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    Had my first MBP hardware failure... yay!

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by WilliamG, Sep 18, 2008.

  1. WilliamG

    WilliamG Notebook Deity

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    Hardly life-threatening, but my MBP's battery just took a crap. Bought in October 2007, cycled only 12 times, and now if the battery level drops to 52%, system just shuts off. Put the battery in my new Penryn MBP and it does the same thing. Penryn battery works perfectly in both systems, of course...

    I can't even cycle the battery because it won't let me discharge it! LOL!

    What is it about Apple and their batteries? :)
     
    WilliamG, Sep 18, 2008
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  2. HLdan

    HLdan Notebook Virtuoso

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    You should be able to get a replacement since it's still under warranty. Also if you haven't got Applecare this is a good sign to do so.
     
    HLdan, Sep 18, 2008
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  3. WilliamG

    WilliamG Notebook Deity

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    Yep still under warranty, so no issues. Also have Applecare so even less of an issue. Going down to the Apple Store this afternoon. Hopefully won't take too long. It's just a battery after all...
     
    WilliamG, Sep 18, 2008
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  4. StormEffect

    StormEffect Lazer. *pew pew*

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    My MBP battery died after 1 year. After about 35 cycles battery health was at 17%. After about 5 calibrations and multiple resets I still couldn't get more than 30 minutes on battery life.

    Who knows what caused this, I was still using the beta version of BootCamp for almost 9 months before I upgraded to Leopard, that may have been it. Who knows. I managed to get the battery replaced 1 day before the warranty expired and now things are just fine. I still run primarily in Vista, but I do believe that updating to BootCamp 2.1 from Beta may have alleviated the battery issue.
     
    StormEffect, Sep 18, 2008
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  5. WilliamG

    WilliamG Notebook Deity

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    The weird thing is my battery is at 92% healthy, and the system shuts off at 52% life.... Bizarre.
     
    WilliamG, Sep 18, 2008
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  6. Paul

    Paul Mom! Hot Pockets! NBR Reviewer

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    Batteries are a bit of a crap-shoot. The battery in my Dell crapped out after a little over a year. I don't even get 10 seconds on it now. The battery in my old Dell trudged on for over five years, still providing almost three hours of battery life. Not much difference in usage between the two either. It just happens. That's why battery warranties are usually just for one year.
     
    Paul, Sep 18, 2008
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  7. Stunner

    Stunner Notebook Deity

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    I am pretty sure having Apple care doesn't extend the warranty on batteries.
     
    Stunner, Sep 18, 2008
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  8. WilliamG

    WilliamG Notebook Deity

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    True. Warranty is only a year.

    Anyway, went to the Apple Store. They gave me a new battery. End of story. Kinda nice to get a new one, I guess (another Sony, 99% health out of the box with 0 cycles). I've NEVER seen a MacBook Pro battery with 100% health out of the box, ever. I've seen a ton of original MacBook batteries with 100%, but never a MBP. Always 99% or lower. Hm! :confused: Not that it matters, of course; just an observation.
     
    WilliamG, Sep 18, 2008
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  9. Seshan

    Seshan Rawrrr!

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    Can you only replace the battery once? Like does the replace have a 1 year warranty too?
     
    Seshan, Sep 18, 2008
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  10. WilliamG

    WilliamG Notebook Deity

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    Good question. No idea.... Anyone else?
     
    WilliamG, Sep 18, 2008
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  11. Stunner

    Stunner Notebook Deity

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    Call Apple and find out?
     
    Stunner, Sep 18, 2008
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  12. dbam987

    dbam987 wicked-poster

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    The new battery should have a warranty alongside of it, considering that this is a 'repair' where any repaired items get an additional warranty period. The only question is how long the repair warranty lasts. I've seen some warranties for repairs last only up to 90 days after the repair was done, or even a year.
     
    dbam987, Sep 18, 2008
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