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The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop

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Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop

#191

Post by 51Cards »

tptacek wrote: post #40
redidas wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I'd rather have a few extra mm of thickness and batteries that are not glued to a keyboard. Efforts could be made to keep this tech more repairable.

Speak for yourself. I want a thin laptop that feels almost like a slab of mysteriously lightweight solid aluminum, and Apple is delivering that. It's not like this was a cost-saving measure for them; they're not pulling one over on you. They went nuts trying to make these things solid, lightweight, and skinny, and this was a tradeoff they made --- at significant expense.

" --- at significant expense."

Which is being directly passed on to the client along with an extra slice of profit making. Brilliant but not so nice if you're the client.

Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop

#192

Post by sosborn »

giarc wrote: post #84
nickgeiger wrote: post #61

I found this Apple page that appears to offer battery service for $129: https://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=servicefaq&geo=Unite... I have the same "Service Battery" warning and I was hoping to eventually get this service on my 13" MacBook Air.

>Pricing is for service through Apple. Likely the $129 is for the labour portion and doesn't include the parts cost.

Nope, that is the total price including the battery.

Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop

#193

Post by jahewson »

riquito wrote: post #185
catkin wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that they don't. The base 13 inch MBP costs $1299 in the US and £999 in the UK, which converts to $1531.52 at the time I wrote this comment, for a difference of ~$230. The mid-level costs $1499 in the US and £1199 in the UK, which converts to $1838, a difference of $339.

> The base 13 inch MBP costs $1299 in the US and £999 in the UK Are they both `after taxes`?

The US price is pre-tax (depends on state: 8.5% in California). The UK price, like most other countries in the world, already includes all taxes (VAT is 20%). In California the $1299 MBP will actually cost you $1414 including sales tax, a difference of just $117. In the UK the price includes AppleCare (under EU law), which would cost an extra $249 in the US. So if you were going to buy AppleCare anyway, then it's actually ~£85 cheaper overall in the UK.

Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop

#194

Post by mtanski »

ino wrote: post #189
maratd wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder if there wasn't something more wrong with his laptop caused by letting a worn-out battery sit in there too long. I wonder why batteries aren't easily replaceable on both laptops and phones? You know, it wasn't always so. I remember when you could literally slide the battery out of a laptop and slide a new one in. And don't give me this thin bullshit. I have a Samsung Series 9 and it is thinner than the Mac…

FWIW, the battery on the Air also isn't glued, changing it is also a 15 min job, and it's also available for cheap online. But you do need the special screwdrivers for the bottom panel. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+13-Inch+Mid+2013+Ba...

I've replaced the battery on my wife's air with the guide, tools and battery from ifixit. Took about 15 minutes on a Saturday, most of it was pre-reading the guide. And the total of like $150 (battery, screw driver set, shipping).

Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop

#195

Post by mcantelon »

hackuser wrote: post #180

Is the trend toward non-user-replaceable batteries related to LiPo (lithium polymer) battery technology? My limited understanding is that LiPo batteries store more energy/volume or energy/mass than older tech but normally have plastic (i.e., non-rigid) packaging.

It's probably just cheaper to make them non-replaceable. Replaceable batteries are becoming a fairly rare feature.

Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop

#196

Post by mwfunk »

Daishiman wrote: post #78
sugarcube wrote: post #50

I don't quite understand the rage. Doesn't the service agreement comment on the time it might take? I remember from Dell there were different kinds of packages you could buy. Because I bought some business laptop once, they actually dispatched a technician to my office and fixed the problem on the spot. If you need that kind of service level, you simply have to pay for it.

The rage is that for many lines of work (like mine), 4 days of computer downtime is absolute unacceptable.

If one piece of hardware going down keeps you from working until you get it back, that's on you or your company.

Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop

#197

Post by venomsnake »

dchuk wrote: post #4

Isn't this sort of a cake-and-eat-it-too situation? If you want a slim, lightweight laptop that still performs at a high level, you can't expect the old pop out batteries with the little switch we grew up with on laptops. While $400 is expensive to replace a battery, it's obviously not as simple as just popping a new one in, which is the compromise one has to make if they want a Macbook Pro. If you want easily swappa…

> If you want a slim, lightweight laptop that still performs at a high level, you can't expect the old pop out batteries with the little switch we grew up with on laptops.

I can actually expect that. Apple have good enough designers to do so. But lack of serviceability for them is a feature, not a bug. Apple is pushing for rented hardware as a service in consumer space. Repairable, tweak-able or modifiable device is contrary to their goals.

Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop

#198

Post by fendale »

austenallred wrote: post #171
catkin wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that they don't. The base 13 inch MBP costs $1299 in the US and £999 in the UK, which converts to $1531.52 at the time I wrote this comment, for a difference of ~$230. The mid-level costs $1499 in the US and £1199 in the UK, which converts to $1838, a difference of $339.

And the cost of AppleCare is $200-$349. So in other words, you're basically required to have AppleCare.

The biggest part of the EU cost difference is sales tax which is 20% in the UK and only 8.5% in California I think.

Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop

#200

Post by jahewson »

fendale wrote: post #198
austenallred wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the cost of AppleCare is $200-$349. So in other words, you're basically required to have AppleCare.

The biggest part of the EU cost difference is sales tax which is 20% in the UK and only 8.5% in California I think.

Actually the US prices don't include tax. That gets added during the checkout. Also the EU products include AppleCare (due to EU warrenty laws), which costs $249 extra in the US. So it's actually cheaper in Britain if you're going to be buying AppleCare.
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