15-Inch MacBook Pro Battery Recall Program | Hacker News Reader

15-Inch MacBook Pro Battery Recall Program

support.apple.com

170 pointsmindgam3151 comments

1-2 weeks for the service is brutal and effectively means a lot of batteries will not be replaced.

You'd really need a loaner for that, and to spend some extra time to set it up (and later to clear it out and return it).

I think they need to figure out how to turn these things around a lot faster at least in the great majority of cases.

Thought it was 5 workdays tops? Perhaps they're expecting a ton of people turning in their machines since batteries usually need to replace by now anyway.

they should provide an option where they send you a new battery and you replace it yourself

Maybe if the procedure didn't look like this: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Retina+Disp...

Over 60 steps and the battery hasn't even been touched yet. I don't think I've ever seen an iFixit teardown take more than 20 steps, and both my 2009 and 2012 era consumer laptops can be broken to base components in even fewer

It's amazing how much more complicated that procedure is than for the 13" MBP of the same vintage. You would think the smaller notebook would be harder to disassemble, but there are actually fewer cables and parts that need to be moved out of the way to get at the battery.

I wonder if they are being conservative with their estimates? Or maybe it's because of the high amount of demand they expect to happen.

I sent my MacBook to an Apple store a few weeks ago, and it only took a few days to replace.

"Only" 5 days? I think 5 hours is unacceptable.

That seems a little extreme. Same day would seem premium.

About half of that time is because the computer with the defective battery has to ship to the repair center via ground rather than FedEx Express overnight air like usual. There are a lot of rules about shipping lithium-ion batteries, especially known-defective ones!

I had my keyboard replaced a few months ago on my MBP--it sounds like a similar process since they replaced my battery, too.

It was going to be like a week to make an Apple Store appointment. I was able to walk into a local Mac shop on Apple's list of official service centers. At that time they sent it to the same offsite shops for service and they said it would take 1-2weeks. I asked about a loaner or if Apple had any sort of program since I need something in the meantime (even with different specs). I know Apple has a 14day return policy on new hardware, but I hate to abuse that. That local Mac shop was able to work something out with me with some refurbs they had on hand, but I don't think their supervisor was happy about it.

I got my computer back 5 days later. Since then, I've heard theres been a push to do more of these kinds of repairs in store to decrease the turnaround time by a lot.

A lot of this has to do with the original design. Old cars had oil filters you could take off with your hand, then you needed a special tool, then a stick thing with a strap, then you needed to take something off before you can use that tool. Apple keyboards used to lift up to expose the RAM, the batteries could be removed by sliding a tab (this was when the battery life was only a few hours and the life of the battery was like 200 cycles). Personally, I was much happier when maintenance was somewhere between that and what we have now.

I get your point but I've never seen anything to support your oil filter claim. My 2010 BMW has a cartridge style oil filter which should be removable by hand. My dad's 1948 Oldsmobile also has a cartridge style oil filter but it requires a wrench to remove the bolt holding it together. Both the BMW and the Oldsmobile put the filter in an easily accessible place under the hood.

In between we had canister style filters (like on my old Toyota) which may or may not require tools to remove depending on the incompetence of your mechanic. I've never seen an oil filter that needed to be installed so tight you need a tool.

I don't think the increased difficulty in changing the oil is malicious intent. Just much less space under the hood. I'm not a big car guy, but for every car I've seen it has been recommended to hand-tighten, but you often need a tool to reach an awkwardly placed oil filter or loosen it.

For me, the biggest issues are the set up and protecting my data. If I could remove the SSD, it would be so helpful.

Last time my battery ballooned, I had to risk turning it on and wiping my hard drive first.

The reason is that I have been asked for my password before and they wouldn’t accept my MBP for service if I didn’t give it to them.

Are they still doing that? I hope not. This happened to me (ballooning battery, recall repair, asked me for my password) for a 2006 MBP (the 1st Intel version), so something like 10 years ago.

If they still need your password to repair your computer, they really need to update their procedures.

Back then I just winced, gave them my password, and crossed my fingers (seems to have worked out), but these days I just couldn't do that. There's all kinds of financial and identity stuff in there.

No, you don't have to give them your password for ballooning battery. You can short-circuit the discussion with the Apple rep by saying 'you can wipe it if you need to'.

