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How to Check If You Need a New MacBook Pro Battery

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Is your MacBook Pro getting old? You may notice that it’s slower than it used to be and you’ll definitely notice if the MacBook Pro battery life doesn’t last as long as it once did. Here’s how to check if you need a new MacBook or new MacBook Pro battery.

You may think that your old MacBook Pro is simply just aging when you discover that the battery can only last an hour or two on a full charge, and you’re most certainly right, but don’t think that the entire laptop is suffering from the poor performance, as it may just need a new battery, which can be replaced fairly easily at an Apple Store or other computer shop — depending on the model.

Just because the battery is at the end of its life doesn’t mean you need to buy a new MacBook Pro. Older MacBook and MacBook Pro models can still run macOS High Sierra, and will run macOS Mojave later this year. They also have a better keyboard than the new models and plenty of life left if you upgrade the RAM and add an SSD.

If you think your MacBook Pro battery is at the end of it’s life. You can check it to see if you need a replacement without opening up your laptop or doing anything complicated.

Check the Charging Cycles

The easiest way to check if you need a new MacBook Pro battery is to look at how many charging cycles the battery has been through.

A charge cycle is using all of the battery power and then charging it to full. Each trip from empty to full is a cycle. It’s also cumulative. So if you use 50% of your battery one day, charge it to full and then use 50% and recharge the next day that counts as a cycle as well.

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Batteries only last a certain number of cycles before they start to degrade and eventually cannot hold a charge.

On Apple’s support website, it lists what the cycle count is for its MacBooks, so most newer MacBook Pros and almost all MacBook Air models have a cycle count of 1,000. This means that the battery can go through 1,000 cycles before it’s expected to finally crap out and die — some last longer and some not so much, but 1,000 is the rough estimate.

To check how many cycles your MacBook’s battery has been through so far, follow these simple steps:

Go up to the Apple logo in the menu bar up in the top-left corner of the screen and click About This Mac.

Next, click on System Report.

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In the left-hand sidebar, select Power. This will bring up various information about your MacBook’s battery, including capacity and some other general tidbits that you don’t really need to know. Scroll down a bit until you see Health Information. Under that, you’ll find Cycle Counts.

Screen Shot 2015-06-26 at 3.37.39 PM copy

On my 2016 MacBook Pro I am at 116 cycles, which means I have a long way left until I need a new MacBook Pro battery. On the example above, you can see a cycle count that is over 700, which means there is still a lot of life left, but sometime soon it may need a new battery.

For you, this number may be lower or higher, depending on you use your MacBook or MacBook Pro. If it’s getting close to that 1,000 mark, keep a closer eye out on your battery, as it may need replaced soon.

How Much Does a New MacBook Pro Battery Cost?

If your MacBook is out of warranty when you need to replace the battery (which it most likely will be), Apple can replace it for $129 to $199 depending on the model.

In most cases you are better off getting a genuine replacement through Apple, or through a trusted third party repair shop. On older models that are easier to service, you may be able to do it yourseld.

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Those prices are a bit steep, but that’s how much you’ll pay if you have Apple do it directly. Of course, that’s not the only option, though. If you want to save a bit of cash when replacing your MacBook’s battery, one great place to buy replacement batteries is Other World Computing, which sells batteries for older MacBooks, up to 2011. You can get one for as low as $79 for a 2008-2009 MacBook Air.

Most replacement batteries, though, can be had for around $100. Unfortunately, the newer MacBook models are a bit more nailed down than older ones, which means that you probably shouldn’t DIY the battery replacement on a newer MacBook or MacBook Pro, so let Apple do that for you, but if you have an older model, the replacement should be fairly painless.

And if you need a tutorial on how to replace the battery in your MacBook, iFixit is a great resource to rely on, with guides for almost any MacBook model. they also sell tools to help you open up your MacBook Pro.

7 Reasons to Buy the 2018 MacBook Pro & 4 Reasons Not To

Buy the 2018 MacBook Pro for a Better Display

Buy the 2018 MacBook Pro for a Better Display

With the 2018 MacBook Pro Apple upgrades the display by bringing over technology from the iPad Pro and iPhone X. The new MacBook Pro display features a True Tone Display. 

This means the MacBook Pro display automatically adjusts the white balance of the screen based on the light you are in. This translates into a better looking display with whites that are more realistic and ultimately a much better looking display. 

If you have an iPad Pro or the iPhone X, you can see this technology in person and see if it will make a difference to you. It's one of the more compelling reasons for me to upgrade to the 2018 MacBook Pro from my 2016 model. 

