which new battery for MacBook Pro 3,1?

pigeonpie

My OH has a 15" 2007 macbook pro, MBP model 3,1, currently has a Sony battery supplied by Apple when the computer was still under warranty. It has only 233 cycles but is failing. for eg a skype call the other day ran the battery flat from fully charged, in 20 mins. Normal websurfing gives an hour or less.
Apple want £101 for a new battery but the reviews of the one they supply on the Apple site are bad so we wondered if there was a cheaper one that would do the job for a year or more? I've seen some on the web for £45 but the companies have no contact phone no, only email, which always makes me nervous.

We do recycle (discharge and fully recharge) our battery often. It's the 2nd one that has needed replacing in the 4 years with the MBP.
Any advice would be great. thanks. I need to get one this week as OH is travelling next week

fwor

pigeonpie wrote: »

We do recycle (discharge and fully recharge) our battery often.

If it's a LiIon battery, that's the likely reason for short life. Unlike NiCad, there is no good reason to fully discharge them - they have a life based on the number of cycles, and the best thing for a long life is to try not to fully discharge them. Many laptops have a "calibrate" utility which discharges and recharges, but that's just so that it can accurately track capacity, and does not extend the battery life.

I can't recommend any specific supplier, but you're right to avoid the ones with no contact details if you need one quickly, as my personal experience with those is that they are generally a UK front for Chinese/HK suppliers with no stock in the UK - though the one I received (for a Toshiba, not a Mac) a few years ago now was actually good quality.

aarrgghh

If it's a common one try you local pound shop. Despite what you might think they last do they job just as well.

almillar

Don't pay a penny. Take it to an Apple Store and show them that it has only done 233 cycles, their policy is (or at least used to be) that it should be replaced if dodgy under 300.

pigeonpie

almillar wrote: »

Don't pay a penny. Take it to an Apple Store and show them that it has only done 233 cycles, their policy is (or at least used to be) that it should be replaced if dodgy under 300.

not any more sadly. :mad:They are still saying 300 cycles is the norm, but I must pay either £80 for a new battery with 3 month warranty, or £101 via Apple online with a 1 year warranty. Applecare had told me to take it in and see if they would agree to replace it, with only 234 cycles....no.
They just told me to calibrate it yet again to see if that helps, but the bloke at the Genius bar doesn't think it will help much.
To make matters worse, he confirmed that Applecare had given me bad advice when they replaced the battery in 2009 under warranty. They told me to completely discharge then recharge it regularly (as in 2x week). Yesterday they said once a month, otherwise it goes faster.

The internet 'compatible' ones are around £45 but I'm afraid I'll recharge that a few times and it will just fail. So I think yet again will have to fork out for Apple's own product. Their records relating to this computer are Apple store wide, so I suppose I can't try another Applestore? When did the 'replace if under 300 cycles' policy hold good, do you know? thanks

Hammyman

pigeonpie wrote: »

My OH has a 15" 2007 macbook pro, MBP model 3,1, currently has a Sony battery supplied by Apple when the computer was still under warranty. It has only 233 cycles but is failing. for eg a skype call the other day ran the battery flat from fully charged, in 20 mins. Normal websurfing gives an hour or less.
Apple want £101 for a new battery but the reviews of the one they supply on the Apple site are bad so we wondered if there was a cheaper one that would do the job for a year or more? I've seen some on the web for £45 but the companies have no contact phone no, only email, which always makes me nervous.

Go to a different apple shop. Explain that the battery is failing after only 233 cycles and its the second one you've had. They are supposed to replace them even if out of warranty. Generally if you play the poverty card and are nice and polite you'll tend to find they'll nip in the back and get one for you. There's plenty of examples of the techs at Apple stores doing free repairs for people when out of warranty - Apple long ago recognised the value of the free advertising that results.

pigeonpie

Only one I can still try is the glitzy new one in Covent Garden. I don't have to be a good actor to plead poverty right now unfortunately.
thanks for the help
In fact it failed after about 220 cycles as it's been dodgy for quite a while and has had to be used on mains. I was recalibrating last night and just 20 mins of youtube ran it flat.

It was replaced in Aug 2009. The Genius I saw (senior) said 234 cycles since then 'is a lot'. I don't think so.

lfc321

aarrgghh wrote: »

If it's a common one try you local pound shop. Despite what you might think they last do they job just as well.

Nice idea. Not sure that pound shops sell macbook pro batteries though. At least the one in my town doesn't....