Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

veryniceguy2002 · Oct 24, 2003, 06:33 PM

My PowerBook battery seems have gone dead (not charging, battery indication on Mac OS X 10.2 only shows 0% or Calculating...). Can someone tells me does Apple (Australia) PowerBook warranty covers battery?

Angus_D · Oct 24, 2003, 07:12 PM

I don't see why it wouldn't.

iboy · Oct 24, 2003, 07:15 PM

No, it doesen't (here in Switzerland)!!!

iboy · Oct 24, 2003, 07:17 PM

okay, it depends... when did you buy your PB? When it's the new Al 15" than "yes" if not "No"

veryniceguy2002 · Oct 24, 2003, 07:20 PM

Originally posted by iboy:
okay, it depends... when did you buy your PB? When it's the new Al 15" than "yes" if not "No"

15" 1GHz TiBook, bought in early December last year. Still under warranty.

Why only the new 15" AlBook would be under warranty?

gomariners · Oct 25, 2003, 12:17 AM

Originally posted by veryniceguy2002:
15" 1GHz TiBook, bought in early December last year. Still under warranty.

Why only the new 15" AlBook would be under warranty?

A friend of mine has a Dell and said their warranty doesn't cover batteries. They were considered a "disposable" part.

icruise · Oct 25, 2003, 12:27 AM

I think as long as it is within the 1 year warranty period they are covered. I just got a battery replaced for my 12" powerbook that wasn't charging properly. If it's just a gradual reduction in battery life, they might not cover it, but if it's something obviously wrong they will.

dreilly1 · Oct 25, 2003, 09:27 AM

Based on what other people here have said about support, Apple only considers the battery good for 250-300 charge cycles. Their support people equate that to about a year. So if your powerbook is still under the original warranty, you shouldn't have a problem.

I've heard of people who bought AppleCare who have had problems getting Apple to replace the battery after the original year was up.

One quick question: Are you sure it isn't the power supply? They could go bad in such a way that it still powers the computer, but can't charge the battery.

veryniceguy2002 · Oct 25, 2003, 10:55 AM

Originally posted by dreilly1:
One quick question: Are you sure it isn't the power supply? They could go bad in such a way that it still powers the computer, but can't charge the battery.

Well, is that a method that can isolate a power supply problem from a battery problem (or even the PowerBook charging mechanism problem)? I don't have a spare power supply or spare battery which I can swap test it

amazing · Oct 25, 2003, 11:21 AM

Here's the ultimate test: Call up Apple, go thru the recommended tests, and post back here with the result. From your description it's definitely a serious problem, regardless of whether it's the battery or the power brick.

dreilly1 · Oct 25, 2003, 11:50 AM

Originally posted by veryniceguy2002:
Well, is that a method that can isolate a power supply problem from a battery problem (or even the PowerBook charging mechanism problem)? I don't have a spare power supply or spare battery which I can swap test it

Well, you could always bring it into a store that sells Macs, and ask to plug yours in to test.

Or, you can call Apple support and phrase the problem as "My powerbook isn't charging", and not "my battery seems to be dead". You might have better luck getting them to honor (honour?

) the request by putting it that way. Then, give them the power supply as well as the PB itself when you send it in for repair. They ought to be able to determine where the problem really is...

veryniceguy2002 · Dec 9, 2003, 07:07 AM

Originally posted by veryniceguy2002:
My PowerBook battery seems have gone dead (not charging, battery indication on Mac OS X 10.2 only shows 0% or Calculating...). Can someone tells me does Apple (Australia) PowerBook warranty covers battery?

I have taken my PowerBook to an Apple reseller, and they have confirmed the battery was indeed dead.

I got a replacement battery, and it is covered under my PowerBook's warranty.

I checked the AppleCare policy in Australia, and it stated battery is not covered by AppleCare. I'd better to use my battery carefully when my original PowerBook warranty runs out!

polendo · 11:44 AM

I got my battery covered my warranty (1st year). And yes they test tha battery for a number of re-charges.

StiZeven · Dec 9, 2003, 02:23 PM

Originally posted by gomariners:
A friend of mine has a Dell and said their warranty doesn't cover batteries. They were considered a "disposable" part.

That's not true at all. When you buy a Dell, everything that comes with it is covered under warranty, from the AC Adapter to the batteries. Of course, you can't complain that the battery has a shorter battery life after a year's usage, but if it's significantly shorter than what it should be, they'll replace it.

I've had several Dell notebooks in the past and I always call to say that the battery is only lasting 20min or so (when really, it's not that bad) after about a year and they always shipped me out a new one. Dell or Apple aren't going to sit there and test the battery you sent back to them to see how long it's gonna last!

Just call Apple and tell them it won't hold a charge at all. If they still tell you to buy a new one, then their service and support suck more than I had already thought.

euphras · Dec 9, 2003, 02:24 PM

I got a Tibook 667 DVI and bought also AppleCare at the end of the first year. My local dealer told me when i�m not satisfied with a (partially reduced) battery capacity i can bring it in (or even give them a call and they send me a new one in exchange with the old). He told me they even would not check if my complaints are justified. But of course it is a dealer with excellent customer service, when i bought it they gave me the oral guarantee, that the machine would be replaced if dead pixels would be noticeable.