Made an appointment at Genius Bar. Told them about the problem and that my research indicated that Apple knew about it and was providing some kind of warranty but I wasn’t sure if I qualified for it. My cycles were at 450+ and I’m 8 months out of warranty. He gives me the fairly hard company line. I tell him I tried very hard to avoid having to make an appointment for something that any floor tech could have told me by looking up the serial number. He offers to sell me a discounted 90 day warranty, which I tell him I appreciate but I want to know if Apple has fixed the “problem” (he tells me Apple hasn’t officially recognized that there is a “problem”) so that this battery won’t just conk out after a few months. He gets hushed and quietly sets me up with a free 90 day warranty battery.

I think this is how it should be done. The Apple Rep tried to shake me off, but I was persistent and ultimately I’m very pleased with the way the rep handled it. Apple can’t just go around handing out free batteries to everyone who asks, but I’m glad the reps have some discretion to make the right thing happen when it should.

Model Information:
Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB016
Pack Lot Code: 0002
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 102a
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0102
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 4486
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 4720
Health Information:
Cycle count: 595
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 482
Voltage (mV): 12486

thanks a lot for the help…..appreciate it

In November, the battery on my 16-month old MacBook Pro just sort of fell off the cliff. As recently as August, it showed a full charge capacity of 5300 mAh, but now was at 2187 mAh. Cycle count was at 30.

I first tried taking the steps suggested above. However, there was no improvement.

So I then took the computer to a local newly-opened Apple store. (Important hint: make an appointment before visiting if you intend to actually speak to someone).

They ran a diagnostic, and it indicated the battery was bad. Even though the computer was 157 days out of warranty and I had not purchased extended coverage, they replaced the battery. No fuss, no argument.

From my point of view, a happy ending.

1. Run your battery down to 0%, making sure (of course) to back everything up first.

2. Let your mac fall into a nice peaceful coma for at least 5 hours. (You can also just turn it off at this point if it makes you feel better.)

3. After AT LEAST 5 hours, plug your mac back in and let it COMPLETELY recharge before you turn it on again.

4. Go back into your system profiler and check your battery health, and you may well be pleasantly surprised at how nicely your battery has bounced back from the brink of death.

5. If you re-calibrate monthly, as Apple suggests, it’s likely that it will live up to Apple’s promises.

I re-calibrated after my battery started telling me that it was not functioning properly and needed to be checked by The Experts. As a Do-It-Yourself kinda gal (I also recently replaced the optical drive in my macbook-piece of cake people), wasn’t about to do that. So re-calibrated, pushed the silver disc to reset/recheck the charge, and viola! Happy, healthy battery.

Best of luck to everyone, and please try everything you can before replacing or heading off to pay for tech support.

Laptop Batteries Whole Sale

Called this morning with the same issue. I’m getting a new battery
Yea!!!

The trick: Extended AppleCare coverage. So it can pay off to have an extended warranty. well, sort of. It was 300 bucks and the battery is only 129.

Craig