Customer Reviews and Ratings

2.5 out of 5 stars

Based on 417 reviews

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Worried

    • Written by from Sebring

    32 of 42 people found this useful

    My battery is now in need of servicing. What does that mean? I now have to worry about a battery for my portable that has never given me 5 hours, despite the claims by Apple and some devoted/lucky customers.

    I will eventually have to get a replacement, I suppose, which then means more money spent. I hope that is not the Apple modus operandi, as I would be most disappointed. I agree with earlier comments, Apple does need to look at the quality of its batteries. Maybe that is why they decided to do internal batteries.

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    charger

    • Written by from bronx

    25 of 29 people found this useful

    I purchased my first apple laptop in 2000 about a year later it needed a new charger you would think i learned my lesson i purchased another one last september and here i am purchasing a new battery and and a new charger the sales person tells me this is a common problem if so they should really consider lowering their prices on the their chargers.

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    What are you gonna do about it???

    • Written by from New York

    42 of 51 people found this useful

    It's astonishing how poor the quality on Apples batteries are.
    Headed out to the Apple store to get the third one for a Macbook that's two years old. They just stop working after a few hundred charges, which makes them by-far the worst quality batteries I have used as a professional, and the hurdles that Apple makes you jump through to get a replacement are atrocious.

    304 Cycles and the battery completely dies. I'm just disgusted by how little care Apple has about this - but they do get to charge you upwards of 15% of the new purchase price of a Macbook just to replace the batt. Makes it worthwhile to just consider buying a new one (or course it won't be a Macbook since the quality is just so bad).

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    2 Macbooks, 2 dead batteries

    • Written by from Clarksville

    56 of 58 people found this useful

    I bought this Macbook in August of 2008 and the battery has been fine. It held a charge and worked just fine until last night, I plugged it in to charge overnight and woke up to a steady green light and a dead battery. It seems little premature, especially since I bought my wife a Macbook in February of this year and the same thing happened to hers about a month ago. Luckily, hers was under warranty and the "Geniuses" at the Mac store gave us a new one. As for me, no such luck and I find it a little disheartening to have to buy another battery not even a year and a half after this one was new.

    Apple should be paying attention to this forum, this looks to be a common occurrence. Perhaps MS could take some wind out of the OSX sail with this gem.

    Was this useful? 2 Macbooks, 2 dead batteries

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    short life

    • Written by from OKLAHOMA CITY

    32 of 38 people found this useful

    The battery only lives for a year, and then is gone. My wife and I own 3 macbooks, 2 of had the same exact problem. The battery all of the sudden is dead. That means $300 on top of what we already paid... we used to love mac products, now we just like them.

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    awsomeneseses

    • Written by from Edmonton

    13 of 19 people found this useful

    I have had mine for almost 3 years now, using it in university all day everyday and at work in the summers. I always have charged mine fully and let it run almost empty (like you're supposed to) and I still can squeeze 5 hours out of my macbook. Usually I can easily get 4 hours running safari and word and powerpoint. I have even updated my drive from 60GB to 500GB and RAM from 0.5GB to 2GB and I still get great battery life. I'll replace it when this trend peters out, but it's still going strong so what the hey?

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Going strong

    • Written by from Kansas City

    5 of 19 people found this useful

    After reading these reviews I had to give it 5 stars. I got on the apple store site to see what kind of improved performance I could get by getting a new battery, as mine is 2 and a half years old. It currently gives me 4 hours of daily use with the display backlight at lower settings. I use my macbook 13" for college and can't live without it. I think I'll put off the purchase until mine is under 3 hours.

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    dead battery

    • Written by from Bluffton

    45 of 48 people found this useful

    I obviously got this battery with my macbook, 15 months ago. I really hadn't even noticed my battery life draining, but all of a sudden one day the battery just died!!! I have no idea why. Its still brand new and not over used and only works when plugged in. I tried a friends battery and it works so that is definitely the problem. I am no where near a store, and I've got to spend nearly $150 to get another battery, I hope this isn't an every year problem. If so Ill be switching back to PC. Love my Mac to death, but I am not made of money.

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Two batteries in two years

    • Written by from Nixa

    18 of 22 people found this useful

    I've had my Mac for a little over two years and this is the second time my battery has quit on me. Two batteries in two years is pretty sad.

    The only reason I gave it two stars instead of one is because when it is working, I can go five or six hours on a charge. That's better than any laptop I've had in the past.

