Apple repair could potentially take 4 months and there's nothing you can do about it?

[JaraCz]

Their system is bad? And leaves you without Macbook for months?

So you can USE THEIR SYSTEM AGAINST THEM. How?

Send it for repair —> buy new one —> after 14 days return —> buy new one —> after 14 days return —> buy new one —> until you have your Mac back home

 

[baryon]

With respect, I do agree with the other poster that there appears to be something you are doing that is causing the battery to bloat, something you might not even be aware of/at fault for that is causing the battery to become damaged.

This battery technology is not unique to Apple, lithium polymer is a common battery form used by dozens of other products and companies, and bloating is quite rare. It is possible that you are causing it without intentionally doing so, for example, the current flow in your area might be inconsistent, causing damage to the cells in the battery. It might also have spikes in the grid that small electronics can't handle well. There are many unknowns here, and while Hungary is not a 3rd-world nation like sub-saharan Africa or other places, it is not France. I think you might find value from having the lines in your home checked and verified over a one week period to confirm that the electric flow is stable, consistent and not prone to spikes, low/high amplitudes, etc.

That's just not how electricity works with modern devices, the voltage at the battery is completely decoupled and controlled independently from the voltage coming from the wall. Modern chargers, such as the Apple power bricks, are well protected against over voltage and power surges. If the power would go beyond 230V, it's not like the voltage at the battery would also increase. These are switching power supplies that are digitally controlled to always output the right voltage or shut down. That's why you can just plug the same charger into a 60Hz US system that runs on 110V or a 50Hz system that runs on 230V, it just adapts automatically.

I think the wider question here is about ease of repair. A battery that is plumbed into the computer is not a great idea when these things can become problematic and have a finite life. In one sense Apple seems to say that when your battery is ailing you need to just buy another laptop. That was really what I was told when I visited the Apple Store in the UK. I expected an on-site repair that day for an item with the word 'Pro' in the name.

Nevertheless, I can see that the modern trend for thin, fast and efficient machines involves certain compromises. In order not to just become embittered I consider I will just buy a new one around the 5 year mark and live with it. The Windows laptop market is not competitive so that's just the way it is.

Yes that's what annoys me. Technically, my portable device needs to have its battery (which is a consumable) swapped, and the reason it will take months is because of my keyboard layout – at first glance it makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[PauloSera]

1. OP has a custom keyboard, not a standard keyboard.
2. OP's MBP has a swollen battery but OP is worried about a spot on the screen.

That's about all I needed to read.

 

[BeatCrazy]

You are not a business if you don't have any contingency plans in place for the main tools of your job.

Also build a relationship with the business team and buy your computers with your business account.

I think this concept should apply to virtually anyone who has enough money to spend >$1,000 on a new Mac. If the Mac is that critical to your work, school or just personal usage, you should budget or arrange for a backup.

There are lots of factors that could have you without your computer for several weeks, and they're not all Apple's fault. Maybe it gets a glass of water spilled on it, maybe you lose it, maybe it gets stolen, etc.

For ~$200 you can get a low-spec relatively-modern MacBook that will certainly 'get you through' a few weeks of your main machine being away. Unless you are a video editor or have some high-end usage patterns.

In other words, people rarely have good contingency plans. Think about all the critical things in your life: your phone, your computer, your car/transportation, your home. If you don't have a solid contingency plan for all of those things if one of them disappeared in the next 30 minutes, take some time and take stock of your situation.

 

[symphony1010]

I think this concept should apply to virtually anyone who has enough money to spend >$1,000 on a new Mac. If the Mac is that critical to your work, school or just personal usage, you should budget or arrange for a backup.

There are lots of factors that could have you without your computer for several weeks, and they're not all Apple's fault. Maybe it gets a glass of water spilled on it, maybe you lose it, maybe it gets stolen, etc.

For ~$200 you can get a low-spec relatively-modern MacBook that will certainly 'get you through' a few weeks of your main machine being away. Unless you are a video editor or have some high-end usage patterns.

In other words, people rarely have good contingency plans. Think about all the critical things in your life: your phone, your computer, your car/transportation, your home. If you don't have a solid contingency plan for all of those things if one of them disappeared in the next 30 minutes, take some time and take stock of your situation.

Some of us are self-employed and simply can't afford to have multiple devices lying around on the off-chance something fails. In my case I thought having a battery replaced on-site might be a reasonable expectation. Apparently not.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Some of us are self-employed and simply can't afford to have multiple devices lying around on the off-chance something fails. In my case I thought having a battery replaced on-site might be a reasonable expectation. Apparently not.

I can appreciate that, my wife is self employed. And my #1 priority is to have a working spare of both her iPhone and MacBook. Both have been unexpectedly out of service in the past 5 years.

How much income would you lose if your MacBook just disappeared for a full 24 hours? I'd imagine $200+. Which is more than the cost of a used unibody MacBook Pro on eBay. Same with an older iPhone.

 

[symphony1010]

I can appreciate that, my wife is self employed. And my #1 priority is to have a working spare of both her iPhone and MacBook. Both have been unexpectedly out of service in the past 5 years.

How much income would you lose if your MacBook just disappeared for a full 24 hours? I'd imagine $200+. Which is more than the cost of a used unibody MacBook Pro on eBay. Same with an older iPhone.

They want my MacBook for a minimum of 2 weeks - to change a battery.

I'm not in the first flush of my career at 66 but computers and phones are still crucial to my work. I'm not going out to part with any more money on laptops to keep poor Apple afloat - instead my homebuilt desktop Windows 11 machine will take over. I do also have an M1 Mini but the point I'm trying to make is that I think 2 weeks for a battery is not acceptable.

Down the line I will probably buy an Air. What I have learnt from this experience is that the design of the very machines themselves now leave the customer vulnerable as Apple will not always repair even formerly straightforward items like a battery on site.

