Battery for A1278 MacBook Pro

There is no guarantee the the battery will last 1000 cycles. Per Apple, it is designed to last UP TO 1000 cycles (not WILL).

You may not have the original battery in the MBP, rather a third party knockoff installed by the prior owner or the battery may simply be faulty.

Make an appointment at an Apple store genius bar for a FREE evaluation.

Ciao.

Batteries that "die" with too few cycles are most commonly batteries that are not used enough. Peple getting 1000+ cycles use the battery all the time.

One very common report we see here is: "I don't understand why my battery failed. I never use the computer on battery power." Well, the technology used it those batteries makes them like one of your muscles. To keep if healthy, use it. If it doesn't get used, it atrophies and dies.

There is no guarantee that your battery will last that long. The user before you could have treated it poorly.

Your battery's health can fluctuate depending on how the user treats it. For example: turning off the energy saver setting (never putting the display to sleep) will effect your battery's life (and also your display's). You can also navigate to "Activity Monitor" to see which programs and apps take up the most energy, and in doing so you can shut them off when you're not using them to improve battery health.

It sounds like you need a new battery unfortunately. But fortunately, they're not outrageously expensive!