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13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program

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51–60 of 73 posts

Re: 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program

#51

I entered my computer's serial number, but it's unclear if it is affected or not: > The serial number you entered is not eligible under this program because either: > • It's not in the affected serial number range. > • Our records show that your battery has already been replaced. > • Our records show it's no longer eligible for a free replacement under this program. > If you have questions, please contact Apple. If e…

I mean, the page itself states that the battery just expands and poses no safety risk. Even if you were affected, it wouldn’t explode in your face.

Metal unibody (or thereabouts) - much sturdier than smartphones that "explode".

Re: 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program

#52

The keyboards on this new range of Apple laptops are a single unit with the logic board, very costly (to replace). They're extremely fragile and essentially booby trapped so that if you try to replace keys yourself, you may end up breaking the keyboard and thus the logic board as particular keys such as the spacebar are replaced differently. From a usability standpoint, the keys are so shallow that the tips of your f…

Source?

My understanding (from a recent interaction between my MacBook, a glass of water, and the Genius Bar) is that the top case contains the battery and keyboard, and the logic board is a seperate, replaceable component.

Re: 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program

#54

The keyboards on this new range of Apple laptops are a single unit with the logic board, very costly (to replace). They're extremely fragile and essentially booby trapped so that if you try to replace keys yourself, you may end up breaking the keyboard and thus the logic board as particular keys such as the spacebar are replaced differently. From a usability standpoint, the keys are so shallow that the tips of your f…

> From a usability standpoint, the keys are so shallow that the tips of your fingers hurt after extended usage as if you've been pressing them into cement.

Only if you habit of striking the keys too hard, which I used to do as well. The only real solution at the moment for the end user is to either not buy the laptop, or adapt to a less vigorous typing style. Before my purchase of the 2016 13" nTB, I went to the store several times to ensure I could maintain the same speed as I do with Cherry MX Brown and Topre switches.

That said, I'm interested to see what the ThinkPad keyboards are like, because I don't much like any other laptop keyboard (including XPS or other older Apple keyboards).

I encourage you to learn to type more smoothly and "feel" for what force is actually required to trigger the clicks. It's worthwhile reaching a point where you don't have to fight it, and it's possible to still hit 100 to 110 wpm on the Butterfly 2 mechanism if that is your Cherry MX Brown speed.

Re: 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program

#55
post #5

The only thing that keeps me with OSX instead of Linux on laptop is awesome touchpad in MacBook. Wandering if there are any ThinksPads/System76's with comparable touchpad quality ?

What functions in particular about the trackpad do you like most - the multitouch gestures or just the tracking/acceleration? Because Linux (i3wm) to me is almost synonymous with getting better usage out of the keyboard so that the trackpad isn't so important. There are so many aspects of macOS that discourage keyboard use.

Re: 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program

#56
post #5

The only thing that keeps me with OSX instead of Linux on laptop is awesome touchpad in MacBook. Wandering if there are any ThinksPads/System76's with comparable touchpad quality ?

What functions in particular about the trackpad do you like most - the multitouch gestures or just the tracking/acceleration? Because Linux (i3wm) to me is almost synonymous with getting better usage out of the keyboard so that the trackpad isn't so important. There are so many aspects of macOS that discourage keyboard use.

I agree with tkubacki, touchpads on macbooks are a primary reason for wanting a mac.

For me the most important is the basic function of putting the cursor where I want it. It's hard to explain, but on other laptops I always struggle with it either being to slow or to fast, general responsiveness or just the miniature size. Apple touchpads for me are a "it just works™". I barely use multigesture, but they work as expected as well. Also for me the force touchpads are blissful, you can just 'click' by pressing anywhere and you get haptic feedback indistinguishable from a hardware click (I loathe tap-click touchpads btw, they always click when I don't want to).

Re: 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program

#57

I entered my computer's serial number, but it's unclear if it is affected or not: > The serial number you entered is not eligible under this program because either: > • It's not in the affected serial number range. > • Our records show that your battery has already been replaced. > • Our records show it's no longer eligible for a free replacement under this program. > If you have questions, please contact Apple. If e…

I can't guarantee that your phone won't do the same thing tomorrow, however I did try that form despite having my battery (or rather, the whole top case) recently replaced - not for an expanding battery (as far as I could tell), but faulty battery life nonetheless. I got the same message that you got. Maybe think of it in terms of aeroplane engines - do you go for the latest and greatest, or the tried and tested? How…

OP isn't asking for a guarantee. S/he is asking to know whether s/he has a device that is known to be at higher risk, or if s/he has an unaffected device.

You are responding to a straw man of "I want a guarantee that my device will never fail"

Re: 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program

#58

I entered my computer's serial number, but it's unclear if it is affected or not: > The serial number you entered is not eligible under this program because either: > • It's not in the affected serial number range. > • Our records show that your battery has already been replaced. > • Our records show it's no longer eligible for a free replacement under this program. > If you have questions, please contact Apple. If e…

I mean, the page itself states that the battery just expands and poses no safety risk. Even if you were affected, it wouldn’t explode in your face.

LiPo Batteries expand because they're being charged/discharged incorrectly. Batteries burn because they're being charged/discharged incorrectly.

"poses no safety risk" is a fairly high standard when discussing incorrect battery management.

Re: 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program

#59
post #5

The only thing that keeps me with OSX instead of Linux on laptop is awesome touchpad in MacBook. Wandering if there are any ThinksPads/System76's with comparable touchpad quality ?

What functions in particular about the trackpad do you like most - the multitouch gestures or just the tracking/acceleration? Because Linux (i3wm) to me is almost synonymous with getting better usage out of the keyboard so that the trackpad isn't so important. There are so many aspects of macOS that discourage keyboard use.

It just works flawlessly. It's like the difference between driving a and a Tesla Model S. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes the experience so much better because they essentially do the same thing but they are at the same time incomparable.

Re: 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program

#60
post #5

The only thing that keeps me with OSX instead of Linux on laptop is awesome touchpad in MacBook. Wandering if there are any ThinksPads/System76's with comparable touchpad quality ?

I've switched from a Dell XPS to a macbook and I'm totally unimpressed with the touchpad. It's a tad better, but very marginally, definitely not worth the downgrade in specs that I got for the same price

Dell XPS range are the only non-Mac laptop that comes close on touchpad quality.
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