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Worth reconditioning the 2011 MBA?

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Deliro

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 20, 2011
1,142
1,337
I've had the 2011 MBA 13 inch that has served me faithfully for the past 4 years now. Never had one issue with it. I've upgraded to Yosemite, however a few of the new features are not supported now. Not a huge deal. I've seen some speed issues and the spinning beachball a lot more though.

The battery on the MBA is starting to degrade substantially. The "service battery" is now on, and I get a max of 2.5 hours of general use before having to charge it again, so obviously I'm going to have to swap the battery.

I'm thinking of retiring the MBA despite it still being pretty quick for most tasks I throw at it for the 2015 rMBP 13. Or should I just replace the MBA battery?

My use cases are general web surfing, some light productivity work, etc. The Macbook is not a gaming machine so, I have a desktop for that, so "gaming" performance doesn't really concern me.

4 years seems pretty good considering how much use it has. I just don't want to put money into it if it doesn't go another 2-3. General thoughts?
 
R

Raunien

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2011
535
57
It'll easily go another 2-3 if you continue to do what you are doing with your computer. I'd say it's worth it.
 
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SmOgER

macrumors 6502a
Jun 2, 2014
805
89
The battery is about 50 bucks, so you can think all you want, but I don't see how this can not be worth it, EVEN if you are gonna sell this device after all. :p

Used MBA with brand new battery is easily worth more than the one with barely alive one definitely by more than $50.
 
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Deliro

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 20, 2011
1,142
1,337
SmOgER said:
The battery is about 50 bucks, so you can think all you want, but I don't see how this can not be worth it, even if you are gonna sell this device. :p
Click to expand...

Good point... The battery replacement is a no brainer considering the cost. While the thought of having a new Mac is appealing, the Air has held up so well. I'll order the battery and mull over the rMBP for a bit.
 
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tmarks11

macrumors 6502a
May 3, 2010
509
32
Who needs to pay for labor?

It takes no longer than 7 minutes to replace a battery. It isn't rocket science.

This is the easiest laptop to repair that I have ever dealt with. The battery I just replaced on my 2010 MBA came with the necessary screwdrivers. Just make sure you push them down firmly in the holes while unscrewing so you don't strip them out, and don't try to get them too tight when screwing them in.

Well worth extending the life, IMHO. These laptops are the most rugged machines I have ever seen. They will last forever.

But $50 is a bit on the cheap side. I bought a replacement battery (non-Apple) from Amazon for $65, and ifixit sells theirs for $99.
 
M

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
tmarks11 said:
I bought a replacement battery (non-Apple) from Amazon for $65, and ifixit sells theirs for $99.
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So you trust 3rd party batteries? I say that because I have had bad experiences buying 3rd party PC laptop batteries, don't even last 1/4 of the original one.
 
Cheffy Dave

Cheffy Dave

macrumors 68030
Feb 5, 2007
2,663
323
Sunny Florida, on the Gulf Coast in Homosassa Fl
Raunien said:
It'll easily go another 2-3 if you continue to do what you are doing with your computer. I'd say it's worth it.
Click to expand...

Amen, just put in a new battery now, enjoy no payments ;)on a new one:apple:

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Mrbobb said:
So you trust 3rd party batteries? I say that because I have had bad experiences buying 3rd party PC laptop batteries, don't even last 1/4 of the original one.
Click to expand...

my experience has been 50/50 on 3rd parties, and the ones with no problems NEVER went beyond 1.5 years, the OEM:apple:'s still chuggin, go :apple::cool:
 
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tmarks11

macrumors 6502a
May 3, 2010
509
32
Mrbobb said:
So you trust 3rd party batteries? I say that because I have had bad experiences buying 3rd party PC laptop batteries, don't even last 1/4 of the original one.
Click to expand...
No, I don't trust them. Although my experience is with no-brand cordless power tool batteries, not laptops...

Cheffy Dave said:
my experience has been 50/50 on 3rd parties, and the ones with no problems NEVER went beyond 1.5 years, the OEM:apple:'s still chuggin, go :apple::cool:
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You saying OEM as in "buy from Apple", or OEM as in "buy from ifixit"?

I am assuming that Apple doesn't sell batteries alone, they want you to pay for installation as well?
 
Cheffy Dave

Cheffy Dave

macrumors 68030
Feb 5, 2007
2,663
323
Sunny Florida, on the Gulf Coast in Homosassa Fl
tmarks11 said:
Good to know. How much did they charge for a new MBA battery? I didn't see it listed in their online store.
Click to expand...

$120 ish??, bought it at the Apple Store International Mall Tampa Fl, came with a free install with a 1.5 hour wait, it's a 5 min job maybe, (2008 15" MBP) so I did it myself

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tmarks11 said:
Good to know. How much did they charge for a new MBA battery? I didn't see it listed in their online store.
Click to expand...

sorry,should have said Apple Store:eek:
 
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tmarks11

macrumors 6502a
May 3, 2010
509
32
SmOgER said:
That's terrible, you can get a genuine new one for much less than that.
Click to expand...

You can buy "Rolexx" watches really cheap too on eBay.

I just came across someone selling a $115 cheap chinese lathe chuck as if it were a $900 polish Bison late chuck. His add shows the box it came in... labelled with the $115 chuck part number.

I suspect that eBay version is just as authentic as the $60 I bought from Amazon. The "designed by Apple" label on it cost the, 4 cents to print...
 
S

SmOgER

macrumors 6502a
Jun 2, 2014
805
89
That's why you need to do your research before proceeding on the items like this and buy only from high reputation sellers with high selling records. ;)

Or you can save your time, and pay 3 times more for the exactly the same thing, but directly from Apple store if it gives you the piece of mind.
 
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tmarks11

macrumors 6502a
May 3, 2010
509
32
SmOgER said:
That's why you need to do your research before proceeding on the items like this and buy only from high reputation sellers with high selling records. ;)
Click to expand...
I just figured "Hey it is only $60" and bought a no-brand anyhow... maybe I will be sorry in 2 years, but it was only $60...

High selling records on eBay don't always mean they are peddling expensive wares. :D The "lathe chuck" example I stated above was from someone with a high-selling pristine record. He has still not sold it, and resisted it for $200 instead of $300.
 
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SmOgER

macrumors 6502a
Jun 2, 2014
805
89
tmarks11 said:
High selling records on eBay don't always mean they are peddling expensive wares. :D The "lathe chuck" example I stated above was from someone with a high-selling pristine record. He has still not sold it, and resisted it for $200 instead of $300.
Click to expand...

I meant high selling records for that particular item and constantly receiving positive feedback with comments for it. Actually on aliexpress it's way easier to recognize the honest seller since they have ratings and reviews for each item (similarly like on Amazon). So with 100+ orders/reviews you can get a pretty clear picture about the quality or genuity of the product. Worst case scenario you can claim "item not as described" (not genuine), but it's extremely unlikely to happen if you are being cautious, yet obviously with rare items and collectibles there's entirely different story :p
 
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