MBP Retina Battery Replacement - Not so bad w/ household items + 2 specialty screwdrivers

[Gareth]

I was prepping a 2014 MBP Retina 13" for sale last weekend and it said "Service Battery" and was running slow. I was planning to sell it for parts anyway since it had gotten flakey with potential graphics issues that I couldn't resolve. But, in wiping it clean and updating it to Big Sur, it never woke up from the upgrade. Now it seemed completely dead.

I have a 15" I also need to do, but I've been putting it off. The 13" seemed like a good trial run. I ordered an iFixIt repair kit (tools only) https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/iOpen...uctReviews and adhesive remover https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/iFixi...45-400?o=3 and looked for a cheap 3rd party battery. Ended up going with a "NinjaBatt" https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0813SLG68/ warehouse item from Amazon.

Now, if I was keeping this laptop, I still think the Apple route is a "good" deal, especially since I think they replace the whole bottom case, which also means you get a new keyboard (and this laptop has some worn off keycaps).

I followed these instructions: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro...ment/27832

In the "end" though, all I used for removal of the battery was:
Pentalope 1.2 screwdriver (I already had this)
T5 screwdriver (also already had)
iFixIt "plastic card" https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Plast...45-101?o=1 An old non-embossed credit card or membership card would probably work too.

And added some Goo Gone, paper towels and rubbing alcohol for clean up.

Didn't need any adhesive removal or "heat" to get the battery out. I just carefully used the plastic card to cut through the adhesive.

15 minutes to get the laptop open and the battery out:


Managed to get all the black adhesive residue out with my fingers (10 minutes) and then used some Goo Gone and paper towels to clean up the remaining adhesive residue and some rubbing alcohol to clean up any remaining Goo Gone (20 minutes).



But since the replacement battery doesn't arrive until next week, this is where I leave it. But it will probably be about an hour all-in and not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. But we'll see if the 15" puts up more of a fight with its larger battery, and of course, maybe it's just a case by case basis with some laptops having "stronger" adhesive than others.

[Acer]

I have the iFixit kit with their battery on my desk as we speak. This weekend's project once I back everything up. I went with the iFixit battery because I plan to keep it, and hopefully there's a decent chance of finding them to honor a warranty if it comes to that. I had an OWC battery for a 2008 MBP swell up a few months after the warranty was up, so they didn't get the bid this time.

I was planning to use the fishing line method to cut through the adhesive, though the iFixit card is in the kit.

[GGD]

Acer wrote:
I was planning to use the fishing line method to cut through the adhesive, though the iFixit card is in the kit.

I had also read about people using dental floss for that method.

[Gareth]

Acer wrote:
I had an OWC battery for a 2008 MBP swell up a few months after the warranty was up, so they didn't get the bid this time.

Me too! But I am giving them a 2nd chance on my 15" battery...

[NewtonMP2100]

.....try not to drink any screwdrivers in the morning....

[Gareth]

Oh wow, the 15" is totally different! https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro...ment/89284 They want you to remove everything to get access. Essentially, you have to pull the logic board in order to get access to remove the speakers to give you room to work on the battery.

Since this is also a "broken" laptop that I'm hoping will work again after the battery swap, I might try to do it with the speakers and logic board in place... Removing everything doesn't bother me as I've done similar disassembly on other laptops, but we'll see if I can save some time.

[Gareth]

Ok, 15" battery is out! No need to take everything apart, and no heat or adhesive remover used. Just had to remove the trackpad cable since that runs over the battery and disconnect the right speaker connector ("left" when you're looking at it upside down) since that runs over the battery's control board. A "plastic card" that is maybe 50% longer with some sort of "padded" pushing edge would be an ideal tool, but I made do with the same iFixIt one.

[Acer]

Gareth wrote:
Oh wow, the 15" is totally different! https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro...ment/89284 They want you to remove everything to get access. Essentially, you have to pull the logic board in order to get access to remove the speakers to give you room to work on the battery.

Since this is also a "broken" laptop that I'm hoping will work again after the battery swap, I might try to do it with the speakers and logic board in place... Removing everything doesn't bother me as I've done similar disassembly on other laptops, but we'll see if I can save some time.

Using floss or fishing line avoids having to remove the logic board. I think removing the board is necessary for the "recommended" method because it uses adhesive remover, which can leak into the innards.

[sekker]

#macsurgerythread

[Gareth]

Ok, the 15" is "buttoned" back up and charging, so I can see if it works normally once it's fully charged. I didn't want to adhesive in the new battery just yet since I want to see if the battery fixes the issue with this laptop (apparently the 2015 is known to go into a reboot loop when it has a bad battery). So if it works normally, I'll pop the cover back off and permanently install the battery. If it doesn't, I'll sell this laptop off for parts and sell off the battery separately or keep it for another laptop.

This will probably be my last NewerTech battery, however. After the 2008 swollen battery and the fitment on this one leaves a little to be desired. The placement of the battery control board is off a little so it looks like it'll be a pain to get the screws in place for that.