Replaced battery in MacBook Pro today

[stephenson]

Pretty easy - but, lots of steps.

13" MacBook Pro with TouchBar.

$52 for the battery - actually a battery pack of five connected batteries. First photo is of inside of laptop - note the "puffy" and "swollen" look of the battery bags. Second photo is of new batteries - flat with adhesive foam to prevent moment when installed.

This laptop has a pretty rotten history of batteries swelling, then flexing the aluminum laptop case until it bends, or even the trackpads crack all the way across. Pretty awful quality, but common, apparently.

My year was the A1706 model from mid 2017.

Biggest issue was the poor quality T3 screw driver included with the batteries. A better screwdriver would have made the job much easier.

Lots of online videos and instructions.

Once installed, system charges to about 78% then stops for a few hours, then starts charging to 100% - will see what happens by tomorrow morning.

 

[Sunset]

Nice... They really pack those things tightly.
I recall on one of my laptops, in order to add memory, I had to remove the battery first.

 

[ERD50]

Nice... They really pack those things tightly.
I recall on one of my laptops, in order to add memory, I had to remove the battery first.

For Apple laptops (since 2012 or 2016 depending on model), the memory is soldered in.

No RAM upgrade for you! Unless you want to tackle de-soldering and soldering in a RAM module (not for the weak of heart, or shaky of hand, or poor of sight), and voiding the warranty.

-ERD50

 

[Jerry1]

Biggest issue was the poor quality T3 screw driver included with the batteries. A better screwdriver would have made the job much easier.

I got this screwdriver set awhile back and it has been very helpful. It has all the really small bits that are needed to work on computers and many other things. Even something as simple as the small screws on my glasses.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Royace-S...Iphone-Electronics-Ps3s-Hobby-Tools/589293359

 

[stephenson]

Thanks, Jerry ... unfortunately, the MacBook is assembled with T3 and T5 headed screws - the T5 is small, but the T3 is tiny - great way to save space and weight, but the screwdriver head must be very well made or it won't fit right - the one that came with the battery kit is pretty sloppily made.

Here's a couple of quick comparo photos for the screwdriver sizes - first one shows normal (home use) Philips with smallest bit in place, then a smaller Philips for very small work -then a few specialty, then a large driver with the smallest T10 in place, then the T5, and the T3. Second photo shows how TINY the T3 is ... gah - expand the photo and you can see the metal fuzz on the bit ... PITA as had to put far too much pressure on the screw to prevent stripping - a better bit would have worked fine, I think.

 

[stephenson]

Here's a shot of the original batteries - shows how the plastic seal material around them is expanded!

The center battery was beginning to interfere with the trackpad operation.

 

[stephenson]

Looks to be working ... first recharge cycle gave me 2.5 hours with heavy usage. Then did a battery reset recommendations.

Second recharge cycle took about an hour to charge from 1% (when it shut down) - before battery replacement would shut down at 25% at about 30 minutes.

Had to reset the SMC to get the battery service warning to go away - restart holding shift-control-option-power button.

Seems to be working OK.

Savings? Would have varied. Apple was $199 (package up and ship and then wait and then get back - results may vary), local shop was Apple plus $130-150 and a "few days" since they kept no batteries in stock and lots of warning about lack of responsibility for anything going wrong (BTW - the local Best Buy Apple folks did not do batteries).

Battery was $52 - should have bought better tools, but still works. So, total cost $52 - and, I learned a lot.

Here's the link to the ifixit process (not the battery supplier I used) - the ifixit solution has a LOT of steps, many of which were not necessary. About half the steps could be avoided by leaving the trackpad attached, and by removing only the screws necessary to get the motherboard to tilt back far enough to remove the battery cable/support. I stopped following their process when I realized this ...

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Touch+Bar+2017+Battery+Replacement/125636

 

[OldShooter]

FWIW I have found the German Wiha brand of small screwdrivers to be excellent. Here is a T3: https://www.amazon.com/Wiha-96703-S.../ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=t3+screwdriver Wiha makes larger screwdrivers and tools, too, but I have no experience. Probably they are excellent too.

