Shortly before landing in San Francisco the other day, the MacBook Pro-using guy in the seat next to me leaned over and asked, “how did you manage to use your Mac all the way across the country? Is that some special battery you have?”
For a minute, I was tempted to make something up, as in “yes, it’s an experimental fuel cell that runs on bovine methane!” Or maybe claim that the new $5 Tornado intake in my car gets me 50 mpg, 7 hours of battery life, and makes me more attractive.
But I’m a good guy. So I admitted the truth – that I bought a spare battery for the MacBook Pro, so I never run out of juice. I’ve done this with all of my laptops for years, and I wonder why more people don’t do it. Extra Apple batteries are just $130 (on sale at Amazon for $110 now) and this is a small price to pay for go-anywhere juice! Batteries used to be much more expensive, but prices have fallen.
If you’re thinking of buying an extra battery, here is some advice:
- Buy the original equipment battery, not some knock-off. I’ve had terrible luck with off-brand batteries and they’re never more than a few dollars cheaper!
- Buy from an approved vendor so you get a full warranty (I got mine at the Apple store)
- Don’t waste your time looking for super bargains – they rarely go on sale for more than 10% off. That Amazon sale is the cheapest I’ve ever seen.
- Make sure you buy exactly the right battery for your machine – I match the part number on the battery that came with it. Manufacturers vary batteries over time, and although another machine’s battery may fit it might not be compatible with your computer.
- Don’t buy lithium-ion laptop batteries that have sat on the shelf for a long time. They lose their life whether they are used or not!
- Don’t pay much for used batteries. They probably don’t have much life left in them.
- Dispose of old batteries carefully – they contain toxic chemicals! You can bring old rechargeable batteries to Staples, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and other stores for free recycling.
So that’s my secret to long (battery) life and happiness!
Slimy suggestion: if you ever forget your Apple power adapter when traveling, buy another one at Best Buy or the Apple store. After your trip is over, go back, return it, and exchange it for credit towards that second battery you always wanted. It’ll make up for your guilty conscience over returning the power adapter, and that second battery is almost as good as having an extra power adapter.
(No, I’ve never done that, but it’s crossed my mind – especially since I’m now up to 3 Magsafe power supplies and 2 batteries.)
Brent, you are EEEEEEVIL!
Here’s another option: Go to a major business hotel and tell the front desk you forgot your power adapter. They all have a box of them sitting in the back and will just give you which ever one you like!
Slimy suggestion: if you ever forget your Apple power adapter when traveling, buy another one at Best Buy or the Apple store. After your trip is over, go back, return it, and exchange it for credit towards that second battery you always wanted. It’ll make up for your guilty conscience over returning the power adapter, and that second battery is almost as good as having an extra power adapter.
(No, I’ve never done that, but it’s crossed my mind – especially since I’m now up to 3 Magsafe power supplies and 2 batteries.)
Brent, you are EEEEEEVIL!
Here’s another option: Go to a major business hotel and tell the front desk you forgot your power adapter. They all have a box of them sitting in the back and will just give you which ever one you like!
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nice post,thanks for sharing.
It’s good that the battery is cheap and fine
It’s really wonderful
Maybe I should care more about my laptop battery now
Agree with you
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but this would suggest that the standard battery time for a used macbook pro would be about 3 or 4 hours? This is what I´ve been wondering about and googleing about for days…WHY THE freeking freezing hell can´t Dell or Sony make a notebook with similar power and still have the same battery life…..I have allways thought in my stupitidy that it depends on the not so friendly and adjustebla operating system…and just settled with that…But your post shows us that there is no secret. It´s just poor testing routines (mac are allways favourable tested) that says that a mac actually have 8 or 9 hours of battery life?