 

[baryon]

1. OP has a custom keyboard, not a standard keyboard.
2. OP's MBP has a swollen battery but OP is worried about a spot on the screen.

That's about all I needed to read.

That may be all you read but you should have read the whole post actually.

1. It's a very standard US keyboard, likely the exact same one you're typing on. It's just not available in my country.
2. We don't know if it's swollen or not. If it's swollen, the repair will take many times longer than it would to just repair the screen. The screen problem is the only known problem. The Apple repair people just told me that IF the battery is swollen (which is extremely likely for any 3 year old Apple product), then I'm looking at more than just the screen repair.

Also, it's not my fault that they glued the keyboard to the battery. That's not my retarded design decision. My keyboard is working fine and does not need any kind of repair. The fact that they don't sell this keyboard should be irrelevant to the fact that the battery needs replacing (if it does). I'm sure you'd be pissed if your car would take 4 months to get windshield wiper fluid refilled because you got a custom paint job, and the entire exterior needs to be replaced because there's a dent in the hood and they can't refill just the fluid without repairing the dent but they can't repair the dent without replacing the entire exterior but they can't do that because you got a custom paint job. Does that make sense?

 

[PauloSera]

Does that make sense?

Nope

 

[Tagbert]

That may be all you read but you should have read the whole post actually.

1. It's a very standard US keyboard, likely the exact same one you're typing on. It's just not available in my country.
2. We don't know if it's swollen or not. If it's swollen, the repair will take many times longer than it would to just repair the screen. The screen problem is the only known problem. The Apple repair people just told me that IF the battery is swollen (which is extremely likely for any 3 year old Apple product), then I'm looking at more than just the screen repair.

Also, it's not my fault that they glued the keyboard to the battery. That's not my retarded design decision. My keyboard is working fine and does not need any kind of repair. The fact that they don't sell this keyboard should be irrelevant to the fact that the battery needs replacing (if it does). I'm sure you'd be pissed if your car would take 4 months to get windshield wiper fluid refilled because you got a custom paint job, and the entire exterior needs to be replaced because there's a dent in the hood and they can't refill just the fluid without repairing the dent but they can't repair the dent without replacing the entire exterior but they can't do that because you got a custom paint job. Does that make sense?

Since the swollen battery is only a theoretical problem, I would consider if the spot on the screen is enough of a problem to go through this process or something you can live with. Normally it might be something to address but in your situation where you have no direct access to Apple stores where you might get some additional help and because you have a custom keyboard setup for your location, I would suggest just living with it.

I don't agree with those telling you have haven't been taking care of your battery. Firstly since there is no evidence it is swollen and secondly, it is not your fault if the battery fails. There are some things you can do to reduce the risk to the battery but ultimately just using the battery as intended should be enough.

 

[BeatCrazy]

They want my MacBook for a minimum of 2 weeks - to change a battery.

I'm not in the first flush of my career at 66 but computers and phones are still crucial to my work. I'm not going out to part with any more money on laptops to keep poor Apple afloat - instead my homebuilt desktop Windows 11 machine will take over. I do also have an M1 Mini but the point I'm trying to make is that I think 2 weeks for a battery is not acceptable.

Down the line I will probably buy an Air. What I have learnt from this experience is that the design of the very machines themselves now leave the customer vulnerable as Apple will not always repair even formerly straightforward items like a battery on site.

I'm not sure there's any other manufacturer that would do any better than ~2 weeks turnaround time from Apple. Ever tried HP's tech support? You'd probably rather throw it in the trash than deal with hours of hold times and ineptitude from other manufacturers.

I've had a Framework laptop and found their support and repair prices (i.e. self-battery replacement) very reasonable. Might want to look into them.

 

[transphasic]

They want my MacBook for a minimum of 2 weeks - to change a battery.

I'm not in the first flush of my career at 66 but computers and phones are still crucial to my work. I'm not going out to part with any more money on laptops to keep poor Apple afloat - instead my homebuilt desktop Windows 11 machine will take over. I do also have an M1 Mini but the point I'm trying to make is that I think 2 weeks for a battery is not acceptable.

Down the line I will probably buy an Air. What I have learnt from this experience is that the design of the very machines themselves now leave the customer vulnerable as Apple will not always repair even formerly straightforward items like a battery on site.

The issue as I understand it is that the manufacturers are soldering everything that was once more easily servicable such as replacing hard drives, batteries, etc. is now much more of an ordeal.

 

[symphony1010]

I'm not sure there's any other manufacturer that would do any better than ~2 weeks turnaround time from Apple. Ever tried HP's tech support? You'd probably rather throw it in the trash than deal with hours of hold times and ineptitude from other manufacturers.

I've had a Framework laptop and found their support and repair prices (i.e. self-battery replacement) very reasonable. Might want to look into them.

I had another look at the latest 12th gen Framework today but reviews detailing video editing don't look good. Unsurprisingly the M1 runs rings around it. There appears to be no ideal solution. I will probably end up changing my MacBook Pro battery myself to avoid the long wait.

It would be interesting where decent support is actually available in 2022. If I buy Pro equipment I expect Pro service - simple as that.

 

[BeatCrazy]

I had another look at the latest 12th gen Framework today but reviews detailing video editing don't look good. Unsurprisingly the M1 runs rings around it. There appears to be no ideal solution. I will probably end up changing my MacBook Pro battery myself to avoid the long wait.

It would be interesting where decent support is actually available in 2022. If I buy Pro equipment I expect Pro service - simple as that.

I think everyone has a different definition of 'Pro'.

If you really want to take performance + battery replacement to the 'extreme', perhaps you need something like this?

^^ This is what I consider "pro", regardless of whatever marketing name manufacturers slap on their product.