Hi. I’m having a rough day. My lovely Mum passed away this morning and I just don’t have the mental energy now to deal with sorting out my Macbook, which is refusing to hold a charge. Wont turn on now. I can’t think straight, so I need some advice please. I use it for work, but I’m freelance and don’t have anything on right now thankfully.
Question is: It’s a 2017 model, but other than the battery it works fine.
But is it worth the Y37,500 Apple (chat) just quoted me to pick up my Mac, replace the battery and send it back? (I’m mostly housebound due to health problems so can’t travel to an Apple support store).
Battery is at a cycle count of 1162 so it definitely needs replacing. Wish an alert would pop up at 1000… I had no idea.
Would love any advice / thoughts.
16 comments
“Is it worth it” is a tough question. Is it worth it to you?
You could find an independent shop to do it cheaper than Apple, for sure. There’s a bit of risk re: quality and skill with that, but it could definitely be done for much cheaper, probably half that at least. Looks like batteries are 5000-10,000 yen retail (shops will get it cheaper) so everything else is just labor costs.
Since your Mac is 6 years old now, if you have the money, it’s probably worth just upgrading at this point. Maybe it’s the battery, or maybe Apple will get back to you with a higher price after finding another issue during the repair.
The newest MacBook Air M2, although due a refresh soonish, seems to be the best bang for your buck, currently going for around ¥150,000 for the base model on [Amazon](https://amzn.asia/d/2cT9vQH).
Do you find the laptop is still of value to invest 1/6 the value of a new MacBook Air in it? Which will be faster and have better battery life than the pro ever had?
My 2015 units battery is in random fail mode, where it will shut out at 80% randomly or at any other point below that. It’s not worth it to fix it for me as I can always power it when I need it and it’s battery isn’t worth the cost.
Just remember your 7 series cpu is now almost half the speed of any modern unit on the market. There was a massive performance jump after that series was released.
Just here to say I’m sorry for your loss ♥️
We got the MacBook Air battery replaced for 20k JPY. 2014 model
There was a [battery recall](https://www.engadget.com/apple-replace-mac-book-pro-batteries-wont-charge-045846857.html) on Pros (15 and 13 inch) around that time. I’m surprised the Support agent didn’t mention that — they know your year and model, right?
With batteries, I’d assume it falls under a safety recall, which aren’t aren’t subject to an expiration date.
First of all, sorry for your loss.
Whether it’s worth repairing it is up to you. With the battery replacement you will be able to use the computer for several more years, but personally I think that 6 years of use is a decent lifespan for a computer. You could repair it and continue using it, but this model will become obsolete soon and you won’t be able to repair it anymore and probably won’t be able to use the latest versions of macOS.
I would buy a new one an get the data transfer service from the Apple Store. They can move your data from the old machine to the new one, assuming that it’s just a battery issue and the logic board hasn’t been damaged.
If you are somewhat technically able it is a doable repair on your own, but not easy. [Instructions](https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Touch+Bar+2017+Battery+Replacement/125636) . A replacement battery goes for 7k on Amazon and an ifixit kit goes for 10k, although offbrand stuff is also fine and a bit cheaper.
With that being, if you are not strapped financially right now, it’s time to upgrade. 6 years is an acceptable life span for a laptop. So more problems might appear in the future. Might be better to transfer your data while it is still easy. If your motherboard or your drive fails, this will become more difficult.
Putting in 40k for a repair is not worth it. That’s 40% of a base M1 MacBook Air, which is a great machine and the best that apple offers price-performance wise.
I replaced my old macbook battery myself. Removing the battery from the adhesive was the super hard part and it needs a bit of elbow grease, but the process itself is really simple and there’s always a youtube video showing you how.
Cost me 8000yen for the battery and the tools. Took me about 3-4 hours to do it myself and was watching netflix.
And I’m really sorry for your loss. Hang in there.
First of all – my sincerest condolences.
Second of all – if you can afford it – invest in the new one, I’d say it’s not worth replacing the battery for that price.
12500 yen for shipping I’m guessing. My macbook battery replacement was 20-25000 if I remember correctly a couple years ago. It was worth it.
Hi there. Firstly, I’m sincerely sorry for your loss.
As a former Apple + IT repair tech, ¥37,500 is a hefty sum -but about in line with what I’d expect including labor / part / delivery fees.
I will say – in my professional experience – a MacBook should power on even with a dead battery. *In my repair experience* a dead MacBook with/without a battery issue is logic board (motherboard) related. In any case, Apple support will let you know if it goes beyond a battery repair during the process and you can confirm/deny the additional cost if it’s possible to repair.
It’s a hefty fee for a ~6 year old model; so the question is whether it’s financially feasible for you to purchase a newer model or replace the battery.
*Personally* I would investigate Apple’s refurbished site for MacBook Airs or recent MacBook models as a backup – its going to be more than a repair but yen-for-quality/longevity tilts the equation massively in favor of a newer laptop. Anyway, I hope that helps. Best of luck and be well <3
A few years ago I had apple (here) replace a battery in a 2014 MBpro (the trackpad was behaving in a funky way, and it turned out to be a swollen battery).
a) it was quick — picked up on a monday, returned on that friday, and that included shipping from hokuriku (maybe a day each way).
b) the amount/cost initially quoted was high (credit card hold), but it was a cover-your-ass figure, and the final cost was about 2/3 of that. So the ¥37,500 _may_ turn out to be ¥25k once it’s done.
c) I had mine repaired since it dated from before the well-known keyboard problems they had, and I didn’t want to upgrade into that potential headache. With recent generations, that is no longer a factor (now using a 16″ M1). But the 2014 one is still kicking and running fine.
d) Not sure where the cutoff is, but eventually your 2017 machine will stop running the latest versions of software, or not allow all the bells & whistles of newer versions–something to consider in the repair vs upgrade choice.
I’m sorry for your loss.
In the meantime, the libraries tend to have computers you can use. If you need Adobe products, the big prefectural libraries might have creative suite installed in certain areas but not sure.
It may be the board that’s the problem as generally a MacBook should start up while connected to an outlet even if the battery is gone.
Or, something could be unplugged like the time my display cable dislodged. I recommend opening it up to see.
I wouldn’t go through Apple to get the macbook battery replaced but there should be computer repair shops around that will do it for a bit less.
If you’re buying new the macbook air M1’s are actually not too bad a deal if you can snag a refurbished one. I would not bother getting the M2 though if you have a choice as there is not that big of a difference between the M1 and M2.
It’s time to replace.
The longer my family had a Mac survive for was 10 years, with a couple of battery swaps, but OS support had stopped and even simple apps like browser were just not as fast any more.
Consider that 2017 macs are the oldest supported by the newest macos, so your machine is literally on its last legs.