Had mine replaced a couple months ago, they still wanted access. I'm pretty sure they gave a good reason,but I forgot. Probably just to run diagnostics. I made them an account. Still not ideal but I think they could just boot in single user mode and give themselves one if they wanted to.

I once took in a 15" MacBook Pro to get a SATA cable replaced (my own fault for rushing an SSD replacement and ripping the cable). While they didn't ask for my password, they did make me sign a document allowing them to wipe the drive if they felt like it. This is despite the actual service being purely hardware-related.

Sure enough, after a few days I get the laptop back to see the hard drive's been wiped, supposedly because there were errors with the OS installation, though there were none that I picked up actually using the device.

Not that it's possible with Apple devices anymore, but that taught me I should have just given them the laptop without the RAM or SSD installed at all.

If only they made the battery replaceable... This should be an important and costly lesson for Apple.

I agree, it "should" be, but the unfortunate perverse incentive is that a certain percentage of Stockholm-Syndromed Apple victims will buy new devices to tide them over for the week or whatever while their batteries are being replaced.

Probably takes that long because you can't just replace a battery in a macbook because its glued to the rest of the laptop so a battery replacement is essentially pulling the screen and mobo from your macbook and putting it on to a new macbook.

Well that's Apple's problem to solve. They can't just say 1-2 weeks oh well.

I have a Genius appointment and if they tell me 1-2 weeks I'm telling them to bugger off.

  The serial number you entered may be eligible for this 
  program. Please choose one of the service options below.

  Choose one of the service options below to have your 
  battery replaced. In all cases, your device will be 
  sent to an Apple Repair Center for service. Your MacBook Pro
  will be examined prior to any service to verify that it is
  eligible for this program. Service may take 1-2 weeks.

It doesn't even tell me if my computer is actually affected, just to lose my work computer for up to two weeks, when it might not even be eligible for replacement.

I feel like that's the standard language they've used on these pages previously. I imagine that's just room for them to deny you in case you had swapped out the battery yourself or otherwise disqualified yourself. But I'd love to hear back from others. I'm sure talking to someone at Apple could also clarify.

1-2 weeks sucks even if they had an option for a loaner (which they tend not to)...especially for "pro" equipment.

Also, I tend not to trust repair shops in general. I backup and often wipe my equipment before handing it over. This also means I don't have to hand over passwords.

I think they're trying to head off people who send in a computer that ends up not actually matching the serial number entered (for whatever reason), or have severe damage or other issues that would make it infeasible to actually replace the battery.

This is possibly what triggered it - MBP in flames: https://twitter.com/whitepanda/status/1133847982317723648

> Customer safety is always Apple's top priority, and we have voluntarily decided to replace affected batteries, free of charge.

Cool!

> Service may take 1-2 weeks.

Wait, what?

I imagine they're shipping them to a central location for repair.

Lack of NBD service from Apple really sucks

Half our company are still using these, what's the smart thing to do here? I assume actual risk of fire is very minimal, but the advice is to "please stop using it". Losing our machines for a couple weeks would be pretty impactful...

I had both speakers blown out, three keys with chipped paint, and a couple sticky keys, so I got it replaced and fixed with their latest keyboard replacement program. I was told that the way to go about getting a "loaner" machine is to ship out your broken machine, buy a new one on a credit card, and then bring the new one back once you receive your replacement. Apple has a 30-day full refund policy.

I never went through with buying a new one and returning it, but it's something to look into or ask about!

(After some quick Googling, it looks like it's a 14-day return policy, not 30..)

>I was told that the way to go about getting a "loaner" machine is to ship out your broken machine, buy a new one on a credit card, and then bring the new one back once you receive your replacement.

Who told you to do that? (Are we talking, like, a friend? Or an actual Apple employee?)

The only reason I ask is because I thought that was "return fraud."

An actual Apple employee.

Half our company are still using these

It's been years since I was involved in this sort of thing, but at one time Apple had separate people to handle business accounts, especially ones with many machines.

Buy some ThinkPads or zBooks or Latitudes, give those to a subset of your affected users, then send the freed-up units to service. Repeat until all affected units have been serviced.

Then, when the time comes (soon?) to replace the 2015-2017 MBPs, consider whether you'd rather repeat that with future MBPs or buy something different that has on-site same-day service and user-replaceable batteries and other components.

Unfortunately some work (Mac, and iOS development) requires a Mac OS device.

