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Seeking Advice on My Late 2013 MBP: Repair vs. Upgrade?

Worth Reparing it

  • Yes - Repair it worth its life extension

    Votes: 1 5.0%

  • No - buy a new one, time to move on.

    Votes: 19 95.0%
  • Total voters
    20
G

G10

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 24, 2018
49
3
Hi everyone,

I’ve been using my late 2013 MacBook Pro since it was brand new—my very first MBP! Over the years, I’ve kept it well-maintained, clean, and covered. However, after 12 years of service, I’m running into a few issues:

  • Both the left and right speakers are no longer working and need replacing.
  • The MagSafe2 power adapter is deteriorating fast. This is my second one, and it’s held together with electrical tape at the moment.
  • The right fan has stopped working, and I can hear a ticking sound.
  • The battery cycle count is over 1400, meaning the laptop doesn’t last long off the charger before it powers off unexpectedly.
As a DIYer, I’m comfortable opening up my laptop and replacing parts myself if it means I can extend its life a little longer. I mainly keep it plugged in, so the battery issue isn't too big of a deal for me. However, I’m also considering the potential price increases due to upcoming import tariffs, which could make it more expensive to upgrade soon.

So, I’m torn—should I invest in repairs (battery, speakers, fan, adapter) or is it time to upgrade to a newer device?

I’d love to hear from others who have this model. What do you think—would it be worth it to repair, or is it smarter to move on to something newer while I still can?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

 
Replace. Mac is about a 7-year computer. You've squeezed 12 out of it. Great job! But it's pretty much over.

Note: I'm not one of the people who seem to work for Apple, pushing people to buy, buy, buy! I view all strictly through a consumer lens and am thoroughly on record in many threads here siding against Apple where I think they overly focus on maximizing profit at consumer expense. I fully grasp the attraction of not spending Apple money on a new one vs. trying to squeeze another year or two out of the one you already own with some repairs.

But in this case, that's my opinion. You can certainly crack it open and replace/fix but macOS is way behind and the only remedy for that is to either use a hack to be able to install beyond Apple's arbitrary support cutoff or switch it via Bootcamp into being a good Windows laptop. You can't really fix the macOS problem unless you accept the risks of leaning on the OCLP hack. If you don't want to completely trust a hack but you end up wanting to stick with this machine, make it an up to date Windows PC.

I'd say put your potential repairs budget towards a new one. Or if money is a bit tight, consider going PC where things like RAM & SSD are priced "at market" instead of 3X-5X market... and also offers the general flexibility to upgrade BOTH over time should you need more of either in the next 7 (to perhaps another 12) years. Or maybe take the money you could put towards a new MBpro and consider a Refurb or Edu-store MBair. The jump from 2013 will be dramatic!

Or maybe get yourself a nice PC laptop and a Mac Mini Desktop so you can have up-to-date tech from both worlds? Take that laptop on the road, do laptop-type things with it, bring it back to home base, use the Mini if you want to do Mac-exclusive things with whatever you started on the road.
 
Last edited:
Get a M3 MacBook Air if you can afford it.

Don’t overbuy because it’s very easy to do that and you can easily spend double what the base price is. Meaning you could replace the computer twice instead of buying unnecessary upgrades. Just buy for what you honestly need. Storage is likely the only thing you need to upgrade.

Of course, all this is my opinion and I’m sure someone will say I’m wrong 😂
 
Replace the machine. Get a new M4 MacBook Pro if you have the funds. If not, consider the M2 (or M3) MacBook Air. A very capable machine that will be leaps and bounds ahead of what you have now. Spending money on parts on that old of a machine is not wise.

Your current machine is dying, other parts will start failing, it is time to give it a good send off to the recycle facility and enjoy life with a new machine.

Just my opinion.
 
You’ve had an incredible run with an awesome machine. Definitely time to move on. A base pro will be a delightful upgrade for you.
 
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Thanks everyone for your advice, appreciate everyone's feedback. I have started to look for a replacement.
 
russell_314 said:
Get a M3 MacBook Air if you can afford it.

Don’t overbuy because it’s very easy to do that and you can easily spend double what the base price is. Meaning you could replace the computer twice instead of buying unnecessary upgrades. Just buy for what you honestly need. Storage is likely the only thing you need to upgrade.

Of course, all this is my opinion and I’m sure someone will say I’m wrong 😂
Click to expand...
I would just say that I went from a mid-2012 MacBook Pro (quad-core i7, GeForce 650M) to a refurbished M1 MacBook Air and it exceeded my expectations. A new M4 MacBook Air with a similar configuration (1 TB storage, 16 GB RAM) was only US$50 more than my refurbished M1 cost.
 
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rwh63 said:
I’m using a 2011! Gonna go with an m4 14” soon. Gonna miss the SuperDrive 😢
Click to expand...
What do you use it for? I remember back in the day I had a MacBook Pro with a built-in SuperDrive. It was crazy because the thing failed about a week after I bought it. Apple was very good though and fixed it almost immediately. I remember updating the OS with it, but I really don’t remember doing anything else. I couldn’t see a use for a SuperDrive today.
 
I also suggest buying a new Mac, whether it's a M2/M3/M4 MacBook Air (if the limited port selection doesn't bother you), depending on your budget. Last summer I upgraded from:

a 13 inch 2020 Intel MacBook Pro with 16GB Ram and 1 TB SSD
to
a 15 inch 2024 M3 MacBook Air with 16GB Ram and 1 TB SSD.

I made the upgrade for one main reason: to run MacWhisper (an AI video/audio/speech to text app) much faster, which was really slow on my 2020 Intel Mac.

I have also found that with 16GB Ram, I can run LM Studio and have local Large Language Models on locally on my computer, which is useful for me.

Going from a 2013 MacBook Pro to any M-series MacBook will see a dramatic increase in app response.

If you need your Mac to natively support two external monitors, you should go for an M4 based Mac. Another option is to go for any M2/M3 and add DisplayLink.
 
russell_314 said:
russell_314 said:
What do you use it for? I remember back in the day I had a MacBook Pro with a built-in SuperDrive. It was crazy because the thing failed about a week after I bought it. Apple was very good though and fixed it almost immediately. I remember updating the OS with it, but I really don’t remember doing anything else. I couldn’t see a use for a SuperDrive today.
Click to expand...
downloading cd music. creating music/pic/video disc for various reasons.
Click to expand...
 
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You still have a CD player? I found my old CD Walkman from ages ago going through some old boxes but I didn’t have a CD to test it. I think even today a CD player would work for a home stereo. I’m so used to being able to play whatever song I want on demand I wouldn’t want my portable music to be limited to ten songs.
 
Its been 12yrs, and tech has moved on. Even an M1 Mac would be a noticeable improvement.
 
Upgrade! As much as I am a Low End Mac enthusiast it is time for you to upgrade.

Presumably you are using OCLP to use something beyond Big Sur? If so, either way you will see a massive improvement in usability.
 
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Been running a MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch Intel 8/256 since Dec 2014. Have never had a problem. Decided to buy new MacBook M4 16/512 14 inch as there have been no more updates for OS or Security on the 2014 MacBook. Had a very good run but all things must come to an end. Will take both to Apple Store and have contents transferred to new computer.
 
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