New battery for pre-retina MBP 15" that actually works?!?

[serr]

So we have the $20 bootlegs and then the $40 bootlegs on Ebay. Then more expensive sales of the very same items. And they don't work very well. They don't handle the power draw and/or don't regulate well during charging and lead to a throttling unhappy MBP! (Almost as though they work with the post-Jobs Apple to help them push planned obsolescence... But I digress.)

Does anyone make a genuinely working replacement battery for the 2011/2012 pre-retina 15" Macbook Pro?
I still see NuPower selling them for $120. I tried 1 or 2 of these a few years ago and they seemed like broken bootleg garbage. Yet the company seems to have some legit reputation? Could I have just got bad ones? (Like you literally could sometimes from Apple too back then.)
I see ifixit selling one for $90 now. Could this be legit? Wary of their sales. Their tear down guides are nice though.

Are there other refurb/repair options? Any DIY guides? What does it take to get a genuine working proper spec battery? Just spending $100 and rolling the dice has turned out poorly so far. I can get that experience for $20!

 

[xboxbml]

So we have the $20 bootlegs and then the $40 bootlegs on Ebay. Then more expensive sales of the very same items. And they don't work very well. They don't handle the power draw and/or don't regulate well during charging and lead to a throttling unhappy MBP! (Almost as though they work with the post-Jobs Apple to help them push planned obsolescence... But I digress.)

Does anyone make a genuinely working replacement battery for the 2011/2012 pre-retina 15" Macbook Pro?
I still see NuPower selling them for $120. I tried 1 or 2 of these a few years ago and they seemed like broken bootleg garbage. Yet the company seems to have some legit reputation? Could I have just got bad ones? (Like you literally could sometimes from Apple too back then.)
I see ifixit selling one for $90 now. Could this be legit? Wary of their sales. Their tear down guides are nice though.

Are there other refurb/repair options? Any DIY guides? What does it take to get a genuine working proper spec battery? Just spending $100 and rolling the dice has turned out poorly so far. I can get that experience for $20!

Have you looked at iFixit?.. That's where I got my MBA battery and the guy I bought this MBP put one in it before he sold it to me... seems fine..

 

[serr]

So far just looked at them like I mentioned, yes. Can I get a stronger accolade for them than "seems fine"?

The throttling you get from a non-compliant spec battery is very much not acceptable. These machines are designed to supplement charger power with battery power for full performance use and the battery really needs to perform.

 

[xboxbml]

So far just looked at them like I mentioned, yes. Can I get a stronger accolade for them than "seems fine"?

The throttling you get from a non-compliant spec battery is very much not acceptable. These machines are designed to supplement charger power with battery power for full performance use and the battery really needs to perform.

Well, I don't use mine alot off power much, and I don't tax the machine at all, so not sure how much help I'd be for more info.. sorry.. they are more expensive than others but they work well. I think I did have an issue with the first battery for the Air I got from them and they sent out a replacement right away, no problem. I'll try and get some more usage data for you. I do have coconutbattery on it.. if you notice, the capacity spec is higher than the original design spec..

 

[serr]

The Macbook Pro needs a compliant battery not just for unplugged use but specifically for plugged in full throttle use. The machine uses the battery to supplement the charger power. That's the design of the system - love it or hate it! So I need a replacement battery that performs to original spec at least. Specifically to retain full performance with no throttling when plugged in with a charger and also drawing from battery as designed.

I'd love to hear from someone who can speak to that and recommend a battery that makes the cut!

 

[Fishrrman]

3rd party batteries are a crap shoot.

Like Forrest Gump said about the box of chocolates:
You never know what you're getting.

So... just buy one and use it until it quits.
Then... get another.

Hmmmm... a "pre retina" MacBook Pro is going to be 12+ years old now.
Time for a newer Mac, I'd think...

 

[arcite]

It’s true, the macbook needs a battery to operate the CPU at maximum capacity, without a battery it’ll be severely hobbled and practically unusable. The thing is, that Mac is positively ancient, obsolete tech. Why pay $100 for a new battery for a machine that’s probably only worth that much? Far better use of funds to buy an entirely new machine. On the other hand, a knock-off $20 or $30 Chinese battery should be good enough to last a year, if you keep it plugged in most of the time.

But yea…. We just paid like $100 for a new Dell battery for an old XPS, which is around 7 years old. It’s a judgement call.

