Apple No Longer Replacing Some MacBook Pros Needing Battery Service With Newer Models

Thanks MacRumors. You took an internal discussion on your forums where people had genuine battery issues and getting nice goodwill gestures and opened it up and gave it massive attention (with other tech sites copying your articles), attracting the attention of chancers and Apple themselves. Really - what was the need?

I can understand your frustration to some extent, but I can't apologize for sharing information that I believe is valuable to our readers. ...

('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/26/apple-ends-macbook-pro-battery-exchanges/')


In an internal memo obtained by MacRumors, Apple has informed Genius Bar employees and Apple Authorized Service Providers that it is actively working to rebuild worldwide supply of top case assemblies with batteries for Mid 2012 and Early 2013 models of the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display.



Apple's memo says, effective July 26, service inventory of top case assemblies with batteries are now available for new repairs. The directive adds that MobileGenius, the service and support tool that Genius Bar employees use on the iPads they carry around, has stopped presenting messages about delayed repairs ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/24/mid-2012-macbook-pro-top-case-battery-constraint/').

For all new repair requests, Apple advises Genius Bar employees and Apple Authorized Service Providers to order the necessary inventory. Apple advises its service providers to inform customers that the inventory should arrive within 15 business days of the part order, corresponding with early August.

Prior to today, a customer with an eligible MacBook Pro that failed Apple's battery diagnostic test was offered the option of exchanging the notebook for a functionally equivalent model ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/24/mid-2012-macbook-pro-top-case-battery-constraint/'). Or, customers could wait until battery inventory became available, in exchange for Apple covering the cost of the repair.

Likely because Apple no longer makes Mid 2012 and Early 2013 models of the 15-inch MacBook Pro, the functionally equivalent model ended up being a refurbished 2015 MacBook Pro, or sometimes even a 2016 or 2017 model, according to many customers who shared their experiences on MacRumors and Reddit.

What made the deal so compelling is that, for the exchange, Apple only charged its out-of-warranty battery fee of $199 in the United States, £199 in the UK, or $259 in Canada, significantly less than a new MacBook Pro costs.

Apple's memo today appears to mark the end of the company offering outright exchanges for newer MacBook Pro models. Many users on MacRumors ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-exchanging-some-2012-and-early-2013-macbook-pros-needing-battery-service-with-newer-models.2058214/page-14') and Reddit ('https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/6plxy3/2012_macbook_pro_replacement_no_longer_works/') have confirmed Genius Bar employees are now instructing customers that battery inventory is available in 15 business days as instructed.

It's unclear if Apple Stores will honor exchanges initiated prior to July 26 that are still being processed.

Apple previously said top case assemblies with batteries for the MacBook Pro models would remain severely constrained until September 15, 2017, according to an older internal memo obtained by MacRumors. The directive did not identify a reason for the shortage, which has been ongoing since at least March.

Article Link: Apple No Longer Replacing Some MacBook Pros Needing Battery Service With Newer Models ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/07/26/apple-ends-macbook-pro-battery-exchanges/')

I think you mean: I won't apologize.

(Great gesture that Joe Rossignol was the first to like this post.)

21 Jul 2017: Revised Topic section and Internal Comments for Apple Retail Stores indicating delayed repairs and CRUs will no longer be required or approved for repairs created after July 25."

Well, that was short lived.