Repairing my Macbook Pro

I own a 2014 Macbook Pro Retina 13" which was purchased during my first year in university. For more than a year, my Macbook had been plagued with the following issues: unresponsive trackpad and letter 'n'. Therefore, I had to type like this uless I activated the oscree keyboard or got the help of autocorrect. I refused to get an external keyboard because of limited desk space (and of course $$).

I guessed the root cause was a bulging battery but I ignored it until I saw one side of my trackpad popping out. While I could live with using the onscreen keyboard and an external mouse, I realised that the bulging battery may affect other components. I finally brought it to the Genius bar at Apple Orchard which diagnosed the bulging battery as the reason behind the malfunctioning keyboard and trackpad. I actually did not notice that my Macbook no longer laid flat until the Genius pointed it out because I hardly move my laptop.

To change the battery, the entire top case has to be replaced, hence I got a new keyboard and trackpad. The repair costs $288 and no data was wiped in the process, allowing me to keep the hundreds of tabs I have on Safari. My new top case has a 90-day warranty. It feels fantastic to be able to type normally.

The repair was speedy and I collected my Macbook the next day (Sunday). A Genius informed me that future repairs depend on whether they have the necessary parts in Singapore as my 2014 Macbook Pro is considered a vintage model. Do people replace their laptops every 2-3 years? I chose to repair this Macbook as I find it cumbersome to set up a new laptop and it works better than my supposedly brand new office laptop which lags and shrieks when a normal Office application is in use, not to mention the cost savings and reduction in electronic waste. I sure hope that my Macbook continues to last me for years.