Help With MacBook Pro Battery

[Valo]

My friend has a 13” MacBook Pro 2016 (Two Thunderbolt 3 ports).

The battery charges but there’s increasingly hardly any battery life before it has to be plugged in to be recharged.

I got her to check the battery condition - The Cycle Count is 216 and the Condition is Normal.

Obviously there is something seriously wrong here. I’ve checked the status of the warranty and it’s out of its warranty period.

I’m going to tell her to get a Genius appointment booked to get it looked at. My question is will she likely get charged for a battery replacement, if so how much roughly?

I’ve checked to see if she qualifies for any service programs, unfortunately her MacBook doesn’t.

 

[MassiveJim]

It's one of three things
1 the charger ( unlikely)
2 the battery
3 the charging circuitry

The genius bar will be pretty useless, they will either offer a (expensive) battery replacement or an even more expensive board replacement.

I suggest ordering a battery and replacing it yourself, it's the cheapest option.

Then I would take it to a Mac specialist (not an apple store or Apple asp) because neither Apple or their asps are allowed to do any complex repairs.

 

[dirtybeatfreak]

My friend has a 13” MacBook Pro 2016 (Two Thunderbolt 3 ports).

The battery charges but there’s increasingly hardly any battery life before it has to be plugged in to be recharged.

I got her to check the battery condition - The Cycle Count is 216 and the Condition is Normal.

Obviously there is something seriously wrong here. I’ve checked the status of the warranty and it’s out of its warranty period.

I’m going to tell her to get a Genius appointment booked to get it looked at. My question is will she likely get charged for a battery replacement, if so how much roughly?

I’ve checked to see if she qualifies for any service programs, unfortunately her MacBook doesn’t.

Take it to where she purchased it and get them to apply for consumer law on her behalf. If the battery is faulty but out of warranty then she is covered up to 6 years from the original re-seller, or 2 years from purchase from any Apple/AASP. Don't replace it yourself..unless you want to void any further chance of repair programs etc (2016 keyboard programs anyone).

If they do ask her to pay it will be around £90 and whatever the labour is where you take it. They will replace the whole top casing but charge a battery only price. It is expensive, but we all know Apple charges through the nose for everything.

 

[mrochester]

Take it to where she purchased it and get them to apply for consumer law on her behalf. If the battery is faulty but out of warranty then she is covered up to 6 years from the original re-seller, or 2 years from purchase from any Apple/AASP. Don't replace it yourself..unless you want to void any further chance of repair programs etc (2016 keyboard programs anyone).

If they do ask her to pay it will be around £90 and whatever the labour is where you take it. They will replace the whole top casing but charge a battery only price. It is expensive, but we all know Apple charges through the nose for everything.

You would have to prove that the fault was there from purchase to be able to successfully exercise your right to a repair, replacement or partial refund under the current law. You would need a technical report to prove this. Any claim under the law would be made against the shop that sold the laptop (whether that be Apple or somewhere else).

Separately from this Apple offer a 1 year warranty on the entire product and a 4 year warranty for particular keyboard issues. As such this problem falls outside of the warranty provided by Apple so it would be a chargeable repair if you take it to them.

 

[Valo]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

 

[dirtybeatfreak]

You would have to prove that the fault was there from purchase to be able to successfully exercise your right to a repair, replacement or partial refund under the current law. You would need a technical report to prove this. Any claim under the law would be made against the shop that sold the laptop (whether that be Apple or somewhere else).

Separately from this Apple offer a 1 year warranty on the entire product and a 4 year warranty for particular keyboard issues. As such this problem falls outside of the warranty provided by Apple so it would be a chargeable repair if you take it to them.

Nah, it's not as strict as that. As long as there are no signs of accidental damage then Apple will cover it for 2 years and so will the re-seller up to 6 years as I mentioned. You don't need a technical report.

https://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/

 

[mrochester]

Nah, it's not as strict as that. As long as there are no signs of accidental damage then Apple will cover it for 2 years and so will the re-seller up to 6 years as I mentioned. You don't need a technical report.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/c...ne-wrong-with-a-purchase/return-faulty-goods/

If Apple are the seller then you have the same 6 years as if you’d bought it from another shop.

What matters is whether the device should have lasted that long. I believe batteries are counted as perishable items so it may be argued that it is reasonable for a battery to need replacing after 3 years.

There is no 2 year period with Apple. It’s either under Apples 1 year warranty or the Consumer Rights Act 6 year period.

 

[dirtybeatfreak]

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/c...ne-wrong-with-a-purchase/return-faulty-goods/

If Apple are the seller then you have the same 6 years as if you’d bought it from another shop.

What matters is whether the device should have lasted that long. I believe batteries are counted as perishable items so it may be argued that it is reasonable for a battery to need replacing after 3 years.

There is no 2 year period with Apple. It’s either under Apples 1 year warranty or the Consumer Rights Act 6 year period.

There is, I work for an ASP and process consumer law claims a fair bit. It even states that in the link I provided? Apple will cover it regardless (provided it is faulty/eligible ofc) for up to 2 years, then after that you have to go to the re-seller up to 6 years. So if you bought it from Apple, they will cover up to the 6.

Batteries are a perishable item, but they still have a threshold. For Macbook's it's usually around 1000 charge cycles. There are diagnostic tests which will show whether the battery has failed or not and at 216 charge cycles and just 2/3 years, is likely it's faulty.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201585

 

[mrochester]

There is, I work for an ASP and process consumer law claims a fair bit. It even states that in the link I provided? Apple will cover it regardless (provided it is faulty/eligible ofc) for up to 2 years, then after that you have to go to the re-seller up to 6 years. So if you bought it from Apple, they will cover up to the 6.

