Which Battery Please for my 2018 MB Pro 15

[Christopher11]

My MacBook Pro keeps having episodes where it won't charge, gets sluggish due to 4% or less despite plugged in, or worse, shuts down. It has an odd quality of charging better if I change outlets often. I have no idea why, unplugging and replugging the adapter doesn't get the same results. So I likely need a battery right? Glad to replace it if it solves this problem.

It is MB Pro 15-Inch 2018. Please see screenshot.

Also is this the right battery? I'll buy it now. Thank you.

I also copied in the Battery system information, please find it below. According to this the cycle count is only 349 and the condition is Normal. Not sure how to check the 'health'. Thank you!

Battery Information:


Pack Lot Code: 0
PCB Lot Code: 0
Firmware Version: 901
Hardware Revision: 2
Cell Revision: 1734
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh): 0
Fully Charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 5948
Health Information:
Cycle Count: 349
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 886
Voltage (mV): 10961


AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes
Wattage (W): 86
Charging: Yes

Power Events:

Next Scheduled Events:

appPID: 289
Type: Wake
Scheduled By: com.apple.alarm.user-invisible
Time: 12/20/20, 8:31 PM
UserVisible: 0

 

[Christopher11]

According to this the battery's health is normal, cycle count 349 not that much, right? In which case, maybe it's the adpater? I have two of them, maybe the one I brought to work is faulty.

 

[Christopher11]

Hey guys. Hoping someone has some thoughts on this one. I think maybe it's the brick, or the cable? Since the battery seems to be fine according to this system info.

 

[rovostrov]

My MacBook Pro keeps having episodes where it won't charge, gets sluggish due to 4% or less despite plugged in, or worse, shuts down. It has an odd quality of charging better if I change outlets often. I have no idea why, unplugging and replugging the adapter doesn't get the same results. So I likely need a battery right? Glad to replace it if it solves this problem.

It is MB Pro 15-Inch 2018. Please see screenshot.

Also is this the right battery? I'll buy it now. Thank you.

I also copied in the Battery system information, please find it below. According to this the cycle count is only 349 and the condition is Normal. Not sure how to check the 'health'. Thank you!

Battery Information:


Pack Lot Code: 0
PCB Lot Code: 0
Firmware Version: 901
Hardware Revision: 2
Cell Revision: 1734
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh): 0
Fully Charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 5948
Health Information:
Cycle Count: 349
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 886
Voltage (mV): 10961


AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes
Wattage (W): 86
Charging: Yes

Power Events:

Next Scheduled Events:

appPID: 289
Type: Wake
Scheduled By: com.apple.alarm.user-invisible
Time: 12/20/20, 8:31 PM
UserVisible: 0

With that low cycle count, I'd be surprised if your battery was bad. Have you tried to reset the SMC?
If not, I believe your MacBook has the T2 chip, so follow those instructions.

Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

The SMC is responsible for managing power on your Mac. Resetting it can resolve certain uncommon issues related to power or thermal management.

support.apple.com

 

[curnalpanic]

Do not rip out the battery until you are 100% sure it is the cause of the problem.

Can you try other cables and chargers?

 

[smirking]

According to this the battery's health is normal, cycle count 349 not that much, right? In which case, maybe it's the adpater? I have two of them, maybe the one I brought to work is faulty.

Cycle count is the same thing as battery health. Certainly a high cycle count is typically associated with poorer battery health, but the two are not synonymous. Lots of people with cycle counts of 100 have worse performing batteries than those with 500 cycles. People who always use their computers plugged in will often have low cycle counts, but much worse battery health as it's not good for the battery to be constantly charging.

That was me for a number of years. I've ruined my share of batteries by always staying tethered to a power adapter.

It looks like you need a new battery and unless you're very good with electronics, I wouldn't try changing that battery on your own. Take it to Apple or an authorized repair center.

Given the erratic behavior you've reported with your battery, I'd also be wary that the battery could be physically damaged. If the trackpad starts feeling tilted or the case doesn't close entirely, you've got a swollen battery and you need to get that serviced ASAP.

 

[Fishrrman]

Have you tried "Coconut Battery"? (it's free)
What does it say about existing capacity (vis-a-vis "original" capacity of 100%)?

Are you sure you can replace the battery on your own?
It's more complicated on newer Macs with a "glued in" battery than it was on old Macs where the battery came out with a few screws.

If it was me, and if I planned on keeping the Mac for a couple more years, I'd take it to an Apple Store and have them replace the battery. It costs more ($250), but for that you get
a. a new APPLE-LABELED battery
b. installation
c. a short warranty.

 

[Christopher11]

Have you tried "Coconut Battery"? (it's free)
What does it say about existing capacity (vis-a-vis "original" capacity of 100%)?

Are you sure you can replace the battery on your own?
It's more complicated on newer Macs with a "glued in" battery than it was on old Macs where the battery came out with a few screws.

If it was me, and if I planned on keeping the Mac for a couple more years, I'd take it to an Apple Store and have them replace the battery. It costs more ($250), but for that you get
a. a new APPLE-LABELED battery
b. installation
c. a short warranty.

Good advice, thank you. A new USB C cable seems to have done the trick. Maybe the one I was using was only rated for 60w?

 

[Christopher11]

Thank you guys. I bought a USB C cable suggested in another thread on this forum, rated for 100w, and I seem to be charging without a problem now. Maybe the cable I was using was faulty, or only rated for 60w? In any event, I also bought a new adapter, so now I have three adapters, and at least two good cables. Thank you again. Please see my current post about disk image (folder) that won't let me in with my password.

 

[smirking]

Thank you guys. I bought a USB C cable suggested in another thread on this forum, rated for 100w, and I seem to be charging without a problem now. Maybe the cable I was using was faulty, or only rated for 60w?

Glad you got your problem solved without needing to get a new battery. If your charging cable or power adapter isn't rated high enough to fully power your laptop, you would have seen that sort of behavior, especially on an Intel MBP. If you were on an M1 a 60W cable would probably work just fine given how power efficient the M1's are. When I travel and I'm not expecting to make heavy use of my computer, I only bring my 35W iPhone charger because it'll work well enough.

In re-reading your original post, I suspect that other people probably assumed like I did that you're never past 4% power and are always on the verge of iminent shutdown. If you were able to fix this by swapping in a higher rated cable, that probably wasn't an accurate assumption.