2019 Macbook Pro Battery Replacement

[Kelly Greer]

Talk me down, Brian!  Would you go to Apple and have them replace the battery for $268, or attempt do do it yourself for $75?  😂  I replaced lots of things on my old macbook. I know this one isn't supposed to be opened by the general public, and this battery looks intense....but they can't even guarantee if I drive the 35 minutes there that they'll have the battery! WTF. 

 

Ok, this is all.  Tell me I'm dumb and need to go in. 

 

[Brian]

"Meh."

Personally, I HAVE NEVER HAD A 3RD PARTY REPLACEMENT BATTERY WORK WELL in any of my customer's Laptops. Sure, you'll think you will be saving money, but in the long run, you will be replacing them sooner rather than later. I have found that 3rd Party Batteries just SUCK, regardless of brand. So if you think about it, pay $80-ish now, and another $80-ish in about 6-9 months. I just haven't had a 3rd party battery work like the OEM in my last 30 years of being a Professional Technician. Only replacement batteries from the Manufacturer have the best chance of working as expected. Especially if it's cheap and crappy batteries from China. (Which these probably are.) 

Also, Apple doesn't make things easy to swap out and if by some chance you puncture the battery with a screwdriver, it will cause a chemical reaction from the Chemicals within the battery to mix, thereby generating A LOT of heat. So much that you won't be able to touch them by hand and it could start a fire. Apple uses adhesive to mount the batteries, so it's not like you are just opening a cover, disconnecting the power connector to the motherboard and swapping things out. It's a little more involved than that. I found this YouTube Video, and you may want to search for some other YouTube Tutorials and give them a watch before you attempt anything. 

So while you could replace them yourself, unless you have experience doing them, I'd take it to Apple and have them install a Geniune OEM Battery. Not only for the battery and labor to install one, but they will take your old battery and recycle it, saving you the cost of disposal. You will have a battery that's guaranteed, is authorized by the Manufacture, and if they screw something up...they are on the hook for the repairs.

Are. you being Dumb? No. It's a fair question.

Should you? Eh...I'd pass on this one, as much as it pains me to tell you to spend the $268.

It's almost like sealing the Asphalt on your Driveway every 2-3 years. Can you do it yourself? Sure. But then you need to buy the materials, store said materials and then deal with the application of the materials. Or you could just pay someone to come every couple of years and have them do it and be done. Same thing.

[Kelly Greer]

Brian. I called ahead. She said they could do it in-store, but couldn't tell me if they had inventory. 

 

I went in. They no longer do any repairs in store. And the battery is in such a place that I'll be getting a new keyboard, too. After the 3-5 business days repair.  

[Brian]

Lithium-Ion batteries can swell / poof-up as they age, so it doesn't surprise me that the keyboard also needs replacing. It's this same "Poofing" that causes them to start fires, so yes...before you ask, your laptop was a serious fire-hazard. It was just a matter of time.