Replacement Laptop Battery (MacBook Pro Mid 2012)

[D365]

Hi all,

Are there any MacBook users here who could help me out? I opened up my MacBook Pro for cleaning and saw that the plastic screw tabs that held the battery to the chassis have snapped off, all three of them. The battery model number is A1382, it's done about 1000 charge cycles (five years old) but still holds sufficient capacity for day-to-day use. I was going to replace it at some point but it's a bit annoying that I have to do it now.

Anyway my question is, ifixit EU supplies the battery in question but it would set me back €100. Is this reasonable or could I look somewhere else for something cheaper?

 

[Howardh]

Ebay. Just put mac book A1382 in search and there's dozens. Make sure they are genuine, which is not always easy on ebay! Also read the notes to make sure it's compatible with your year. Good luck!!

 

[najaB]

Make sure they are genuine, which is not always easy on ebay!

This, more than anything. If you're lucky, a fake battery will only burn your house down.

 

[D365]

For what it's worth, I gave Apple a ring, where a replacement battery + fitting costs £130. However I would have had to hand my laptop over to them for five days while they have the replacement battery on order, which is not at all ideal. I popped into an Apple-certified repair shop just now who said they could have it done within an hour when their next shipment of parts arrives. So all is well!

Also my current (broken) battery has a few bulges in it so it's probably about time. Thanks for the help in any case.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Also my current (broken) battery has a few bulges in it so it's probably about time. Thanks for the help in any case.

Is it a lithium battery?

 

[yorkie]

...Also my current (broken) battery has a few bulges in it so it.....

...needs to be safely disposed of immediately!

 

[D365]

Is it a lithium battery?

I assume so? Not really sure as it's a vendor-specific part.

...needs to be safely disposed of immediately!

Only one or two very small ones, nothing significant as of yet. If it was serious I would have removed the battery immediately, the laptop is staying on my desk anyway. When I take it to the Mac repair shop next week I imagine that they will dispose of the existing battery when they replace it.

I checked the data on coconutbattery (a Mac utility), it's the original battery from five years ago and has done about 750 load cycles. I still get enough hours out of it, which is why I'm a bit disappointed that I have to replace it already.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Hi all,
Anyway my question is, ifixit EU supplies the battery in question but it would set me back €100. Is this reasonable or could I look somewhere else for something cheaper?

I don't directly know the answer that particular question, but I would point out that buying genuine manufacturer's batteries is - sadly - expensive. The last time I replaced a battery in my laptop (a Samsung PC) it cost me not far off £100 - so, although I don't know specifically about MacBooks, a quote of €100 for a battery doesn't in principle sound unusually high to me. Of course, you can probably find lots of people on Amazon selling supposedly equivalent batteries much cheaper (I could've paid around £30 for my laptop battery) but personally I don't think it's worth the risk to have something that you don't know how well or badly it's been tested, or how safe it is. Reports of 3rd party batteries catching fire are thankfully rare, but it's not unknown, and the consequences if you're unlucky can be disastrous.

 

[dgl]

Repairing batteries in some cases can be done but generally only works if they have standard cylindrical batteries in the pack and then you still have to be careful that you get safe batteries and are adept with soldering.

If that is not possible then if you can get a genuine battery or a same quality equivalent then even if it is a non removable type (located within the laptop not just a slot in type) then replacing it is generally not that difficult (my ASUS just needs a pozidrive screwdriver and a spudger to unclip the rear cover)