OWC or Apple Replacement Battery?

[Paul Anderegg]

My ifixit batteries, both they sent me, would drop 3% in design capacity each "calibration cycle"...they spent most of the drain stuck at the magical, or evil, 7%...it's like the power was there, but the gauge was just not compatible with the Mac.

Paul

 

[ant1298]

My ifixit batteries, both they sent me, would drop 3% in design capacity each "calibration cycle"...they spent most of the drain stuck at the magical, or evil, 7%...it's like the power was there, but the gauge was just not compatible with the Mac.

It's why I decided to go straight to Apple after the first 3rd party battery failed, not interested in wasting more of my time.

 

[ant1298]

New update, we’re at 2800mah. A drop of 6% today alone...

New record?

 

[ant1298]

Update:

The battery is being returned to the 3rd party supplier under warranty, the last time I checked it was at 2500mah.

I had taken the laptop to Apple and so they could replace the battery for an original Apple one. However, because the fitted one was 3rd party, they would not do the replacement at normal price (£199). They wanted £401.

The reason stated was that they had to replace the top case and they weren't getting their own battery back...not sure why this is but I did not go with this option and I didn't spend much time bothering with a discussion.

 

[Peter Franks]

Nope, never run bootcamp, in fact, as you'll see I never really had many load cycles on the battery. It's also manufactured very recently so it's not like I have an old unit. I purchased this mid October 2019 for reference, it cost me £74 GBP to the door.

Complete dud!

Apple have said they'll service it and I have an appointment booked for Tuesday. This is the UK for anyone else following.

View attachment 885550

Cheers

How did you manage that, When I went to Apple, also a couple in London, anything over and above 5 years is 'vintage' and they won't touch it, so what are they doing for you battery wise?

 

[ant1298]

How did you manage that, When I went to Apple, also a couple in London, anything over and above 5 years is 'vintage' and they won't touch it, so what are they doing for you battery wise?

Update:

The battery is being returned to the 3rd party supplier under warranty, the last time I checked it was at 2500mah.

I had taken the laptop to Apple and so they could replace the battery for an original Apple one. However, because the fitted one was 3rd party, they would not do the replacement at normal price (£199). They wanted £401.

The reason stated was that they had to replace the top case and they weren't getting their own battery back...not sure why this is but I did not go with this option and I didn't spend much time bothering with a discussion.

 

[Peter Franks]

I get that you didn't go ahead with it yes, I read that, but you did say they would do it, but not at normal price, meaning if you paid well over the odds, they will work on what they call 'vintage' over 5 year pieces? First I've heard of it

 

[ant1298]

I get that you didn't go ahead with it yes, I read that, but you did say they would do it, but not at normal price, meaning if you paid well over the odds, they will work on what they call 'vintage' over 5 year pieces? First I've heard of it

I’m following now. It’s vintage, not obsolete. The Apple rep on the phone said that it’s part availability dependant and that I’d need to chat to each store individually until one has stock.

I read that it’s only obsolete items that they don’t repair. Mine hits that in May this year.

 

[Peter Franks]

I’m following now. It’s vintage, not obsolete. The Apple rep on the phone said that it’s part availability dependant and that I’d need to chat to each store individually until one has stock.

I read that it’s only obsolete items that they don’t repair. Mine hits that in May this year.

Thanks for the reply. Tried a couple of stores here few years ago but they wouldn’t touch it. It’s 2011 and 8 years now ...

 

[emailsfh]

I just installed the eBay battery from seller omg_1971. I've noticed some strange anomolies that confirm that it is likely not genuine, despite the fact that it seems to be a good quality fake (at least as aesthetically, can't speak to function quite yet).

First, if you go back and look at the coconut battery screenshots for the eBay batteries in this entire thread, they all have the exact same serial number D861015004NDGDL3T. In my case, the sticker on my battery does not match this number either (see pics). The NuPower and other batteries seem to have unique numbers, so this is suspicious to say the least.

Second, I had the strange situation where my loadcycle count randomly reset itself from 4 to 2. I'm still waiting to see what happens next with that.

Lastly, I've had a couple of sudden shutdowns at around 66/67% (the percentage it arrived at when new, coincidence?). After that, if I turn the computer back on again, it seems to continue functioning and discharging at a normal rate (and not shutting down again until empty).

I've communicated with the seller about all these things. I'm still in the battery conditioning and calibration stage (trying to full charge and run it down for a full 5 cycles per the sellers instructions after contacting through eBay). I've done one SMC reset. Will try NVRAM also. I also opened it back up tonight to make sure everything was seated correctly. Will continue monitoring and report back whether or not I end up returning this for refund or exchange.

 

[emailsfh]

Yeah, pretty sure I'm sending this battery back. I've continued to have a few random shutdowns. The charge cycle counter has reset itself a few times now. I think I'm done messing around with it. I'll either try my luck with another eBay battery with ok reviews or else go for NuPower or iFixit. Frustrating.

 

[mm2005]

My eBay battery wasn't performing great and it completely stopped working recently (after a year). I was investigating replacement options, including reading this whole thread, when I decided to try the SMC reset.

The battery came alive again - it might be premature to celebrate, but it has been running for three hours straight and there is still 50% charge left.

I guess this is a reminder to always reset the SMC before giving up on your cheap eBay battery. I wonder how many of those 1-star "It stopped working after 6 months" reviews could be fixed that way?

