I'm looking into replacing my battery for my 13" Mac Book, bought in late 2008. I'm not finding one on your site and was wondering if you could guide me to it.
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mayer's right, in that there were two different MacBook designs on sale during 2008:
Both had user-removable batteries. The later white plastic A1342 MacBook (two generations 2009-2010) had an officially user non-removable battery.
The A1278 was the first of the aluminum-cased Unibody laptop design; the non-Retina MacBook Pros used a similar design from 2008 onward. The A1278 model often confuses people, because Apple stupidly/recklessly used the same A1278 model designation for every 13" Unibody MacBook Pro made since 2009. Even so, the A1278 Aluminum MacBook is very different from the A1278 13" Unibody MacBook Pro; there are no interchangeable parts other than hard drives/optical drives.
In particular, the A1278 MacBook battery is not interchangeable with the far more common A1278 13" MacBook Pro battery. This is important if you're buying a replacement from sketchier sources (eBay, Craigslist, online vendors in China); they'll frequently mix up parts for the two systems, just because they're unaware of the difference. Those of us who own 2008 A1278 MacBook Aluminums have learned this lesson the hard way. Thanks, Apple.
Apple's model designation for the 2008 A1278 MacBook Aluminum-compatible battery is A1280.
iFixit does carry batteries for the A1181 model. Since the A1181 model was out for many years, and all generations use the same battery, the compatible A1185 battery is widely available new, used, and in knockoff versions.
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Listing the A1342 battery as you have, could cause confusion as it is not for 13" Mac Book, bought in late 2008.
Just because the core iFixit community tries to be precise about identification doesn't mean that the larger world behaves the same way. The A1181 and the A1342 MacBooks are cosmetically identical to the casual observer. Many online sellers fail to distinguish between the two, so it's important to get the distinctions on the record in cases where confusion might arise. As the owner of an A1278 Aluminum MacBook, I am quite familiar with the risks of such confusion, as sellers frequently mix up parts for the A1278 2008 MacBook and the A1278 2009-2011 13" Unibody MacBook Pro, which share no parts at all.
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Iro, Replacement battery for 13" Mac Book late 2008. mdl A1278 and mdl A1181.
1st&2nd link is for purchasing replacement battery, verify correct model before ordering or use the 3rd link and contact ifixit parts department and place order with them. Good luck.
I hope this helped you out, if so let me know by pressing the helpful button.
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Your answer, while good if this a Unibody model, what if it is an A1181? Best to get the facts before giving an answer.
thanks for your input mayer, I wanted the poster to know Mac Book batteries were available at ifixit and did suggest that verify battery is correct for their model #.
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4 Comments
What model number and emc number are on your laptop?
by Gigabit87898
IFIXIT offers replacement batteries for MacBook's but there are a few different models you really need to help us here so we know what you have.
Locate your systems S/N you'll find it inside the batter compartment on the sidewall. Or, you can access it within the About This Mac. Plug it in here: EveryMac - Lookup. Once you locate it paste your systems URL link here for us to see.
by Dan
Thank you so much Dan. I looked it up, thanks to your link, and found out that I have a unibody aluminum A1278 model.
by Iro
Thank you very much for your help everyone!
This helped me buy the battery I needed :-) I have a uniform MacBook, bought in October 2008, A1278.
You rock!
Iro
by Iro