Laken said:
Niall said:
Laken said:
This is a bit of a rant
I spent a large part of today driving to and from the Apple Store to get my company’s older 2015 15 inch MBP looked at. Random shutdowns on battery have been happening for a number of years but it hasn’t been a priority since it has been plugged in most of the time. We recently brought someone new on and wanted to give them this Mac to use but they need something reliable while being away from power.
I was pretty sure the battery was the issue but I did not want to get it replaced only for it to be something more serious like the logic board. We’re a small company and need to be smart about our expenses. The battery cycles are between 280 and 300 for a 7 year old computer. I spent 30 minutes on Apple Chat last week and they recommended going in-store to get it looked at where they can do more in-depth diagnostics. It’s a 40-minute drive each way but if it helps figure out the issue then it’s worth it.
First off, everyone at the Conestoga (Canada) Apple Store was very nice. My complaints are not about their direct service but the corporate policies they have to follow.
They ran a diagnostic on the laptop and it came back with 80% battery health. They ran the diagnostic while plugged in. I had it unplugged a couple of times at the Apple Store and it would shut down as it usually does when the battery is below 60%. In the rare cases where it does not shut down, the battery drops really fast.
I am more than willing to pay for the battery to be replaced. But to replace the battery on the 2015 models they need to replace the top case including the keyboard and trackpad. Since the battery health is at 80% (and not 79% or lower) they can’t replace the battery without charging me for a top case replacement. The battery fee as quoted on their website is $250 (all prices in Canadian dollars) but with the mandatory top case replacement it jumps to around $700. Not worth it for a 7 to 8 year old computer.
What frustrates me is the Apple Tech in the store had no choice in the matter. It was clear the battery was failing and causing restarts. Yet their own system would not let them order the battery replacement without adding the top case charge because it was just 1% above the required number for a battery replacement. Their best solution was to use the laptop on battery as much as possible until it hits 79% and then come back to get it fixed. Driving 40 minutes each way again in hopes they will replace the battery feels like a bit of a waste of time.
Over the last couple of years, I have had other repair needs (Apple Watch battery, AirPods connection issues) and the experience has always been the same. The staff at the store can see the issue but have no power to get it fixed.
This laptop in particular was purchased at the Apple Store for over $2500 CAD, plus Apple Care. We never used Apple Care before it expired and now we’re being denied a battery replacement (without paying the extra fee) because the health is 1% off the replacement level according to their diagnostics. Yet the real-world performance is clearly failing at a basic level.
I am a bit late to the Apple devices game but I thought Apple had the best service, and while they charge a lot for their tech, I thought the support was top notch. That has not been my experience in any interaction I have had with them in the last 3 to 5 years. I don’t know if this is a Canada issue or all Apple Stores but I am just so disappointed in the entire process. I don’t have a lot of free time and wasting it on something like this is really frustrating.
Hey,
I don’t know if you know, but Apple has a business team. Maybe some of their business perks might be useful to you?
Yes! The technician recommended that and I’m supposed to get a call tomorrow from them. Not sure what to expect but we’ll see.
Did you get the call
I did, yeah we’re working on getting it set up. Lots of hoops to jump through but hopefully set up for next week.