Replacing batteries on 2014 and 2015 MacBook Pro 15s

[pshufd]

My 2015 MacBook Pro 15 battery is bulging - you can see the lines of the battery on the bottom of the case and the laptop doesn't sit flat on a table. The Service Battery indicator has been present for a year as well. So I made an appointment to have it replaced this afternoon and I did three Time Machine backups yesterday (I'm a bit paranoid about data). The system runs fine but I use it mostly as a desktop replacement. The cycle count is 358 which is fairly low but I've read that age is a factor as is cycle count. So new battery is coming.

My 2014 MacBook Pro 15 battery provides about three to four hours of battery life and the cycle count is around 550. But it's seven years old now and that's a long time for a battery. So I'm considering getting the battery replaced on this system as well. I had applied the latest Mojave update on it which broke a bunch of things on the system. The system has an old version of McAfee Enterprise and it looks like the Mojave update broke things with that software. I tried to move things off of it to the 2015 which is when I noticed the battery issue.

It's kind of annoying when your Mac and your backup Mac both have problems at the same time. I'm in the middle of doing taxes on the 2015 so I restored the 2014 from Time Machine to get it working again but I need to move everything off of it to somewhere else, reformat, reinstall Mojave and then move things back to it. Or leave them on the 2015.

My plan is to sell one of them, get an M1X MacBook Pro and then sell the other. Or I might get the M1X and then sell both of them. I am mildly concerned that there will be shortages of the M1X MacBook Pros and that it could actually take months or longer to get them. So I might have to live with my Intel MacBook Pros for longer than expected. Both of these laptops meet my current needs for mobility but I'm at home most of the time right now. That may change. My daughter has a MacBook Air and it's a fantastic machine. I just want more ports, better external monitor support, 32 GB of RAM and a bigger screen. The 14 might be enough.

I also expect that Apple will stop providing battery service on the Retina MacBook Pros at some point. I suppose I could do it myself but I understand that it's not the easiest repair.

So would you replace the battery in the 2014? Or just sell it as is? This would be after moving my stuff onto the 2015. What would you ask for the 2014 (2.2 Ghz, 500 GB, Intel Integrated, Very Good condition)? How about the 2015 with a new battery (2.5 GHz, AMD Graphics, dents, dings and scratches in the bottom case)?

 

[Fishrrman]

By all means, getting the bulging battery replaced -- it's a fire/explosion hazard.

As for the other one, are you going to sell it?
If the battery isn't bulging and is still providing a relatively useful life between charges, sell it that way and let the new owner replace it if he/she wants.

If you're going to keep it around, then I'd see if Apple will replace the battery.
I believe the standard price is $199 which covers parts and labor (and you get a short warranty, too). That's pretty much "a bargain" as I see it...

 

[wuwinso]

I believe the standard price is $199 which covers parts and labor (and you get a short warranty, too). That's pretty much "a bargain" as I see it...

Yes it's £189 / $199. It's a messy job with a lot of glue and cleanup involved, and the biggest issue is sourcing a reliable 3rd party battery. If Apple would sell original batteries, I'd say go for it and replace it yourself, but w/o proper parts, just have Apple do it for you.

 

[pshufd]

By all means, getting the bulging battery replaced -- it's a fire/explosion hazard.

As for the other one, are you going to sell it?
If the battery isn't bulging and is still providing a relatively useful life between charges, sell it that way and let the new owner replace it if he/she wants.

If you're going to keep it around, then I'd see if Apple will replace the battery.
I believe the standard price is $199 which covers parts and labor (and you get a short warranty, too). That's pretty much "a bargain" as I see it...

The problem is I don't know because I don't know when Apple will release the M1X MacBook Pros and the prices for used Macs is dynamic. The prices for 2014 and 2015 Retina MacBook Pros is ridiculously high right now but I expect them to drop when chip shortages and the pandemic end. But I don't know when that will happen. I also need a place to run my 32-bit Apps, and a backup for that.

 

[pshufd]

Brought it to the Apple Store and they took it in - verified the battery bulge and the Service Battery status. They didn't have the battery in stock so it's going to take several days to get it replaced. He asked if I had a full backup and I indicated yes. He told me that a lot of customers don't backup their systems. I guess that's in case they need to replace the motherboard - though I don't expect that to be the case here.

I asked him how long Apple will continue to do battery replacements and he said that the policy is five years after they stop selling them in the stores. Apple stopped selling the 2015 MBP 15 in July 2018 so service is still available until July 2023. The 2014 MacBook Pro 15 is already in Vintage status but still listed as eligible for battery replacements by Apple. I suspect that this is due to the repair being the same as on the 2015 models, unless the motherboard has to be replaced.

