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How much will it cost to replace your 17-inch MacBook Pro battery?

Apple posted details about how much it will cost to replace the battery in the new 17-inch MacBook Pro notebooks announced at last week's Macworld Expo.

The cost works out as follows:

  • United States: $179
  • Canada: C$219
  • Europe: €179 (including VAT)
  • United Kingdom: £139 (including VAT)
  • Japan: ¥19,800 (including tax)
  • Australia: A$299 (including VAT)
  • China: 1498 RMB (including VAT)

Apple says batteries can be replaced and your laptop returned to you the same day if you make an appointment at an Apple retail store. Otherwise, mail-in replacement will take three to four business days after the unit arrives at depot.

Apple also says that battery replacement services may be available at your local Apple Authorized Service Provider, but the prices may vary from those listed on Apple's website.

Note that Apple claims these batteries will last three times as long as conventional laptop batteries (up to five years or 1,000 cycles), and any defects in the first year of ownership are covered under the existing warranty. It's not clear whether AppleCare would cover battery replacement during the extended warranty period if it wears out, since the battery is considered a consumable item. Jared points out in the comments below that AppleCare currently does cover batteries that wear our prematurely (before the rated number of charge cycles). Just FYI, you can check the cycle count of your battery via Apple System Profiler / "More Info" in About This Mac, by viewing the Power section.



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Macbook Pro

Apple posted details about how much it will cost to replace the battery in the new 17-inch MacBook Pro notebooks announced at last week's...
 

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John

$179 really isn't terrible for a new battery. Especially one like this. I don't think would be too much of an issue. And as stated above, this is like..5 years from now:-P

January 21 2009 at 4:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tom

word. we get screwed here in Japan as well. and if you consider the exchange rate, it's even worse.

as a side note, while apple considers the battery a consumable, they will some times replace it if you're lucky. for example: i brought my macbook pro in because the battery wouldn't hold a charge. apple store says it's over 300 cycles and not covered by my apple care. so i brought it back another time for a different issue (logic board) and they replaced the battery under applecare while it was in for the logic board issue.

so maybe if you bring in your macbook in for a different issue and "forget" to mention the battery issue you'll get lucky like i did.

January 15 2009 at 1:56 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
HD

Euros get ripped of (as usual) battery may end up costing close to $300 US
179 Euro + 21% VAT= $285.00 USD DANG!

January 14 2009 at 9:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
MH

Is apple saying that the battery will cost these prices In five years time?,
Thats what is should be, none should be buying them before that. But I suspect they will not be the same price.

January 14 2009 at 4:00 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
niclet

I wonder if... : Open up the 17" MBP. Take out the battery. Place four new hard drives instead. Reassemble the MBP. Leave the 17" MBP plugged to work. The ultimate 5 HDD MBP of my dreams!

I know, probably impossible but each time I see this pict, it's the first idea I have.

I wonder how...

January 13 2009 at 8:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Alex

I have been through cycles like nobody's business, My macbook pre unibody battery holds charge almost as well as it did when it was new...iStat is claiming 127 cycles and its about 4 months old.....is everyone else bad at battery care, or should I be worried now?

January 13 2009 at 7:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ethan

They've made it unremovable and yet are counting it as a disposable item. Well done there for a truly terrific lapse of general sensemaking.

January 13 2009 at 6:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
caleb

My first macbook battery was a complete dud though and was immediately replaced.

435 charge cycles on my 2 year old Machine and the battery still lasts as long as ever. Full charge capacity (mAh): 5136

I've never had my PC batteries last this long, I bought two for my HP/Compaq Presario and they barely made it six months. My Dell Inspiron battery could only go an hour after a year, and not long after that completely died.

If these are rated for 1,000, I don't see the need for an easy battery replacement. HDD and Memory though, those are important to be able to change.

January 13 2009 at 6:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
h8rain

How many charge cycles do the regular batteries have? 300?

January 13 2009 at 5:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Greg

What I want to know is that if I take this in to an Apple store or worse yet, mail it in, what guarantees do I have that my data will be secure? How do I know someone won't hunt down my photos or videos looking for porn?

Yes, I back my machine up and use a strong password to access my computer, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Apple's in house repairmen can't access my machine.

January 13 2009 at 5:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Greg's comment
milkmage

you don't

assuming your machine works

backup the entire machine

do a factory install or restore before you send it in.

don't give them anything.


January 13 2009 at 5:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
timejumperone

For this reason (returning a Laptop full of personal data) is what Apple is counting on to "encourage" a laptop upgrade. Maybe a special discount on a NEW laptop. The new 2009 17" laptop should last until 2014. But the technology in a 2014 laptop will far exceed the current technology.

I hope Apple does this with ALL their Laptops. I would love to have a MacBook Air that lasts 8 hours between charges with a battery requiring 5 years before replacement (hopefully a Rev C). The concept of a laptop with a replaceable battery (as a preferred option) will go away as the floppy disk did.

January 13 2009 at 5:56 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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