And for that, at least in this sort of situation, I'd expect a company to at least temporarily look into the various services that enable you to rent a MacOS device in the cloud for the moments you need it (usually app builds).

And where would you run xcode? The IDE you use to develop.

You should know better than to post that suggestion in a thread full of Apple users with Mac OS lockin ... But don't worry, now my comment will be accompanying yours in the HN downvote afterlife :P

You might be able to use an authorized Apple Service Provider for the repair and have the machines out of your hands for way less time.

For example, I just had the battery (+ top case) on my late 2013 15" MBP replaced this week. I brought it to a local service shop for a quick inspection, then took the machine home. Part arrived the next day, brought it back in, and it was all done in a couple of hours.

I would be very reluctant to give up my computer for 1-2 weeks. If they are so concerned about safety, they should either fix it when I bring it to the store or give me a replacement.

If you live in the US, Apple has a no questions asked 14 day return policy. When my computer goes in for service I just buy one, restore my machine from time machine onto it, and then return it.

Works great.

This is the sort of abusive bad behavior that kills things like LL Bean's once-awesome return policy.

There are people who have been told to do exactly this by Apple's own staff, according to a quick search on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/arno_app/status/1056943680249061383

https://twitter.com/dogslime/status/966026523579994114

https://twitter.com/caseyhelbling/status/1113486373191704576

https://twitter.com/FatBodyPolitics/status/95158147758154547...

With tens of thousands of retail workers involved, that's hardly surprising that some would suggest the technique.

That doesn't change the fact that these sorts of abuses of a return policy cost everyone else money, and risk getting the policy shortened/restricted for all.

Or force Apple to do the right thing, which is maintain a fleet of refurbed machines for loaners.

Agreed, if your MacBook is critical to your job, shouldn't you have Apple Care or some sort of insurance policy to ensure you get a timely replacement? Relying on Apple's goodwill seems like risky business.

I have AppleCare+ and my keyboard replacement required the store to send it in. Makes no difference.

Being in their "Joint Venture" business program does, though.

https://www.apple.com/retail/business/jointventure/terms.htm...

> Equipment Loaner Service. If the issue with your Mac Computer requires us to keep it for more than twenty‑four (24) hours, you will be provided the option of borrowing a similar Apple product from our pool of loaner products ("Loaner") based on availability at your local Apple Retail Store. Apple is not obliged to provide a Loaner that is the same as, or of equivalent or better functionality or appearance to your Mac Computer; nor does Apple make any representation that a specific software program is or will be installed on your Loaner. Please see below for additional terms and conditions relating to this Equipment Loaner Service.

Joint Venture is $500/year, IIRC.

Sure beats an idle software developer.

I agree; I have it and I don’t even write software full time (and have 2 other laptops). Its main advantage to me is that it lets me cut the line for getting service appointments in-store.

How did you even find out about its existence to begin with?

Wow. Discoverability of that program is low.

Search "loaner" on apple.com - hundreds of results relating to iPhone financing, and Clean Supplier Standards Codes. No mention of this program.

Search "Joint Venture" if you're lucky enough to know the name - results on the use of Conflict Minerals, and Sustainability Reports. No mention of this program.

If the Macbook was bought in 2015 or early 2016, Apple Care no longer applies.

How often do you replace laptops? We're on a 3-year schedule across the organization, PC or Mac. All leased or covered by some sort of business-class warranty/service plan. It can be slightly annoying, as IT doesn't do any in-house repairs any more, but it mostly works. I thought a 3-year replacement schedule was fairly standard.

Unfortunately not. There are also 4-5 year renewal cycles. In any case, for the affected machines, there is no Apple Care aware any more as it is limited to 3 years after purchase.

This is an even greater problem with iPads, Apple Care only lasts for 2 years after the purchase, so any significant repair after that usually means a total loss.

FYI, purchasing with a credit csrd likely extends that by another full year, if not two years. Check your card benefits.

I don’t think Apple cares about this. I tell them exactly what I’m going to do when I do it, and they don’t care.

Fact is, it’s the only option. I cannot possibly not have a computer for 2 weeks as a run a business. So I don’t see any possible alternative.

There is an option. Apple offers a business program called “Joint Venture” that includes loaners. Sounds like exactly what you need.

It wouldn’t be needed if Apple behaved well in the first place and made non-shitty batteries.

So you tie up $2000+ during that time.

I guessing OP is using a credit card, so no money is tied up.

