car that doesn't have an ECU

 

[Gemütlichkeit]

Glued battery and no turn-by-turn for iPhone 4 users are the two dumbest moves apple has done in recent years.

 

[alfistas]

Okay, so throw yourself through the Windows into Dell hell. Windows is a pane. Rethink this.

Windows 7 aren't bad at all actually. They might be boring but they work like a charm...

You're actually going to throw away a computer, even though it works better, just because you can't tinker with its innards? Unless you spend all your time disassembling and reassembling your computer for fun, you might not have thought this through.

I believe the argument in this thread is about ease of repairability not tinkering. Assuming that your rMBP is your main computer and you're working on a very important project which is due next week when this happens:

How long until Apple gets your MBP fixed?

To me this is the burning question...

 

[SeattleMoose]

My Dear Watson....

It is really quite simple you see. It is all a PLOT.

pass the tinfoil....

 

[Yebubbleman]

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


iFixit today announced the release of 15 new repair guides for the Retina MacBook Pro, giving users instructions on how to perform their own repair and replacement procedures for a number of components. But as iFixit notes, Apple's design direction emphasizing space and weight savings has made it difficult, if not simply infeasible, for several components to be replaced on an individual basis.Replacement parts are also not yet available in many cases given Apple's use of proprietary components, but iFixit is working on sourcing those parts and users will be able to turn to Apple for free warranty repairs in many cases for the first year, or even longer with AppleCare.

Image


iFixit notes that third-party battery replacement companies will have a difficult time given that the Retina MacBook Pro's battery is glued to the aluminum top case, estimating that such companies will have to charge in the neighborhood of $500 to swap out the entire top case assembly and battery. In comparison, Apple charges $199 for the service, up from the $129 fee it charges on non-Retina versions of the 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Article Link: iFixit Launches Repair Guides for Retina MacBook Pro

Aaaaaaaaand this is why I'll be buying a non-retina 15" MacBook Pro instead!

It's nice you can give back Apple products instead of dumping them on the next land fill. Thanks Apple. But maybe creating products that last long and are easy to repair is a better strategy to create green products. Apple is heading into the opposite direction. There's no need to glue in the battery except for making it impossible for the user to replace the battery by themselves. So, when the battery is dead, you have to hope Apple is still replacing them for an affordable price. And you have to hope keep an eye on your MacBook - when the battery starts to bloat - which happened to me on 4 MacBook batteries out of 6 of different generations already - you've got to head to the Apple service fast and you've got to pay whatever they ask for or write your MacBook off. You can't remove the battery to avoid further damage, or to store it separately to avoid damage at all when you want to keep an old MacBook for whatever reason. There's only one safe way to handle these new MacBooks - avoid them or sell them before the Apple Care protection expires.

Actually, if you look at pictures of the recent Late-2010 and newer MacBook Airs, you ought to see that on those batteries, the cells are exposed, but are attached to a larger discrete battery base/controller/whateverthehellitis. In this one, that part appears to be integrated into the top-case/unibody itself for the purposes of (and I'm only guessing here) saving space. Then again, I fail to understand why the non-retina 15" design was considered to be too thick.

does Apple actually replace the battery for $199? or do they just give you a full replacement & swap the flash module?

I work for an Apple Authorized Service Provider and can field this question; when you take your retina MacBook Pro to get its battery serviced, the technician basically guts the machine and transfers all of the parts that are not either integrated into the top case/unibody or included pre-assembled in the replacement to the replacement and reassembles the machine. This is what Apple has instructed both Authorized Service Providers as well as Genius Bar technicians to do in the event of a battery replacement. This added procedure, combined with the fact that you are replacing, in addition to the battery, the top case, trackpad, and probably many other things, is probably why the replacement costs $199 instead of the $130 that it costs on the other Mac notebooks.

Wow, just wow! Did you folks scan through that iFixit article? They completely disassembled the laptop just to replace the freakin battery. This is just insane given that the much smaller MacBook Air still has an easily replaceable battery.

