Non-Apple batteries

[RupertJ]

I've got a Rev B 12" PowerBook, with the original battery. The battery's has a really low capacity for a while, but has just failed entirely, so it's time for a new one.

Now, I could get the official Apple one for £89, or an imitation one from eBay for around £43. Given the price difference, and the fact that the Apple ones seem to go bad pretty quickly (check out the reviews on the store for the 12" battery!), I'm currently liking the cheap option. Does anyone out there have any experience of the imitation batteries?

 

[YS2003]

When you buy a third party battery for Apple notebook computers, it may be a good idea to make sure that battery comes with the rubber leg at the corner. If the battery bay is at the corner of the bottom case, your notebook may not sit still on the flat surface with the battery which does not have the rubber leg.

 

[RupertJ]

That doesn't bother me

The machine's hit the floor a few times and isn't particularly straight... I've had to muck about with feet a few times to make it sit flat, so doing it again isn't a big deal.

 

[miniConvert]

I'm someone who falls hook line and sinker for the 'my fake battery exploded!!!?!?!!' stories. I also, for some deluded reason, believe that buying branded 'consumables' somehow gives better performance/life/quality. So, my only advice to you would be stay official - then at least you have comeback if something goes wrong.

 

[jimN]

Strange that you should post this now - my third party battery arrived 2 days ago and so far i'm pretty pleased with it (battery life is certainly greater than i ever remember it being). BUT... according to cocount battery it is already down by 7% on its maximum capacity! I shall wait to see if it continues to deteriorate. I'm UK based so if you need details of who i bought from (i used ebay) then drop me a PM/email.

 

[wwooden]

I have the exact same computer as you, and I needed to get a new battery because I was only getting about 30 minutes of run time on the original. I thought about the Apple one, but seeing I could get one that "supposedly" did the same performance for half the price, I tried out the third party one.

It works really well, holds a charge just as good as a new apple battery. The quality of the battery casing is not as good as Apples. The casing is slightly different in color than the original, but that didn't bother me. The rubber foot is starting to break off, again, wasn't that big of a deal.

So basically, this battery as done a good job at the one thing I wanted it to do; give me longer battery life.

Hope that helps.

 

[luminosity]

I don't understand my battery. Four months after I got my iBook, the capacity is beyond 100%, and certainly hasn't gone down any.

 

[Xeem]

I just checked my iBook battery, and it has only run down to 4487 mAh out of the original 4489 mAh; I've had it since September and charged it 54 full cycles (and who knows how many partials). Anyway, my dad's original 15" PB battery wore down pretty fast, but the replacement he got from Apple has held up much better. It's possible you got a bad battery to begin with, and that an Apple replacement could be better.

 

[virividox]

there are 3rd party sellers who sell batteries for apple computers and offer warranties for them try looking for them - some are even extended life batteries

 

[RupertJ]

Cheers guys.

Looks like I'm going for the imitation battery.

As for the finish not matching - I've already taken the aluminium plate off my original battery so I can mount it on the new one

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I got a battery off of ebay for my iPod, and it lasted for 6 months before tanking almost overnight. I paid $6 plus S&H for it.

the next time I spent $30 on a battery off of amazon (newertech) and it's still going strong over a year later (although I don't use the iPod nearly as much)

the moral of the story, is you get what you pay for. If you can find an extended life battery, it would probably be more than worth it to ditch the apple brand for an extra hour or two of runtime.

 

[Counterfit]

I just checked my iBook battery, and it has only run down to 4487 mAh out of the original 4489 mAh; I've had it since September and charged it 54 full cycles (and who knows how many partials).

The batteries count partial cycles as well, so when you get enough to make a full cycle, that number will increase.

Anyways, I bought a battery for my 15" PB from BTI at MacWorld Boston last year, and it's still going strong. I think part of it is that I'm not constantly leaving it in my PB, thus putting through extra unneeded cycles (the battery drains to about 95%, then recharges to 100% while plugged in.) I keep the original battery in just in case the power goes out. It's also still good for about 60-90 minutes of moderate use, for when I need to make a quick trip to another room.