Only for the fortunate souls whose billing cycle is in the other half of the month.

And those who live in places where credit cards are a common thing.

Here, most people have so-called credit cards with no actual credit lines tied to them

And no, they aren't debit cards. Those are yet another's thing over here, apparently.

Nothing to do with the original subject, but does anyone else feel like opacity is the core of retail banking's business model?

These cards exist in the US as well. They're called "charge cards" here. The classic American Express card is one example. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure that anyone else still issues them.

You can pick what part of the month you bring the laptop in, it doesn't have to be tomorrow.

Great point. I don't have $2500 to just tie up for that time.

It's stupid. Just fix it in store.

Have you seen the procedure necessary to do a battery replacement on one of these stupidly-designed things?

I'm ecstatic to see what hopefully amounts to a financial penalty for Apple horrible policy of making these unserviceable things.

In EU you have similar policy, but it is mandated by law, for all the things that you buy online. I know of people who bought new 55 inch TV only to watch soccer World Cup, and then returned it.

I wonder how Apple staff takes this:

"Hi, I'd like to return this Macbook I purchased. Also, I'd like to pick up my laptop which you guys were working on"

They have no problem. They don't even ask why you are returning it.

My girlfriend took her 12-inch MacBook in for its 2nd(!) keyboard replacement. When she asked about a loaner, the employee actually recommended buying and returning a new one. She got the new retina Air for a nice 5 day test drive — and now we're both pretty sold on it.

presumably mail turn around? I'm sure it's also padded to give the appearance of speed (e.g they said it would take 1-2 weeks but it only took a few days! Apple is a amazing and I want their babies! ;) )

Seriously? Nobody points out the obvious "don't fucking glue batteries into laptops it's a stupid idea?" Instead everyone complains about the long processing times? That time should have been the time it takes the clerk to reach under the counter for your new battery pack!

Even when you can swap a battery out in 5 minutes you may have a long processing time. I had to wait over 4 weeks for Dell to get me a replacement battery this year for a similar issue because battery supply itself was constrained.

At least you can still use your computer while you wait for the replacement.

The UX on that site is horrible. I put in my serial number and a bunch of red text appears.

> The serial number you entered is not eligible under this program

Is that supposed to be a bad thing? Why is that red? Would it be happy green text if I needed to stop using my laptop right now and send it in?

Valid point, but you would probably get a lot of people showing up to the apple store believing they needed a replacement. Because the text was green (or just not red) and no one really reads anything.

And then they'd be really pissed off customers who would really believe that the website response changed since the first time they checked it.

At least I've had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of those kinds of interactions (not in Apple stores but in software support in an earlier life).

Related: Here's last year's 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program:

https://www.apple.com/support/13inch-macbookpro-battery-repl...

The program covers affected MacBook Pro models for 5 years after the first retail sale of the unit.

To be precise: only computers manufactured between October 2016 and October 2017 are affected. I think that apart from the now standard keyboard replacement program no MacBook made since 2018 has a replacement program yet.

And only specific serial numbers, so presumably they've identified the exact batches of batteries that were involved?

Honestly the worst thing about it is that you have to manually check to see if your battery is affected. A proactive email might be better than telling people to enter their serial on a site to check.

I can’t imagine Apple, a champion of privacy, wants to keep a mapping of serial number to user emails. Even if harmless or if it already exists, it might taint Apple with a creepy vibe.

My iCloud account shows all my devices

iCloud ≠ email. I have an iCloud account with a non-functioning e-mail address.

Did you set it up a long time ago? It appears new iCloud accounts require a phone number for 2FA.

LOL, you're one step away from writing a cautionary Medium post.

I believe you can set up an iCloud account with just a phone number.

I had to check myself, and there are serial/IMEI numbers there, at least the last-five version of each... maybe they store partial hashes instead of the full numbers (hopefully, but I'm a pessimist)

You enrolled in an optional program for personal use. It’s different if Apple coopts that for a different use and the set is likely incomplete.

The fact that you can see them does not mean that Apple can. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if they couldn’t.

The Apple Store (online/iOS app) suggests accessories/confirms accessories are compatible with your devices when shopping, so they have some info.

> I can’t imagine Apple, a champion of privacy, wants to keep a mapping of serial number to user emails.

Privacy is the right to be left alone, and dying in a fire seems like the exact opposite of being left alone.

They could make it pull - add to next MacOS update, and the machine just checks the serial and pops up a window if you're affected.

