Mac Refresh

Mac Refresh: a reader asks…

Hi Chris, I have a 2012 Macbook Air with the latest MacOS on it (El Capitan). I use it everyday, I’ve kept it updated and everything works fine except for one problem: the battery doesn’t last very long anymore. When it was new, I could go all day before having to plug in, now it seems like I can’t go more than a couple hours before the battery indicator turns red. Is there a way to refresh the battery so it lasts longer?

Unfortunately, batteries have a finite service life. With modern Lithium Ion (Li-ion) batteries, you get a certain number of charge cycles (where you draw the battery down and then charge it up) before the battery loses its potency, or ability to hold a charge and give you good performance. This varies quite a bit from battery to battery. For Li-ion batteries, about 1,000 charge cycles is the average life, although most manufacturers will give a 500-cycle service life. If you use and recharge your Macbook Air’s battery every day, you can use up its expected service life in about 3-4 years, although some people will experience both shorter and longer capabilities.

Once you’re at the point where the battery isn’t giving you the performance you need, your options are to replace the battery, or replace the Macbook Air. Since Macbook Air’s can easily last 10 years and cost $1,000 and up to replace, replacing the internal battery is a very cost-effective way to go. Apple charges about $129 to replace the Macbook Air’s battery.

I should caveat that with the occasional incidences of ‘battery inflation’, where the battery expands and bends the case of your Macbook Air. In this case, Apple can’t do a simple replacement, and it’s better to just replace the entire Macbook Air. Sure you can spend about $750 to have it fully repaired, but you’re ending up spending two-thirds the cost of a new Macbook Air to fix one that’s probably more than halfway through its service life.

You could ostensibly replace the battery yourself, but for the average consumer the procedure can be a teensy bit complicated and require special tools. Also, the cost of a replacement battery can be near $100 just by itself. Most consumers opt for paying Apple $129 to replace the battery, since having Apple do it also gives you warranty protection for the replacement battery. If you want to see how to do it yourself, visit our friends at iFixit.com (here’s a handy link to their video: https://youtu.be/tToAwO6f-SY).

So how do you get the battery replaced by Apple? Start by visiting the Apple Service Repair Center at https://support.apple.com/mac-notebooks/repair/service. Read the article on that page and then click the link under Send it in – Start a service request. Apple will take a week to get it repaired and send back to you. If you happen to have an Apple Store nearby, you can instead schedule a service appointment and bring your Macbook Air in to the store. It will still take about 5 days before you get your Mac back.