Swollen and bent out battery in MacBook Pro

Take it out, don't use it, and call Apple support to get a replacement, or drop in to see a 'genius'.


If you do a quick search, you'll see there have been issues (but you should confirm your serial matches on the Apple website):


https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/297512/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/272829/

Yeah, I'm with bigandy. Don't hesitate with this one.

A swollen battery is a very bad sign, but almost always of a manufacturing defect [or design issue] in the batt itself. They should replace it for you with very few questions.

I've experienced it twice so far, and my colleagues have also reported issues. Crap hardware, crap batteries, I dunno...

Anyway, if it's covered under Applecare you should be able to just take it to a Store for exchange, or send it in for replacement.

I think apple will replace it for free without any problems, right away. The last thing they want is the battery to explode on you. Call them up ASAP and tell them about the swelling.

sash said:

Hi,

Yes, you're 100 % right. I've called the Apple Store, and after providing the MBP SN and describing the situation, I've got the replacement. Apparently, all of the MBPro's battery have now 2 years warranty, and not the 1 year as before (because of the scale of the problem). No shipment costs as well, which make the solution just fine for me. I should only wait for app. 3 days, but that's not a big problem...

Thank you all!
sash

Click to expand...

Is it just the MacBook Pro or does it include the MacBook as well?

I know this is an old topic - but my reply is relevant. At 10:30am my battery started popping out (MacBook Pro). I set up an appointment at the local Apple Store and by 12:30pm I was home with my computer... All's well that ends well..

sash said:

And that's how the story's ended: in less than 20 hours after contacting the Apple Store, I've got the new battery free of charge. Totally happy ending.

Thanks,
sash

Click to expand...

Apple will not replace my battery

Hi there
I noticed that my battery had swollen in my MBP, so took it to my local approved repair center, the guy there said he hadn't seen a battery swollen so bad.
(Pic's below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50433823@N08/4624568810/in/photostream/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/50433823@N08/4623961367/in/photostream/

and I should call apple technical help, which i did when I got home, they've said that as my laptop is 4 years they are not will to swap the battery even though it is a technical fault as to why it has done this.

I am not happy that in the UK Apple are not prepared to help.

sash said:

I'm from Belgium, so no 'geniuses' here

Click to expand...

Don't be so harsh. Have a little respect for your country!


Kidding.

Can these swollen batteries occur in a unibody? Does it warp the aluminum case itself?

Apple makes good on its "Pop Tart" battery

Ok, it just happened to me, too, and it was a bit frightening... like your precious baby just developed a huge nasty wart on her nose!

I live in Japan, where there was a news story a few days ago that an iPod had caught fire on a commuter train. That's the first thing that came to mind.

In my case, I noticed my MacBook Pro was sort of raised and rocking on the stand I use. I figured a pen had gotten underneath it somehow, and so I lifted it up... and was shocked to see that the door of the battery compartment had sprung open, the battery was swollen, and you could see it all bloated up like a Pop Tart in its plastic bag... Freaked me out!

I turned my Mac off and unplugged it, figuring it was ready to explode or burst into flames. I gingerly touched the bottom and felt just the usual bit of warmth.

On my iPad I Googled it up and found that this is pretty common; that some Apple stores will even give you a free battery out of warranty. It does not explode or overheat in that condition, but the common advice is to shut down your laptop when through using it and take it ASAP to your nearest Apple Store.

So we made a Genius appointment and took it to the closest Apple Store (there are two here) and that's exactly what the Genius did -- gave us a free battery in about 15 minutes, plus replaced a key I had lost. That's despite the laptop being long out of warranty. It was a great experience.

Now I understand why, about a month ago, it was hard to press the space bar. The swollen battery was distorting the innards, and bulging upward and that made it so the space bar had no play except at each end. I rapped it with my knuckles a few times thinking that would free it up, and it worked, but apparently only because it sprung open the door on the compartment (which I never noticed until it got really bad). That must have released the pressure and everything went back to normal operation.

I forgot to take a picture of it, but it was like this -- you can see the battery split open at lower right.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50433823@N08/4624568810/in/photostream/

The good thing, other than the fast, free service, is that I now have a useable battery. It never did work from the second or third month after I got my MBP. We took it to the Apple Store in San Antonio, and the tech guy there said, "Oh, well, yes... your battery charging parameters have to be reset. Ok, there you go!" I never went back since I flew to Tokyo a few days later. But the battery charge would last barely 10 minutes. So, at least now I finally got it fixed!

Anyway, as with everyone I know with a MacBook Pro, I love it and have been really satisfied for a bit over 4 years now. This might have been a real bummer, but instead it reinforced my satisfaction with both the hardware and the service.

Attaboy, Apple!

My battery in my Macbook Pro is also a little bloated. I realized this that the battery got swollen when I was using the laptop on a 4 hour flight. When I opened the hatch of the battery socket it popped out and than came out the battery by itself. Thats how swollen it was then. I thought it was from the change in air pressure due to the plane so I left it in my bag for the duration of the flight. When I got home I unpacked my laptop and the battery and sure enough it got a little less swollen, but it never got back to the normal state. It still has a little bulge that keeps forcing the battery hatch to pop open by itself.

Now I bought the laptop in the U.S.A. but I now live in Europe.
1. Does anyone think that an Apple store in Europe will replace my battery for free? Which I doubt by the way, but humor me anyway.
2. I bought the Macbook Pro in the U.S.A. does that mean that I have to buy/order a replacement battery from the states? Or can I purchase one in Europe?

Let me know