I would never buy a single screwdriver, though. Always at least a small kit. There is no such thing as owning too many quality tools.

 

[stephenson]

Shooter,

I would paid $50 for a Wiha T3 yesterday ....!

Looking for Wiha kit now and can report it on Blow That Dough!

 

[stephenson]

OK - now reading about it ... grrr ...

Every kit discusses having T3 and T5 drivers, but some say Apple converted to pentalobe design to try and slow folks from working on their own devices?

Grrr ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentalobe_screw

Still reviewing ... don’t know which to buy to never repeat this!

Maybe this? https://www.amazon.com/Wiha-26794-P...654cc&pd_rd_wg=MFvuG&pd_rd_i=B00GY8VQQE&psc=1

Insanity has gripped us!

Why would Apple develop another format for screws if not to restrict access - knowing even that would be fleeting?

 

[stephenson]

Seriously?

 

[Bongleur]

iFixit & Wiha are good stuff.

I also like Other World Computing, owc.com aka macSales.com

 

[stephenson]

iFixit & Wiha are good stuff.

I also like Other World Computing, owc.com aka macSales.com

Yeah, but even Ifixit instructions mentioned T3 and T5, vs the correct Pentalobe drivers/screws ... this is all very odd.

 

[OldShooter]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentalobe_screw Warns against mistaking Torx 5 point with Apple Pentalobe. Possible the battery vendor did this?

 

[stephenson]

I haven't done a complete search, but most of the battery kits discuss and include T3 and T5 ... as I noted, even the instructions from IFixit.

 

[ncbill]

FWIW I have found the German Wiha brand of small screwdrivers to be excellent. Here is a T3: https://www.amazon.com/Wiha-96703-S.../ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=t3+screwdriver Wiha makes larger screwdrivers and tools, too, but I have no experience. Probably they are excellent too.

I would never buy a single screwdriver, though. Always at least a small kit. There is no such thing as owning too many quality tools.

+1000 love my Wiha set...use it to open up my 2011/2012 12" MacBook Pros.

 

[WestUniversity]

For Apple laptops (since 2012 or 2016 depending on model), the memory is soldered in.



-ERD50

My mid 2012 MacBook has the snap in simm card. I upgraded to 16MB which made some difference but the SSD drive made a humongous difference…

 

[Cat-tirement]

13" MacBook Pro with TouchBar.

This laptop has a pretty rotten history of batteries swelling, then flexing the aluminum laptop case until it bends, or even the trackpads crack all the way across. Pretty awful quality, but common, apparently.

My year was the A1706 model from mid 2017.

Yikes! I have the 2018 version of this one, guess I’ll have to watch the battery more closely. What was your first indication of an issue?

 

[stephenson]

Cat,

I usually leave the laptop plugged in, but about six month ago noticed the battery life was less than an hour! So, been watching it, and trying various schemes to get it to last longer ... nothing worked.

I had also noticed the case had stopped closing completely - just a tiny bit off, but definitely not closing as it had in the past. Didn't put 2+2 together, so just continued using it the way I had been since 2017.

As I was deciding to replace the battery pack myself, I noted a couple of threads where folks noted they were seeing case swelling and even trackpads cracking/breaking due to battery swelling!

BTW - Apple has a good process for replacement (about $200 and a few days shipping back and forth), Best Buy did not do battery replacements, and the local Apple authorized shop wanted $350).

 

[jimbee]

I've owned the Tekton 2830 kit for years, and have been very happy with it. The bits seem to be made well, and the kit has special bits for Apple devices, including pentalobe. It's available at Amazon, Home Depot, etc. for about $13 to $15. It was under $10 when I bought it in 2013.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/TEKTON-Everybit-Precision-Tool-Kit-27-Piece-2830/205498820

 

[stephenson]

jimbee, thanks - just ordered from Amazon.

There are some reports of soft tips, but my use is for laptops and phones ... I'll be careful.