 

[serr]

3rd party batteries are a crap shoot.

Like Forrest Gump said about the box of chocolates:
You never know what you're getting.

So... just buy one and use it until it quits.
Then... get another.

Hmmmm... a "pre retina" MacBook Pro is going to be 12+ years old now.
Time for a newer Mac, I'd think...

Well, the last 3 I tried didn't even get a moment of use before they "quit". They weren't capable of supplying proper power for the machine for full power use while plugged in. It's either reduced output or something weird with charging and it makes the machine throttle. Again, we have the $20 version and the $40 version and then the same ones sold for more. It appears that the days of bootleg batteries that at least work somewhat are over.

I'm not sure what I'd go after for a newer Mac right now. The current post-Jobs models all have the hard drives soldered in and other unacceptable cost reductions. Would feel like a significant downgrade. It's also unacceptable to me to retire a product because a consumable battery needs to be replaced! If it's true that we crossed a dateline where there are truly no replacements available... then I guess I'm stuck! Is that really the case?

This machine would be relevant for me for a while yet. I'd get a newer Mac just because but they're all downgrades vs this one with the weapons grade planned obsolescence. I don't care what claims they make with their new CPUs if the hard drive is soldered in. What's a decent 3rd party laptop option? How much work is it going to be to either switch to Linux or go Hackintosh? Meanwhile this machine just works, triple boots with Monterey, High Sierra, and Snow Leopard, and simply needs a new battery.

Are there any reasonable guides to rebuilding an old battery with new cells? Maybe that's the idea to entertain with this being old and losing support? I hear the "It's old!" comment loud and clear obviously. But Apple flat out doesn't make machines like this anymore. Where to turn? This thing would keep doing the job quite well if it just had a new battery. Stay out of a landfill and be 'green' and all. Ya know?

Yeah, a new Macbook Pro with at least the specs I have - like 1TB SSD and 16GB ram - starts at $3500 and the SSD is soldered in. No upgrades/mods/repairs ever possible short of going to a board house for that kind of expensive and questionable reliable repair. No ports anymore either. I'd need USB-C dongles and hubs for everything.

 

[real_mon2]

Are these new replacement batteries being recognized by your system? Are you able to read the # of charge cycles of the battery packs? Serial #? Can fully charge the battery pack? Otherwise, something else is wrong with the logic board. Openly have not come across this many severe issues with the batteries. Consider to purchase from Amazon and return them if they are not required or do not work as advertised but do review if the fault could be elsewhere.

 

[serr]

1.Are these new replacement batteries being recognized by your system? 2. Are you able to read the # of charge cycles of the battery packs? 3. Serial #? 4. Can fully charge the battery pack? 5. Otherwise, something else is wrong with the logic board. Openly have not come across this many severe issues with the batteries. 6. Consider to purchase from Amazon and return them if they are not required or do not work as advertised but do review if the fault could be elsewhere.

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. The machine still performs flawlessly with an older OEM test battery.
6. Bootleg and facsimile product king Amazon? I avoid them.

Also tried the usual recommended battery calibration and SMC reset. The new batteries aren't DOA or having a blunt crash. Just acting power starved. Or something in their feedback to the computer is "off". Maybe something odd with charging? I don't know what to use for a diagnostic tool to investigate further. Caveman methods of keeping a known working OEM "test battery" show the computer with the test battery to perform flawlessly like it always has. The new bootleg batteries are all acting power starved.

So... bootlegs being bootlegs. That tracks. They seemed reasonable for the price for a couple years. Oh well. Not interested in playing games sending stuff back and forth with bootleggers either. I'll take my lumps and move on. Looking for bargains but not looking to be an idiot about it.
NuPower? Anyone have anything good to say about them? My couple data points of bad experience in the past aside for now. Or anything bad to say about them?
The ifixit offering looks enticing. I'd sure like to see at least one accolade slightly stronger than "seems fine"?

NuPower and ifixit are the only remotely pro looking offerings I see right now.

 

[real_mon2]

Not every supplier is a bootlegger on Amazon. With that line of logic then Apple should also be in the dog house for their repeated and poor engineering which has led to non-stop class action lawsuits.

You can try Mobile Sentrix who is a grade A supplier of parts and sought after when I was in Asia. They are responsible vendors and a major supplier in North America but they deal only with resellers / repair shops. They will take back the battery (ask them about their warranty) if there is a quirk.

