How long does a battery replacement take and will my hard disk have to be erased?

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Level 1

12 points

How long does a battery replacement take and will my hard disk have to be erased?

I went to an Apple Store in my area and they ran a bunch of diagnostic tests and told me that my MacBook battery needs to be replaced. I'm planning on waiting until summer since I am a student and all of my classes are online and basically my whole life is on my laptop. I have a backup drive and regularly use it but in the past I have had issues with the Genius Bar attempting to restore my old laptop (it too was having battery issues and shut down mid backup which damaged the backup drive and I lost everything). Right now my laptop dies if it is not plugged in for 5 minutes and so I really need the battery replacement but am worried about losing my data again.

My second question is approximately how long it will take if I send it in myself. I know that it can be a range and is different depending on a number of factors but I am planning on taking summer classes. If it is more than 2 weeks is there a way that I could "hire" a temporary laptop while mine is being repaired?

Sorry that this post is so long!

Posted on May 15, 2021 1:52 PM

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Answer 1

Remi_202DC

Level 5

4,110 points

May 15, 2021 2:16 PM in response to cheeeriogirl

Hi,

Macbook battery replacement doesn’t require erasing hard disk.

For your second question, we can’t really tell you how long will it take, as it depends on many factors, but certainly one to two weeks if you send it yourself.

I however advise you to make the battery replacement at an Apple Store, as it takes maybe 30 min to 2 hours.

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Answer 2

babowa

Level 9

78,556 points

May 15, 2021 2:54 PM in response to cheeeriogirl

If the battery is about to fail, the next step is that it will swell. That can cause damage to other parts and possibly a fire.

So you need to have it replaced now. Apple does not do battery replacements in store. And they recommend that you have an external backup before any repair as the disk may get erased (also depends on your model/year).

The other questions need to be answered by Apple. We are just users like you. Take it back to the store and find out which method is the quickest. Mailing it seems to be slower.

And, get an external drive to back up everything before handing it over.

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How long does a battery replacement take and will my hard disk have to be erased?

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