h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi all, anyone ever bought a new laptop battery and know the relative merits of Apples super-expensive ones and other alternative cheaper options?

My laptop is 4 years old and the battery is now so bad that if the power lead comes off (as is all too easy for these magnetic ones) then there is instant shutdown with all that entails for lost data.

So...

I see Apple sell replacements for ca. £100. These have *really bad* reviews on Apple's own website although as far as I can tell they're mostly from disgruntled people whose original batteries lasted less that a year (poor admittedly).

So would a cheaper one be a better/equal alternative?

I see I can get ones off ebay, guaranteed for a year that cost only £20...

It all depends what you want to spend and who you trust. If you want genuine Apple parts then you have to stand their prices.

Alternatively try places like this - http://www.battery-locator.co.uk/apple-laptop-batteries-c-42.html or this - http://www.payless-batteries.co.uk/ and probably pay half as much.

t.

Well yes, it seems Apple aren't that trustworthy according to the reviews.

So I was hoping for someone with experience to say "I've tried an alternative battery and its fine..." or not.

If not I'll suck the cheaper battery and see. I'm not paying £100 if I don't have to.

Well, I have to say those two links you provided are a bit dodgy.

The first has no history on the net - i.e. no reviews to recommend or not.

The second is clearly a scam company from the information I could dig out.

So I've plumped for safety(ish) and bought one from amazon which has good reviews and was only £22.

Lets see how it does. can't be any worse than the current one

Just be glad your MacBook is so OLD.

On newer models the battery isn't a user replaceable part.

Yes I noticed that when I was looking for a replacement - I did have a look at the new models for comparison.
Just like the iphone then.

And so far my experience is...


... the £22 one from an Amazon affiliated company was a load of poo.

Apparently it charged.

Apparently it wasn't capable of powering the macbook - at all.

Try again then...

This might sound like a stupid thought, but are you *sure* the battery was the problem? Have you tried the old battery in a different computer, or the Macbook on a different power supply...?

No it might very well be that the battery isn't the problem. That has occurred to me

I suspect it is though. The old one has been gradually dying for a while.

But... It is odd that a new battery made no difference.

Nothing wrong with the power supply I think. It's the only thing that does power it.

I know it's been a while, but what battery did you get and how did it work out? I had a 2008 MacBook where the battery got puffed up. It wasn't very old when this happened either, but it was beyond the warranty of course. I couldn't bring myself to spend what Apple wanted for a new battery, so I ordered an after-market battery on line. I don't remember where. It did the job, but my MacBook never liked it. I always got a message in my status bar that my battery needed service. Also the replacement never had much battery life.

I got a new MacBook this summer with the non-user-replacable battery. If it's out of warranty, I think I'd still have a go at replacing the battery myself anyway.