Replacement battery for A1286 Mid-2012 Macbook Pro

[JohnLuelf]

Hi,

Recently purchased a replacement battery for my 15" Mid-2012 MBP from eBay (yes I know, I didn't want to buy pay $100 for a new one from OWC) which was described as genuine and had 2 cycles on it. When I received it I immediately made sure everything was right, checking serial numbers and load cycles. My question is, the battery manufacture date was in 2015, 3 years after the last model of the unibody MBP. Also, I find a cycle count basically brand new very suspicious, given the age.

I'll include screenshots from coconutbattery below:
https://prnt.sc/j4f0iu

Thanks,
John.

 

[pigoo3]

Hey there John...thanks for your question. I don't know if laptop computer batteries fall into the same category as other types of batteries. But the first thought that comes to mind are batteries from Duracell. For example AA batteries, 9 volt batteries, etc. Many times these batteries will have a very long storage life.

Straight from Duracell's website:

"Duracell CopperTop All-Purpose alkaline batteries are not only dependable, they’re also long-lasting. You can take comfort in a 10-year guarantee (5-year guarantee for 9V) in storage."

And these are alkaline batteries...computer batteries have been Lithium-Ion for quite a while...which I believe may be even more stable.

Just food for thought,

- Nick

p.s. If you have any doubts regarding your purchase...send a question to the seller...or return it.

 

[JohnLuelf]

Thanks, sorry if wasn't super clear in my original post. I'm trying to validate that this is indeed a genuine Apple part.

 

[ferrarr]

You may be able to look in System Profiler, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203001. It "should" identify genuine Apple products, but I'm not 100% positive.

 

[pigoo3]

Thanks, sorry if wasn't super clear in my original post. I'm trying to validate that this is indeed a genuine Apple part.

Ok thanks for clarifying. My first question would be...if you paid significantly less for it than a new battery from Apple would cost...then that could possibily clue you in that it's not a genuine Apple battery. Of course that doesn't mean that it isn't a genuine Apple battery...and maybe if you paid significantly less than a new one...that you got a terrific deal.

Also consider that just like with automobiles...companies still need to continue to manuafacture replacement parts for a given period of time. 2012 Unibody MacBook Pro's won't need a replacement battery for quite some time after being sold (unless there's a specia issue). In general...2012 Unibody MacBook Pro's probably don't start needing replacement battery's until about 3 years after purchase.

AND FINALLY...15" 2012 MacBook Pros weren't discontinued until October, 2013. The last 15" 2012 MacBook Pro's probably wouldn't begin needing a replacement battery until at least 2015-2016 or much later. Thus a battery manufacture date of 2015 would not be surprising at all to me.

But bottom line is...I think we would need to see at least a couple photos of the battery to really determine if it's a genuine Apple battery...or a 3rd party branded battery.

- Nick

 

[JohnLuelf]

Yeah, I guess. I was wondering because the battery was clearly removed from a previous machine given the way the sticker had been peeled back, so it struck me as odd that it would only have 2 cycles on it. Must have been a replacement battery or a refurb machine, unless it's possible to rewrite the ROM of the battery. Also, it wasn't that cheap. I think I paid like $70. I bought it from a repair shops ebay profile which had good rep.

 

[JohnLuelf]

System profiler only shows me what coconutbattery does, except in an unorganized manner. It'll show me the manufacturer, in this case SMP (which I believe is actually the main battery supplier for Apple laptops after doing some research) which could be used to determine if it is genuine or not

 

[pigoo3]

Must have been a replacement battery or a refurb machine...

Could have come from a liquid damaged computer.

- Nick

 

[pm-r]

I'm trying to validate that this is indeed a genuine Apple part.

If it's of any condolence, Apple does not manufacture any of the batteries used in their products, but do have the "Apple" name added somewhere on the battery the battery manufacturer adds as per Apple's spec requirements.

Many of the same battery model without the "Apple®" name can have the same specs or even better, and at a **** of a lot cheaper price I might add!!!




- Patrick
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[JohnLuelf]

I mentioned in my previous post that I know SMP is apples contract manufacturer for batteries, and while it may be true that some aftermarket batteries have higher calacities, they are also a **** of a lot less reliable. Too many online horror stories for me to buy one!

 

[MacInWin]

One more thought for you. In addition to cycles, time is the enemy of lithium batteries. The chemistry of them is such that two years after manufacture the total storage capacity starts to decline, independent of cycles or usage. Your coconutBattery report is saying that you presently have higher capacity than the design, which is good, but I suspect that the Full Charge Capacity will start to decline, although slowly, pretty soon. All of that said, the battery looks ok to me.

And just one more thing: Lithium batteries don't like to be below 40% charge. Again, it's the chemistry inside. They last longest if you keep them above 40% and even longer if you can keep it above 60%. If you HAVE to discharge it fully, you can do so, but again, it's hard on the battery. I keep my MBP on mains power as much as I can, keeping the battery topped off. Maybe once a month or longer I will need to use the battery until it's depleted pretty much, but I do try to keep those events to a minimum.

 

[pm-r]

@Jake

They last longest if you keep them above 40% and even longer if you can keep it above 60%.

Jake, with your Lithium battery expertise, is it true as I have read it's best not to leave them in a fully charged state and neither in a fully or near discharged state.

It seems that the "more = better" is not always the best for these type batteries which make me wonder about keeping it connected to the charger for long periods.

I do as you do and cycle it occasionally as it may also tell me it needs replacing otherwise, but doing so also fixes that warning and everything is reported as good and normal. But it's still on the charger and at 100%.

Just wondering if that's too high???




- Patrick
======

 

[MacInWin]

The best place to leave them charged, if you have to leave one inactive in storage, is between 60 and 80% charged.

In use, particularly in Apple devices, you can leave them on full charge and let the power system manage the battery level. What happens is that as the battery gets closer to 100%, the recharging circuits start to taper off to a trickle charge, letting the battery hover at nearly 100% charge and not going over the rated storage. That 100% will be slightly below the "real" capacity of the battery if you kept on charging it beyond the limits. For example, right now my battery is reported at 100% on the top menu bar, charging. CoconutBattery says it's at 8252mAh, with at Full Charge Capacity of 8531mAh, or 96.7% and a Design Capacity of 8755mAh, or 97.4% of original. So it's acting as if the 8252mAH were "fully charged" and not trying to drive the battery to the full 8531mAh. My battery is just at two years old, with 18 cycles on it, so the slight decay from the design level of 8755 to 8531 is the chemistry I talked about starting to kick in. Not enough to worry with at less than 3% loss, but something worth keeping an eye on over the coming years (maybe every six months to check, no more than that).

Apple suggests a once-a-month discharge of the battery, but that cycle is just to calibrate the battery level detection in macOS, not for the health of the battery. It's entirely up to you whether that top bar indicator needs "recalibration" or not. Given what I know about batteries, I know that is just an estimate, and never do a monthly cycle. If I need to use the battery, it can calibrate the top bar then.

Frankly, unless you need the portability, leaving it on charge is just fine and you can keep it that way until the battery pretty much dies completely.

Does that answer the question?

 

[pm-r]

Frankly, unless you need the portability, leaving it on charge is just fine and you can keep it that way until the battery pretty much dies completely.

Does that answer the question?

Yup, sure does Jake, and very nicely too.


PS: I sure I read that Apple changed their advice regarding the later version batteries in your comment:

Apple suggests a once-a-month discharge of the battery,

- Patrick
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