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Googer-Giger · Apr 30, 2010, 06:53 PM

Hey guys, the time has come to get a new battery for my MacBook Pro, it will not hold enough charge for more than a minute of use while unplugged.

I always regretted buying batteries from apple all the way back to my clamshell, but I always feared third party ones were going to be cheap and unreliable.

Anyone know any good companies or vendors they trust?

Thanks.

Simon · May 1, 2010, 01:59 AM

In short: no. Buy from Apple.

Spheric Harlot · May 1, 2010, 04:39 AM

What he said

Sosa · May 25, 2010, 03:59 AM

But they are so cheap on Ebay! I paid $35 for my current battery and the only issue is reading a max charge as 10% even though it lasts for hours. I don't think I would go the Apple route.

Big Mac · May 25, 2010, 04:04 AM

I agree that third party batteries aren't the great evil that many people believe them to be. Depending on the age of the computer and your needs, a third party battery may be a good, cost effective choice. However, I would choose to buy from a well known battery seller rather than some random person on eBay, but if it works for you then it works for you.

Spheric Harlot · May 25, 2010, 04:57 AM

A bad battery can die long before its time. Not a problem.

A bad battery can go up in flames. May not be a problem, depending on your circumstances. I'd rather it be Apple than some eBay seller who closed his "shop" two days ago when it happens.

A bad battery can ruin your charging circuitry. Also not a problem if the computer's old and it was "Buy a new battery or throw it away". But only then.

indigoimac · May 26, 2010, 08:55 AM

Depending on the model macsales has pretty good ones it seems. Picked one up for one of my macbook pros after I was sick of getting raped by apples prices -- I'm already replacing the batteries on a yearly basis practically, they might as well be $30 cheaper and hopefully higher quality.

And yes, I calibrate them often -- they still burn out fast.

Sosa · May 28, 2010, 06:39 PM

Just received a replacement battery for my 15" PB. Ordered through Ebay from a company called MamBate USA Inc., product came in a box from AGPtek well packaged with instructions and a 1 year warranty. So far it looks good. Not fully charged and it is giving me 4 hours available.

Oh and I paid $41.95 for it.

Spheric Harlot · May 29, 2010, 05:22 AM

Keep us posted.

amazing · May 29, 2010, 08:18 AM

mambate.com even has a website with a Brooklyn address.

mambate.com - Baby monitor, Wireless Security Camera, Laptop battery, Video card, Watch cell phone & more - About Us

is this the 15" MBP pre-unibody battery that you got? My battery is starting to go south, so I'm gonna be needing one soon.

5800mAh Battery For Apple MacBook Pro 15" A1150 A1175 MA348 MA348G/A MA463LL/A --SKU: LA11: LA11 - A mambate.com - Baby monitor, Wireless Security Camera, Laptop battery, Video card, Watch cell phone & more

Sosa · May 29, 2010, 10:00 AM

Yes, it was for the preunibody powerbook. Now fully charged it is giving me 3:15 minutes estimated. I'm not sure how reliable that figure is. I've disconnected from the power and going to time it. It is 10 am, let see how long it actually lasts just browsing the web.

amazing · May 29, 2010, 11:23 AM

yep, now I'm also waiting for the report back. Thanks for testing and reporting on the battery!

Coconut Battery says I've got 130 loadcycles at 22 months, for a capacity of 33% namely 2014.

Deteriorated pretty quickly because it was much better than that not so very long ago.

macaddict0001 · May 29, 2010, 08:50 PM

Originally Posted by Sosa

Yes, it was for the preunibody powerbook. Now fully charged it is giving me 3:15 minutes estimated. I'm not sure how reliable that figure is. I've disconnected from the power and going to time it. It is 10 am, let see how long it actually lasts just browsing the web.

Probably not accurate if you haven't calibrated it yet.

amazing · Jun 11, 2010, 04:19 PM

hey, Googer-Giger: how's the new battery doing?

angelmb · Jun 12, 2010, 05:39 AM

Originally Posted by macaddict0001

Probably not accurate if you haven't calibrated it yet.

Mostly sure. Watts is worth a try.

Wiskedjak · Jun 12, 2010, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot

A bad battery can die long before its time. Not a problem.

A bad battery can go up in flames. May not be a problem, depending on your circumstances. I'd rather it be Apple than some eBay seller who closed his "shop" two days ago when it happens.

A bad battery can ruin your charging circuitry. Also not a problem if the computer's old and it was "Buy a new battery or throw it away". But only then.

ummmm ... *Apple* batteries have been known to do all of those things as well.

Sosa · Jun 12, 2010, 10:14 AM

Well I need to recalibrate both of my powerbooks running 10.4, how do I do this? That Watts program is 10.5.

angelmb · Jun 12, 2010, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by Sosa

Well I need to recalibrate both of my powerbooks running 10.4, how do I do this? That Watts program is 10.5.

Transcript from what 'Watts' displays on screen:

STEP 1
Plug in the power adapter and fully charge your battery until the onscreen meter in the menu bar indicates that the battery is fully charged.

STEP 2
Allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for at least two hours. You may use your computer during this time as long as the adapter is plugged in.

