Shocked Had to pay to replace never used Battery on MBPro 2020

[barnetman]

Hi everyone. This is my 1st post. I'm a long-time Mac User.
I bought a brand new MBPro 13" in late 2020. Then lockdown and Apple launched M1.
Tried to return my unopened MBPro and was told I'd only receive a trade-in value!!!! So I decided to keep it, but also bought a new MBP 14 inch which I used ever since.
My wife recently decided she would like the intel MBPro 2020. We opened the box, plugged it in to charge, and set it up, only to find the battery wouldn't charge. Called apple tech support who said we may need to replace the battery.
I visited my local Apple store and after a 1-hour wait, was told it requires a new battery which would cost £200!!!!!!
I asked why as the machine was brand new and had never been used. The rep advised the HAS to be recharged regularly or would become damaged.

This was an expensive lesson.
What I would like to ask the forum member is for future advice on battery replacement as we own 3 laptops. Are there authorized apple repairers who offer to replace laptop batteries at a lower cost? in UK?
Initially, I was concerned that Apple had included software that would display a 'service battery' message if it detected no charging over a period of time.

Thanks in advance

 

[Queen6]

Have you tried leaving it on charge overnight? Sounds random, has worked for me with far older Mac with apparently dead batteries.

Q-6

 

[wilberforce]

Usually the best deal for battery replacement is Apple ($200/£200). Believe it or not, that actually is a good price considering what has to be done to replace the battery, and you get a genuine Apple battery plus warranty.

Or do it yourself with a Chinese knock-off battery (which I have done), but I can only recommend this on an old machine where you have little to lose by inadvertently damaging it, and it is not very easy.

 

[Queen6]

Usually the best deal for battery replacement is Apple ($200/£200). Believe it or not, that actually is a good price considering what has to be done to replace the battery, and you get a genuine Apple battery plus warranty.

Or do it yourself with a Chinese knock-off battery (which I have done), but I can only recommend this on an old machine where you have little to lose by inadvertently damaging it, and it is not very easy.

Agreed and being a 13" MBP you get a new top case, although academic in this case.

Q-6

 

[BanditoB]

It sounds to me like you got a defective battery in the original machine, but because you never used it and didn't learn of this, the clock ran out on the warranty so you were stuck with the cost of replacing it.

I have not heard of nor read that not using or charging a battery can destroy it. It is recommended that you store it with about a 70% charge on it, and with the computer off, it would only lose a very small amount of charge over time. Even with that, if it were to fully discharge, that shouldn't kill the battery altogether. At worst, it may diminish its overall capacity/life, but not fully destroy it.

 

[wilberforce]

It sounds to me like you got a defective battery in the original machine, but because you never used it and didn't learn of this, the clock ran out on the warranty so you were stuck with the cost of replacing it.

I have not heard of nor read that not using or charging a battery can destroy it. It is recommended that you store it with about a 70% charge on it, and with the computer off, it would only lose a very small amount of charge over time. Even with that, if it were to fully discharge, that shouldn't kill the battery altogether. At worst, it may diminish its overall capacity/life, but not fully destroy it.

I agree, usually Li-ion batteries will store a long time at partial charge. I have had some batteries, usually Ni-Cd, get so completely discharged that they will refuse to take a charge. Occasionally been able to partially revive these by repeatedly plugging them in and out of a charger, until they retain a small voltage. Chargers will typically stop charging if they don't detect some small minimum voltage (for safety reasons).
Chargers for devices like computers nowadays are much more complex, and will communicate with the device and negotiate a charging profile. They are not just dumb chargers.

 

[diggy33]

Went through this with twelve 16-inch MBP’s that got “misplaced” just as the company shut down offices due to Covid. They were delivered in March 2020 and put in a storeroom and forgotten about until June this year. Brand new out the box and battery won’t charge. As I understand it, after the battery drains fully and goes a while without charge, something on the logic board thinks it’s defective and therefore won’t charge it. I wasnt really paying too much attention when the Apple tech was explaining it. We were covered by AppleCare+ for the repair, so no charge to replace. They all worked just fine when we got them back

 

[nickandre21]

A friend had got a new old stock one for a good deal from one person. Had the same issue, however luckily a smc reset (intel) and an overnight charge managed to fix it and has not had an issue since

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

The £200 battery replacement is as good a deal as you're going to find, considering the laptop is around 2 years old and out-of-warranty.

For that money, you get:
- a new, APPLE-LABELED battery (not a 3rd party replacement which can be cheaper but of questionable quality)
- installation (THEY do the job, and fix anything that goes wrong)
- a short warranty.

If you haven't taken them up on it, I suggest that you DO.
It will be like having a brand new MBP (albeit a 2020 model).

 

[barnetman]

Thanks for all your comments.
diggy33 something on the logic board thinks it’s defective and therefore won’t charge it. I wasnt really paying too much attention when the Apple tech was explaining it."
The thought crossed my mind whether this was a 'software issue' where in fact there is nothing wrong with the battery, but in-built software causes the computer NOT to charge.

Having already left the MBP with Apple to replace the battery, I was concerned when the small print states that the replacement battery may NOT be new!!! Really Apple !!!

Another point was, back in 2020, just after purchasing my M1 MBP, I called Apple for clarification on how long I could wait to take out AppleCare, if I chose not to open my 2020 Intel MBP. I was put through to Apple Ireland and was pretty certain the adviser told me I had 60 days from the date I registered the MBP. I made a note of the conversation (as I always do) and believed all would be well if & when the MBP was to be utilised.
Sadly this was not the case.
Does anyone have a similar experience??

 

[Fishrrman]

You're not going to be able to get a "fresh" AppleCare policy on a 2-year-old Mac.
Not going to happen.

 

[barnetman]

You're not going to be able to get a "fresh" AppleCare policy on a 2-year-old Mac.
Not going to happen.

I would have 100% agreed, however that was not what I was told when I called Apple in Ireland in 2020. I was told that I had 60 days cover from the 'date the MBP is registered on the Apple website', after which I would be eligible for AppleCare.
I registered the MBP last week, which was the first time it had been turned on.

I accept that the adviser had node at the time (nor did I), that the MBP would not be unboxed and turned on for another 2 years.

I completely understand Apple would not want to AppleCare a 2 year old machine. But as they continued to sell the same Intel MBC on their website until recently, I thought Apple would offer cover, even if only restricted to 1 year.

 

[The1Biz]

Yeah I learned this lesson on my 2008 15" MBP.

I kept it plugged in all the time and didn't understand why the battery was dead 2 years later when it had like 24 cycles on it. But that's how laptop batteries work, you have to exercise them or they die.