Perhaps Plan A should be to purchase the battery directly from Apple? I believe we used to use NuPower but had QC issues with them so stopped. Deal with vendors with 2 year warranty.

 

[Fishrrman]

"Well, the last 3 I tried didn't even get a moment of use before they "quit""

You're "throwing good money after bad".

Time for a new (or at least "somewhat newer") Mac laptop.

"I'm not sure what I'd go after for a newer Mac right now. The current post-Jobs models all have the hard drives soldered in and other unacceptable cost reductions."

It's time to face up to reality.
Apple is NEVER going back to laptops with user-changeable drives or RAM again.
It is what it is.

Again, you can keep pouring money into the hole that is your old Mac.
Or... do what you have to do and buy new or perhaps Apple-refurbished.

 

[Adora]

I purchased a new battery for a 2008 white plastic MacBook in Late-2017.

Just searched on Amazon and found one that still works until today.

Had been just €15.99 and it was really a new produced one with 0 cycles. Of course 3rd-party. I just had returned it, if it did not work.

But those were officially user-replaceable without having to open up the MacBook.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

I recall my 3rd party insurance 3 yrs ago not wanting to source one for my 2009 MBP as there just weren't decent ones around anymore. In other words they didn't feel comfortable putting a warranty behind it.

So I just checked and started at 103% 2 1/2 yrs ago and have landed at 72% after 550 charge cycles (2hrs on battery at most). Coconut says the manufacturer is called "TOP". Off course this means nothing as your MBP is a few years younger and me running a patched OS did bring the fans/ power consumption up quite a bit in recent years. The biggest positive difference was reapplication of the thermal paste but for my battery now, all this happened way too late.

 

[MBAir2010]

OWC! for $88-free shipping too is your best choice with in the US

 

[serr]

OWC! for $88-free shipping too is your best choice with in the US

That's a NuPower battery they're selling there.

So to recap, I see two pro looking options: NuPower and ifixit.
No direct comments besides mine from years ago on NuPower.
No comments about ifixit stronger than "seems fine".
A couple people still think the bootlegs are decent enough. Maybe just shorter lived. That's what I've been thinking the last few years too. Not fully ruling out that I might have just got a couple bad ones and maybe this is still more or less the same deal today. (3 in a row! Yes, I returned them.)
One person apparently thinks so little of anything available that they consider any replacement the equivalent of "pouring money into a hole". And further, that the situation is so bad that abandoning a fully functional machine for one of the newer planned obsolescence offerings from Apple would be a better choice. ($3500 base price and then all the dongles to adapt the stupid USB-C ports to everything. And it's disposable.) Shots fired! and all with that.

I did return the $20 and $40 bootlegs, FYI. Ebay/Paypal is still buyer friendly with that. The sellers have to jump. They play the numbers just like Amazon and enough people just suck it up and don't return it or complain.

 

[xboxbml]

That's a NuPower battery they're selling there.

So to recap, I see two pro looking options: NuPower and ifixit.
No direct comments besides mine from years ago on NuPower.
No comments about ifixit stronger than "seems fine".
A couple people still think the bootlegs are decent enough. Maybe just shorter lived. That's what I've been thinking the last few years too. Not fully ruling out that I might have just got a couple bad ones and maybe this is still more or less the same deal today. (3 in a row! Yes, I returned them.)
One person apparently thinks so little of anything available that they consider any replacement the equivalent of "pouring money into a hole". And further, that the situation is so bad that abandoning a fully functional machine for one of the newer planned obsolescence offerings from Apple would be a better choice. ($3500 base price and then all the dongles to adapt the stupid USB-C ports to everything. And it's disposable.) Shots fired! and all with that.

I did return the $20 and $40 bootlegs, FYI. Ebay/Paypal is still buyer friendly with that. The sellers have to jump. They play the numbers just like Amazon and enough people just suck it up and don't return it or complain.

fyi.. I was trying to get more usage data for you on the iFixit battery in this..Apple published spec on OEM is "up to 9 hours iTunes movie playback".. not sure how Apple gets to that number.. I had the brightness turned down a bit on the screen and had it running thru my TB2 dock running a bit monitor for a while to start with and I got a bit over 6 hrs I figured. and if I let it totally drain maybe I would have made 7. I had iTunes movies playing the whole time and 2 safari windows opened watching football on each... I'm charging again and will run it not connected to anything and see how it goes..

