Resolved Super dissatisfied with the Genius Bar

[WilliApple]

Hey everyone!
I have an M1 MacBook Air, 80% battery health, and according to Apple's diagnostics, it is perfectly fine.

However, just take a look at this with Discord, Safari, and Apple Music opened:

And this when charging it overnight occasionally so I can use it the next day:

You see the problem right? Very abnormal behavior with the battery.

So the story starts on Friday February 9, 2024.
I contacted Apple Support online about very bad battery drain.

They rejected me to get my MacBook to the repair shop for a new battery because of one thing...

Beta Software...​

If you didn't know, I am the person who posts the Wikiposts for the macOS releases, including betas.
So naturally, I have the betas on my devices.

They said to downgrade my Mac to macOS 14.3.1 and wait a week to see if the problem continued to occur.
I complied.

And the next day, excessive battery drain occurred again.

Now on Sunday, February 18, 2024, I book an Apple Store appointment, not just for the battery, but for a keycap replacement, which was easy to get done.

Then they said they would need my MacBook for a few days to diagnose and fix the issue.

Today, February 20, 2024, I got my MacBook back.
What did they do? They totally replaced the battery, right?

Nope!​

Instead, they ran additional diagnostics, determined my battery is fine again, and they said "We identified a problem with the firmware that could affect the battery, so we fixed that and you will need to set up your Mac again" when getting my MacBook back.

So basically all they did was restore my Mac with an IPSW file, something I could easily have done in an hour.

Now today, I present you with the battery chart from when I got my Mac back to now when I am writing this post:

Battery Health is still 80%:

And I still have the issue.

I haven't had the draining while charging issue yet, but I guarantee that will happen sometime this week.

I never had a bad experience with the Genius Bar, and keep in mind, I have AppleCare+ on my Mac...

I expected more when I bought AppleCare+...

Funny enough, it says battery replacements included in here...

Now my question to you is...

What should I do next?​

 

[WilliApple]

Update: as I was about to go to bed, the MacBook died at 7%...

 

[casperes1996]

Out of curiosity have you used a tool like Stats to check actual power draw and battery capacity levels? Could be interestingly.

I think if you can get it to a point where apples battery health level is below 80% they’ll replace it. And that’ll probably happen soon at this rate. Otherwise just stay insistent. Kind but insistent. Hope the Apple Store is close to you.

 

[Bigwaff]

Agreed. Kind but insistent.

 

[cardfan]

Be patient for it to drop below 80. (But yeah to be at 80 is so so close and they want to string you along.).

You could also just decide to drop it on floor and step on it. But that’s probably a 299 charge.

Trading in could be preferable as well.

 

[WilliApple]

Be patient for it to drop below 80. (But yeah to be at 80 is so so close and they want to string you along.).

You could also just decide to drop it on floor and step on it. But that’s probably a 299 charge.

Trading in could be preferable as well.

All those aren't an option. The bottom 2 are a terrible idea that will cost me money.

My AppleCare might end and I will be stuck with a bad battery so that is why the first option is terrible.

 

[G5isAlive]

My AppleCare might end and I will be stuck with a bad battery so that is why the first option is terrible.

how much time is left? one week, then you are probably right. several months? it seems to be degrading fast. But I understand your frustration and I am surprised Apple just doesnt replace it for you given you are at 80%. I usually find them to be very open to listening to me and providing me with repairs.

The bottom line is, they are keeping records of what they suggest and do, and if you keep going back after doing it their way, eventually they will replace it. They have a process. My guess is they get a bit more picky about following the process when a device's apple care is almost expiring. Shady business practice? Maybe. But I have heard more than a few people in these forums bragging about how they go right before the apple care expires with a made up issue and get free replacements or batteries.

thats a long way of agreeing with the others, kind but insistent.

 

[WilliApple]

Marking this as resolved!
So I went back today to tell them that the issue was not fixed by restoring the firmware, and they said they would run diagnostics, and their diagnostics finally said something was wrong with the battery!

They just had to order the battery, and they will replace it on either Tuesday or Wednesday.