The battery health is down to 86%. Obviously it is out of warranty so I would have to pay $199 to have it replaced. What do you all think? Is it worth investing more money in this machine in 2021?
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Is it worth having my battery replaced on my 2017 12" MacBook?
- Thread starter Jacoblee23
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Why do you want to replace the battery? It's still above 80%, so I would recommend just keep using it until it wears down even more.
this. Forget the number, does the computer still meet your needs? Then stop obsessing. If you can tell the difference in battery life and it impacts your life, the 2017 is still a good computer. Replace the battery.
It doesn't get great battery life. I am surprised it has dropped this much at only 106 cycles.
Can you give some numbers? How long does it last on a full charge? 106 cycles in a 4 year old machine? Does that mean you had it plugged in most of the time? Sometimes constant partial cycling causes more damage than a full cycle. I still think it’s worth replacing.
It lasts around 5-6 hours on a full charge. I have other MacBooks so this isn't my daily driver is why the cycle count is so low. Would I be better off buying a $199 battery or selling this m3 one and getting a spec'd out one for more future proofing or is that not worth it on a four year old machine at this point?
Cycle count is only one factor. If you use them long enough, even if always plugged in, your battery health will almost certainly be lower than it started. Whether it's worth trading up for a new one probably depends on how much they're selling for these days, in its current condition. As for the battery, if it's at 86%, you probably won't get that much more battery life after the swap. Up to 14% isn't going to change your life.
I have experienced the same thing. I haven't always been 100% happy with replacement batteries. They haven't stayed at 100% for long either. In your situation, I would probably look at what I would expect to sell that one at without being too optimistic. If it's low, I would wait and see what the second generation of the new models looks like.
I did just that: swapped my day one 2015 rMB with a 2017 rMB. The battery in the 2015 model was almost 6 years old.(April 2015). It had more than 800 cycles and ca 55% health. Lasted about 2 hours. I've used it on battery the first 2 years. The last 3,5 years more plugged in. It degraded quite a bit the first 2 years (ca 500 cycles, 80% health) but stabilized after that.
Started to get the 'battery service' notification after 3 years (ca 75% health) but just continued to use it. It never swelled.
When it was clear that there was no Apple Silicon M1 12" rMB, I decided to look for a used 2017 model. Found one with 7 cycles (96% health), 2 years old but hardly used. Sold the old 2015rMB. The whole deal costed me 350$. Very pleased with the 2017 model. Good battery life and snappier. Now I can just wait and see if there is coming a M1 12.9" rMB (with smaller bezels) or redesigned MBA in 2022-23.
A new battery for the 2015 would have cost me much more than 250$ (no Apple stores in Norway). As an emergency solution (when traveling e.g.) I had a 26800mAh RAVpower usb-c power bank with PD. (ca 50$ )
Yours with 86% health can last for many more years.
Started to get the 'battery service' notification after 3 years (ca 75% health) but just continued to use it. It never swelled.
When it was clear that there was no Apple Silicon M1 12" rMB, I decided to look for a used 2017 model. Found one with 7 cycles (96% health), 2 years old but hardly used. Sold the old 2015rMB. The whole deal costed me 350$. Very pleased with the 2017 model. Good battery life and snappier. Now I can just wait and see if there is coming a M1 12.9" rMB (with smaller bezels) or redesigned MBA in 2022-23.
A new battery for the 2015 would have cost me much more than 250$ (no Apple stores in Norway). As an emergency solution (when traveling e.g.) I had a 26800mAh RAVpower usb-c power bank with PD. (ca 50$ )
Yours with 86% health can last for many more years.
I echo the others saying your current battery (pun intended) is really not that bad. Especially if its not your main driver. You can easily sell it with that kind of battery life.