Apple is going to lose a bundle every time they replace an rMBP battery for $200. The only thing I can imagine is that Apple believes it won't matter because 99.9% of users will never want to have their battery replaced. That has certainly not been my experience with older MacBooks, but maybe the batteries really have gotten that much better.

They have definitely improved; you may never need to get your rMBP's battery replaced during the time that you own it. The issue isn't that the rMBP is larger than the MBA; it's that Apple is trying to cram more into that alloted space than they are on the MBA, and as a result, they are integrating the cells and whatever unit they are usually a part of on the MBA to the top case itself. THAT'S the issue.

Windows 7 aren't bad at all actually. They might be boring but they work like a charm...



I believe the argument in this thread is about ease of repairability not tinkering. Assuming that your rMBP is your main computer and you're working on a very important project which is due next week when this happens:

Image

How long until Apple gets your MBP fixed?

To me this is the burning question...

Heh...nice pun.

 

[alfistas]

when you take your retina MacBook Pro to get its battery serviced, the technician basically guts the machine and transfers all of the parts that are not either integrated into the top case/unibody or included pre-assembled in the replacement to the replacement and reassembles the machine. This is what Apple has instructed both Authorized Service Providers as well as Genius Bar technicians to do in the event of a battery replacement.

Thanks for the info! I was worried that might be the case...

 

[Yebubbleman]

Thanks for the info! I was worried that might be the case...

No worries!

While it wasn't necessary to renew my ACMT (Apple Certified Macintosh Technician) certification for the next year, I did have to take a whole 50 question exam from Apple that was entirely dedicated to battery safety and Apple's preferred procedures and practices specifically with the 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina Display so that my Apple Authorized Service Provider could order parts for one of those machines, should it ever come through our shop for repair. It was a stupid test and $15 that I would've rather not spent, but as a result, I know what's up with getting that machine serviced.

As a result, I began to get the feeling that (a) this machine is a lot more hazardous than any laptop Apple has put out before and (b) Apple's legal/safety team thought as much themselves. Ultimately, I sincerely hope that Apple, in going from rev. A to rev. B, at least corrects the battery issues. Discrete RAM modules would be nice, but I have a feeling that the soldered on design is, sadly, here to stay.

 

[alfistas]

While it wasn't necessary to renew my ACMT (Apple Certified Macintosh Technician) certification for the next year, I did have to take a whole 50 question exam from Apple that was entirely dedicated to battery safety and Apple's preferred procedures and practices specifically with the 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina Display so that my Apple Authorized Service Provider could order parts for one of those machines, should it ever come through our shop for repair. It was a stupid test and $15 that I would've rather not spent, but as a result, I know what's up with getting that machine serviced.

As a result, I began to get the feeling that (a) this machine is a lot more hazardous than any laptop Apple has put out before and (b) Apple's legal/safety team thought as much themselves.

This was very educational. Thank you!

Ultimately, I sincerely hope that Apple, in going from rev. A to rev. B, at least corrects the battery issues. Discrete RAM modules would be nice, but I have a feeling that the soldered on design is, sadly, here to stay.

I agree. This battery issue is probably just a rev.A glitch and we wont be seeing it again. As for the RAM configuration, unfortunately that is here to stay...

 

[Yebubbleman]

I agree. This battery issue is probably just a rev.A glitch and we wont be seeing it again. As for the RAM configuration, unfortunately that is here to stay...

To be fair, the glued on battery doesn't inconvenience the consumer all THAT much. Yes, it costs an extra $70 to replace that could've been spent buying groceries, a beer, or gasoline, and that does suck. But for users, the external difference isn't that much nor that serious. Where it really sucks is for the technicians as replacing the battery on a non-retina MBP is simply a matter of undoing two to three tri-lobe screws, and pulling it out and popping in the new one and rescrewing those screws and on the retina MBP, the whole machine needs to be gutted and transfered to a new top-case...plus for technicians that battery is much more of a safety hazard than any of the previous batteries. THAT'S the real problem. But current non-retina unibody MacBook Pros aside, Apple's Macs have never been made to be easily serviced. Stupid, but there you go.

 

[alftechguru]

Wow!! There is a great increase in battery size and capacity.