The Truth Behind Macbook Battery Replacements

At a certain point in the life-time of owning a Macbook, it is inevitable that you will need to go for Macbook battery replacements. Apple’s own webpage about Macbook battery replacements states that Macbook batteries have “a limited lifespan and may eventually need to be serviced or recycled”. Apple’s webpage also states that Macbook batteries retain about “80 per cent of its original capacity at 1,000 complete charge cycles”. This is a myth. In real world, this statistic never runs true.

In our own experience with replacing hundreds of Apple Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, and Macbook Pro Retina batteries, the amount of time a Macbook can remain powered diminishes drastically once the battery hits around 300 – 500 charge cycles. The capacity of the battery would be around 80% once it reaches 300 charge cycles. Additionally, the battery status bar will usually prompt the user to “Service Battery” or “Replace Battery” when the battery reaches 300 – 500 cycles. In our 3 years of operation, we have only seen 2 Macbook Pro 13″ batteries reach 1000 cycles before the “service battery” status appears.

Apple Authorised Service Providers in Singapore charge high prices, between $400 – $600, for Macbook battery replacements. They also have a slow turnaround of 5 days. Many customers, repulsed by the high prices and slow turnaround time, have turned to independent Mac repair providers for cheaper Macbook battery replacements. However, it is not an easy feat to decide which place to go to, as the prices of Macbook batteries varies widely. Many repair shops have also claimed that their batteries are original Apple batteries. How do customers then know whether they are taken for a ride?

Our experience with working with different MacBook battery suppliers and our tear downs shows that there are no new original MacBook Pro unibody batteries. Only MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Retina possibly have original circuitry batteries with original or OEM lithium cells. It is not worth it to pay high prices for MacBook Pro Unibody batteries that sellers claim to be original. These batteries are likely OEM third-party batteries or refurbished batteries. Refurbished batteries are used original batteries with less than full capacity, but had their plastic covers replaced with brand new ones. The cycle count on these batteries have also been reseted to 0, as evidenced by a patch on the original circuitry in such batteries.

The only original batteries we have come across are Macbook Air and Macbook Pro Retina batteries, but it is hard to ascertain whether they are originals as Apple does not sell MacBook batteries or iPhone batteries directly to independent repair centres. Almost all iPhone batteries sold in the market that shops claim to be original are OEM batteries printed with an Apple logo.

Here at Mac Plus, we are truthful that our MacBook Pro Unibody batteries and MacBook Air batteries are good quality OEM batteries. Some of our MacBook Air batteries might be originals manufactured by the same manufacturers that manufacture for Apple. All our MacBook Pro Retina batteries have original circuitry and original ICs. Our batteries come with 6 months 1-1 exchange warranty as well as free installation.