They clearly do, you have all your devices in icloud, and you can use that to find them when they go missing.

Apple's has shown on multiple occasions that it's more than happy to have rules for third parties and the ecosystem that are different from the rules it has for itself.

You can't use iMessage without a valid Mac SN, for example.

I'd expect them to keep a record of what their customers purchased, this seems like basic bookkeeping to me.

Can you not walk into an Apple store with a wad of cash and walk out with a laptop?

They know which devices are signed into iCloud anyway, so they might as well notify users directly.

A computer company pushing pop-up notices to individual computers? No thanks.

Can you imagine how this would be abused by computer marketing departments? It's bad enough when they have your e-mail address.

We already get alerts for "your battery needs service" or "your operating system has an update available". I don't see "your device has been recalled" as being outrageous.

Or just some sort of OS X notification/pop-up. Since they don't notify the customers, even though they have the means, it looks like they're doing the recall for liability reasons only and want to actually replace as few batteries as possible to limit the costs.

Interestingly if you've had your keyboard serviced it looks like they replaced the battery already.

Yeah, it's all one piece. I had my battery replaced a few months ago and it came with a new keyboard (basically, the entire body except the removable door on the bottom.

They also threw in a new monitor section for kicks. I was pretty happy with that.

Yep, it's why they're so expensive to repair. Everything is basically a single piece, so if a $2 part goes out you replace basically the entire system. Sounds economical, and consumer friendly!

What a terrible waste. All this just so they can brag about how thin they are for a couple of minutes during a keynote while customers suffer the consequences for many years after.

I remember the time time when a key became defective on my 2013 MacBook Air. I brought it to an Apple store and they replaced the problematic key and sent me on my way in 5 minutes.

A lot of it is also the structural rigidity and cooling.

That said I suspect it is more cost effective and fast for them to just pull out the known functional core and put those in a new shell, then use the old shell as all/part of a refurb system.

It makes the customer happy: They get a whole bunch of new stuff, and they get it quickly. It also means the store doesn't have to stock some arbitrary amount of each component - they just have a single heap of shells come in, and a bucket the goes out to be refurbed/recycled as appropriate.

As for replacing individual keys I'm still not sure if that can be done easily now (I've not had any problems with the butterfly keyboards, but it's clear that a couple of people might have ;) )

Except it's not fast - apparently it takes 1-2 weeks and if this thread is anything to go by, the customers seem not happy at all. Gluing batteries is just crazy, I didn't even know they do that these days (old Thinkpads for life).

Still, people keep buying useless shiny things for exorbitant prices, so Apple must be doing something right. I just don't know what it is - maintainability or easy repairs definitely isn't it.

I assume that that's to give them leeway if anything goes wrong. I think the bigger issue that it's a mail-in repair, so you end up burning a bunch of days on that:

  * First they send you a shipping box.
  
  * Then you put your laptop in it, and get it to a drop off, then you have a few days shipping (I can't imagine they're doing overnight), plus weekend delay.

  * However long it takes their receiving to get the delivery to wherever they're doing the repairs/replacement

  * the repair - I suspect that's going to be measured in minutes, but you have a latency due to volume of repairs, which I assume depends on how many machines need to replacements.

  * I assume some technician puts it back in a box, and it gets sent to their shipping facility

  * a couple of days for shipping.

Put that together, 2 days to ship there, 1 day processing + repair, 2 days to return. So you easily hit the weekend, so now you're at 7 days. If anything goes wrong you've exceeded one week.

Which means saying "1-2 weeks" gives them a buffer to ensure it doesn't take longer than they've stated.

If they did it in store I imagine it could be same or next day, but by doing it as a ship in/out repair makes it absurd.

(I don't think they're exorbitantly priced, yes they cost more, but it's not like the old PPC prices)

The disingenuous part about your comment and the parent to your comment is the implication that thin and light computers aren't something consumers prefer and demand.

If you actually go back to using a 2015 MacBook pro, especially the 15" model, it actually does feel thick and heavy in comparison. The new model is a full half a pound lighter (22% reduction). The physical length and width dimensions are also much more portable. In a backpack or on carry-on luggage, that matters a lot.

The 2013 MacBook Air you got repaired so easily? That computer has two fewer processor cores and is actually thicker than the current 13" MacBook Pro.