 

[MBAir2010]

One person apparently thinks so little of anything available that they consider any replacement the equivalent of "pouring money into a hole". And further, that the situation is so bad that abandoning a fully functional machine for one of the newer planned obsolescence offerings from Apple would be a better choice. ($3500 base price and then all the dongles to adapt the stupid USB-C ports to everything. And it's disposable.) Shots fired! and all with that.

yep, I was "crazy"..."tossing money away"....."strong headed"
for using 1989 SunTour Superbe Pro crankset on my 200t Jamis road bike carbon frame.
with Campangnolo Super record ergo groupo instead of a new carbon fiber road bike.

my point is to use anything that works with your system and won't ruin that
as I think OWC is the bast option.

I'm headed our for a nice under 3 hour 40ish mile ride soon!

 

[serr]

fyi.. I was trying to get more usage data for you on the iFixit battery in this..Apple published spec on OEM is "up to 9 hours iTunes movie playback".. not sure how Apple gets to that number.. I had the brightness turned down a bit on the screen and had it running thru my TB2 dock running a bit monitor for a while to start with and I got a bit over 6 hrs I figured. and if I let it totally drain maybe I would have made 7. I had iTunes movies playing the whole time and 2 safari windows opened watching football on each... I'm charging again and will run it not connected to anything and see how it goes..

Appreciate that!

My first requirement is a battery that meets spec and lets the computer run full performance with no throttling when pulling power from both the charger and the battery. Battery life is a very distant secondary consideration. I'd expect max of 3 hours on a new battery with this power hungry Macbook Pro. And I'd be happy with that if it made spec for max performance power use first and foremost.

 

[serr]

A vote for NuPower then @MBAir2010. Roger that. And OWC does look like the best price for them.

Anyone try rebuilding these? Order raw cells from whoever makes those and rebuild with the original Apple electronics?
These failing bootlegs... They don't act like old used up cells. They act like the electronics are failing. There's something in the chipset or something they don't understand or they used some 3rd party substitute for something that doesn't quite make the spec. And whatever that is is either too expensive or not available anymore? I'd guess they'd want their bootlegs to at least work for a short time and these don't make spec at all... so something's going on!

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Appreciate that!

My first requirement is a battery that meets spec and lets the computer run full performance with no throttling when pulling power from both the charger and the battery. Battery life is a very distant secondary consideration. I'd expect max of 3 hours on a new battery with this power hungry Macbook Pro. And I'd be happy with that if it made spec for max performance power use first and foremost.

Again, it's why I mentioned my experience with my 2009 MBP and the gain of the CPU being re pasted. Perhaps it's something to consider?

 

[xboxbml]

Appreciate that!

My first requirement is a battery that meets spec and lets the computer run full performance with no throttling when pulling power from both the charger and the battery. Battery life is a very distant secondary consideration. I'd expect max of 3 hours on a new battery with this power hungry Macbook Pro. And I'd be happy with that if it made spec for max performance power use first and foremost.

Published specs and real world are 2 different things... Good luck getting a brand new OEM battery to meet published specs.. Like I said, I don't know how apple comes up with those numbers. I just got 7.5 hrs out of this last charge taking it down to 3%. I had an onboard movie running all the time in the TV app and all radios turned on. iStat menus running in the menu bar along with Weather Bug. Menu Bar clock running showing seconds and battery icon showing %. Nothing else other than whatever macOS Monterey runs stock. As my second post showed with pics showing capacity, this iFixit battery is showing OVER capacity designed spec. Personally, I wouldn't buy anything OWC. Only thing I did buy OWC was the TB2 dock I have and that I bought used. OWC is expensive and I've read not as reliable as others as far as batteries and SSD's go.. I would vote iFixit battery. My original 2015 Air I put an iFixit battery in it. The first one didn't meet their published minimum for capacity so they sent me another one right away. That one was fine. After several months of using that, I dumped wine on it and fried the battery and MB. SSD was ok and I bought another 2015 Air and it had a decent OEM battery still in it so I haven't replaced that one yet. If this MBP had come with original or another replacement, I would have gotten an iFixit battery. When my Air OEM goes, it will be an iFixit replacement.