    Was this useful? Two batteries in two years

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  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Battery smarts

    • Written by

    11 of 21 people found this useful

    Ok so i've received my mac book a year ago its for my school we are on some kind of mac contract thing and all the new freshmen get one my year was the first to start this program but anyways our teachers told us if we use up all (when he said all he ment ALL your battery) before recharging what i normally do is i let my battery power get to the point where it eater says you need to plug in because you are on reserve or when it goes red in the little icon and my battery is doing around 5 to 6 hours its been doing me well

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Dead in < 2 years

    • Written by from Mountain view

    26 of 28 people found this useful

    Cons: My battery no longer holds a charge, and I've had the laptop for only 21 months. Shelling out for a new one is painful, and I did not expect to do so this soon.

    Pros: When the battery did hold a charge, it would run for at least 2 hours (4+ in the beginning of its life), and stay several days on standby.

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    dead after only 50 cycles

    • Written by from ASHLAND

    27 of 30 people found this useful

    Pretty sad. I use my macbook only to travel. Got it out today and no battery charge, and it won't recharge at all. I got it 3 years ago and now it looks like I need a new battery. That is very disappointing. Major computer let down for me. B y the looks of these reviews, the battery itself has some major flaws. Are there any options? Another manufacturer???

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Battery not recognized

    • Written by from georgetown

    42 of 50 people found this useful

    after leaving my macbook asleep for a week and i forgot to power down, it will no longer accept a charge, i follow the support to get it out of low charge and nothing, this is the second time this has happened, my lat battery i got on recall was replaced just over a year ago, since the apple store is about 1 hour away its probably just going to be easier to pay the 150$ for a new one, not satisfied at all!

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Assault and Battery

    • Written by from santee

    45 of 57 people found this useful

    Have had my mac for about 3 1/2 years it will say fully charged and even on the power save mode it says (0:42) but only lasts about 10min well i guess shelling out $140 is what i have to do.
    Very disappointing. If after 3 1/2 years i only lasted 5 min with my Gf i would be in trouble
    also disk drive stopped working recently right after my apple care expired.

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    MacBook 13" White battery issues

    • Written by from Round Lake

    112 of 125 people found this useful

    I've had a white 13" MacBook for about 3.5 years and all of a sudden the battery doesn't last for 5 minutes. Apple prides itself with good solid products. I like the Mac but they surely need to fix this battery issue. Its tough having to shell out $130 for a new battery every 3 years. My 5 year old Sony laptop still gives me 3 hours of battery time!!!
    C'mon Apple!

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    frustrating

    • Written by from Lynchburg

    35 of 43 people found this useful

    I have had my MacBook for 3 1/2 years and this will be my third battery. I think it's ridiculous that not only do they die so quickly, but they also don't have much of a life to begin with. I also have a mini PC for note taking and that battery lasts 7 hours. There is no comparison. I love my Mac but the battery does not live up to its name.

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    It's 2009 - c'mon Apple you can do better

    • Written by from Oxnard

    50 of 55 people found this useful

    My Macbook is 2.5 years old and my battery is DEAD and needs to be replaced. I was going to just buy my replacement and move on - but then I read the reviews which talk about the battery being AMAZING and GREAT if you only do blah blah blah.....
    To say that having users do battery maintenance is a good feature or great product is laughable... it's time for Apple to drink some of their own Koolaide. If you want to give us a product that requires specific charging and draining to keep it functioning - then the software should either automatically drain and charge the battery without requiring user action to initiate the process OR, at the very least it should prompt the user to take specific action when it is required. We get a MAC so that we can make a movie, record a podcast, read email, listen to music ... not battery maintenance - I have a PC for that.

    Was this useful? It's 2009 - c'mon Apple you can do better

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Misery Loves Company

    • Written by from Still River

    33 of 34 people found this useful

    One day I literally turn on the computer and it is dead. I was in disbelief that the battery could fail after just a few months of ownership (13 to be exact). I thought this was a major malfunction of the computer. My work PC laptop never had this problem. The only good thing is that I found this forum and know I am definitely not alone. I do hope Apple does something about this b/c this is the first time I have ever been SO very disappointed by a Mac product.

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Battery is AMAZING!

    • Written by from Freeburg

    6 of 29 people found this useful

    I don't know what macbook you guys are talking about, but I've had my battery in my MacBook since 2007 and I get 7+ hours battery life with constant open usage. This battery lasts forever!

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    bad battery

    • Written by from Cocoa Beach

    21 of 24 people found this useful

    I have 3 MacBooks all 2 - 3 years old, now the battery in one is bad, completely dead, its the one in my wifes computer, she took great care to let the battery discharge completely before she would charge it again, and then charge it completely and so forth, the other 2 were treated with no regard to battery level or preformance, those 2 still have decent battery life, 1.5 - 2 hours light useage, go figure. now, I'll have get a new battery for her one? 1 in 3 ain't bad I guess.