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How likely is Apple to fix swollen battery out of warranty?

baryon

baryon

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 3, 2009
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I have a Late 2013 Retina MacBook Pro that is now out of AppleCare warranty. In the past few weeks I've noticed it won't sit flat on a table and the trackpad is hard to click. Went to the Apple store and they opened the case and confirmed that the batteries are swollen (photo).

They said the repair costs the equivalent of 620 USD, which of course is way too expensive for me. They said to call Apple and tell them about the issue, they may get me an exception if I'm nice and tell them how much I like Apple products.

Has anyone had luck getting free out of warranty battery replacements in a case like this? I just want to know my chances.

Thanks!

IMG_4723.jpg
 
You'll find people who have had success and people who haven't. If you've taken it to Apple already and they've given you a quote, I would suggest your chances are slim. SR was likely trying to get away from the situation.

just ring them up and see? There's no magic combination of words you'll discover here that'll magically unlock a free upgrade or anything.
 
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you can ask for genuine battery replacement in 3rd party service, cost around $150-$200
genuine battery cost alone less than $100 on eBay
 
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Having a beloved rMBP here, frist gen. I'm fearing this could happen to mine soon. The battery does not last long anymore and discharges itself, also when the Computer is turned off. I don't really care of the battery anymore since I'm always using the Notebook on a desk but I don't want this to may break my MBP. The money Apple asks for a replacement is simply a joke.
Can I just remove the battery and use it normally?
 
iPhone 7 Plus said:
Having a beloved rMBP here, frist gen. I'm fearing this could happen to mine soon. The battery does not last long anymore and discharges itself, also when the Computer is turned off. I don't really care of the battery anymore since I'm always using the Notebook on a desk but I don't want this to may break my MBP. The money Apple asks for a replacement is simply a joke.
Can I just remove the battery and use it normally?
Click to expand...
not recommended, MacBook is very slow without battery
 
_Kiki_ said:
you can ask for genuine battery replacement in 3rd party service, cost around $150-$200
genuine battery cost alone less than $100 on eBay
Click to expand...

I imagine a 3rd party would simply unglue the old battery and glue in the new one? Because Apple told me they'd replace the entire bottom case, trackpad, keyboard, everything. They really made it unnecessarily complicated to replace something that has a limited lifespan... Of course I'm sure they love the idea of being able to charge the price of an average computer just to replace the battery on theirs.
 
iPhone 7 Plus said:
Can I just remove the battery and use it normally?
Click to expand...
In the past, MBPs would run at half speed to prevent the machine from drawing more power than the outlet/cord alone could provide. Normally, under stress, a plugged in MBP would not throttle like that, because it could lean on the battery if power draw was too much.

Having said that, I don't know what apple does with more recent releases. But I can't imagine it would be any different.
 
baryon said:
I imagine a 3rd party would simply unglue the old battery and glue in the new one? Because Apple told me they'd replace the entire bottom case, trackpad, keyboard, everything. They really made it unnecessarily complicated to replace something that has a limited lifespan... Of course I'm sure they love the idea of being able to charge the price of an average computer just to replace the battery on theirs.
Click to expand...

Yes, 3rd party service will remove old battery and they will put new one

Apple can only replace whole palmrest with the battery because their policy
 
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I replaced the battery in my 2008 MBP myself. Very easy to do. Took me about 20 minutes. I bought the battery on Amazon for about $50. That was 3 years ago. Still working great.
 
In my experience, I think it is pretty likely if you talk to the right person.

Apple has zero obligation to do this, but in my experience it is not unusual for Apple to replace batteries that have pillowed even if the unit has recently gone out of warranty. As a general rule, their customer service tends to go above and beyond the expected.
 
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baryon said:
They said the repair costs the equivalent of 620 USD, which of course is way too expensive for me. They said to call Apple and tell them about the issue, they may get me an exception if I'm nice and tell them how much I like Apple products.
View attachment 714968
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I don't get it. A battery replacement costs over 200$, a third of the price you are telling us. In Europe that's 220€ the battery replacement. Nowhere near those 620USD they are asking you.
 
Populus said:
I don't get it. A battery replacement costs over 200$, a third of the price you are telling us. In Europe that's 220€ the battery replacement. Nowhere near those 620USD they are asking you.
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That's the official price in Hungary. They replace the entire lower half of the computer, so you have to almost pay for a new computer.

Of course if you go to a 3rd party repair place, they will order a genuine Apple battery and simply unglue the old one and glue in the new one, for the price you say. Apple won't do that because they don't know how to repair the things they create.
[doublepost=1504280897][/doublepost]So I called Apple and they said that if the computer is out of warranty (which it is) then there is nothing they can do. They confirmed the price and told me I would be better off with a 3rd party repair, which would cost far less. I asked them what if it explodes, having heard that swollen batteries can explode. They just repeated that if it's out of warranty, they can't do anything.