The other disingenuous aspect is the idea that this repair is a full system replacement. It's not: while it does replace a lot of parts that wouldn't normally need to be replaced, you're still left with the same logic board, ports, bottom case, and display assembly as before.

iFixit noted that the new MacBook Air model, using the same design language as the other MacBook Pro models, is actually a good amount more repairable than the previous design. It really follows quite closely to how a lot of designs happen in the tech world. The first version tends to be the most complex and difficult to repair (get the product out the door), and subsequently the design gets streamlined over time.

The 2015 Retina MacBook Pro is, from my understanding, easier to repair than a 2012 model. The original iPhone was a nightmare inside, while the iPhone 6s is regarded as being incredibly easy to work on.

I get it. Apple isn't being friendly to those who demand simple, inexpensive, modular repairs. That is bad, and it should not be encouraged. But make no mistake, consumers do not want to see their computers get thicker and heavier.

And a great opportunity to upsell!

When my laptop got a water splash on it, that killed the charging circuitry (laptop still ran perfectly on AC, battery health/test was excellent, it just couldn't charge).

Thought maybe $200-300 including labor.

"That's going to be $890. Perhaps we should look at getting you into a new MacBook Pro?"

No, thanks (for that laptop, which was permanently connected to a digital piano, charging wasn't strictly necessary).

I have the 2016 15" MacBook Pro model and the battery won't take a charge. I have to keep it always plugged in. Apparently I'm not in this recall.

It is a total bummer because it takes Apple 3-5 days to fix this. The batter has 476 cycles on it and Apple rates it at 1000.

I have a MacBook Pro Mid-2015, bought in 2015 and had (a) swollen battery (b) green pixel on screen (c) bad sectors on SSD, in early 2017 - that's just 1.5 years. Got everything replaced after under Apple Care in late 2017 as they wouldn't acknowledge all the faults so it took multiple visits and having to wait for things to get worse. The repair took ~15-16 days too, since that's how it goes in third world and I had to arrange a backup for work.

Now I have the swollen battery again, but Apple Care has expired and I have to shell out $500-750 (quotes from different authorized partners) and have to arrange a backup for another 2 weeks.

I wonder if they dump low quality hardware for the third world or is it really that bad globally. Two of my friends have also had the battery issues, though none with display or SSD.

Unfortunately, it seems like I don't qualify for this recall program (as it's from July 2015), but I am sure they have had battery issues all over. Batteries failing in 1.5 years with just 40-50 cycles is not okay.

Lots of third world countries are in warmer parts of the world - I wonder if Spain or Australia have similar failure rates to your country.

Anecdotally, my MacBook Pro Mid-2015 has had zero problems (other than apparently being eligible for this recall, now) and I've ridden it hard daily.

> I have to shell out $500-750 (quotes from different authorized partners)

That's crazy. I have the same Mac and just got a swollen battery replaced, and had them also clean up the machine and replace the thermal paste ... for a grand total of €258 (taxes included), at a random third party shop in Germany. And I thought we were being ripped off vs. US prices!

I was expecting ~$250 from what I had read on internet. But I suppose it's the same in places where there's no official Apple presence - we have these 3rd party "authorized service providers". Or perhaps it's something to do with local customs/duties on imports.

Some runs of Apple hardware (well, any hardware) tends to have good and bad models. I tend to avoid any major hardware changes for the first 6mo and I've heard that advice for years.

I've seen similar "bad luck" in first-world countries. So I don't think it's that. It's more likely a bad run of hardware or harsher working conditions (more humidity, not having a/c or something).

Don’t want to sound overly paranoid here but is it possible you were given fake parts? As in, the third party shop had the originals shipped and put cheaper ones in your Mac to sell the originals for a bit on the side.

I have no idea about the safeguards Apple has in place but your experience sounds very unusual

I miss user serviceable laptops

There are still plenty if you don't buy from Apple.

I was actually shocked to see how easy it is to repair dell XPS laptops considering they are just as thin as macbooks (I think even thinner)

The battery is secured with a few screws and a metal bracket. Also the ram was socketed.

The thinness is a red herring but people who don't know better believe that.

Apple is clearly doing these things in order to make their products unserviceable so they can upsell.

It's a shame Apple chose 'sexiness' as the hill to die on with their products. They've long been a company that has done so much right with regards to pushing the tech industry kicking and screaming into the future, with high PPI displays, with getting rid of things like floppy and disk drives etc, and most recently with their stance on privacy.