The implication is that I should probably have the battery replaced soon if I want it done. The guy at the Apple Store said I could get $550 for it in trade-in.

So I'll think about it and decide this summer on replacing the battery on the 2014.

 

[pshufd]

My 2015 MacBook Pro 15 is still at The Apple Store so I've been working on backing up the 2014 MacBook Pro in preparation for moving my programs and files off of it so that I can reformat and reinstall Mojave on it. So I brought it down to my desk to work on and lo and behold, it doesn't sit flat on the table. The wobble is not as pronounced as the 2015 was and you can't see anything though I ran my hand along the bottom case and I could feel it.

So I'm going to bring this one along with me to The Apple Store when I go to pick up the 2015 and have them replace the battery on it as well.

I did a test on it a few days ago and it runs about two hours on battery. I recall five hours of battery life a few years ago and it will be worth it to get back somewhere between five and nine hours of battery life with this system. These systems will also make it a lot easier to wait for the M1X MacBook Pros to come out.

I'm still likely to sell one of them before it comes out though. I really only need one while we are still somewhat locked down. If the remaining one dies, I could just grab a MacBook Air/M1. I'd guess that I could get a MacBook Air/M1 if I sold both of these. I would still replace the battery even if I were going to sell them as I wouldn't sell a laptop with the hazardous condition.

 

[pshufd]

Just got it back so it took them three days. I tested it in the store and it booted up fine. The bulge is gone as well so I guess they straighten out the bottom case. I need to get some files off the other one and then bring it in. I have backups of it but want to make sure that I have the files on a system at home in case I need something.

 

[pshufd]

I opened it up today and the molding fell out on one side and is sticking out on the other. So I made another appointment with the Genius Bar for tomorrow for them to fix it. The top case replacement is quite nice with the keyboard caps being replaced. I'm a bit annoyed at having to return it.

I haven't had the time to offload the stuff on the other laptop but plan to bring it in next week.

 

[planteater]

I opened it up today and the molding fell out on one side and is sticking out on the other. So I made another appointment with the Genius Bar for tomorrow for them to fix it. The top case replacement is quite nice with the keyboard caps being replaced. I'm a bit annoyed at having to return it.

I haven't had the time to offload the stuff on the other laptop but plan to bring it in next week.

That’s exactly why I’d do my own battery in my 2015 if it needed one. I don’t trust the skill level of a random Apple repair tech. No one will take the care that I will when opening my machine.

 

[pshufd]

That’s exactly why I’d do my own battery in my 2015 if it needed one. I don’t trust the skill level of a random Apple repair tech. No one will take the care that I will when opening my machine.

There's the long way and the quick way videos that I looked at.

The long and safe way takes 120 minutes. The short way is a lot faster but the guy that did it the short way did have one of the battery packs explode on him. At any rate, it's already been done and paid for so I just need them to take the screen out and put it back together again.

I've had a number of repairs and have not run into this problem before. This is a final fit and finish issue and it was done at the local store. So I'm not impressed. But a lot of problems at stores can come down to the individual worker. There should be a QA check before returning the device to the customer. But I think that electronics companies don't do this anymore. They just ship stuff out - if it's defective, then the customer is given another one.

 

[andiwm2003]

My2015 has the same battery bulging issue. I ordered the OWC battery replacement kit and will try it myself the quick way. After the battery is fully drained. I just want to get another year out of the MBP so that I can wait for the new designed MBPs to come out, and then wait a few month until all the production bugs are worked out.

 

[pshufd]

My2015 has the same battery bulging issue. I ordered the OWC battery replacement kit and will try it myself the quick way. After the battery is fully drained. I just want to get another year out of the MBP so that I can wait for the new designed MBPs to come out, and then wait a few month until all the production bugs are worked out.

That's the thing that I thought when he said the battery exploded: why didn't he drain them? I suspect that he didn't watch all of the other videos.

I'm going to fix mine up and then put them up for sale but will only sell one and then just use the other until the new stuff coming out. The value of the 2014/2015 will be higher before the M1X models are released. Or I might just keep the 2014/2015 for a couple of years and upgrade down the road. It's hard to decide on what to do because of the way Apple is releasing products.

2015s in my area have asking prices from $690 to $1,200. It's really crazy here.

 

[pshufd]

The Service Battery warning just came on in the 2014 MacBook Pro so I made an appointment to get it replaced today. We have another 2014 Retina as well and I'll check on that one. There is also one more 2015 but that's an employer-owned laptop.

The new keycaps are nice on the 2015.

