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Jonathan2019

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 18, 2019
21
11
I have a Macbook Pro 13" 2015 that I bought in 2016. Of course the warranty just ended and I recently noticed serious warping. If I try to type with the internal keyboard it rocks up and down. The reason I didn't notice is because I plug another monitor into it via HDMI and every time I finish starting up I close the lid. Is this a battery issue or is my logic board warping because I leave it closed most of the time? It sounds like sand grinding when I push down on the metal area near the trackpad. I keep good care of it so I am not sure why this is happening. Also is it possible to remove the hard drive on these? Finally what parts do they replace when the battery/logic board goes crazy? I use my MBP for work so I need the files on the drive to work with.
 
Agree with Logical's post about the battery.

Do you have a brick-n-mortar Apple Store anywhere close?
If so, take it to them RIGHT AWAY, without delay.
An expanding battery is a serious fire hazard.

They -might- replace the battery for free.
Even if they decline a free replacement, it's worth paying to get it replaced.
The cost should be 199, which INCLUDES labor.
MAKE SURE you have an understanding about this before you put it into their hands.
 
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Agree with Logical's post about the battery.

Do you have a brick-n-mortar Apple Store anywhere close?
If so, take it to them RIGHT AWAY, without delay.
An expanding battery is a serious fire hazard.

They -might- replace the battery for free.
Even if they decline a free replacement, it's worth paying to get it replaced.
The cost should be 199, which INCLUDES labor.
MAKE SURE you have an understanding about this before you put it into their hands.

My MBP is 3.5 years old. I read that the battery has a 4 year warranty but cannot remember where I read that. Yes I have two official Apple stores near me. I bought my MBP at Best Buy since it was $100 off. Is that the reason I'm having this problem? Every laptop that I bought from my local Apple Store has never had problems.
 
I bought my MBP at Best Buy since it was $100 off. Is that the reason I'm having this problem? Every laptop that I bought from my local Apple Store has never had problems.

Those darned $100 off Best Buy Batteries always swelling and causing trouble!

Just kidding. The machine and particularly the battery doesn't know where it is going when it is manufactured. Just the luck of the draw I am afraid. In your case bad luck. Take it in as others have suggested and hopefully you get the result (battery replacement at no charge to you) that you are hoping for :)
 
Take it to your local apple store to see what they can do. I had an issue with my 2012 MBP... a week after my AppleCare expires. In store they said that since I’ve never used it and it just ended that they would make an exception for me.
 
Take it to your local apple store to see what they can do. I had an issue with my 2012 MBP... a week after my AppleCare expires. In store they said that since I’ve never used it and it just ended that they would make an exception for me.

I took my MBP to the Apple Store, they said $199 flat fee, and that it would be a week :/. Several months after I bought it I had problems with the Wifi but Apple could never fix it. They tested it and said it was not bad hardware so it had to be software. I would have taken the MBP in sooner if I had known the problem was the battery. I will definitely take the AppleCare route.

My old 2013 MBA had a frayed power cord and Apple replaced it for free even though it was out of the warranty.

Also I mentioned to them I used Coconut Battery to test the MBP battery before I took it to Apple and it said it had over 90% charge and 90% capacity. The genius bar lady said Coconut Battery can ruin your battery by putting too much stress on it but I don't know if that is true or not.
 
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Is there another apple store you can take it too? Honestly, these guys sound like *******s. I've NEVER had an apple store be that dickish to me.

I have. in 2010 a local store manager checked over my dead Mac Mini for signs I opened it. She even put it under a magnifying glass. She said if the tech determined I have opened the case it was $500 for a new main board. Fortunately for me they ended up sending it out and when I got it back in the mail there was no charge.
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I took my MBP to the Apple Store, they said $199 flat fee, and that it would be a week :/. Several months after I bought it I had problems with the Wifi but Apple could never fix it. They also tested the it and said it was not the hardware so it had to be the software. I would have taken the MBP in sooner if I had known the problem was the battery. I will definitely take the AppleCare route.

...

$199 is the standard top case replacement fee. You will get the unit back with a new battery, trackpad, keyboard, and the aluminum top cover. Considering the things are glued or riveted together it is not a bad deal.
 
Well I went to the Apple Store to pick up my MBP. The Apple Store guy came out and told me it would be $199. I told him the battery was warping near the time my AppleCare warranty had ended and there was nothing else wrong with it. He told me there was nothing he could do about the price and that it actually costs Apple $500 to replace the battery so I was getting a good deal. I told him I thought it should be free and asked to talk to a manager. He walked around the store floor and came back without the manager. He gave me the excuse that my battery’s cycle count was 500 and it needed to be replaced anyway.