Batteries are a perishable item, but they still have a threshold. For Macbook's it's usually around 1000 charge cycles. There are diagnostic tests which will show whether the battery has failed or not and at 216 charge cycles and just 2/3 years, is likely it's faulty.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201585

Every warranty disclaimer I’ve seen from Apple states 1 year. Where do they state this 2 year warranty?

 

[dirtybeatfreak]

Every warranty disclaimer I’ve seen from Apple states 1 year. Where do they state this 2 year warranty?

It's in addition to the Limited warranty/Applecare they provide. If for any reason there is a fault which is not covered under said warranties, then someone can claim for consumer law.

 

[mrochester]

It's in addition to the Limited warranty/Applecare they provide. If for any reason there is a fault which is not covered under said warranties, then someone can claim for consumer law.

Out of interest, where do Apple publish details of this additional warranty period?

 

[dirtybeatfreak]

Out of interest, where do Apple publish details of this additional warranty period?

I don't think they do, why would they? It's normal consumer law, but I just think the only difference is they just choose to honour it up to 2 years regardless of where it was purchased from. If not then they send you packing to original seller.

Not really sure good Sir if I'm honest!

edit: remember that not all areas are covered by a normal warranty, like the perishable batteries we discussed, so there needs to still be some protection for the buyer, hence the consumer law in addition.

 

[mrochester]

I don't think they do, why would they? It's normal consumer law, but I just think the only difference is they just choose to honour it up to 2 years regardless of where it was purchased from. If not then they send you packing to original seller.

Not really sure good Sir if I'm honest!

edit: remember that not all areas are covered by a normal warranty, like the perishable batteries we discussed, so there needs to still be some protection for the buyer, hence the consumer law in addition.

We aren’t talking about normal consumer law when it comes to Apple’s warranty, we are talking about Apple’s policies. If they actually offer a 2 year warranty you’d think they would publish that!

The only way I know of getting a 2 year warranty from Apple is to buy AppleCare.

 

[dirtybeatfreak]

We aren’t talking about normal consumer law when it comes to Apple’s warranty, we are talking about Apple’s policies. If they actually offer a 2 year warranty you’d think they would publish that!

The only way I know of getting a 2 year warranty from Apple is to buy AppleCare.

Sorry, I'm confused? I never said they offered a 2 year warranty? I said they will honour a consumer law claim up to 2 years (again provided it's eligible), regardless of whether you bought it from them or not?

 

[mrochester]

Sorry, I'm confused? I never said they offered a 2 year warranty? I said they will honour a consumer law claim up to 2 years (again provided it's eligible), regardless of whether you bought it from them or not?

That’s a warranty! Apple can’t honour a consumer claim if they weren’t the seller of the item.

 

[dirtybeatfreak]

That’s a warranty! Apple can’t honour a consumer claim if they weren’t the seller of the item.

Well they do There is a whole process we have to follow to determine whether it's under 2 years or not. If it is, regardless of where it was bought, then you fill out a consumer law form on behalf of the customer (who has to provide proof of purchase and id) and then send the form and information on the fault to Apple. They then auth' or deny it and if it is auth'ed, will send us the parts to repair it. I have 100% claimed on behalf of a customer who didn't purchase their Macbook directly from Apple.

I don't know if they then claim on the original re-seller or how it works, it might be something to do with any re-sellers are affiliated/partnered with Apple.

 

[mrochester]

Well they do There is a whole process we have to follow to determine whether it's under 2 years or not. If it is, regardless of where it was bought, then you fill out a consumer law form on behalf of the customer (who has to provide proof of purchase and id) and then send the form and information on the fault to Apple. They then auth' or deny it and if it is auth'ed, will send us the parts to repair it. I have 100% claimed on behalf of a customer who didn't purchase their Macbook directly from Apple.

I don't know if they then claim on the original re-seller or how it works, it might be something to do with any re-sellers are affiliated/partnered with Apple.

That’s not what the law describes so this is an Apple only policy and not consumer law.

 

[dirtybeatfreak]

That’s not what the law describes so this is an Apple only policy and not consumer law.

Maybe, I can totally see your point. But when we apply for stuff not covered by the Limited warranties or Applecare, Apple literally call it a consumer law claim. The forms you fill out are called Consumer law forms and you even have to answer a 'Is this a consumer law claim yes/no option when you create a repair on their system lol.

It could well be a policy they have in place, that they call this, to cover themselves

 

[mrochester]

Maybe, I can totally see your point. But when we apply for stuff not covered by the Limited warranties or Applecare, Apple literally call it a consumer law claim. The forms you fill out are called Consumer law forms and you even have to answer a 'Is this a consumer law claim yes/no option when you create a repair on their system lol.

It could well be a policy they have in place, that they call this, to cover themselves

Well in the eyes of the law this would not be consumer law. This would just been seen as Apple offering goodwill/extended warranty at no extra cost. Apple can call it whatever it wants.

 

[dirtybeatfreak]

Well in the eyes of the law this would not be consumer law. This would just been seen as Apple offering goodwill/extended warranty at no extra cost. Apple can call it whatever it wants.

Yep, you could well be right. I don't know enough about consumer law to argue against that. To me, it's simply what Apple call it and how we're taught to deal with them.

Either way, the OP should still go to Apple or an AASP, and mention it. If it's faulty, and not caused by accidental damage, they will repair it free. Getting low battery life after 216 charge cycles over a 2/3 year period is not normal and not fit for purpose. They will be able to tell through their diagnostics.