STEP 3
Disconnect the power adapter with the computer still on and start running the computer off battery power. You may use your computer during this time.

STEP 4
Continue to keep your computer on until it goes to sleep.

STEP 5
Save all your work and allow your computer to sleep for five hours or more.

Finished!. Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.

Spheric Harlot · Jun 12, 2010, 06:39 PM

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak

ummmm ... *Apple* batteries have been known to do all of those things as well.

Indeed.

However, Apple implemented an extended replacement program, and customers whose machines were damaged were taken care of by Apple.

Try that with a no-name eBayer.

Wiskedjak · Jun 12, 2010, 07:00 PM

I'll agree with the no name eBay seller bit. but, no name eBay sellers aren't the only 3rd party battery suppliers.

NewerTech has a long standing reputation of offering high quality accessories for Apple products and they currently have batteries for Apple laptops that have a higher capacity and lower price than Apples batteries.

macaddict0001 · Jun 12, 2010, 08:26 PM

Yeah NewerTechnologies Nupower batteries are quite good they retail through other Other World Computing. Among other retailers I would assume.

Sosa · Jun 13, 2010, 02:09 PM

Thanks for the recalibration instructions, I had never seen them before.

I bought the Newertech battery for my powerbook years ago and was not happy. It actually totally died after 1.5 years or so of use. After paying a premium compared to Ebay sellers, I decided to try Ebay. Build quality is inferior, but for the price I'm happy with the performance on both of my powerbooks.

Wiskedjak · Jun 13, 2010, 06:23 PM

The original battery on my MacBook died after about 1.5 years.

imitchellg5 · Jun 13, 2010, 10:26 PM

Engadget swears by FastMac batteries.

SierraDragon · Jun 14, 2010, 05:00 PM

When my original 2007 Apple MBP battery suddenly ballooned to 30% oversize (during an airport TSA check; fortunately TSA did not notice) 6 months ago I bought a third-party battery from Amazon for half the Apple price. It definitely does not perform as well as a new Apple battery would but for a relatively old MBP IMO it was probably worth saving $50.

-Allen

amazing · Jun 16, 2010, 09:25 PM

Ended up calling Applecare and my 20 month-old battery is getting replaced.

Apple comes thru once again!

Dork. · 09:15 PM

Any new thoughts? My wife's MBP needs a new battery again, and since we've already had the battery replaced once I'm getting kind of sour on Apple batteries. I was looking at NewerTech or FastMac, but what if all MBP batteries are crap now, or if there's something about this particular MBP that chews through batteries? Amazon is filled with cheap third-party batteries now, in the $40 to $60 range. If it's just going to die in two years anyway, why not buy one of those?

Actually, Amazon seems to have new $40 Apple-branded batteries through buy.com . I'm suspicious, but for $40 I might just take the risk....

Wiskedjak · Sep 15, 2010, 09:18 PM

I'm of the same thoughts. I don't trust batteries. I certainly don't trust Apple batteries. The battery on my 13yr old Toshiba has lasted long than my MacBook's. And, I've had batteries in my iBook die twice within a few weeks of installing OS 10.3.8 ... the second one was less than 1 year old with few charge cycles.

Cottonsworth · Sep 18, 2010, 04:13 PM

My two cents. I have seen third party "eBay" batteries for the 12" PowerBook, 15" PowerBook, and MacBook. The build quality isn't as nice and the color is slightly off. I also called OWC to ask them if their third batteries color match 100% and they told me that it was close but they can't say 100%.

I think if you have a cheaper machine that is worth $500 or less, I would give the "eBay" batteries a shot. If is more than that, I would still go for an OWC or Apple battery since they have been around and will take responsibility if the battery expands and damages your machine.

I do wish there was a poll to keep track how long it takes for the eBay, OWC/FastMac, and Apple batteries to deteriorate.

Dork. · Sep 25, 2010, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by Dork.

Actually, Amazon seems to have new $40 Apple-branded batteries through buy.com . I'm suspicious, but for $40 I might just take the risk....

I ordered the $40 battery, and when I got the package there was a bluetooth mouse inside! Hah!

The purchase was through buy.com on Amazon. Buy.com is saying that there was a snafu in the data they gave to Amazon, and the description that said "Apple Battery" was incorrectly connected to the UPC code and price of the mouse. They won't honor the price of the battery, but they say they'll refund my money once they receive the mouse back. Not sure how much I trust them, but we'll see. In the meantime, I'm still looking for a battery....

toronado455 · Sep 25, 2010, 07:43 PM

Originally Posted by Dork.

I ordered the $40 battery, and when I got the package there was a bluetooth mouse inside! Hah!

The purchase was through buy.com on Amazon. Buy.com is saying that there was a snafu in the data they gave to Amazon, and the description that said "Apple Battery" was incorrectly connected to the UPC code and price of the mouse. They won't honor the price of the battery, but they say they'll refund my money once they receive the mouse back. Not sure how much I trust them, but we'll see. In the meantime, I'm still looking for a battery....

Sorry that happened to you! I need to get a new battery for my dad's iBook G4 12", but $80-$100 for a battery for such an old computer just seems too much.