[PurpleRabbit73]

I was just wondering, how safe or effective are third party batteries on the MBP or my 12" PB?

[schalliol]

I don't think there are any MBP 3rd Party batteries out there and I'm not aware of any 12" (though I don't have one). I personally wouldn't trust any 3rd party battery on these units.

[PurpleRabbit73]

And what is the worst thing that could happen with these? Break the computer or not work and be a total waste of money? OR BOTH

[schalliol]

Certainly both. A poorly designed battery could cause significant problems.

[bradoesch]

A crappy lithium battery is dangerous. They can catch fire if they malfunction, for example.

If you go third party you can get higher capacity than Apple's. I don't think there's anything wrong with buying a good battery from a reputable seller.

[iREZ]

i think owc have some 3rd party batts

[Big Mac]

As long as you're not getting your third party battery off the back of some random truck, and it looks like a legitimate battery, I don't think there's much to fear. I love the third party battery in my iBook

[teknopimp]

i got a NewerTechnology battery for my clamshell; it works flawlessly and i get 6 hours of use.

they now have 12" PB batteries

[ndptal85]

I have a NewerTech 55Watt-Hour battery in my 12" Powerbook and I get 4 hours of battery life from it. Works great.

[John123]

Bought one off batteries.com for cheap. No complaints thus far.

[davidahn]

I had a NewerTech battery for my PowerBook G4, and it gave great battery life, and looked fantastic, with the same LED lights and everything; the only downside was that rather than the animated lights of the original Apple battery (lighting up in sequence), they all lit up at once.

However, the PowerBook never gracefully went to sleep when critically low like the original; it just unceremoniously turned off, losing me all my work. Did I just need to calibrate it, or is this a common problem with third-party batteries?

David

[psk-ele]

David,

Your Newertech battery does not include the same circuitry as the OEM Apple battery. Therefore when your battery runs low, your computer will just shut off, not go to sleep. This is a feature Apple includes as a matter of courtesy. The reason I have never bought a third-party battery, even though they have higher capacity, is that they are just batteries, nothing more. No calibrating, chanting, wishing, or hoping will get that feature in your Newertech battery. If you need the auto-sleep functionality of the Apple Batteries, then you must buy Apple (I am not aware of a third-party company that includes this).

As far as calibration, all replacement batteries have a power chip that needs calibrated, so follow the instructions for initial use when you use a new battery (generally-charge overnight, run till in the red or your computer goes to sleep/shuts-off, recharge)

Also, Li-Ion batteris DO NOT like to be fully discharged. Complete discharge of the battery repeatedly will severely degrade battery life (I realize it is necessary for calibration).

[SEkker]

Originally Posted by psk-ele

David,

Your Newertech battery does not include the same circuitry as the OEM Apple battery. Therefore when your battery runs low, your computer will just shut off, not go to sleep. This is a feature Apple includes as a matter of courtesy. The reason I have never bought a third-party battery, even though they have higher capacity, is that they are just batteries, nothing more. No calibrating, chanting, wishing, or hoping will get that feature in your Newertech battery. If you need the auto-sleep functionality of the Apple Batteries, then you must buy Apple (I am not aware of a third-party company that includes this).

As far as calibration, all replacement batteries have a power chip that needs calibrated, so follow the instructions for initial use when you use a new battery (generally-charge overnight, run till in the red or your computer goes to sleep/shuts-off, recharge)

Also, Li-Ion batteris DO NOT like to be fully discharged. Complete discharge of the battery repeatedly will severely degrade battery life (I realize it is necessary for calibration).

I don't believe this to be true for NewerTech batteries:

http://eshop.macsales.com/Reviews/Fr...ditioning.html

Those batteries require calibration and the macs go to sleep before they power down. I've noticed no electronic functionality difference between their and Apple OEM batteries.

We've purchased Newertech batteries for TiPB and white iBook models, they worked great. The PB17 batteries (2) did not fit well in my revA PB17, so bought an Apple battery when my original was only lasting an hour.

[tigas]

The NuPower 7200 on my Pismo certainly goes to sleep when it's empty. 4andsomething hours of webbing/texting! On a Pismo!

I'll test the DVD playback this weekend, but it should be enough for Apocalypse Now Redux .

[john h]

Originally Posted by bradoesch

A crappy lithium battery is dangerous. They can catch fire if they malfunction, for example.

If you go third party you can get higher capacity than Apple's. I don't think there's anything wrong with buying a good battery from a reputable seller.

Exactly what is a 3rd party battery? Apple does not make it's own batteries and the people who make batteries for them probably make them for 100 other brands. The same 3.6volt battery I buy at Radio Shack for $17 is the same one I can buy for $2 from another dealer. They look alike, have the same name on them, and will test out the same. Something to watch out for is when were they made? Regardless of whether it is new or not if it is old it is a waste of money and time. Many wireless security systems use the same battery as in many Apple computers and there are zillions of them out there. I have 23 in my security system in my home. I average about 5 years on these 3.6 volt, 1/2" lithium batteries. Be sure and check the voltage before you install it.

