so my battery has been swelling since march 2009. i've been out of warranty since october 09, but was still hoping for a free replacement since a swollen battery is a safety hazard/defective part
i took it into the apple store in march, the genius looked it over and said it was just a slight swelling, and that they would charge $99 for a replacement.
meanwhile, as time went on the swelling was getting worse. i decided to research the issue online, and found that some users were able to get free replacements or 50% off discounts for their batteries. others paid full price for replacements. it was judged on a case by case basis
in may, i called apple personal relations about my battery, but they still wanted to charge for a replacement. i asked straight out what was required for a free replacement, and they said that if a battery was swollen so much it couldn't even be taken out of the laptop, they would replace it for free.
today, i went to the apple store again. the swelling had gotten so bad that the battery bay was bursting open, it was difficult to put my battery in, and i had trouble clicking on my trackpad because of the battery. i think that "trouble clicking on trackpad" were the magic words. the apple genius (different guy from last time) immediately offered a free replacement, no questions asked.
moral of the story: use your battery until it is borderline dangerous and ready to explode
i took it into the apple store in march, the genius looked it over and said it was just a slight swelling, and that they would charge $99 for a replacement.
meanwhile, as time went on the swelling was getting worse. i decided to research the issue online, and found that some users were able to get free replacements or 50% off discounts for their batteries. others paid full price for replacements. it was judged on a case by case basis
in may, i called apple personal relations about my battery, but they still wanted to charge for a replacement. i asked straight out what was required for a free replacement, and they said that if a battery was swollen so much it couldn't even be taken out of the laptop, they would replace it for free.
today, i went to the apple store again. the swelling had gotten so bad that the battery bay was bursting open, it was difficult to put my battery in, and i had trouble clicking on my trackpad because of the battery. i think that "trouble clicking on trackpad" were the magic words. the apple genius (different guy from last time) immediately offered a free replacement, no questions asked.
moral of the story: use your battery until it is borderline dangerous and ready to explode