How do you replace the "non-upgradable" battery in the White "Unibody" MacBook models? Is doing so a "hack"?

Replacing the battery in the White "Unibody" MacBook models -- the MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.26 13" (White Polycarbonate Unibody/Late 2009) and MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.4 13" (Mid-2010) -- probably is too simple to really refer to it as a "hack", but the battery is not intended to be replaced by end users and Apple does not support end user replacement either.

Officially, when the battery no longer holds a sufficient charge it is necessary to provide Apple with the entire notebook to have the battery replaced. Apple has posted complete details on the company website -- and the price varies in different countries -- but in the US it costs US$129. Those who live near an Apple Store can have the battery replaced the same day with an appointment or opt for service by mail which takes 3-4 days.

Regardless, iFixit tore apart the original "Late 2009" White "Unibody" MacBook and discovered that the battery is attached to the case with both tri-wing and Philips screws indicating that Apple has made a substantial effort to discourage end user replacement. A subsequent teardown of the "Mid-2010" model demonstrated that even though the battery provides longer runtime (and still is labeled with the same A1331 model number), the deconstruction procedure is the same.

However, replacing the battery isn't really more difficult than replacing the hard drive, which Apple does consider to be a "user replaceable" part.

Photo Credit: iFixit (Removing the Battery)

Ultimately, those with some technical skills need not worry about replacing the battery in the White "Unibody" MacBook models themselves should they choose to do so and replacement batteries become available.