[john h]

Originally Posted by PurpleRabbit73

I was just wondering, how safe or effective are third party batteries on the MBP or my 12" PB?

Please excuse my previous dumb post. I was thinking of the 3.6v batteries (i had just bought 2 dozen for my security system) not the main battery in a power book. Personally I would have no problem with a batter without the Apple name on it. I would buy it from a reputable dealer however. Apple does not make batteries and the 3rd party battery may even be better than the original.

[Pao|o]

Are the claims of NewerTech true about up to 50% more battery life for the iBooks?

[PEPPERRULES]

After the battery recalls and too many warnings against Chinese products, you might want to get a genuine battery, especially if you use the laptop on your lap.

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by Pao|o 

Are the claims of NewerTech true about up to 50% more battery life for the iBooks?

Pretty much. It's based on the capacity of the cells used. Early batteries have a certain amount of storage. Over time, battery companies sometimes improve how much energy each cell can hold. Making new batteries out of these higher capacity cells results in a high capacity battery that lasts longer.

I bought a battery for my Pismo that would last 8 hours compared to 4 or 5 for an original battery. Nice.

[Kenneth]

So I read the battery for my iBook G4 (mid-2005), it directed me to the 'NuPower 55.5 Watt-Hour Battery' model. Later, I looked at the Apple equivalent replacement part number section and noticed something interesting/confusing. My original Apple battery has the part# M9337G/A and/or model# A1061 rated at 4585 mAh (50 Watt-hour).

The NewerTech models are 4100 mAh (45.5 Watt-Hour) and 5000 mAh (55.5 Watt-Hour)

[winterlandia]

I purchased a third party battery for my 12" powerbook and was sorry I did. It didn't fit completely right, didn't have a metal sliding cover (it was painted plastic-- the WRONG color at that, they didn't bother to match the aluminum paint color right) and didn't have the nice 'battery indicator light' I'm used to on the bottom of the battery. In short, just get the apple one unless you can see how it really fits in your computer. And now after reading the rest of this thread I'm pretty sure it will catch fire. Great.

[ndptal85]

Originally Posted by winterlandia 

I purchased a third party battery for my 12" powerbook and was sorry I did. It didn't fit completely right, didn't have a metal sliding cover (it was painted plastic-- the WRONG color at that, they didn't bother to match the aluminum paint color right) and didn't have the nice 'battery indicator light' I'm used to on the bottom of the battery. In short, just get the apple one unless you can see how it really fits in your computer. And now after reading the rest of this thread I'm pretty sure it will catch fire. Great.

Care to tell us what brand of 3rd party batteries you bought? My NewerTech 3rd party batteries fit just fine and had the light indicator on the bottom. NewerTech is a LONG time vendor of Mac hardware, including the very popular MiniStack external FireWire HD for the Mac Mini.

[Dork.]

Originally Posted by john h 

Exactly what is a 3rd party battery? Apple does not make it's own batteries and the people who make batteries for them probably make them for 100 other brands. The same 3.6volt battery I buy at Radio Shack for $17 is the same one I can buy for $2 from another dealer. They look alike, have the same name on them, and will test out the same. Something to watch out for is when were they made? Regardless of whether it is new or not if it is old it is a waste of money and time. Many wireless security systems use the same battery as in many Apple computers and there are zillions of them out there. I have 23 in my security system in my home. I average about 5 years on these 3.6 volt, 1/2" lithium batteries. Be sure and check the voltage before you install it.

The laptop battery is more than the actual cells; there's also the circuitry that controls charging, measures capacity, and reports all that information to the computer. There is no guarantee that a third-party laptop vendor is duplicating all this circuitry correctly (although one can assume that a company with a good rep is doing this correctly.) It's even possible that Apple is using a custom chip in all their batteries that can't be easily copied to control a lot of these functions.

You're right that the people who make the battery cells make them for all sorts of computer brands. This is why when Apple had their battery recalls, Dell had some, too: the problem was with Sony Li-Ion cells that both companies used in their laptop batteries.

If your laptop battery goes south, but the circuitry is still working, it is possible to phisically open the case up, and replace the cells inside. This will "fix" the battery while still preserving all of its functionality, since the Apple-specific circuitry is still there. However, soldering Li-Ion batteries is not for the faint of heart: go pay someone to do it if you're not experienced with electronics.

[winterlandia]

Originally Posted by ndptal85 

Care to tell us what brand of 3rd party batteries you bought? My NewerTech 3rd party batteries fit just fine and had the light indicator on the bottom. NewerTech is a LONG time vendor of Mac hardware, including the very popular MiniStack external FireWire HD for the Mac Mini.

I am not sure of the brand, but it looked very generic and it was from SmallDog. It was definitely not a NewerTech though as I would have remembered the name. What I ended up doing and I'm sure this isn't a good idea either, was to take the apple battery and pry off the matching metal plate. Then I took off the crappy looking plastic metal painted battery cover and whittled the plastic on the new battery (being verrrrry careful not to breach the plastic shell) to accomodate the new metal plate. Then I glued the metal plate onto the battery. Now it at least looks good again. The battery life is great now but I do wish I'd have gone with the apple battery or at least checked out the newertech version.