Battery Calibration

Hey, guys! I have an older MacBook Pro (A1278). I just put a new battery in it and installed some more RAM. Prior to doing this, I upgraded from Snow Leopard to El Capitan. Anyway, I no longer receive a low battery warning like I once did. In fact, my Mac dies with the battery indicator about a third of the way full. I found this and tried to follow it, but it says to wait for the message that I don't get.

Any tips?

Thanks in advance!

What kind of a new battery did you install? Apple no longer stocks batteries for those Macs which are vintage or no longer supported.

This is the one that I got.

That's a typical eBay knock off battery. Sometimes they work well, sometimes they don't. That's why they're so cheap. And the calibration procedure you read about is really only for genuine Apple batteries.

Gotcha! Am I just out of luck or is there something that I can do?

Not much you can do but return the battery (if you can) and try another. Maybe the same eBay seller will take it back and swap it with another for you. The problem you have is that Apple considers that machine vintage so a genuine Apple battery is not available. You have no choice but to try a battery from a third party seller.

Man, even the batteries that Apple makes are superior. Haha I should have just bought an Apple one that was old stock. I just thought that a newly made battery would be better. I'm in contact with the seller on eBay. Hopefully they can help. They seem to have a pretty good reputation and they did say it is warrantied for one year.

OK, that sounds good. Trying to locate an Apple battery that's new for your MacBook Pro is going to be very difficult, but who knows you may luck out. Your best bet is to have the eBay reseller swap out the battery he sold you for another. If you have problems with the new one, then it may be the logic board failing which means time to look for another MacBook Pro.

The "A1278" model designation covers a LOT of different models between 2009 thru 2012. Would really need to know more info as to the exact model.

OWC (macsales.com) sells pretty decent replacement MacBook Pro battery's. They cost more than the "cheapies" on eBay...but less than Apple...around $99. OWC may have a replacement battery for your MBP.

- Nick

The seller is pretty awesome and the have agreed to let me return the battery. The next step is getting a replacement. Thanks, pigoo3, for the input. I just really don't want to spend an extra $60 on such an old device. What do you think about this one?

What do you think about this one?

Click to expand...

Worth a try for that price. Like I said above, sometimes those batteries you get on eBay work great and sometimes they don't. Make sure the seller warrants it and will give you a refund if it doesn't work out.

Yeah, it has to be worth a try. It looks like it has a good warranty and anything is better than this piece of junk. It died on me today with 70% left. :-/

Well, here's a quick update. The new battery works great! It's definitely a fantastic replacement and I'm pretty sure it's an actual battery from Apple!