Weird situation with battery

[eliana]

Weeks ago, my ~16-month-old MBP battery menu displayed the message "service battery." I took it to Best Buy, which is where I purchased it (I have a 3 year warranty plan with them), and they arranged to have a replacement battery mailed to me, which is pretty weird because consumers are not advised to replace the batteries on their own.

I got the replacement battery in the mail, but by then, lo and behold, the "service battery" notice was gone, and I have not seen it since. So now I have a new MBP battery on my hands. The battery is white, but MBP batteries (I think) are black, so I'm worried that Best Buy mailed me a shady third-party battery.

Coconut Battery displays 83% capacity. Should I go to Best Buy try to have the battery replaced anyway? After all, it's a free battery, and my computer is bound to need a battery replacement within a year or so anyway. And I don't know whether it would be Best Buy's policy to mail me another battery for a future battery problem because they have already mailed me this one. But why is it white--does that mean it's nonstandard?

Any thoughts?

 

[thundersteele]

Does it say "designed by Apple in California"?

I'm not sure what the terms of your 3 year bestbuy warranty are, but it seems very strange that they would send you a non-user replaceable part and let you fix it yourself.

 

[eliana]

It does not say that.

In any case, I think I found what I was looking for: this is the battery they sent me, and the description makes it pretty clear that it is not an Apple original. Anyone have any experience or advice re: third party parts or this particular company? Surely I'm not the only one who bought a warranty from Best Buy?

Also, funny you mention that because Best Buy was not actually supposed to mail me this part. When I went, the guy placed the order for me (I was immediately skeptical), and immediately afterwards he said, "oh ****. Oops. I forgot we don't mail replacement Mac batteries--you're actually supposed to give the computer to us so we can have it shipped in. You probably won't get anything in the mail, but if you do, you can just replace it." WTF? Lesson learned: will only purchase AppleCare from now on.

 

[GGJstudios]

It does not say that.

In any case, I think I found what I was looking for: this is the battery they sent me, and the description makes it pretty clear that it is not an Apple original. Anyone have any experience or advice re: third party parts or this particular company? Surely I'm not the only one who bought a warranty from Best Buy?

I would never trust or recommend a battery that didn't come from Apple. Too many problems have been reported by users of knockoff batteries. The fact that your new battery shows only 83% capacity appears to indicate that trend is continuing. Also, you can void your warranty by replacing the built-in battery yourself. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[thundersteele]

I would never trust or recommend a battery that didn't come from Apple. Too many problems have been reported by users of knockoff batteries. The fact that your new battery shows only 83% capacity appears to indicate that trend is continuing. Also, you can void your warranty by replacing the built-in battery yourself. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

I think it's the original battery that rebounded and now has 83% left.

The OP won't void his/her warranty, since the only warranty that is left is the BestBuy warranty - since there is solid documentation that the replacement battery has been shipped to the customer, it will be hard for them to argue that it should not have been replaced by the customer.

I find it quite disturbing that BestBuy's warranty repairs are performed using third party components. But I'm sure they have some clause in their terms and conditions that allows them to do it... something about "equivalent or better..." crap!

 

[eliana]

Yes, I should have clarified--it is my current battery that displays 83% capacity.

If the consensus is that third party batteries are unreliable, then I will certainly not put in the new battery. But would Best Buy really install dysfunctional batteries in the Macs that its warranty plan covers? REALLY?! That's just infuriating.

 

[Spink10]

Yes, I should have clarified--it is my current battery that displays 83% capacity.

If the consensus is that third party batteries are unreliable, then I will certainly not put in the new battery. But would Best Buy really install dysfunctional batteries in the Macs that its warranty plan covers? REALLY?! That's just infuriating.

Go back to BestBuy and have them replace it with a genuine Apple battery.

 

[eliana]

Unfortunately, I don't think that's a possibility. I think I'm stuck with either their batteries or paying for a replacement from Apple.

 

[thundersteele]

Unfortunately, I don't think that's a possibility. I think I'm stuck with either their batteries or paying for a replacement from Apple.

I would at least try to find out. Check the terms and conditions of the bestbuy warranty. It should specify what replacement parts are used during repairs.

The replacement battery _might_ be a good product. It's almost $80, which is not so far away from the $130 that Apple charges. Nobody here has experience with that brand of batteries, and in general it is recommended to stick with genuine Apple products. Batteries are one of the most sensitive parts of a laptop, and a malfunction can damage the rest of the laptop, and can even be dangerous.