Fake Macbook Battery?

Hamish

Hamish

Hamish

Soldato
Joined
14 Apr 2003
Posts
4,950
Location
Deepest Yorkshire
So after a couple of years my Macbook Pro's battery isn't what it used to be. I bought a 'genuine' new battery off a reputable UK seller on the bay and this arrives.

I think it might be fake - the aluminium panel on the back is punched and not laser cut like on my old one. Also the writing on the back is not as well etched and is also spelt a bit weirdly - You can't really see as well in the picture but notice how it says Rechargeable Battery, and also JaPan.
Do you guys agree?

It seems to work ok in my Laptop and gives the following info in System Profiler:
Code: 
Model Information:
  Manufacturer:	Sony
  Device name:	ASMB012
  Pack Lot Code:	0000
  PCB Lot Code:	0000
  Firmware Version:	0102
  Hardware Revision:	0300
  Cell Revision:	0200
  Charge Information:
  Charge remaining (mAh):	3854
  Fully charged:	No
  Charging:	Yes
  Full charge capacity (mAh):	5443
  Health Information:
  Cycle count:	1
  Condition:	Normal
  Battery Installed:	Yes
  Amperage (mA):	1827
  Voltage (mV):	12480

Now I don't want to just start having a go at the seller without any concrete evidence. Is there anyway I can check the serial number on the net to see if it is genuine?

fakerp.jpg


Cheers
Hamish
 
caris_2007 said:
From looking at the Apple logo it's defiantly not genuine, Don't Apple make there own batteries anyways? If so it shouldn't say it's a Sony.
Click to expand...

Nah Sony make Apple batteries for them. I think it's definitly fake though, just from the metal bit not being laser cut and the dodgy writing.
 
It's a bit odd though - the guy is a Top Rated Seller with 24000 feedback and sells lots of iPod parts, all of which look genuine
 
It's a knock off. Font is wrong, text is badly aligned.

Here's the system profile from my 15" MBP battery. System profile should report the serial number etched into the battery.

Battery Information:

Model Information:
Serial Number: Sony-ASMB012-36d0-76d6
Manufacturer: Sony
Device name: ASMB012
Pack Lot Code: 0003
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 102a
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0303
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 3566
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 3693
Health Information:
Cycle count: 150
Condition: Check Battery
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -172
Voltage (mV): 12081
Click to expand...
 
Hamish said:
It's a bit odd though - the guy is a Top Rated Seller with 24000 feedback and sells lots of iPod parts, all of which look genuine
Click to expand...

Fairly likely he can't check all the stock he buys, and as always things slip through the gap :) Just send him a polite mail, he'll prob send you a new one, at least I would.
 
MagicBoy said:
It's a knock off. Font is wrong, text is badly aligned.

Here's the system profile from my 15" MBP battery. System profile should report the serial number etched into the battery.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that must be a new thing, my genuine old battery doesn't show the serial number... Also note how dead it is (8.7v)!!!!

Code: 
  Model Information:
  Device name:	ASMB012
  Pack Lot Code:	0000
  PCB Lot Code:	0000
  Firmware Version:	0102
  Hardware Revision:	0300
  Cell Revision:	0200
  Charge Information:
  Charge remaining (mAh):	0
  Fully charged:	Yes
  Charging:	No
  Full charge capacity (mAh):	0
  Health Information:
  Cycle count:	194
  Condition:	Replace Now
  Battery Installed:	Yes
  Amperage (mA):	0
  Voltage (mV):	8745
 
PhillyDee said:
did you pay the market rate for it, or was it so cheap you thought it was a bargain . . . . .
Click to expand...

Paid a bit more than the obvious knock-offs and ones sent from china, but it was £55 compared to that £95odd Apple will want. Got a genius bar appointment on Monday and am preparing to be bent over. The Laptop is probably only worth £450 (Gen 1 MBP 15") so spending 20% of its value on a battery is a bit steep!
I'm selling it as soon as the new ones come out!
 
Maybe it's an OS thing then. Both my original MBP (10.5) and uMB (10.6) report the serial numbers. Not got a 10.4 install kicking around anymore to check.

I paid £35 for a genuine battery from China. Maybe I got lucky. As you can see above it's on the way out after 12 months and 150 cycles. The uMB has over 350 cycles on it and still gives 99% of the new capacity and over 4.5 hours in normal use. No idea why the older machines lunch batteries so badly.
 
Its fake. I just got a new battery for my OLD MBP and its identical to the one on the right.

The text is all wrong and there not made in japan.
 
If you even have to ask if its fake you need shooting (well maybe not). But just look at it properly for more than 5 seconds and you can see.

It's not a clear print, its faded and looks worn. The alignment is terrible and the font is wrong. Just get onto the seller and explain this to him and see what he says!
 
Last edited:
R.O.S.S.I said:
If you even have to ask if its fake you need shooting (well maybe not). But just look at it properly for more than 5 seconds and you can see.

It's not a clear print, its faded and looks worn. The alignment is terrible and the font is wrong. Just get onto the seller and explain this to him and see what he says!
Click to expand...

+1

Definite fake. As has been mentioned though, give the seller the benefit of the doubt and try contacting them initially requesting a replacement.
 
We supplied one to a customer from a reputable parts supplier. He later took it to the Apple store and was told it was fake - and it was. It was good enough that we didn't notice when we gave it to him and neither did he but when you look closely it's very obvious.

We were not happy with our supplier one bit - we sold it to the customer as genuine because they sold it to us as genuine. Was the proper price for a genuine part too, cheeky ****s.

The type on yours is the same as on the fake one we had. Ok from a distance but as soon as you make a point of looking it leaps out at you.

Was it VIS you got it from?
 
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