Customer Reviews and Ratings

2.0 out of 5 stars

Based on 134 reviews

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Battery

    • Written by from TUCSON

    This battery has lasted me 3 years, and I am getting a replacement. The battery still works but is losing it's charge. Last night I noticed that the battery has bowed out and the cover to the machine no longer fits. Wow! Overall, I am happy with a battery lasting 3 years, as I use this machine daily.

    26 of 31 people found this useful

  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Battery life

    • Written by from Seattle

    We've had mixed success but have not been dissatisfied. We bought our MBP in 2006, since then we've had two new batteries, but Apple replaced both of them for free. Once we were, told at the retail store, to let our battery discharge completely once each month but it was okay to leave the Pro tethered to the power cord as the MBP would automatically switch from DC to AC when the battery was full. We've also been advised to leave it untethered and plug it in only to charge because after a finite number of charging cycles the battery life would decrease. Throughout all this, we've had the same AC power adapter, which finally went TU today. The battery life was better while the machine was newer and we were leaving it plugged in. Too many variables to tell what is the "right" thing to do, but h*ll it's been five years on this MBP, and we've not spent any money on it -- other than applecare. So, were not dissatisfied, even as I'm on my way to buy another AC adapter and battery or . . . a new Mac Book Pro.

    12 of 15 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    492 cycles (32months) and still has nearly 3500 mAh

    • Written by from san antonio

    Most of the issues I have heard and read about battery life are connected to how the battery is used (or not used). If you leave any rechargeable battery at full charge and plugged in you are going to experience issues with battery life and swelling. Regardless of brand of the battery. Try actually using your laptop for what it is. If you use your computer pretty much as a desktop, buy an iMac that will solve your issues with battery replacement. Otherwise remove the tether from your MBP and use it anywhere and everywhere. You should get much longer life out of your battery.

    25 of 38 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Battery Bulging After 35 Charges

    • Written by from Brooklyn

    I purchased my Macbook and found out that I really do not take it anywhere and it mainly sits after my desk. After 18 months I only went through 35 battery cycles. I am very upset to see that my battery is expanding in size and pushing the lid away from the computer.

    38 of 40 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Expensive and poor-performance

    • Written by from Potomac

    My MBP is almost 4 years old and runs on AC power 90% of the time. I'm about to purchase the 3rd battery, as it only holds ~1300 mAh after 157 charge cycles. I religiously follow the protocol each month, as well.

    My theory is that the MBP runs very hot and can't dissipate the heat efficiently. As heat increases battery performance but shortens life by a factor of two for every 10°C increase above 25–30°C (18°F above 77–86°F), the effect is degradation.

    If I hear Apple engineers snickering at my naive analysis, I challenge them to better explain their faulty design.

    29 of 31 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    They ooze quality but not without a battery! Time to pull out the PC.

    • Written by from Topeka

    I could have bought a brand new computer with the amount of times I've replaced this battery... and yes I have done everything I should have with each one of them! My batteries won't even last a year and if I get an hour out of them without the meter going from 90% to like 20% it's a miracle.
    I am now running this machine with no battery and have to pray that I have saved whatever I am doing when the cord pops out. I have to go on a trip and to tell you the truth I am not sure I even want to pay for another battery for this thing. You think the least they could do is give you a cheaper price for their cheap piece of junk battery. I have been an avid mac user for almost 20 years, I am highly disappointed. I think it's time to pull out the PC.

    24 of 27 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Terrible

    • Written by from Sherman Oaks

    Brand new out of the box, first charge, it gets 2.5 hours (on the better battery performance setting). This is unacceptable. For reference, I'm using the first generation unibody pro from 2008.

    27 of 29 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Bad battery design

    • Written by from San Diego

    I don't get all the Apple fanatics defending poor Apple from bad reviews. I am an Apple user and have been for a long time, but this battery is just badly designed.

    I have had my MBP since October of 2008. I mostly use it connected to the wall. I don't even care much how long the battery lasts, but this is the first time in my life I have seen a product that forces you to get a replacement battery because the swelling makes the trackpad unusable.

    It's one thing to complain about a battery not holding charge. That's understandable and happens to all batteries after a while. However, I have had laptops for years, then passed them to my mom and dad, and the batteries are still OK. Sure, they don't hold much charge, but they also don't force you to change them if you are OK with 45 minutes without being plugged in.

    It doesn't matter if you have been a MBP user for 3 years and you think your machine is the best thing since slice bread. Reading these comments makes it obvious that a LOT of people are having the same problem I'm having, and that is just a bad design. If 5% of the batteries swell, then the design should accommodate it, or Apple should replace those at no cost.