 

[emailsfh]

I just shipped my eBay battery back to the seller. I reset the SMC and PRAM several times but nothing really would stick. It just behaved erratically in too many different ways, which made me uncomfortable it could damage something. I reinstalled my old original Apple battery with ~75% health and 800+ cycles and all the problems disappeared. Aside from the shortened time on battery power, it still works fine.

I did manage to find a seller with some old stock Apple batteries that I might try (pricey though). Otherwise I'll try my luck with other cheap batteries like Egoway or Temark, or else more expensive alternatives like iFixit or NuPower.

 

[nicho]

As above, I'm also on the verge of a obsolete product...

Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty - Apple Support

Learn about your options for getting service and parts for Apple devices that are past their warranty period.

support.apple.com

According to this, your laptop still isn't even considered vintage. The MacBookPro 11,3 was refreshed in mid 2014 and wasn't actually replaced until Mid 2015, so you're nowhere near obsolete status yet.

 

[jashsayani]

I have a MacBook Retina 13" (Late 2012) running Catalina. Battery was having issues. Apple Store said its $199+tax for a new battery. The trade-in value for my MacBook is barely $250. So I got an "iProPower" from Amazon for $75. Just installed it today. *fingers crossed*

 

[avz]

I have a MacBook Retina 13" (Late 2012) running Catalina. Battery was having issues. Apple Store said its $199+tax for a new battery. The trade-in value for my MacBook is barely $250. So I got an "iProPower" from Amazon for $75. Just installed it today. *fingers crossed*



View attachment 889527

You probably should be more concerned with the temperature of your immediate environment. No battery will last at the 50 degrees C.

 

[Peter Franks]

Yeah, pretty sure I'm sending this battery back. I've continued to have a few random shutdowns. The charge cycle counter has reset itself a few times now. I think I'm done messing around with it. I'll either try my luck with another eBay battery with ok reviews or else go for NuPower or iFixit. Frustrating.

View attachment 889178

So forgive me for not understanding this, but the top 2 readings are your old battery? You binned it after 800 cycles or am I not understanding what Coconut is saying here?

 

[emailsfh]

So forgive me for not understanding this, but the top 2 readings are your old battery? You binned it after 800 cycles or am I not understanding what Coconut is saying here?

That's correct, the 800+ cycles is my old battery, then starts the eBay battery counter.

Just to update this thread, I ended up trying another OEM Apple battery on eBay that was advertised as "pulled from a new machine." But it had 400+ cycles and all broken tabs. I returned that and bit the bullet to buy this new Apple OEM battery (I had ~$40 in eBay bucks to bring the price down). It is legit and the real deal. It came in a sealed Apple box with instructions and sticker. The capacity so far is amazing and I'm seeing none of the strange issues as with the eBay fakes. The age of the battery is 1400+ days and it was fully discharged upon arrival (which sounds about right for new old stock). I've put it through about 4 full charge/recharge cycles to condition it and it seems to be doing really well, showing 7400mAH at the highest reading.

 

[Peter Franks]

That's correct, the 800+ cycles is my old battery, then starts the eBay battery counter.

Just to update this thread, I ended up trying another OEM Apple battery on eBay that was advertised as "pulled from a new machine." But it had 400+ cycles and all broken tabs. I returned that and bit the bullet to buy this new Apple OEM battery (I had ~$40 in eBay bucks to bring the price down). It is legit and the real deal. It came in a sealed Apple box with instructions and sticker. The capacity so far is amazing and I'm seeing none of the strange issues as with the eBay fakes. The age of the battery is 1400+ days and it was fully discharged upon arrival (which sounds about right for new old stock). I've put it through about 4 full charge/recharge cycles to condition it and it seems to be doing really well, showing 7400mAH at the highest reading.

Thanks for the reply, At 800 did it really need replacing and was that the original battery?

Glad you're finally sorted, Let us know how you get on with it in the next few weeks

 

[ant1298]

Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty - Apple Support

Learn about your options for getting service and parts for Apple devices that are past their warranty period.

support.apple.com

According to this, your laptop still isn't even considered vintage. The MacBookPro 11,3 was refreshed in mid 2014 and wasn't actually replaced until Mid 2015, so you're nowhere near obsolete status yet.

Mine was an early 2013 15” retina so it’s certainly in the vintage category. I screwed myself by changing the original battery for a 3rd party before talking to Apple.

I’ve since sold the laptop and purchased a new 16” MacBook Pro.

 

[nicho]

Mine was an early 2013 15” retina so it’s certainly in the vintage category. I screwed myself by changing the original battery for a 3rd party before talking to Apple.

That isn't what your screenshot said.

 

[ant1298]

That isn't what your screenshot said.

Correct, it’s actually a late 2013

Still screwed myself though with not talking to Apple first.

 

[LarryJoe33]

Thought I would give an update on my NuPower OWC battery. It's draining REALLY fast. Last night I got an hour out of it from full charge. At this point, it could be my overclocked RAM, running Catalina or the machine is just getting old. I still have the ebay OEM Apple Battery. May try it finally to see if it makes a difference.

 

[LarryJoe33]

Ok, I installed the eBay supposedly Apple OEM battery I bought 2-3 years ago. Worth a shot, my Nupower is draining fast. I don't think it's OEM though.

 

[nicho]

I don't think it's OEM though.

Why not, out of interest?