Where can I get a cheap(er) battery for my aging 2 year old Macbook?

May 29, 2008 5:16 PM

Where can I get a cheap(er) battery for my aging 2 year old Macbook? I have tried Apple, but the price is pretty steep! I'm in Australia (Sydney specifically), if that makes a difference.
posted by ranglin to technology (6 comments total)

I replaced the battery on my Powerbook with a battery from NuTech. Cheaper than a battery directly from Apple, slightly better life in terms of charge, and they recycled my old battery.
posted by rand at 6:02 PM on May 29, 2008

These guys were pretty good when I needed a part for my iBook a while back. They're in Ultimo.
posted by singingfish at 6:24 PM on May 29, 2008

First: Are you sure your battery firmware is up to date?

I looked into building my own pack a while back: If you're considering it, I'll share the links I found:
Here's how to rebuild a pack by soldering, if you want to build that way (Not recommended) Many people are wary of the resistance/heat caused by solder welds, and the occasional (damaged/exploded)-during-assembly pack.
This guy used to have a page on building your own spot welder, which is the right way to do it. He's rebuilding his website at the moment, though.
The real question is, of course, how much is all this saving you? You don't give your particular model, but you could try taking the particular battery chemistry and voltage/mah range and compare it to the LiPoly cells available on eBay...
posted by Orb2069 at 8:21 PM on May 29, 2008

Is there a university nearby? You could go buy your battery there to take advantage of the educational discount (A$179.30 instead of A$199.00).
posted by zsazsa at 8:39 PM on May 29, 2008

Orb2069: I've worked through all the stuff on bad Macbook batteries, but I'm not sure if mine qualifies.

According to coconutBattery, my mA measure is 1044mAh when the original is just over 5000, which gives me around 20 - 25 minutes of use on battery (which is about right). I have had 180 cycles of the battery, again according to the coconutBattery tool.

Don't suppose anyone knows if that means I can get a free one (under a whole "died before you'd expect" argument)?
posted by ranglin at 3:49 AM on May 30, 2008

Dosen't hurt to try. I'd personally make an appointment at the local Mac store, put on a nice-but-not-expensive outfit and be a wonderful customer that people would love to help. If they turn you down, bemoan your lack of cash and leave, then try taking it to phone support or another store before giving in and buying a new battery.
posted by Orb2069 at 10:43 AM on June 12, 2008