But it seems they're going too far recently. Shit keyboards. Gluing everything making it neither repairable nor upgradeable, greatly increasing the environmental footprint of their products. Getting rid of the headphone jack to trap people into biannual upgrade cycles of new headphones.

I'm not even sure what their end goal is anymore.

My 2015 MBP battery ballooned up about 6 months ago. I just bought a replacement battery and swapped it out myself. Looks like my serial is included in the recall, guessing they won't touch it anymore though..

> I just bought a replacement battery and swapped it out myself.

How much of a pain in the ass was separating the glued-in battery from the chassis? iFixit makes it look infuriating

I did it a couple of months ago and it was an evening's worth of work with Netflix on in the background. Not infuriating at all, but there were definitely a couple of sweaty palm-inducing moments. That said, iFixit's instructions and pictures were faultless. If Apple doesn't release a MacBook Pro refresh that addresses some of the widespread concerns (touchbar and keyboard, notably), I would have no hesitation about swapping the battery again in another few years.

I didn't think it was too bad. I tend to enjoy these types of projects though.

I did manage to puncture the battery slightly at one point, Luckily I thought ahead and let the MBP drain to ~0% to reduce the chance of a lipo related fire. So nothing happened. I wasn't gentle about removing it, if you took the time to properly heat the glue and pry carefully it could be done with no drama.

Here are a bunch of comments related to changing the battery: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19973236

In short: it didn't take too long, but it was still a pain.

Most people seem to take the shortcut where they don't completely remove all internal electronics before peeling off the battery. They just try to be careful to not have the acetone touch the plastic speakers (which would melt in the process.) It's not super complicated, just scary.

Yeah, and what if I've already paid to have my bulging battery replaced?

Three months ago I did this, and the repair center charged me full price for the thing because Apple covered jack all.

How much did they charge you? Do you have a receipt? Can you try running your serial number through the form?

If the repair center wasn't Apple/authorized, the result is likely to be "Oh well. Sorry".

About $400.

> Our records show that your device has already been serviced as part of this Program.

Hmm... I bought a new Apple Macbook Pro via the Apple store. It was a MBP 2015 which I bought in 2017 (I didn't want the touchbar), but I find this particular message weird from Apple.

This is not a refurbished MBP, why is Apple treating why it is?

Did you have anything else serviced during that time? This was automatically flagged if you had a logic board or top-case/keyboard replacement done. In some cases, it was also done for trackpad replacements so it's possible it was already completed during another repair. If you haven't had another repair, you may want to check with Apple.

I bought mine in early 2015, before the start of their program. I entered the serial and it said it may be eligible. Is the form wrong or their date range wrong?

FTA: Affected units were sold primarily between September 2015 and February 2017 (emphasis added)

Given that, ‘early 2015’ still feels early to me, but it isn’t necessarily impossible (certainly not if you mean April or May)

Oh, thanks, missed that. That could explain why I got the notice. Yes, it was April.

I too, bought mine in early 2015. It says it's not eligible.

> September 2015 and February 2017

Which isn't early 2015 - that's how I saw it.

It's not been mentioned here, but there was a program to replace those batteries for a fee before, it has been transformed into a recall.

Is there any page (possibly archived if need be) that displayed this? It's completely not out of character for the company when it comes to this sort of thing.

My mid-2017 15" MBP battery life is atrocious if I have 10 Chrome tabs open. Doesn't last more than 3-4 hours. Huge disappointment, but thankfully it's plugged in 95% of the time. Checked my serial number and it's not part of the recall but still got major quality issues.

I have that exact model, website says it's not eligible and/or already fixed. Manufacture date is listed as 8 May 2015, 84% health at 615 cycles. Still not feeling very reassured, though.

I bought a refurb i7, 16GB in summer 2016 that site says the has already been serviced. Too bad because I really need a battery replacement and I'm otherwise completely happy with the computer.

Say you're having problems with the keyboard, and have them replace it. I think that they are replacing the whole top case in these instances which includes the battery.

I'm sure someone will correct me if that's not the case

If it has already been serviced, that may be due to a keyboard replacement already. Do they do unlimited keyboard replacements?

Yep

I have this exact MBP 2015 model and my battery is in the process of dying. It has about 45 minutes of usage from full charge to zero.

Looking forward to a free replacement ;)

Looking forward about two weeks, to be precise... ;)

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