[FYI] Had Apple replace the battery in a early 2015 Macbook Pro Retina 13”

Hi everyone,

A couple of months ago, there was a discussion about replaceable batteries in Apple products. In that discussion, I mentioned that replacing the battery in an Early 2015 Macbook Pro Retina 13” wasn’t user-replaceable enough to really call it user replaceable. The amount of time and agita necessary to do it properly pushes user-replaceable to the breaking point. It isn’t worth the effort. Here is a link to the thread about replaceable batteries:

[forums.macresource.com]

I could’ve bought an aftermarket battery for the machine from a reputable company like OWC or iFixit for about $84.75 to $105 or so. These kits include the battery and tools such as adhesive remover for the replacement process. There are many dirt cheap ones on Amazon.com but I’m leery of them. Just don’t trust the quality. If I got one of these kits, I’d’ve done the work myself.

Between the time involved, the actual hardware tasks which includes removing the battery, removing the adhesive holding the battery to the top case, properly cleaning the surfaces and letting them dry prior to installing the new battery and such, it’s not the easiest job. Having dealt with nuisance and annoyance of glued batteries in the past and knowing even OWC recommends having a shop do the work, I decided to price out having a shop do job.

A local shop was asking $149 for the job. That includes the battery and installation. iResQ, a reputable online shop which I’ve used in the past, was asking $179 approx. Micro Center, who only uses Apple OEM batteries, was $199 just for the battery. Installation was an additional cost. Apple was $199.99 plus tax done complete. Labor included. I found the Apprice cost via this link:

[support.apple.com]

After weighing the options, I took DYI’ing it out of the running. Neither time nor cost effective. For $199, Apple doesn’t replace the battery. Apple replaces the entire top cover of the Macbook Pro which includes the battery, keyboard, trackpad, etc. In looking at the options and what I was getting for the dollar, it was a no-brainer to have Apple do the work.

FWIW, based on how Apple handles the battery replacement, I think it’s reasonable to say Micro Center which is an Apple authorized shop that uses Apple OEM parts would probably have done the job in the same manner. The difference would be the cost of labor. Micro Center charges for labor. Apple includes it in the cost.

One thing Apple recommended was that I remove the SSD from the machine prior to dropping it off for the work. This was because I have I had a 3rd party SSD in it. The recommendation was made in the unlikely event the SSD was damaged or replaced in the course of the job. If that happened, Apple would only put in another Apple SSD and it would be the original capacity (512GB). Apple would not replace it with another OWC Aura Pro X2 1TB SSD or an Apple OEM 1TB SSD.

I didn’t raise a fuss over this. It was more of a nuisance than anything else since the conversation took place at the local Apple store during my appointment to drop off the computer for the work. It meant I had to take the machine home, pull the drive and then go back again. Not an easy task with my current schedule. But, that’s what Apple recommended and, though it was a nuisance, I followed their advice.

Got the machine back yesterday. Mint shape, just like how I handed it to them. The only difference is the computer no longer had a swollen battery. It took five minutes to reinstall the SSD and I was back in business. Definitely happy with the route I took for the replacement. Well worth the bucks.

Robert



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2021 04:33AM by Robert M.

If it was a 15" model it's possible that Apple would have done it free under a recall program.

[support.apple.com]

Congrats! I used iResQ back when they were MacResQ to replace a damaged daughter card on my Powerbook Wallstreet about 20 years ago.

Glad they're still in business!

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San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


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Rolando,

Agreed. My most recent job with them was to replace the battery in an iPod Nano. In hindsight, I should've asked if they could upgrade its storage, too. I use it in my car for music. I recently swapped it out for an Oakcastle MP3 player with more features and the ability to use MicroSD cards for storage. The only reason for the change was storage the Nano didn't have enough and it can't be upgraded. The Oakcastle is great but I still prefer the interface of the iPod. Too bad the storage in it can't be upgraded.

Robert

Perhaps MicroCenter sends it off to Apple.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2021 01:50PM by Speedy.

Speedy,

I contacted my local Micro Center. They don't send it to Apple. They do the work themselves using OEM parts and it was more expensive than Apple for the same job.

Robert