Mid 2009 MacBook Pro, reaching end of life?

The OEM battery is still the same type as the one in a mid-2012 MBP, which is still receiving hardware support. However, Apple or AASPs don't sell loose batteries without a battery replacement service where they require trading in the old battery. And I believe Apple's policy is that AASPs aren't allowed to replace a battery in a 2009 because (as someone else stated) it's considered an "obsolete" device.

Your best option at this point (unless you can find a salvage battery in good condition with low cycles) may be aftermarket. It's not terribly difficult, but Apple doesn't consider it a DIY job. Maybe one from OWC or iFixit?

ChipDale wrote:

Excellent recommendations! I have not considered other OS choices because I'm All Apple.

I know Cross Platform is workable between OS's; I'm spoiled by Apple ease of multi-platform success.

It's a tossup for me; for now my

'mid '09 MBP will survive with a

new battery. I'll check with the Apple Store though before driving the 120miles.

Thanks - ChipDale

Maybe this will save you the time, but Apple is not going to swap your old battery for a new OEM battery. It's too old and Apple simply doesn't authorize service on a device that old. The part (A1382) may still available, but they would order them from their suppliers in quantities meant to service devices that aren't on an "obsolete" list..

A 2009 MBP would be on the "obsolete" list. The mid-2012 is now on the "vintage" list where there is a chance that there still have the battery because of a fairly recent change to their service policy.

Vintage and obsolete products - Apple Support

Vintage products are those that have not been manufactured for more than 5 and less than 7 years ago. Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Apple TV vintage products continue to receive hardware service from Apple service providers, including Apple Retail Stores, subject to availability of inventory, or as required by law.

Obsolete products are those that were discontinued more than 7 years ago. Monster-branded Beats products are considered obsolete regardless of when they were purchased. Apple has discontinued all hardware service for obsolete products with no exceptions. Service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products. All Apple Retail Stores and the Canadian, European, Latin American, and Asia-Pacific operating regions follow the U.S. product list, but make no distinction between vintage and obsolete. When applied to Apple Retail Stores and these operating regions, products on the U.S. vintage list (all models) are considered obsolete.

As far as I’m concerned, a computer has ended its life when it doesn’t do the job for me, not when Apple tells me it has. I sold my 2009 or 2010 MBP (can’t remember which any more - old timer’s disease) because my needs required more RAM. I passed it on to a colleague who used it for several more years and now his son is using it at college. My only concern would be security online.

Apple won't service the 2009 laptop because it is considered Obsolete. Finding a good Lithium-ion battery is nearly impossible. Your best chance is to purchase a battery from OWC.

If you decide to upgrade to an SSD, then be careful since some SSDs don't work well with some older computers which have a SATA II drive controller. Some SSDs have trouble negotiating the proper link speed. I've used the Crucial MX500 series on some of our organization's older Macs without any issues and OWC sells a 3G (or SATA II) SSD.

Depending on how you want to use this laptop you may want to consider installing Linux on it which could give you even more life out of this laptop especially once you feel macOS El Capitan is too old. At that point what do you have to lose?

With 8GB of RAM Linux would run great on the laptop, however, Linux is not for everyone or every type of use. You can easily try out a Linux Live CD/USB which won't touch your existing macOS. You would need to take a little time to learn some Linux basics (as you would with any different OS). You would also want to make a bootable macOS USB installer and verify it works just in case you want to revert back to macOS.

One of the Ubuntu flavors such as Kubuntu, or Ubuntu-Mate would be nice as would Linux Mint. All of these should be easy to install on your Mac. The default Ubuntu is not recommended since it tends to need a very powerful system (although it may work Ok). Linux would give you a fully up to date OS and access to the most recent versions of the popular web browsers such as FireFox, Google Chrome, and Vivaldi as well as access to a lot of other free software. Note: all of the Ubuntu flavors use the same core, but include different graphical desktop interfaces/environments and some different default apps.