18 Comments

18 Comments

  1. Rudy

    09/20/2015 at 4:50 pm

    Hey Craig,
    Can I use a battery from a 2015 model for a 2012 model. The only reason why why ask is that the mAh capacity for a newer macbook air is 7150 , while the cap for an older is 6700. Let me know. Thanks!

  2. Rudy

    09/20/2015 at 5:13 pm

    Also, as you know the mAh capacity gradually decreases as it’s used. If the older model then decreases below the 6700 mAh cap for the 2012 model would that be okay?

  3. Karen

    11/12/2015 at 11:22 am

    Thanks, this helped. Turns out I do not need a new battery!

  4. Dt mohd

    01/11/2016 at 12:54 pm

    Hi
    My new macbook 2016, won’t give a tone or ligh when I plug it, is that normal?
    Because i want to know whether my MacBook is charging or not .
    Thank your

  5. misty

    02/01/2016 at 6:30 pm

    Hi Criag, Thanks so much for the article that has taught me something new about my MacBook Pro.

  6. Arata Ishimoto

    03/02/2016 at 3:36 am

    I have a Macbook Air early 2014 el capitan and i bought in Phnom Penh Cambodia in the year of 2014 of December and it was working fine but al of the sudden it shuts down when you unplug it and it wont turn on unless you plug in the charger and here is information of my system.
    Model Information:
    Serial Number: C01435303M0F90MAM
    Manufacturer: DP
    Device Name: bq20z451
    Pack Lot Code: 0
    PCB Lot Code: 0
    Firmware Version: 511
    Hardware Revision: 000a
    Cell Revision: 1200
    Charge Information:
    Charge Remaining (mAh): 6513
    Fully Charged: Yes
    Charging: No
    Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 6513
    Health Information:
    Cycle Count: 304
    Condition: Normal
    Battery Installed: Yes
    Amperage (mA): 0
    Voltage (mV): 8496

    • GG

      06/05/2016 at 10:50 am

      Arata Ishimoto, try “reset SMC” ! I think hold shift control option power when power is off. I have the same problem and I juwy tried this and it is working so far! Some people need new logic board or repair though ;( Good luck friend!

    • GG

      06/05/2016 at 3:00 pm

      I have learned more! The laptop can still turn off when the battery is low. So either the battery is broken, or the motherboard is broken. Using the video card seems to make it turn off easier (Heaven or Furmark), so it could be this video issue recall: https://www.apple.com/ca/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

  7. Tammy

    05/09/2016 at 3:39 pm

    Very helpful article! Thanks~

  8. Sarah

    09/12/2016 at 7:15 am

    Thanks this was REALLY helpful!!!

  9. Kathy

    09/22/2016 at 12:43 pm

    This was really helpful. Thank you!

  10. Bernie

    10/12/2016 at 6:12 am

    Thanks for the article, Craig. I use Fruit Juice app (available on the App Store). Let’s me know cycle count for my battery (up to 1248 already for my Macbook Pro 2012), remaining battery capacity (52% 4383mAh) and most important of all, it tells me how long to use my laptop on battery power each day to maintain the battery at best condition possible. I’m getting about 1 hour on a full battery charge, so I guess it’s almost time to shell out $200 for a replacement.

  11. sue

    02/14/2017 at 4:15 am

    Thanks so much!
    You made this very easy to assess–
    going to order a new battery today!!!

  12. Kiki

    02/24/2017 at 5:53 pm

    Wow! Short, sweet and to the point. THANK YOU for the info!

  13. Kiwi

    03/03/2017 at 12:15 pm

    I have one of the very old MacBook pros. It says that there is no battery available and only works when plugged in. I can’t find any info on this computer because it is so old and I am not sure if they even sell the batteries for this computer anymore. Do they?

  14. juan

    03/01/2018 at 10:56 am

    Thank you for you information on how to tell how you battery life is doing. You save me some money.

  15. nicole

    12/13/2018 at 11:45 am

    thank you for your post!

    under health information, mine says cycle count 125 (which is okay as per your post) but under condition it says service battery. would this mean I need a new one?

    thanks!

  16. Matt

    08/07/2019 at 9:20 am

    Just an FYI, if your battery is degraded Apple charges less for battery replacement. On my vintage 2012 macbook pro retina ’13, the Apple OS notified me that the battery needs servicing. It shows up in the battery drop down menu on the finder bar.

    With Macbooks that have batteries glued to the case, Apple replaces the top case that includes the keyboard. So for $250 Canadian ($190 USD) I got a new battery, keyboard, and top case.

    Had the battery not failed Apple’s test, the official replacement cost is around $500 CAD or $380 USD plus taxes which are 15% here in the great white north.

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