Hi all,
My mid-2007 15" MacBook Pro has a battery that is all but dead (9% health), despite only 155 cycles. This isn't the battery that came with the machine: when it was just under a year old, the machine started randomly shutting off at about 50% juice left and so Apple replaced it. Unfortunately, the replacement battery is now over a year old so I don't imagine Apple will help me.
So .... I went hunting for new battery prices and nearly fell off my chair when I saw Apple charge basically £100 on the online store! I was even more confused when I went Googling: I've turned up prices from £32 to £100 for 15" MacBook Pro batteries and a truly bewildering array of model numbers. My own battery says model number A1175 and it seems to be when I search specifically for that that I get the lowest prices *but* the images never seem to show Apple branded stuff (eg: this here has no Apple wording or logo visible on enlarged image)
So, are there any kind souls out there who can help me understand:
i) Will any battery that is for a 15" MBP work for me, or do I need to get an A1175 again? How does a human being decode the battery model numbers?
ii) Why the *huge* discrepancy in prices and why (I suspect linked) is the Apple logo missing from so many batteries that people are selling as MBP batteries?
iii) Am I safe buying one of these non-Apple store batteries? Will it void what remains of my 3-year warranty which runs through to June 2010?
In a nut-shell I'm a poor student and seem to go through batteries one a year: I can't afford to shell out £100 each time, but nor do I want to damage my MBP (or void remaining warranty) by buying dodgy ones.
Thanks!
Louis
My mid-2007 15" MacBook Pro has a battery that is all but dead (9% health), despite only 155 cycles. This isn't the battery that came with the machine: when it was just under a year old, the machine started randomly shutting off at about 50% juice left and so Apple replaced it. Unfortunately, the replacement battery is now over a year old so I don't imagine Apple will help me.
So .... I went hunting for new battery prices and nearly fell off my chair when I saw Apple charge basically £100 on the online store! I was even more confused when I went Googling: I've turned up prices from £32 to £100 for 15" MacBook Pro batteries and a truly bewildering array of model numbers. My own battery says model number A1175 and it seems to be when I search specifically for that that I get the lowest prices *but* the images never seem to show Apple branded stuff (eg: this here has no Apple wording or logo visible on enlarged image)
So, are there any kind souls out there who can help me understand:
i) Will any battery that is for a 15" MBP work for me, or do I need to get an A1175 again? How does a human being decode the battery model numbers?
ii) Why the *huge* discrepancy in prices and why (I suspect linked) is the Apple logo missing from so many batteries that people are selling as MBP batteries?
iii) Am I safe buying one of these non-Apple store batteries? Will it void what remains of my 3-year warranty which runs through to June 2010?
In a nut-shell I'm a poor student and seem to go through batteries one a year: I can't afford to shell out £100 each time, but nor do I want to damage my MBP (or void remaining warranty) by buying dodgy ones.
Thanks!
Louis
