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Who makes reliable batteries now?

S

serr

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 8, 2010
257
29
Who makes reliable replacement batteries for the MacBook Pro models nowadays?

I remember NuPower from a number of years ago but they devolved into bootleg quality years ago.
I remember Anker but then they stopped making batteries a few years ago.
I landed on ifixit a couple years ago and they seemed on point initially. Now after 4 warranty replacements and said replacements starting to fail, looks like these guys have devolved into bootleg quality as well.

Who is an actual reliable battery maker nowadays?
 
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Why don't you go for official replacement from Apple? Suggest to replace the built-in hardwares from Apple which is more compatible & safe for your device. inferior hardware sometimes could cause explosion upon usage.
 
My guess is they're all made in China at various factories and are branded differently depending on what reseller ordered them. Another guess is that the same brand may have batteries made at different factories.

I think that even if you actually get a "good" one you can't expect it to last long. I bought one for a 2008 MacBook in early 2017 and it died in two weeks. Got a refund on that one, bought a different one that seemed to work pretty well (considering the MacBook model) but it's lost it's juice by now.
 
Any battery that does not come directly from Apple is a bootleg.

Paying more doesn't always get you a better battery. If you want the best for your MacBook, have Apple do the replacement.
 
Agree with different in reply #2 above.

If you have a relatively-recent MacBook Pro, and if you have a brick-n-mortar Apple Store nearby, see if they will do the replacement for you.

The cost is $199 which should include parts AND labor (make sure you're in agreement with the store personnel as to cost before you put it into their hands).

For that you get:
- A new Apple-brand battery
- The install
- A modest warranty to go with it.

That's A BARGAIN for what you're paying.

If you DON'T have an Apple Store nearby, you could call Apple support.
They may be willing to send you a prepaid shipping carton.
You pack it off to their repair facility, and they'll send it back to you.

3rd-party batteries -- ALL of them -- are a crapshoot.
You may get a decent one, or you may get a dud. Like Forrest Gump and his "box of chocolates".
In just about every case, NONE OF THEM are going to be up to the level of a genuine Apple-labeled battery...
 
Won't it depend on the age of the OP's MacBook Pro whether Apple will replace the battery as a matter of routine?

Edit: Whoops, sorry Fishrrman, initially missed your qualifying statement, "If you have a relatively-recent MacBook pro…"

To the OP: I'd check out the thread I linked to in my earlier post if yours is an older laptop. It shows someone, the OP, who eventually gains real-world experience of the specific battery I recommended as being a good possibility for him. I have also learned in my own 'research' that the Chinese batteries widely available are indeed "a crapshoot" but if you can source a battery that uses Japanese or Korean technology these are "likely" far more reliable. Of course, these are much scarcer in respect of older batteries but they do exist. (NuPower were another one though you believe that these are no longer such.) Duracell Direct supply 2-Power batteries and as far as I recall these are examples of the Japanese/Korean technologies. There is some information on the Duracell Direct website to that effect somewhere.
 
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I'd still consider buying from Apple for their premium price to avoid the screwing around. I thought they put their (disposable) foot down and stopped supplying replacements though. I still refurbish and repair the Jobs-era Macbook Pros. I refuse to touch any of the post-Jobs Macs. I'm not interested in sending a whole machine to them, especially one where their script is to claim it's too old to service and try sell a new model instead. How do you order a battery directly from Apple then? I don't see this as an option.

That Apple could be the only manufacturer that makes a reliable battery...
I'm listening but... really? No one beyond Apple makes quality batteries? Hmmm...

Thanks for the replies so far though!

I'm maybe interested but leery of trying to service the battery assembly myself. Spot welding aluminum tabs and such. Listening though if anyone has comments around that.
 
Definitely have Apple replace the battery. I did this in my old MBP 2015, and they did a great job! It was definitely worth knowing that I had a decent battery in there..
 
After reading the thread that wordsworth referred to I was going to order a replacement battery from Duracell Direct. It looks like the US site does not sell Apple compatible laptop batteries, unlike the UK site does, bummer.
 
I've never had any problems with the NewerTech / NuPower batteries, and I've installed dozens of them over the years, most recently in a 2015 15" Retina MacBook Pro.

What is it about them that strikes you as being "bootleg" quality?
 
Silencio said:
I've never had any problems with the NewerTech / NuPower batteries, and I've installed dozens of them over the years, most recently in a 2015 15" Retina MacBook Pro.

What is it about them that strikes you as being "bootleg" quality?
Click to expand...
The last time I tried one of theirs was actually a while ago before the unibody Macbook Pro. The smaller original Macbook Pro style assembly. Suddenly the NuPower ones would just die quickly and there were physical issues with the fit as well.

I found Anker after that and they seemed really on point. I never had an issue with them actually. But they stopped making Macbook Pro replacement batteries after the original Macbook Pro and Macbook. They don't offer unibody versions.

I see OWC selling NuPower and see other decent reviews. I might consider trying them again. This is starting to look like the best choice... Maybe they just had a brief issue back then?
 
JLH81 said:
Definitely have Apple replace the battery. I did this in my old MBP 2015, and they did a great job! It was definitely worth knowing that I had a decent battery in there..
Click to expand...
I don't see where I can order a battery from Apple. I'm looking for Jobs-era unibody Macbook Pro batteries specifically. 2009-2012
 
Apple doesn't sell them and won't replace them in that old of a MBP. NuPower or an ebay / amazon battery is your only choice unfortunately.
 
serr said:
The last time I tried one of theirs was actually a while ago before the unibody Macbook Pro. The smaller original Macbook Pro style assembly. Suddenly the NuPower ones would just die quickly and there were physical issues with the fit as well.
Click to expand...

Ahh, that far back. Yes, they didn't fit quite as flush in the pre-Unibody MBPs as the OEM batteries did. The poor fit was annoying, but I don't recall reliability issues.

I installed an internal NewerTech battery in my wife's old 2010 15" MacBook Pro and it never had any problems.
 
OP wrote:
"I don't see where I can order a battery from Apple. I'm looking for Jobs-era unibody Macbook Pro batteries specifically. 2009-2012"

It would have made things easier if you had told us IN YOUR ORIGINAL POST what year and model MBP you have.

I don't think Apple Stores will do unibody battery replacement any longer.
I could be wrong.

In that case, you DO have to "do it yourself".

Buying 3rd-party batteries is a crapshoot.
But sometimes you just have to "roll the dice".

I think the only way you're going to get an Apple-labeled battery is to look for a lightly-used one on ebay, etc.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone!
A lot of things seem to point to giving NuPower another shot.
 
In absolutely amazing timing, the original battery in my wife's 2015 15" MacBook Pro is starting to act up, so I get to do another one of those battery swaps myself. Not my most favorite hardware repair by any stretch, delicately prying up glued-in battery cells.
 
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