 

[pshufd]

New 2015 Battery Info:

Firmware Version: 702
Hardware Revision: 1
Cell Revision: 3241
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh): 8496
Fully Charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 9080
Health Information:
Cycle Count: 0
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 1880
Voltage (mV): 12928

Old 2015 Battery Info:

Firmware Version: 702
Hardware Revision: 1
Cell Revision: 3244
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh): 5972
Fully Charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 6278
Health Information:
Cycle Count: 358
Condition: Service Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -4
Voltage (mV): 12630

Old 2014 Battery Info:

Firmware Version: 702
Hardware Revision: 1
Cell Revision: 1206
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh): 4039
Fully Charged: No
Charging: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 5857
Health Information:
Cycle Count: 531
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -2384
Voltage (mV): 12184

 

[pshufd]

Dropped it off and paid attention to what the tech did at the desk. They plug in a power brick and a network cable into the desk. Then they boot from network and run a diagnostic which goes through all of the hardware on the system, displays a grid of pictures and the pictures either have a green check or red mark to tell you what's wrong. The battery picture was red on my system. I did show them the Service Battery status on power in About Apple.

The tech complimented me on how clean the laptop was (it's pristine).

I'm shopping for used iMacs locally and found a 2020 mid-range model at a very good price (the owner received a corporate discount on it). I tried one out at The Apple Store and was a bit surprised at how fast it is - though my iMac is from 2009 so there should be a big speed bump. But it's a lot faster than my old MacBook Pros as well. It actually felt like my daughter's MacBook Air with M1. This was just browsing the web on some complex websites.

One plan would be to get the iMac and just keep using the old MacBook Pros for another five years and then buy an M2X or M3X down the road. Or I could sell one or both notebooks for an M1X. Having the iMac would give me a lot of options on the MacBook Pros. The nice thing about the old MacBook Pros is that they are still quite usable for my workloads.

 

[pshufd]

I got the 2014 back to day and decided to just reformat and reinstall Mojave to get rid of the work security spyware. It's backing up to Time Machine now and re-downloading email and that looks like it will take 12 hours. I've been reinstalling software and moving files around. It will be like a brand new machine. It often ran on the hot side because of the McAfee process that would run in the background chewing up a lot of CPU. So these should be good for another six years now. They will be Obsolete in Apple support parlance and I suspect that they'll be too slow for normal use by then.

 

[andiwm2003]

I replaced my battery with the OWC kit after fully draining it to zero. The battery was inflated to the point where it looked like a balloon. I didn't take a pic unfortunately. I got it out with Acetone to dissolve the glue. It's part of the kit from OWC. I did the battery swap outside in case the MBP catches on fire. Took me all in all ~30 min to swap out the batteries. The MBP works like a charm now.

Also, I discharged the MBP by playing youtube videos for several hours so the old swollen battery still held a lot of charge. After draining the battery and taking it out of the MBP I pierced the still swollen battery with a shovel several times in each part before discarding it. The battery did not explode or heat up or start to burn. So it seems a fully discharged battery is less of a fire risk. Proceed at your own risk, I'm not an expert.

 

[Undecided]

I have this issue, too - mid 2015 15", what seems like a bulging battery. The bottom seems swollen, no longer lying flat. Only 70 cycles, and the condition reports as "normal" - but 6 years old. It works fine, though. I'm going to buy a replacement 16" with M1 whenever that happens, and either trade in or sell the 15". I'm not sure if I should get the battery replaced in the meantime (and then do a trade in) or just limp along (and then sell it since Apple won't accept it as a trade in with the swelling).

 

[andiwm2003]

I have this issue, too - mid 2015 15", what seems like a bulging battery. The bottom seems swollen, no longer lying flat. Only 70 cycles, and the condition reports as "normal" - but 6 years old. It works fine, though. I'm going to buy a replacement 16" with M1 whenever that happens, and either trade in or sell the 15". I'm not sure if I should get the battery replaced in the meantime (and then do a trade in) or just limp along (and then sell it since Apple won't accept it as a trade in with the swelling).

I don't think apple accepts it as trade in when there is a third party battery in it. Also you get not much for it with a replaced battery when you sell it. I would do the replacement myself for ~ 100 bucks and keep the MBP as backup machine.

 

[pshufd]

Get the battery replaced as soon as possible. The usual advice:

Back up your system.
Drain the battery.
Don't plug it in.
Replace the battery.

I replaced the batteries in my 2014 and 2015 MacBook Pros in May. $200 per system and the systems feel great now.

 

[andiwm2003]

Get the battery replaced as soon as possible. The usual advice:

Back up your system.
Drain the battery.
Don't plug it in.
Replace the battery.

I replaced the batteries in my 2014 and 2015 MacBook Pros in May. $200 per system and the systems feel great now.

Good advice!
I would add:
I paid $84.75 at OWC for the replacement kit. Just make sure you get the correct battery for your model.