On a whim I ordered a new battery for an old, 2013 MacBook Pro, 13", it had been my granddaughters while she went through college, has moved on to another one, so she gave it to me last year. Only problem was it wouldn’t run on its battery, so I’d just set it aside, until today.. Pretty easy swap, a few Phillips screws, the back is off, only one trim-screw holding the battery, unplug the old, in with the new. As I do things like this I write inside the cover why I was in there. Should have taken a picture, I realize now.. Seems this is the 3rd battery replacement! Other times I’d swapped in an SSD, bumped up the memory, so far only lost one tiny screw! Not sure the newer ones are so easily accessible, but I’m surprised the battery has been such a repeat fix… Will use it for travel, so old OS won’t matter, just for web access, really…
Have you ordered these replacement batteries from anywhere in particular? My niece also has an old Macbook, at least 10 years old that doesn’t boot anymore. Probably a battery issue.
Yes, amazon, I’m sure, the replacements were a few years apart, so I don’t know if all were from the same supplier to them, luck of the draw, I’d guess… I need to look to replace the touchpad, too, it’s clicker isn’t working easily as it should, it sets just under the battery… Just be sure the battery is for the specific model…
A few years ago, I tried ordering a replacement battery for my 2008 MBP. I couldn’t get an Apple battery, so I ordered from Amazon and got some battery by a fly-by-night “company” that appeared to be constructed from an actual Apple battery but filled with new (???) batteries inside the casing. It definitely failed to work – no power, no charge. I gave it a poor review on Amazon and got an e-mail from the seller asking me to remove the review in return for a refund or something. I don’t recall what I did, but I assume I returned it one way or another.
Since then, the few times I run it, I just use the old battery and run on the power adapter. (This past week, I also had the opportunity to boot up a much older PowerBook G4 1.5 GHz, to see if there was any way for me to recover my PhD thesis files and export them to a more modern format. I was unsuccessful, as I have been the few other times I’ve tried over the years.)
Yeah, that’s what I’d be afraid of. But apparently Wecoguy has lucked out the past few times. Ebay also has lots of sellers of “after market” replacement batteries for old Macbooks. You’re probably better protected as a buyer buying through Amazon however.
I seem to have a collection o old MacBooks, iBooks, but some were grandkids and replaced, and I’d always had backups of backups, some on DVDs or even 3.5? floppies, still tucked away somewhere, I had to buy a DVD reader a while back to look at an old family file, and now, the only machine that even has a dvd drive is this 2012 MacBook Pro, so even with the multiple batteries, it’s worth the effort. I noticed it’s RJ45 port is warped on the left rear, so there must have been a drop along the way, and I should replace the trackpad, but I have little mini mice I generally use, so it’s not an urgent clicker fix… The 11 MB Air is also alive, but it’s pretty basic.. Both I need to up the font sizes for these old eyes, but otherwise they still do their thing… The others, really should go to a electronic waste, no family member needs them either, maybe Salvation Army or such…I used to haunt such places, flea markets, looking for fixer uppers, pass along, but everyone has caught up, want the new toys! The old Mac Pro, 5.1 is holding up a plexiglass shelf at the same height as my desk with he 4 disk backup unit from OWC, so it stays… The 27" iMac stares at me, tempting to replace the HD, but… I have seen conversions to use as a monitor, but, no need, really…
Really need to clear the decks a bit…Treasures of olde…
Update: I just ordered a replacement Trackpad…
Update II - Oops, ordered the wrong trackpad, returning & ordered the correct one…(that one didn’t work, returned, next one worked perfectly! Fixed!)
I guess the good news is that new laptops, etc. are soon to come with an easily swappable battery, thanks to the EU.
The reason all your devices now come with a standard USB-C is that the EU simply said “if it doesn’t, you can’t sell it here”. Suddenly everybody with their own proprietary cables and cords switched - almost overnight! - and harmony reigns.
Now they have said the same thing about replaceable batteries, and within a year most devices sold in Europe will have a little compartment you can open and replace the battery. I assume it will be fruitless for manufacturers to run two lines, one for the EU and one for the US and elsewhere, so after only almost 50 years, we will finally get the ability to change the most frequent reason you have to throw away your computer and upgrade.
Yeah, here are just a few of the “standardization traps”
Compromising Form Factor and Product Design
Mandating internal and external physical characteristics dictates how products must be engineered, putting boundaries on creativity and specialized aesthetics.
Design Constraints for Batteries: The EU Battery Regulation requires portable electronics to feature batteries that can be “readily” removed using standard, commercially available tools. This directly pushes against the industry trend of creating tightly integrated, ultra-thin, or uniquely curved form factors (such as foldable screens or sleek wearables).
Engineering Trade-offs: To make a battery user-replaceable, devices generally require more internal structural framing, screws, or latches. This utilizes precious millimeter-level space that could have otherwise been allocated to larger camera sensors, alternative processors, thermal dissipation systems, or greater base battery capacity.
I used to have a similar 2013 era MB Pro but had to replace it after 8-9 years. The battery had deteriorated some, however, a much bigger problem was issues with software that performed poorly due to RAM that was no longer enough. My understanding was that I could not simply buy and add more
So I bought a new MB Pro. I bought an even newer one earlier this year and one surprise is that the new chargers use a magnetic port on the laptop rather that usb-c like prior models
Oh sure, there is no regulation in history that is perfect for every situation. You might want to go over the speed limit if you are having a heart attack and want to get to the hospital. You might steal a loaf of bread if your family is starving.
On the other hand, consider the electric system. Some motors are most efficient with 110v. Some could do with 50v. There were some that operated just fine on 20v, 12v, or other voltages. Should we to have “standardized” on 110v so you didn’t have to have 14 wiring systems in your house? (Lots of countries run on 220v, and/or at 50 htz instead of our 60. But it’s countrywide so they don’t have an unnavigable mess to deal with.)
Did you know the UN tries to get countries to standardize on having octagonal red STOP signs instead of the multi-variant yellow, black & white, green (!), square, rectangle, round, or other shapes that were common around the world? Is that such a terrible thing?
I am remodeling my workshop. I count at least 20 different kinds of connectors for my various phones, GPS, cameras, printers, scanners, mesh relays, cordless phones, razors, etc. Apple had a nice little business licensing its lightning connector patents to cable makers, but oh well, I guess they’ve learned to live without it. Strangely their cell phone sales have held up pretty well, too. And I don’t need to have 50 different cords in a drawer or ending up in a landfill.
I’m OK with that. I suspect if you polled 100 people, 99 of them would be too.
Despite the long winded diatribe, I’m simply pointing out the trade offs of standardization. It’s not an opposition to them only a recognition of the trade offs. If you polled 99 out of 100, most would have no idea what might be possible to improve upon a particular product or service. It’s why we call the few that do that work pioneers and innovators. Safety Standards are not the same thing as homologation standards. The regulatory framework for batteries and chargers has everything to do with the latter.
