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Service Battery - no solution in sight

C

ckxnlol

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 25, 2016
15
8
Hey,

if anyone has or had the same issue, I'd be more than happy to hear! I'll try to put this as short as possible.

  • January 2015 - Bought a rMBP 13" in Singapore at an Apple authorized reseller including Apple Care
  • August 2015 - Service Battery icon showed up with less than 30 cycles; Battery replaced under warranty
  • January 2016 - Service Battery icon showed up again; less than 50 cycles; Battery replaced under warranty
  • January 2016 - Requested to have the MBP fully diagnosed as they could not explain two dead batteries within a year; reseller could not find any issue
  • June 2016 - Guess it; less than 90 cycles at this point; demanded a replacement MBP; declined; battery changed under Apple Care
  • May 2017 - First Apple Store in Singapore opens; Genius bar appointment, Laptop passes all checks
  • August 2017 - Yup, another one; 140 cycles; still no replacement; Genius bar appointment; battery replacement but still no MBP replacement
  • August 2017 - December 2017 - Endless phone calls, and emails about replacing MBP as Apple Care is running out and I have no reason to believe the core issue has been fixed
  • January 2018 - Apple Care runs out; still the same MBP
  • March 2018 - Service battery icon - 220 cycles; Genius bar appointment and they quote me 188S$ for a battery replacement

Other than selling this obviously faulty MBP, what other choices do I have? I've got all the paperwork, email exchanges and records from three years of battery replacements. Unfortunately Singaporean law does not provide any help here, so it's solely up to Apple. Yet I have no reason to believe they are actually interested in customer satisfaction.

Any advise?
 
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To the best of my knowledge, Apple will usually offer a replacement under the "lemon law" after ~3 repairs for the same issue, so I'd say the guys at your local store are particularly stubborn.

Personally, after the 3rd time and a declined replacement, I would have given up and sold it with a new battery while it was still under Apple Care. But that's no longer an option.
Can you still use the battery to some degree or is it really shot? Because at this point, provided you have the budget for it, I would wait for the 2018 models, then sell and upgrade.
 
ckxnlol said:
Hey,

if anyone has or had the same issue, I'd be more than happy to hear! I'll try to put this as short as possible.
Other than selling this obviously faulty MBP, what other choices do I have? I've got all the paperwork, email exchanges and records from three years of battery replacements. Unfortunately Singaporean law does not provide any help here, so it's solely up to Apple. Yet I have no reason to believe they are actually interested in customer satisfaction.

Any advise?
Click to expand...

eMail Apple headquarters?
 
Yes, escalating to Tim Cook's office (politely explaining the reason why the situation is not acceptable) would also be a valid last resort to try before throwing in the towel.
 
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BrianBaughn said:
I understand what you mean although I'm unfamiliar with that use of "sandbagging". Still an option, though.
Click to expand...

To take one out totally unawares, or blind side. The term refers to anyone completely and totally stopped by some means that they never saw coming.
 
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BrianBaughn said:
You buy a $50 aftermarket battery, put it in yourself and carry on.
Click to expand...

Care to link one? The batteries in every MBP 2014 and newer were glued into the topcase and not easily replaced on their own. I'm not saying it's impossible, but iFixit specifies use of adhesive remover to get the battery out. With the fragility of Li-ion batteries these days, not a task a regular customer should be undertaking...

As for the OP - I'd suggest the escalation suggested by others. They should have replaced that after the 3rd failed battery. I suspect either the MagSafe board or the main logic board is causing a failure of the battery after short usage and should have been replaced during the second repair.
 
ckxnlol said:
Hey,

if anyone has or had the same issue, I'd be more than happy to hear! I'll try to put this as short as possible.

  • January 2015 - Bought a rMBP 13" in Singapore at an Apple authorized reseller including Apple Care
  • August 2015 - Service Battery icon showed up with less than 30 cycles; Battery replaced under warranty
  • January 2016 - Service Battery icon showed up again; less than 50 cycles; Battery replaced under warranty
  • January 2016 - Requested to have the MBP fully diagnosed as they could not explain two dead batteries within a year; reseller could not find any issue
  • June 2016 - Guess it; less than 90 cycles at this point; demanded a replacement MBP; declined; battery changed under Apple Care
  • May 2017 - First Apple Store in Singapore opens; Genius bar appointment, Laptop passes all checks
  • August 2017 - Yup, another one; 140 cycles; still no replacement; Genius bar appointment; battery replacement but still no MBP replacement
  • August 2017 - December 2017 - Endless phone calls, and emails about replacing MBP as Apple Care is running out and I have no reason to believe the core issue has been fixed
  • January 2018 - Apple Care runs out; still the same MBP
  • March 2018 - Service battery icon - 220 cycles; Genius bar appointment and they quote me 188S$ for a battery replacement

Other than selling this obviously faulty MBP, what other choices do I have? I've got all the paperwork, email exchanges and records from three years of battery replacements. Unfortunately Singaporean law does not provide any help here, so it's solely up to Apple. Yet I have no reason to believe they are actually interested in customer satisfaction.

Any advise?
Click to expand...
Call AppleCare and ask for Customer Relations. When an issue is well documented during the warranty period, they cannot deny you service after warranty has expired until the core issue is resolved. CR will be able to help.

I had a 2011 iMac that had bluetooth issues from 2011-2014 when AC expired - fast forward to 2016, I was still having those BT issues, they replaced the logic board, bluetooth chipset, wifi chipset and display. Issue remained. They replaced the machine with a 2016 iMac.
 
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Update:

Wrote an email to Tim Cook and got a reply about a week later, from PR team. A brand new 13" MBP nTB is now on its way - free of charge.

Persistency made it work. Thank you all.
 
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Reactions: canuckRus and Elise
Wow amazing - well done!

Just goes to show, you do need to go straight to the top sometimes if you want results.
 
ckxnlol said:
Update:

Wrote an email to Tim Cook and got a reply about a week later, from PR team. A brand new 13" MBP nTB is now on its way - free of charge.

Persistency made it work. Thank you all.
Click to expand...
Glad it worked out for you. Essentially the same thing I experienced.
 
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