BTW I have a MacBook Pro from 2010 and the cycle count is 27! I also have a 2013 MacBook Air and it has a cycle count of 28! back to my story...

I told him my old battery was fine and I had looked at Coconut Battery which said it was at 90%. He rolled his eyes and said Apple does not use that as their “metrics”. I then told him I had looked at the system information several months ago and everything looked fine including the battery cycle count.

I ended up paying the $199. Now I dread going to any Apple Store so I guess I will use Best Buy if I can. I remember when this Apple Store opened and everyone was nice and helpful (I bought several MacBooks from them too). Since then it has become an iPhone store. For the drop off and pickup of my MBP I don’t think I saw one person buying a Mac of any kind. Unfortunately I think Apple has lost its base and my business.

So what should you do if this happens to you?
Make sure they give you something that states how much you may have to pay (which I did. Thank you for the posts about that).
Find the cycle count of your battery in the steps below
1) Hold down the option key.
2) Click the apple in the menu bar.
3) Select “System Information...”.
4) Select the table item named “Power”.
5) Take a picture of the window making sure to include all the “Battery Information”.
6) Crop the picture if necessary and print it out.

And that’s about all you can do. The rest is up to Apple.
 
Well I went to the Apple Store to pick up my MBP. The Apple Store guy came out and told me it would be $199. I told him the battery was warping near the time my AppleCare warranty had ended and there was nothing else wrong with it. He told me there was nothing he could do about the price and that it actually costs Apple $500 to replace the battery so I was getting a good deal. I told him I thought it should be free and asked to talk to a manager. He walked around the store floor and came back without the manager. He gave me the excuse that my battery’s cycle count was 500 and it needed to be replaced anyway.

BTW I have a MacBook Pro from 2010 and the cycle count is 27! I also have a 2013 MacBook Air and it has a cycle count of 28! back to my story...

I told him my old battery was fine and I had looked at Coconut Battery which said it was at 90%. He rolled his eyes and said Apple does not use that as their “metrics”. I then told him I had looked at the system information several months ago and everything looked fine including the battery cycle count.

I ended up paying the $199. Now I dread going to any Apple Store so I guess I will use Best Buy if I can. I remember when this Apple Store opened and everyone was nice and helpful (I bought several MacBooks from them too). Since then it has become an iPhone store. For the drop off and pickup of my MBP I don’t think I saw one person buying a Mac of any kind. Unfortunately I think Apple has lost its base and my business.

So what should you do if this happens to you?
Make sure they give you something that states how much you may have to pay (which I did. Thank you for the posts about that).
Find the cycle count of your battery in the steps below
1) Hold down the option key.
2) Click the apple in the menu bar.
3) Select “System Information...”.
4) Select the table item named “Power”.
5) Take a picture of the window making sure to include all the “Battery Information”.
6) Crop the picture if necessary and print it out.

And that’s about all you can do. The rest is up to Apple.



They lost your business because they won't replace your out of warranty battery?

Anyone is welcome to pick a hill to die on, but that one seems a bit steep to me.
 
They lost your business because they won't replace your out of warranty battery?

Anyone is welcome to pick a hill to die on, but that one seems a bit steep to me.

Absolutely not. I am upset that the manager wouldn't at the very least come out and talk to me about it. Also the Apple employee said my battery was well worn and had over 500 cycle counts which I know wasn't true.
 
$199 for a battery replacement (parts AND labor) is a very decent deal.

I wouldn't complain about it...
 
I told him my old battery was fine and I had looked at Coconut Battery which said it was at 90%. He rolled his eyes and said Apple does not use that as their “metrics”. I then told him I had looked at the system information several months ago and everything looked fine including the battery cycle count.

They are blowing smoke up your a** here. Coconut Battery is nothing more than a GUI that shows the exact same info you could find by clicking About This Mac --> System Report --> Power.

Edit: Or more precisely from Terminal "ioreg -l | grep Capacity"

Fiplabs Battery Health will give you the same info with a slightly different GUI. Coconut Battery doesn't have its own "metric," it simply presents Apples own "metric" in a graphical interface.

However, two mistakes you may had made are (1) not taking it to them if the "battery was warping near the time my AppleCare warranty had ended," IF what you are saying here is that you noticed the battery beginning to warp prior to expiration of warranty and (2) Not noting/recording cycle counts prior to allowing them to do the work. You can print the report from About This Mac --> System Report -- Power.

Now they have the leverage, so as you say, the rest is up to Apple.
 
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