Faulty Laptop Battery - Didn't get anywhere near the number of uses expected?

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CakeTime
CakeTime Posts: 16 Forumite
in Consumer rights
I have a Macbook Pro laptop with a Retina display. It was purchased in 2014 for around £1,200. The machine has not actually been used much but the laptop battery now says "Service Battery" which implies it has become faulty. It doesn't hold as much charge and cuts out when the battery is supposedly around 30%.

(Note that it doesn't say "Replace Now" or "Replace Soon" which are usual error messages for when the battery is beginning to loose it's charge)

I appreciate the laptop was purchased in 2014 so out of guarantee but according to the system information, the battery only ran 106 cycles when they are designed to run at least 1,000 before they die... That means it's only fully depleted 106 times since I purchased it...

What are my rights here? Is it tough luck? Apple online support told me to take it to the store and I know they typically charge £200 to change this battery so I'm reluctant to however I feel like I've been ripped off here on a "premium" device!

Thanks! :beer:

Comments

  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598 Forumite
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    Why not take it to your local Apple store, show them (if you can ) the battery information and see what they say, say your not happy blah blah blah, it cost x amount should last longer.
  • JJ_Egan
    JJ_Egan Posts: 20,281 Forumite
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    I would see what Apple say first .
    Your Consumer rights are against the vendor .
    But you will probably need to proof your assertions .
    That would need an independent report to state the defect etc .
    See sticky top of the page .
    Be aware that battery's are classed as consumables and life may vary .
  • marliepanda
    marliepanda Posts: 7,186 Forumite
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    Honestly after 4 years theres far too many variables to look at that just battery cycles.
  • neilmcl
    neilmcl Posts: 19,460 Forumite
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    Not allowing a laptop battery to deplete fully can be bad for the battery. You've had the laptop for 4 years yet only allowed the battery to cycle a small number of times in that time, doesn't surprise me that it no longer is holding a full charge.

    I think you may struggle getting a replacement battery but good luck anyway.
  • marliepanda
    marliepanda Posts: 7,186 Forumite
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    neilmcl wrote: »
    Not allowing a laptop battery to deplete fully can be bad for the battery. You've had the laptop for 4 years yet only allowed the battery to cycle a small number of times in that time, doesn't surprise me that it no longer is holding a full charge.

    I think you may struggle getting a replacement battery but good luck anyway.

    The way Apple calculate their charge cycles doesnt really have much to do with depletion, letting it drop to 50% twice and recharged to 100% counts as 1.

    https://support.apple.com/en-gb/ht201585
  • shaun_from_Africa
    shaun_from_Africa Posts: 12,858 Forumite
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    neilmcl wrote: »
    Not allowing a laptop battery to deplete fully can be bad for the battery.
    That was true when batteries were of the Nickel-Cadmium type because these had a "memory effect" and not discharging them fully caused a gradual decrease in the overall capacity of them but modern lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are different.

    Discharging them fully will slowly reduce their ability to store a full charge which is why this isn't recommended for these. In fact, if some L-I batteries get discharged too much it can be almost impossible to get them to start charging again.

    Many modern L-I batteries have their voltage monitored by inbuilt circuits or by the device they are powering and will shut that device down when the battery drops to around 10% of capacity remaining.
  • knightstyle
    knightstyle Posts: 6,990 Forumite
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    I have the same Macbook, early 2015 and use it every day, charging most days now on 584 cycles health 94% and the battery lasts for about 4.5 hours.
    Even my old Macbook, 2008 still works for about 30 mins on its original battery.
    Did you buy it from a shop? If so take it back, in fact take it to an authorised Apple centre to see what they can do.
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