Customer Reviews and Ratings

2.5 out of 5 stars

Based on 418 reviews

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    eh...

    • Written by

    12 of 15 people found this useful

    I have a nearly 4-yr old 1st generation white Mac book, and I had the same experience as many other reviewers. My battery died slowly but surely over about a year and a half. I didn't know about the charging it fully then draining it fully theory of maintaining it, so after I get my second, new battery (finally...) I will try it. However, I have to say the battery really isn't that bad. It's bad now (20 min or less without power cord) almost 4 years down the road, but until 2 years old, it held almost 2 hrs of charge which could have been worse... Can't wait to get a second one though.

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Battery Swelling Problem

    • Written by from Timonium

    24 of 24 people found this useful

    The battery design is very well thought out in that its green LED indicators make it easy to tell how much charge is left even when the computer is off. However after having my macbook for nearly two years my battery started swelling dramatically, pushing up against the inside of the macbook making it almost impossible to click on the trackpad button and causing random clicks to happen when I rest my palm on the macbook to type. This is horrible.

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Ridiculous - why?

    • Written by

    47 of 57 people found this useful

    These batteries seem defective and just die down without any warning at all.
    1st battery: after a year , I suddenly was unable to charge my battery. Battery just wouldn't respond to the charger.
    So I bought another battery, paying $150. This time it only lasted a month!

    I don't get it - can't Apple produce batteries that are not defective for this Macbook? especially as it is claiming to be the most technologically advanced notebook producer?
    And if it can not, can they please replace the batteries that die down, without any charge?

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Bad batteries

    • Written by from Lacey

    57 of 62 people found this useful

    I have owned two Macbooks for the last 2 years, and the batteries have died in both of them. No warning (gradual weakening), just death. The batteries refuse to charge, and even when plugged in, the batteries seem to drain sometimes. I have always been impressed with the quality of Apple products, but the batteries they use for their Macbooks are terrible. The icing on the cake is how expensive the batteries are too... 130.00 dollars for something that won't even go 18 months?

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Price of Doing Business

    • Written by from Flagstaff

    60 of 69 people found this useful

    Not a fanboy, but have always liked Apple interface and (usually) hardware, but this battery is clearly inferior to other batteries I've dealt with. Have had HP and Dell laptops and - while they can't compete with Apple's ease of use and stability - their batteries just work better. I have what is probably a pretty typical pattern of use. I plug in probably more than I should, but always want to be mostly charged if I need to travel. Dell and HP always put up with this pretty well, never degrading to the point where I couldn't get any charge at all, but my little white Apple lasted 13 months (seems to be a pretty common duration) before the battery flat-lined.

    A suggestion: How about a "dummy battery" - battery meant to only act as bridge between AC ports lasting 1 hours at the most, but tolerating frequent charging. Meanwhile, a lithium charging in a dock that will not charge beyond a recommended point. If - God Forbid - this Macbook dies, and Apple has not made a change to a better-designed battery, I'd be pretty tempted to return to the dark side. 130 bucks every 8-13 months as a "price of doing business" is pretty steep.

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Apple Battery is my choice

    • Written by from Charlotte

    34 of 49 people found this useful

    My MacBook is now 4.5 years old and I am on my 3rd OS because I chose to upgrade. Yes, I replaced the hard drive but only for more capacity, I also upgraded the RAM. My battery is only now starting to have issues.
    I've read the reviews on off brand and I for one plan to go with Apple endorsed. If the off brand has a review they all mention poor fit and some even complain of them falling apart. I use my computer a fair amount 4-8 hours a day. I stream video run multiple apps and even multi OS (I can't do my timesheet without Windows) though I moved that into VirtualBox. I need the battery to be fully reliable not a poor fit and falling apart.

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Bad Reviews?

    • Written by from DETROIT

    92 of 115 people found this useful

    This is a good battery, but it is expensive. Everyone that is leaving a bad review keep in mind that keeping your laptop plugged in constantly will kill your battery sooner than expected. This goes for anything running on a battery. You are overcharging the battery. This slowly destroys the battery and it will not have as long of a life span as it should. This goes for almost any electronic device running on a lithium ion battery. They should implement a feature where the power from the outlet is no longer supplied when the battery reaches a full charge. I think nintendo the d.s. lite does this but im not positive.

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Why mac?

    • Written by from Atlanta

    44 of 126 people found this useful

    My macbook battery stopped working all of a sudden. It just wouldn't charge anymore. I cannot disconnect my computer from the electricity outlet for one second because it would quit immediately. I also had to replace my hard drive because it also quit all of a sudden. I only use my mac for school and home. There is NO WAY this computer would make it if I had used it for office work.
    It seems like Apple computers are just big gigantic iPods that only work for pictures and music. My next computer is going to be PC. I may keep this mac as a CD player or to store my pix.