I'll wait until it gets really bad then I'll get it replaced by a 3rd party. So far the computer is running fine, it's just bulged at the top and bottom, but it doesn't interfere with much. Yet. How likely is it to blow up?
 
baypharm said:
I replaced the battery in my 2008 MBP myself
Click to expand...
From 2012 and onward, Apple glued the battery is not considered user replaceable. Heck the top pan needs to be replaced with the battery because apple used extremely strong adhesive and removing the battery can be destructive the laptop
 
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maflynn said:
From 2012 and onward, Apple glued the battery is not considered user replaceable. Heck the top pan needs to be replaced with the battery because apple used extremely strong adhesive and removing the battery can be destructive the laptop
Click to expand...

you can replace a battery in Retina models even at home if you know how to, the only thing you can destroy doing this badly it's a old palmrest with faulty battery
 
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_Kiki_ said:
you can replace a battery in Retina models even at home if you know how to, the only thing you can destroy doing this badly it's a old palmrest with faulty battery
Click to expand...
I'm not saying you can't, but rather Apple's battery replacement process replaces the top pan. I'm aware of the nylon string method. I may very undertake that method myself.
 
maflynn said:
I'm not saying you can't, but rather Apple's battery replacement process replaces the top pan. I'm aware of the nylon string method. I may very undertake that method myself.
Click to expand...

Apple don't care about costs and environment in this situation so they doing by "easiest" possible way to do
 
baryon said:
That's the official price in Hungary. They replace the entire lower half of the computer, so you have to almost pay for a new computer.

Of course if you go to a 3rd party repair place, they will order a genuine Apple battery and simply unglue the old one and glue in the new one, for the price you say. Apple won't do that because they don't know how to repair the things they create.
Click to expand...

But a battery replacement costs more than 600€? That cannot be possible. I insist, have you asked a battery replacement?

Yes, they change the keyboard and the bottom case, but they keep the original mother board. It is a common operation for Apple, as every mac has to change its battery eventually...

In the Hungarian Apple website, the prices for a battery replacement have to be pretty much the same as the other European countries...

I just looked in the Spanish Apple website: https://support.apple.com/es-es/mac/repair/service

Price for the retina MacBook pro 13" and 15": 209€
 
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Populus said:
But a battery replacement costs more than 600€? That cannot be possible. I insist, have you asked a battery replacement?

Yes, they change the keyboard and the bottom case, but they keep the original mother board. It is a common operation for Apple, as every mac has to change its battery eventually...

In the Hungarian Apple website, the prices for a battery replacement have to be pretty much the same as the other European countries...

I just looked in the Spanish Apple website: https://support.apple.com/es-es/mac/repair/service

Price for the retina MacBook pro 13" and 15": 209€
Click to expand...
That's strange - the same page on the Hungarian site quotes no prices. What I got wasn't an official quote though, it was just two geniuses who told me how much the repair would cost. It's possible they were mistaken. But for now I'll stay with this battery until it gets bad enough. Hopefully it won't explode!
 
baryon said:
That's strange - the same page on the Hungarian site quotes no prices. What I got wasn't an official quote though, it was just two geniuses who told me how much the repair would cost. It's possible they were mistaken. But for now I'll stay with this battery until it gets bad enough. Hopefully it won't explode!
Click to expand...
there is no official Apple Store in Hungary (so no geniuses also), so AASP can charge more for repair
 
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baryon said:
I have a Late 2013 Retina MacBook Pro that is now out of AppleCare warranty. In the past few weeks I've noticed it won't sit flat on a table and the trackpad is hard to click. Went to the Apple store and they opened the case and confirmed that the batteries are swollen (photo).

They said the repair costs the equivalent of 620 USD, which of course is way too expensive for me. They said to call Apple and tell them about the issue, they may get me an exception if I'm nice and tell them how much I like Apple products.

Has anyone had luck getting free out of warranty battery replacements in a case like this? I just want to know my chances.

Thanks!

View attachment 714968
Click to expand...
usd 600?? apple charge $199 for changing .

https://support.apple.com/mac/repair/service
 
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_Kiki_ said:
there is no official Apple Store in Hungary (so no geniuses also), so AASP can charge more for repair
Click to expand...

Yes, i think you're mistaking an Apple Authorised Reseller/Service Provider for an actual Apple Store. I honestly don't even know why these stores exist because they dramatically overcharge for EVERYTHING. For my mid-2012 MBP they are charging me around €250, when the official Apple price is around €130. I called Apple twice, the first time they just basically told me my best shot was to drive over 600 kms. to my nearest Apple Store, where i would be charged the actual price. Second time i actually asked to speak in English, so they would transfer me to the European HQ i hoped. The lady i spoke with helped me fill in a complaint against both of the AASP (and i found out one of them falsely advertises providing Apple Authorised Service, when they're only resellers), and told me to contact another AASP in a different country, as i live near the border. I called and said Apple had personally recommended the store as they guaranteed they wouldn't overcharge me. Now, if i had called just asking for a quote they'd probably told me some crazy price as well, but since i mentioned i had been in contact with Apple they at first told me it'd be the same €130 price, but then upped it to €150, for labour i guess. So,

TL,DR: My advice is try to call Apple outside of your country, i think that if you log into the US/UK site you can get them to call you from there, complain (politely) about the ridiculous price they're charging you and ask if there's anything else you could do to avoid paying this ridiculous amount. Mention that the battery is very swollen and that you're scared for your safety. I know stories of people who've gotten free replacements because of the safety hazard swollen batteries present.

Good luck!
 
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