100% agree. I'm typing this on a 2015 Macbook Pro, and holding on for dear life, even as it has started alerting me about servicing the battery. It's a great machine. I tried using the touchbar on my son's newer MBP. It's awful, and not meant for serious use. His laptop has been replaced once already due to keyboard issue, and starting to show defects again.
I did it last year on my 2012 rMBpro after it have been complaining about servicing the battery for about a year, and while it wasn't a walk in the park, it all worked out great.
Tip: there are 2 ways to replace the battery.
One is by following the official iFixit etc instructions where you remove absolutely everything before you peel off the battery with acetone.
The other is by immediately peeling off the battery right away. In that case, you have to be careful that the acetone doesn't flow onto the speakers (because they'd melt.) That's the way I, and many other with me, did it. It still only took me about 1 hour to get everything back up and running.
Or just take it to the Apple Store and pay them $199 to repair the battery which also gets you an entirely new top case and keyboard (old, original stock)
Yeah in my experience that 199$ price doesn’t happen in real life, as they tell you they need to replace the whole top case. Never understood why they publicly list the 199$ battery change price. Am I missing something?
AFAIK, If your battery is in the service battery condition (generally, less than 80% health), then you'll get the $199 price, otherwise you have to pay for the top case. It's the same repair either way but they charge for it differently.
I just had the battery replaced in two mid-2014 MBPs. They said that I'd be paying for the battery replacement (199), but that they would also replace the keyboard and trackpad and I wouldn't be charged for either. However, the way they stated it initially was a little confusing, since it sounded like I'd be paying an additional 100, but they were quick to clear it up.
They did say that they might need to replace the shell (battery was slightly swollen in both machines) and that I'd be responsible for that cost, but that didn't happen for either box. I don't think they replace the shell unless it's really, really deformed. Neither of my machines would sit flat and both were obviously swollen. One I could practically spin like a top (and the trackpad was screwed).
I got both back with no deformities, a new battery, keyboard, and trackpad, and a 199 bill (plus tax).
I wouldn't rule out getting it fixed. If you do end up paying a little more, then you can probably sell it for more than the price it cost to fix.
I had to have my mid 2015 rMBP battery & top case replaced by a premium service provider in New Zealand due to a bulging battery. Thankfully I still had a couple of weeks of AppleCare left as the bill came to over $1300NZD ($850 USD). A $199 replacenent would be a dream.
I really do wonder whether Apple is running afoul of consumer law here. Surely $1300 is not a reasonable cost for a battery replacement.
Last time I looked I was quoted somewhere in the neighbourhood of $600 for a rMBP battery replacement - but that was just the battery. Even that IMO is not a reasonable cost for what it is - the only reason it costs that much is the fact that it's glued in, and the fact that Apple charge so much for the part.
indeed, the cheapest official vendor I could find in my country would have been about $600 for a battery replacement on my 2014 model. It's ludicrous. I bought a battery online for $60 or something including shipping from China...
I just had to have my screen replaced (by a third party repair shop), and while they were at it, they vacuumed out a lot of cat hair for free. Now it runs much cooler, and seems like a new machine!
You can also replace the thermal paste, although now that it's not overheating all the time, I won't have that done until next time it overheats and slows down and I need to have it vacuumed out again.
i bought an $80 battery (ifixit? i can't remember now) and took it to a local shop and had it back in 3 hours. they charged $120. So... ~$200 but I had same day replacement.
Internally there is nothing rigid to crack, they should bend with enough force. Catching fire is a real concern, but if you can get the battery voltage down real low they should be inert enough to pry out if you can manage it without puncturing the pack. (you'd have to bypass whatever internal low voltage protections they have)
Yes. I'm glad there was no glue. Battery was swollen for at least a year until I replaced it. I remember there were three screes holding it in place so there was no glue by design. Wish current macbooks would hold up to this kind of serviceability.
me too, I think I spent 2 hours on the replacement just to get the old battery loose from all the glue, afraid I'd puncture it in the process. So. Much. Glue.
Ha! I literally typed out another comment about how I to refuse to leave my 2015 macbook pro for a newer model. The new keyboard, touchbar and usb-c everywhere is so lame
Now that I have children of laptop-using age, I'm almost at the point where literally every single day I'm thinking about how useful MagSafe is. It was such a good invention for notebooks.
I really don't care about the "charge from either side" benefit of USB Type C. I do appreciate the fact that you can use aftermarket cables though - especially considering how poorly constructed Apple's are.
For me, odd things like inability to have a dark dock and titlebar and light windows. Using quickview on a file in Finder and then pressing shift-up used to select the file and the one above it, and then show a preview of the newly selected item. Now in Mojave they "fixed" it so that it shows the preview of the first file only, which is a colossal pain because now I can't filter through a giant list of photos to decide which ones to keep in an easy quick way. I have to look at each file individually.
I am sure I will think of some other annoyances. I've kept a 2012 MBP on Sierra, and love that machine far more, eg. keyboard is actually good and is quiet, real function keys, real ports as found on every other device in the universe, ability to use my audio interface, network ports etc etc
A couple of control freak things. I despise the junk mail folder that can't be hidden or removed and requires an extra "are you sure" click to delete messages. It refuses to copy files from my external hard drive. I have to disable SIP to do some fairly normal stuff. Siri, though I have it turned off. Location on photos.
A year back I replaced the battery on my 2013 15" model - like the other commenters, I paid $199 at the Apple Store for a new battery, topcase, including keyboard and trackpad. I also recently bought a used 2015 Pro on ebay as a backup. I have a 2016 13" touchbar pro, and after replacing the original keyboard, I'm actually quite happy with it. But for the 15" model I just don't think the price is justified given the specs... my next mac might be a Thinkpad with Ubuntu and virtualized MacOS, sorry to say.
Virtualized MacOS because of Mac or iOS dev? Hard to imagine why someone would use a virtualized OS for normal usage or consumption. But maybe I’m missing something.
Also typing on a 3+ year old 2015 MBP. Touchwood no issues except for a slightly wonky right speaker. I hope I can extend its life until Apple comes to its sense, or it'll have to be a Dell XPS for me...
I hate accessories, but after getting my keyboard replaced I got a keyboard cover and so far it seems to be doing its job. It also makes me feel less like I have to baby it--which is something like in tools I use.
You keep it plugged in all the time? Do you feel a noticeable drop in battery life? When mine reached those 80% health I felt like it had lost half its battery life or more...
15" Retina MBP late 2013 with original battery. System reports 142 cycles (I mostly use it at a desk) and condition Normal.
Unfortunately it's not at all normal, it's swollen to the extent that the bottom of the case is slightly warped and the macbook will no longer sit flat. It's also affected the trackpad which doesn't click very well any more. I noticed these things a while back but didn't realise that the battery was the cause until I opened it up a couple of days ago to clean it out (something I do once or twice a year).
Now awaiting a battery replacement kit from iFixit and not looking forward to removing the old one. Probably going to try the dental floss method someone mentioned above (very, very carefully and far away from anything flammable).
