I love fixing stuff myself. Our family has several Macbooks, but don't recall changing the battery. Ifixit is a great resource. I looked at the link below, and if you meticulously follow the 55 step process to remove the old battery and then follow the same 55 steps in reverse, it's easy!! Kidding--just looking at the level of detail, I would bring to an Apple Store, or to a small shop that services Macbooks.
www.ifixit.com
You can definitely replace the battery but you must have the correct tools , make sure is powered off and make sure to wear the thin rubber gloves just in case as to not create static. Watch a step by step video and it should be pretty easy. I work in the recycling industry for ITAD and I see thousands of laptops being opened up to remove batteries data amongst other things, you’d be surprised how many batteries that are removed are puffed out and looking like they will explode.
MacBooks newer than 2015 are annoying because they got rid of all the ports, you need an adapter to plug anything into it, there aren't even USB ports. I was in the market for a new MacBook a year ago and went with a refurbished 2015 instead of a brand new one for that reason.
Apple does all of these changes very intentionally.
I saw that a couple of days ago and decided it would be more enjoyable to set myself on fire than try doing it myself. And I like doing things myself, but not setting myself on fire.I love fixing stuff myself. Our family has several Macbooks, but don't recall changing the battery. Ifixit is a great resource. I looked at the link below, and if you meticulously follow the 55 step process to remove the old battery and then follow the same 55 steps in reverse, it's easy!! Kidding--just looking at the level of detail, I would bring to an Apple Store, or to a small shop that services Macbooks.
MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Mid 2014 Battery Replacement
Use this guide to safely remove the glued-in battery from your MacBook Pro with the help of an iFixit battery replacement kit. The adhesive remover...
That's normally my default setting, but I have a new one. A software company went out of business a couple of years ago and the disks that came with the program won't load on newer Macs, and there's no customer support. I've got ten+ years of work on this particular project and would like to keep the rhythm I've got.
@29PAS I wonder if a 2010 is very different form a 2014 when it comes to replacing the battery. I'm probably heading to Short Hills Mall tomorrow and will ask the Apple folks there what's involved.
Eh I'm no Apple fanboy but I have nothing but good things to say about my old MacBooks, and I finally got my second iPod a year ago because the original one I got for Christmas in 2005 finally kicked the bucket after being used pretty much every single day for over 15 years, and kept in my car regardless of how hot/cold it is for the past 10 or 11 years.
@robcac26 Did the refurbished one come with original operating system or with a newer version? I'm running OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 on the one I want fixed and would probably like to keep it that way.
It came with Mojave 10.14.6. I bought it from some company that sells refurbished MacBooks on eBay. The battery life isn't great and the speakers went bad after only a few months. There's a warranty but I think even with the warranty, it would still cost me $100 to get the speakers fixed, so that's pretty annoying, but I pretty much never need to take my laptop out of the house anymore so I almost always have it plugged in anyway, and in the rare occurrences I use it to listen to music, I just plug in some speakers. Other than that it's been good and it cost me a lot less than a brand new one with the same specs would have.
I had the same problem with my previous MacBook, it shuts off as soon as it is unplugged. I bought a new charger but that didn't fix it. Brought it to an Apple store and they said it needed a new battery. It was already pretty old and slow so I didn't bother and just got my newer one. Since my old one still works, just has to remain plugged in, I keep it connected to my TV and use it to watch sports, movies, etc.
@Rhuarc Thanks for the suggestion. I just swapped out chargers and the problem is still the same, so that's one thing off the list. I'm pretty sure I'll end up having Apple do it, unless it's absurdly expensive or will take a long time. I'll find out soon enough.
When your taking it apart don’t force anything and take your time my friend, but if you have the correct tools it’s very easy, if not you’ll strip the very small and delicate shrews and then you got problems, not impossible but problematic none the less. Went down to Richmond Virginia recently for an earth day give back recycling event for Capital One Employees, you should see how many laptops and cell phones people accumulate over the years, and they all have the same thing in common… battery problems.
It'll be interesting to hear what they say. I would guess they are pretty similar but that's just a guess. I'm thinking my 2020 model is a lot different but the battery is fine and I haven't had to do any research.
A good reason why people should stop avoiding desktop computers. I know that students at uni don't have space, and that they need to be mobile, but otherwise a desktop is vastly better than laptop/phone . When I have to do internet on a phone, I'm surprised what people actually put-up with. So many people think that they have "great phone cameras" because all their pics are only a few inches big. Its funny tbh
@29PAS Just made an appointment for tomorrow. Will only take an hour and is only $79. I am still stunned at the low price and equally happy that I don't have to leave it there of a few days. The woman with whom I made the appointment did ask me if I had a backup of everything (I do), but any question like that naturally causes me a little bit of concern. Will report back once I've got it back.
But setting yourself on fire is free. Disappointed in your choice here. 🚒👨🚒👩🚒
Have you seen the price of gas? It's pretty much a wash and I can uphold my reputation in the community as non-self-immolator. It's like my mother used to say: "Don't put your hands in your pockets, you'll immolate yourself." Tears every time.
$79 sounds good to me. iirc, the battery alone was about $50 so that's definitely worth it.
@29PAS Just got back from the Apple store and the guy who originally told me it would only take an hour and cost $79 was totally wrong. It's $199, will take a week or two to get the battery into the store (supply chain issues), then I have to leave it with them for a week or more. That's more in line with I was expecting until the Apple guy told me the wrong info. The replacement involves not only the battery but also the keyboard and another component, as evidently that's how the laptop is constructed. I ordered the battery and will decide in the meantime if that's the route I'm gonna go.
Gas prices may go down by the time you receive the battery. ⛽
Interesting, let me know what model you have and I'll do a little research. I work on laptops all the time as part of my job. I usually work on HP's and Lenovo's so curious as to why you would have to replace the keyboard and other component.
That's too bad - it did sound almost too good to be true. I don't recall the keyboard being involved on my 2010 model. What finally did that one in for me was most of the trackpad was dead. They showed me how much was gone at the Apple store and I lived with it for a while longer and then couldn't take it anymore. I had a mouse but had just gotten too used to not using it.
Apple is probably replacing the keyboard because the battery is adhered to the bottom of the keyboard and its less labor to do the repair that way. A local show will peel the battery off, clean the goo off a little and stick the new one back with the old keyboard. By daughters slightly old air had a keyboard issue but it was closer to a $400 repair because it was not designed for replacement.
