MacBoook Pro new battery reporting wrong percentage

[polanskiman]

I have a MacBook Pro mid 2015 (A1398) with Mojave although I think the problem is OS unrelated. The new battery is always reporting the wrong %. I did the usual calibration procedure (SMC and PRAM reset, charge, discharge, charge again) to no avail. When charging it take like 2 hours or so to go from 0 to 25% then it suddenly jumps to 100%. When discharging it goes from 100% to 80% rather slowly then suddenly the computer shuts down completely without warning. No hibernation. I have tried recalibrating multiple times and this is already the second battery which is doing the same thing. Cycle count is also not accurate. Even after ~10 cycles counts it is only showing 3 cycles which doesn't surprises me because the computer shuts down with no warning and I think the OS doesn't flag the low battery state. This is frustrating and I can't find a solution to this.

 

[TinyMito]

Third party battery?

 

[polanskiman]

Third party battery?

As per the seller, OEM. Coconut reports it as a Simplo. One thing I also forgot to mention, the full charge capacity has dropped dramatically but all these number look inaccurate to me as I can use the computer for substantially longer periods without charging than before with the old battery. As you can see below I have been stuck at 13% for like 1 hour and I am expecting a sudden shutdown soon.

 

[TinyMito]

I don't know what is "seller" - I assume that is third party battery. Any third party can stamp "OEM" or "OE" which is not OEM. OEM is when you buy from Apple certified battery.

I heard so many things about third party batteries. Quality is not up there and cut corners which is why it is cheaper than Apple OEM batteries.

 

[polanskiman]

Seller means seller. They are a reputable shop. It's not Apple else I would have gone straight to Apple considering what they charge customers but I did enquire initially with them. They were asking 320USD for a battery. Steep for a battery pack.

I also changed the battery on my MacBook late 2009 from the same seller, the same day. Battery and behavior is perfectly fine.

 

[wilberforce]

I had good luck with a cheap ($50) third party battery from Amazon in my 2015 MBP, no issues.
If this is the second battery you have tried, I suspect it's not the battery. It may be a hardware issue other than the battery.
I suggest check this too:

15-inch MacBook Pro Battery Recall Program - Apple Support

15-inch MacBook Pro Battery Recall Program

support.apple.com

 

[polanskiman]

I had good luck with a cheap ($50) third party battery from Amazon in my 2015 MBP, no issues.
If this is the second battery you have tried, I suspect it's not the battery. It may be a hardware issue other than the battery.
I suggest check this too:

15-inch MacBook Pro Battery Recall Program - Apple Support

15-inch MacBook Pro Battery Recall Program

support.apple.com

I was thinking about a hardware problem too but at the same time when using the old original battery I did not have this issue so it's weird. I will try recalibrating the battery again but I think it's just a lost battle.

Regarding the battery recall I had already enquired with Apple. My unit is not eligible. SN was not part of those affected units.

 

[polanskiman]

Some update here.

The battery I purchased were very much Apple certified batteries so these were not crappy third party batteries. However it does happen sometimes that the batteries have issues. The seller changed the battery twice. Both the batteries were from the same batch so it very much seems that the batch was the problem. He sent a third battery from a new batch. This time all is good. Battery is charging/discharging as it should and cycle count increasing properly.
Back to work!