Have any of you ever used a third party Macbook Pro battery?

edit: thanks for the advice. I guess I'll just go with the official apple battery

I have a 2007 MBP and I'm on my 3rd battery and the condition says "Replace Now". Earlier today my computer just shutoff even though my battery said it was only at 71%.

I found this battery on Amazon that seems to have pretty good reviews and would save me like $50 over buying it from Apple for like $130. Do any of you have any experience with unofficial MBP batteries?

This is the battery I found on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Anker%C2%AE-Battery-MacBook-Li-Polymer-5200mAh/dp/B0064YWOQY/ref=cm_rdp_product

Posted Jan 11, 2013, 4:26 AM UTC · edited

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diewhitegirls•13 yr. ago

No one can answer this, because they're all dead man. They're all dead. Don't do it.

DicksEatingToast•13 yr. ago

I had an old 12" PowerBook G4 that I bought a third-party battery for. Would not make the same mistake twice. Its life upon first use was already piss-poor (worse than advertised). After a short amount of time, that cut in half. Then, it physically started bulging. I have friends and family who have purchased third-party batteries and power adapters to similar frustrating ends.

Times may have changed, or so I hope, but I would easily spend $50 for some good peace of mind.

drbonerlol•13 yr. ago

I bought a Chinese made battery from Amazon for $40 for my unibody 2008 MacBook. It's fucking garbage. It only lasts three hours (Apples lasted four, initially) and I believe the circuitry for the battery is shoddy because my notebook will randomly power off, instantaneously. I can press the power button and it will resume, as though from hibernation. I paid for cheap shit and I got cheap shit and I would probably do it again, considering how "old" my computer is now.

Kaceykaso•13 yr. ago

I've seen a lot of 3rd party batteries and power adapters blow up, expand, crack, smoke/catch fire, and generally heat up WAY past what is safe over the years. I would not trust them. Pay the extra money for an Apple one and not do any unnecessary damage to your mac ;)

minamhere•13 yr. ago

I bought one of the Anker batteries for my sister's old White Macbook for Christmas. Its only been a few weeks, but so far it works perfectly.

Obviously this isn't a long term review, but they do at least work out of the box.

zer0crew•13 yr. ago

I bought a 3rd party one off of eBay (shipped in from Hong Kong) for my girlfriends computer well over 3 years ago and it's still running like a champ, still has ~80% battery health. I had a good experience, but I suspect that the quality control among these 3rd party manufacturers might not be all that great. I got a good one this time, but who know what I'll end up with next time. Find a seller that sells almost exclusively batteries and look at their feedback. A few thousand pieces of feedback should give you a pretty good picture of their quality.

CDeansy•13 yr. ago

Do you really think its worth risking your high end expensive laptop with a 3rd party battery just to save a few bucks?

If your answer is yes, Then sure go ahead and get a 3rd party battery.

Christiphis•13 yr. ago

I saw one catch fire. It destroyed the notebook

jonny-•13 yr. ago

don't do it. After burning through 3 3rd party batteries in about 6 months, I learned my lesson and bought a real one. It's still going strong after 2 years. The exception being batteries from NewerTechnology.

Its_Phobos•13 yr. ago

My general rule is that I don't go third party on pieces that can easily catch fire and/or explode. So batteries and AC adapters are off limits, at least for me.

hrdchrgr•13 yr. ago

I have. Had to replace the left power control board within two months. Don't do it. I thought I saved ~$75 on the battery, had to buy the Apple battery anyway and pay over $200 for the board.

bubonis•13 yr. ago

Multiple times on several different laptops, only had one issue. The new battery died after about three months, but its replacement is still chugging along nicely.