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Very Unhappy with this product

    • Written by from Brooklyn

    29 of 39 people found this useful

    This product is insanely expensive for what it ends up being....after a year of use the original battery wouldn't give me more that 20-35 min so i resorted to having it plugged all the time.
    Alas, it did what I've heard about for a while...it warped for the heat and, cant even have it in its slot since it affects the performence of the machine ( e.g. the mouse and touchpad dont work at all) Booooooooo Apple on this one. Big Fail on quality!!!!!

    Was this useful? Very Unhappy with this product

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    lemon

    • Written by from Mt. Pearl

    21 of 27 people found this useful

    Do I have a lemon? Already a hard drive failure with the Macbook 13 and now a year later a dead battery, no weakening, no warning, just dead all of a sudden.

    Starting to question the wisdom of my decision while looking at my 5 year old Toshiba working fine even now...

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Very Unpleased Mac Customer

    • Written by from Scott City

    26 of 29 people found this useful

    I've had my mac for a little over a year and I am having to replace the battery already. And after a year my warranty had ended so now I cant get it fixed or replaced, I am having to pay $134.45 for a new battery. My brother has the same computer and has had it for 3 years now and has never had a problem. I find it a little ridiculous that I have to pay so much for a battery that obviously isn't working for anyone else but for some reason works for others.

    Was this useful? Very Unpleased Mac Customer

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Warped from the heat...

    • Written by from Simi Valley

    21 of 22 people found this useful

    Really not happy with this battery. It has never lasted more than 3 hours, even when new, and it is now (2 years in) TOTALLY warped from the heat. Really poor product and a really expensive replacement! Boooooo Apple!

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Battery Life

    • Written by from San Juan

    10 of 23 people found this useful

    The best way to make your battery last is to never turn off your computer. I had mine for 3 year now and I have never turn off my MacBook. Needless to say battery works just fine. From time to time let it drain completly.

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    New battery after only a year and a half.

    • Written by from Aurora

    16 of 20 people found this useful

    I am having to replace my battery in my laptop that isn't even a 18 months old. I don't even use this for work, so I'm only on it 3-4 hours a week. I bought this laptop to replace my Dell. That battery lasted for more than 4 years with even more use since I used it though school.

    Was this useful? New battery after only a year and a half.

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    could be better- 2 thumbs down

    • Written by

    26 of 27 people found this useful

    I have had a mac book 3 yrs and a few months. Mid way in that time i had to replace once and now again it needs to be replaced. The battery doesn't even make it 2 yrs before needing to be replaced again. If i could post this with out giving any stars i would. Maybe the third time is a charm or i should invest in stock for mac batteries since ill have to keep buying them if i want my laptop to be portable.

    Was this useful? could be better- 2 thumbs down

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    It is very sensitive

    • Written by from Ottawa

    45 of 46 people found this useful

    If you let it discharge and do not use it for a week or two it may never charge -- read the forums.

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great product

    • Written by from Overland Park

    6 of 12 people found this useful

    My battery just died after three years of regular use. I'm super happy with how long the battery lasted and am off to the store to buy a new one. I would definitely pay the extra money for an Apple-endorsed battery. Other batteries sold elsewhere are not of the best quality or fit for the Macbook.

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Not bad for me...

    • Written by from Lake Worth

    10 of 12 people found this useful

    I use my MacBook 8-10 hours a day between work and college. I have had the computer since Oct 2006 and I just got a new battery for Christmas. My old one still worked, was able to get 2.5-3 hours out of a full charge with the brightness on high and always 10+ programs open. I do only leave it plugged in until it's fully charged and then use it completely until the battery is almost dead before plugging it back in. But since I use the computer so much in a day, I decided to ask for a new one from Santa.

    Gave 5 out of 5 stars because it's been no trouble for me. With as much as I use my computer, I'm surprised the battery didn't give out sooner. Love my MacBook, and won't ever go back to a PC.

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Apple Batteries, Target Practice Anyone?

    • Written by from Titusville

    25 of 27 people found this useful

    I have owned my mac for over 3years now and to be just blunt, Apple batteries are horrid. Your much better off going with an off brand. The orginal battery lasted a little over a year. The replacement has lasted again about a year, but I've been reluctant to purchase another. I am currently purchasing an off-brand for about 1/4 of the price.

    The quality Apple is pushing out on these is not Apple-par. My mom's PC laptop battery has lasted 5years and still holds a 60% charge... Apple you need to fix this... -_-

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Lucky me

    • Written by from Aptos

    21 of 33 people found this useful

    I've had my MacBook for just over two years and I still get about 2 hours of use on a charge, with high screen brightness. I make sure to run the power down and fully charge as much as possible. I appear to be lucky but I'm sure I'll need a new one soon. It died out of nowhere the other night at about 25% and I'm afraid it's on its way out. I don't care though, I love my MacBook. I see a 15" MacBook Pro in the near future . . .