Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

apple.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 73 posts

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

#61

Post by natch »

guessmyname wrote: post #8

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…

They just announced this program, so it’s unclear how #3 would apply to you. That leaves #1 as the only sensible remaining option.

If that’s not enough, you could try Apple support. They have many options short of Genius bar. Email, chat, phone, and the Support app. Maybe one of those will help.

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

#62

Post by ericpauley »

whichdan wrote: post #53

So, since the SSD is soldered to the mobo, I'd need to encrypt my entire drive, travel to an Apple store, be without a laptop for 3-5 days, and then travel back to the store again? Bleh.

macOS encrypts by default, but otherwise yes.

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

#63

Post by always_good »

mullikine wrote: post #29

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…

The keyboard is shameful. I'm traveling so I can't replace it, but inside of five months, two of my keys (A and T) will lift up with my finger as I type, right off the keyboard.

No physical damage either. The C-clamp holding them in just loosened a nanometer and it doesn't work anymore.

If I could go back five months, I'd replace my MBP with an old Air. I would've thought I had a particularly defective unit had my friend not had the same problem. His 2017 MBP collects dust while he went back to his 2015 MBP.

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

#64

Post by [deleted] »

always_good wrote: post #63
mullikine wrote: post #29

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…

The keyboard is shameful. I'm traveling so I can't replace it, but inside of five months, two of my keys (A and T) will lift up with my finger as I type, right off the keyboard. No physical damage either. The C-clamp holding them in just loosened a nanometer and it doesn't work anymore. If I could go back five months, I'd replace my MBP with an old Air. I would've thought I had a particularly defective unit had my fr…

[deleted]

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

#65

Post by hungerstrike »

bartread wrote: post #20
Someone1234 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love Thinkpads but, no, I've never seen one with a comparable touchpad to a Macbook. The closest PC device is Microsoft's Surface Laptop, but the Macbook still takes the crown, it is just a much tighter contest.

I have a Surface Pro for work and have no qualms saying the touchpad on my 2015 MBP is vastly superior. They're not even in the same league. To be honest, the touchpad on my 2011 MBP, whilst lacking the more modern refinements, such as force touch, still offers a better, more usable, experience than the touchpad on the Surface Pro. The Surface Pro is also beset with a host of other glitches that simply should not be…

Multi button vertical mice are vastly superior to touch pads and I can use every single one of them with Windows.

Macs have shitty support for these mice.

I’m so glad that I’m not locked into any hardware, except of course when I want to compile an app for iOS.

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

#66

Post by bartread »

hungerstrike wrote: post #65
bartread wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a Surface Pro for work and have no qualms saying the touchpad on my 2015 MBP is vastly superior. They're not even in the same league. To be honest, the touchpad on my 2011 MBP, whilst lacking the more modern refinements, such as force touch, still offers a better, more usable, experience than the touchpad on the Surface Pro. The Surface Pro is also beset with a host of other glitches that simply should not be…

Multi button vertical mice are vastly superior to touch pads and I can use every single one of them with Windows. Macs have shitty support for these mice. I’m so glad that I’m not locked into any hardware, except of course when I want to compile an app for iOS.

Sure, and I have a mouse both in my office, and at home, but don't tend to carry it when I'm travelling because space really is at a premium in my bag. The MBP is the only laptop I've ever used that has a trackpad that is tolerable as a replacement for a mouse. Still not as good as a mouse, but better (often way better) than the rest.

My issue with the Surface Pro specifically is that it's competing in the, well, I won't say high end (because that implies something about hardware specs that may not be true), but certainly the expensive [1] laptop market, yet is plagued with annoyances, some of which are quite severe: bad touchpad, sketchy WiFi, indifferent (at best) battery life, and rapid battery drainage during sleep, to name but a few.

[1] I won't say premium either because, given the issues, it's premium only in the sense that you pay one.

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

#68

Post by madeofpalk »

falcolas wrote: post #58
madeofpalk wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

And after the whole exploding Samsung Galaxy Note thing, and Apple’s extremely high status, I doubt they’re taking chances here when making such a claim.

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

#69

Post by coatmatter »

appleflaxen wrote: post #57
coatmatter wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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"

I was responding to "...what hope is there to guarantee that my computer will not explode in front of my face while I am working?". I'm struggling to see how it's a straw man argument but very well, I'll accept it. Contacting Apple is probably the only option now - we can't help.

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

#70

Post by coatmatter »

jpalomaki wrote: post #23
BOOSTERHIDROGEN wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m curious even after a decade no vendor can produce a comparable touchpad is there any technology that only apple have the patent

RANT: The others just don't care? Lenovo, HP and Dell are catering the corporate market and build most of their models with the corporate bean counter in mind. You don't see stunning displays or fabulous track pads because those are hard to measure in numbers. If two laptops have the same measurable features, then the one with cheaper price tag is likely to win.

Yeah they're probably "good enough" for most and the market hasn't demanded it (especially since only a minority do design). It's probably similar to how so many people are still not into multitasking and are happy enough to focus on one tab at a time, etc.

Consider another angle to this: look at all the cheap poor-quality keyboards that get bundled with business desktop computers these days. Comparatively speaking, nobody cares.

Outside of technology, my main hobby is cycling. The number of times where I've seen "experienced" cyclists or would-be experienced riders not care about having the right specific gear for the task (n.b., not necessarily expensive), or not using it in the most ideal way is remarkable.

Post reply on HN