    48 of 48 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    MacBook Pro Battery

    • Written by from GLENDALE

    I'm amazed at the number of folks that have issues with the MacBook Pro battery. I've had mine for over two years and still have 98%. I just follow the direction of reconditioning three times a year and that seems to give life to the battery. I also have the iMac 27", an iPad2, iPod Touch all of which I love.

    16 of 29 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Poorly engineered then ignored

    • Written by from whitewater

    My wife's 5 year old plastic MacBook battery is still going strong, but my top of the line MacBook pro's is dead in a little over two years, taking out trackpad and bending aluminum while it did so.

    As an early adopter and strong Apple advocate I have felt left out in the cold on this issue. Even acknowledging that it is a problem would mitigate the undertone of "your crazy, that is what they are supposed to do." It is a manufacturing defect. It sounds like Apple has fixed the problem with newer MacBook Pro models without the removable battery, but a lent hand to the early adopters who helped launch the unibody line would be appreciated.

    I understand that batteries are a consumable piece of a laptop, but when a battery dies its swelling should not stress and disable other components in the system.

    31 of 31 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Still going strong after 31 months

    • Written by from Kleve

    Just wanted to chime in because I saw many negative reviews. I've had my late 2008 MacBook Pro 5,1 for more than two and a half years now and after 542 cycles I'm still at 93% capacity. That is all!

    17 of 22 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    With proper care, this battery is very durable

    • Written by from Coral Springs

    These batteries must be calibrated at least once a month. The battery should be run all the way down until the computer shuts itself off. Then leave it off for at least 2 hours and ideally no more than 5 hours. Next, charge it all the way up. You can use it while it is charging.

    I have done this routine faithfully for the past three years. I have recharged mine 341 times and still have 92% of my original capacity.

    31 of 33 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Battery of acer standards.. service of apple is even worse

    • Written by from Jakarta

    am at my 2nd battery, i remember all the fanfare with which they marketed the 1st unibody macbook pro...5-8 hours battery life, not in this life!!!

    I find it pretty distasteful that apple with all its .billions of profit is not standing up to the plate and have these batteries redesigned and reissued FOC to the original owners....

    underdog became uberdog.... its all downhill from here on....

    karma...

    17 of 20 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    A battery every year is a little rediculous

    • Written by from CHARLESTON

    I have replaced the battery in my 15" MBP every year since the purchase. Come on Apple

    29 of 33 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Piece of Junk

    • Written by from Spring

    Don't get me wrong, the macbook is amazing and does everything I want it to do and much more. The battery, on the other hand, dies way too quickly and doesn't even get close to the quality I expected. I have now put my battery through 400 charge cycles (in maybe a year and a half), and it already only holds 40% of the original battery life. This is ridiculous and I am really disappointed. I now have to spend more money on an already highly priced laptop. I love the macbook. Hate the battery

    24 of 26 people found this useful

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Very poor overall life!

    • Written by from Des Moines

    I have had replace these in two of my MBP Unibody machines with less than 500 cycles. The batteries work great at the beginning of their life with incredible computer running time. However, they just don't last NEARLY as long as the 1,000 cycles that Apple advertises. I had one which was showing an error at less than one year old (replaced under warranty). Now, I have one which is around two years old which says "replace battery" and needs to be replaced (out of warranty). I understand that batteries go bad after time, but a $129.00 battery should really last as long as advertised, I just hate replacing them at such a high price!

    14 of 16 people found this useful

  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Excellent battery but dies off quickly and erratically towards EOL

    • Written by from Paterson

    This is a standard battery for the older MacBook Pro's. To the people complaining about not getting 8 hours of battery life, you are confusing different models. Up until at least late 2008, the MacBook Pro's had removable batteries which lasted 3-4 hours (2-3 more realistically). Apple never advertised these as having 7-8 hours. The newer models with the non-removable batteries are capable of lasting 7 hours, give or take an hour. The fact that these newer models have much larger internal built-in batteries is the reason why they last that long.

    26 of 28 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    At least disapointed

    • Written by from Glyfada

    I have to say that i was introduced to apple products two years ago and now i own 2 ipods ,2 ipads2 , 1 macmini, 1macbook pro5.1-15inches ,1 imac 23inches and numerous side gadgets .
    It hurts when myself and other loyal customers of yours,experiencing such a failure with your batteries ,by the way this is my 2nd one gone dead.

    17 of 19 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Battery bulge yet still has charge

    • Written by from Los Angeles

    I have to replace the battery because of a manufacturing defect even though the battery still has charge. Good job, Apple.

    25 of 30 people found this useful

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Poor Design/Quality/Misengineered

    • Written by from Clay Center

    I'm on my second battery. The replacement only has 20 charge cycles and it's broke. Ran the battery diag software and it says REPLACE BATTERY. Won't charge at all or even attempt it. No lights ever come on when you hit the button. It's about 8 months old from the Apple store.

    16 of 17 people found this useful