JD750 Loc: SoCal

My MacBookPro Retina Display computer is 3 years old and just now I had a weird incident. I was processing a batch of images, on battery, and I CHECKED the battery state of charge (SOC) before starting, it was 37%. Suddenly the computer shut down after 5 images. Black screen. WTF? Tapped the keyboard a message 0% charge appeared with a little battery symbol with a red end on it. Then the messaged faded to black.

Plugged in the external power and was up to 78% in a half hour. That's not normal. When a battery is acting odd and jumping from high to low SOC and low to high SOC quickly, it means the battery is going bad.

I opened System Information ->Power-> Battery

Message says: “Service Battery”

Won't that be fun. Apple computers do not have user replaceable batteries. My last computer had 3 batteries go bad under warranty, about 1 per year, Apple replaced all 3 about $300 each but no charge to me since it was under warranty.

Gotta hand it to Apple. They have improved their battery reliability. That is good reliability engineering. The simple goal of reliability engineering is to assure that (most of) the product makes it beyond the warranty period before failing. My warranty ran out March 8. It made it.

Robert R Loc: Indianapolis and Naples

Other than that,how do you like the MacBook Pro, especially for processing photos? My 7 year old Macbook is in need of retirement. I have been looking at MacBook Pro as a replacement.

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

Average life of laptop batteries is about 3 years. If you've gotten 5 years, you've done good.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

I love it and it is my computer for everything. I use it for processing photos and connect an external monitor and it works great. It has plenty of processing power. The Retina display is fabulous for viewing photos too. I will buy another MBP without hesitation, when the time comes.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Yes that is true. I knew that up front but I wish it had died 30 days sooner!

Robert R Loc: Indianapolis and Naples

Thanks, I think I will look at one; the different options are confusing, such as memory, hard drive, etc.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Well if your planning on keeping it a while then buy for the future. I think RAM and HD space are good to load up on. Max out the RAM for sure, buy more HD than you think you need. Processor speeds are marginally different and quite a bit more expensive. I buy the 3 yr warranty as i also comes with phone support for hardware and software. A great thing to have.

Grnway Loc: Manchester, NH

JD,

I have a 2011 13" MacBook Pro. I don't use it that much because I have a PC with a 23" screen that I prefer for working on photos.
My battery life is not that great anymore. Used to be 6-8 hours when new and in a lot of use, but less now.
I read an article recently about how Apple is no longer prioritizing development and advances in their laptops. Other laptops have caught up or left Apple behind.

Check this out:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2463641,00.asp

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I bought a refurb MBP in 2011, and it's still working. Maybe I'm pushing my luck.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

See what YouTube has to offer. I replaced the harddrive in my 13" with an SSD. Simple.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=replace+a+macbook+pro+battery

Kobuk Loc: Roseville, CA

I purchased one last fall and so far I like it. Still learning how to use it since it is my first Mac

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Reminds me of a story about the origin of the 90-day warrenty. A company did a study of how long most of their products lasted before going bad. The result was 100 days.

Nelson.I Loc: Monument, Colorado, USA

Yep, Lithium-Ion batteries do die after awhile. FWIW - the battery can be replaced. And, during that effort you might as well upgrade the RAM and the disk drive. I got my wife's MBP 2012 when she upgraded to a retina. The first thing I did was replace/upgrade the three things I just mentioned. To this day that MBP laptop remains a very fine and impressive machine and all the more powerful with the new RAM and SDD.

If you are marginally handy there are a lot of excellent YouTube videos about how to change batteries, RAM, and disks in MacBook Pros. If you are not, I'll bet you know someone who is or a local Mac shop which can do it for you.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Owners of OTHER models: Go to www.macsales.com now, and look for replacement battery options and videos that show you how to do it! Ifixit.com is another source of parts and procedure manuals/videos.

Okay, not if you have the Retina models. Go HERE, instead:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/macbook-pro-retina-display-faq/macbook-pro-retina-display-how-to-replace-battery.html

So, basically, you need to make an appointment at the Apple Store and pay the $200 bucks for a new battery and top case. All covered under AppleCare if you have it...

Next time, run the battery ALL the way down 'til it shuts off, once a month. That resets the charge monitoring circuit in the battery, to compensate for reduced capacity over time. Net result: fewer surprises like you had!

It's also a good thing to use the battery on a daily basis, keeping it between 20% and 80% charge, topping off to 100% at night. They last longer that way.

I have had three PowerBooks and a MacBook Pro and a Dell Latitude and some other PC. Batteries last 3-5 years.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Burk thanks for the info. :)

FYI I was doing what you recommended, running it completely dry about once month and typically running it 80-20.. It might have died sooner if I had not been doing those things then it would have been covered by warranty. Hmmmmmm..... Perhaps Apples recommendations for extending battery life are intended to get it to last beyond the warranty period. Well this technology actually all batteries, are known to have a limited life. Such is the nature of all batteries including the $20,0000 set in the electric cars.