Apple Launches Recall and Replacement Program for Batteries in 2015 15-Inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display

[Azure29]

Last week my 2015 15 inch MacBook Pro was repaired because of a dangerously swollen battery. The Mac Genius at the Apple Store told me that it had to be repaired for safety reasons. It cost me $200 plus tax.

It seems to me swollen batteries is much worse problem than, for example, the butterfly mechanism problem because someone could wind up dying because they are unwilling to pay the $200 for the repair or because they sell their machine to someone who doesn't notice the defect right away.

I was unable to make a case for a refund because my machine wasn't covered by the program (it was manufactured in June of 2015 rather than in September or later). Apple can save themselves huge amounts of money by leaving people out of the program who maybe should be covered. As I recall, Apple expanded their coverage of the butterfly mechanism problem after people reported their problems in public forums and trade journals began writing about the problem.

 

[killr_b]

Mid 2014 spec bump year is best year. Over 90% capacity remaining. Just as fast as day 1.

 

[iamMacPerson]

Point I'm trying to make is Apple does stand behind their products like no other tech company that I have seen. This program is out of an abundance of caution and we should be happy they are doing it.

It’s a recall, for a problem that has already happened to people. If you scroll down to the bottom of the article, there is a video of a MacBook Pro spewing smoke. It doesn’t matter what manufacture shipped this product, there would’ve been a safety recall irregardless. Praising Apple for recalling a MacBook battery that could catch on fire and inflict bodily harm would be like praising Ford for recalling the Pinto. If it came out that someone was injured and Apple knew, they’d be totally liable and forced to do a recall anyway. This happened with GM and the faulty Cobalt ignition recall that the silently fixed. People ended up dying because of it.

Well the article says Apple is replacing MacBooks sold up til September 2017. If they realized it in November 2016 when I bought the refurb, it seems like maybe they realized it then. Why not do the recall earlier, not June 2019?

Mostly likely it was a certain manufacture or certain batches of batteries where the chemistry inside the cells was defective and - after investigating the explosions that already occurred - was tracked down and that person’s refurbed 2015 model just so happen to receive a battery that wasn’t affected.

I highly doubt Apple knew back then. It was just happen stance that this person received a battery from an unaffected batch when the machine was refurbed.

If you can find a genuine Apple one right?

No, all MacBooks mid/late 2013-2015 that have a non-soldered blade SSD can use a custom adapter that allows you install normal m.2 NVME drives.

Other companies might just tell you to pound sand and buy a new one.
Especially for a 2015 model (which they usually only sell for maybe a year).

No lol. I had a Dell back when. It had a battery recall 3 years after I bought it. They had to replace the faulty battery because if it is found that they knew and did nothing, especially since so many were still in use, they could’ve been sued AND fined for covering up.

 

[sieler]

Prediction: recall gets expanded to include some 2016 MacBook Pro laptops.
My 15" 2016 has a bulging bottom, and I have a "genius" bar appointment for it Saturday ... before I read this article

 

[jerryk]

Prediction: recall gets expanded to include some 2016 MacBook Pro laptops.
My 15" 2016 has a bulging bottom, and I have a "genius" bar appointment for it Saturday ... before I read this article

Ouch. That does does not sound good.

If it is a top case replacement I hope they cover it for you. How many battery cycles?

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Interesting that I have a 'MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)' that also shows a 'Color LCD: Display Type: Built-In Retina LCD, Resolution: 2880 x 1800 Retina' which I would assume is a 'Retina Display', and yet the serial number search says that either this system is ineligible for the program, or has been previously repaired. *shrug*

Is there a specific 'MacBook Pro (15-inch Retina Display, 2016' model?
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Dude get a Dell! Everyone knows their products last and their customer service is great! (snide snicker)

No kidding, snicker... I had a client that only bought Dell's. They had one that died, and I worked with Dell to get a replacement motherboard, and when it came in, swapped them. It was dead. I went through the process again, and received another motherboard, and its USB ports were all dead. I went through the routine to get another replacement, and it was DOA as well. Finally I asked to talk to second level support, and be expedited to get some working parts for a change. I finally got someone who said they took one out of a known working system, and apologized for the problems. I knew they guy was probably lying, but the board did come from a different source, and worked perfectly. Grand total of almost two weeks transpired. World class service indeed.

 

[Azure29]

Apple's liability will depend on statistics. Are the failure rates unusually high because of a design flaw? And will there be physical harm to people that could be avoided. At this point, only Apple has access to the crucial statistics.

 

[iShater]

Awesome, mine got fixed last year apparently when I had to send it in twice for 2 top case replacements.

From apple SN verification

This message is so confusing, it should be one or the other. Lazy programming.

 

[Azure29]

Another thing to consider is that the battery in the 2015 MacBook Pro 15 inch laptop is very large. I believe it is just beneath the maximum size allowed on an airplane. One has to wonder whether changes in altitude could cause a swollen battery to explode. If so, steps should be taken to make sure that these laptops aren't allowed on airplanes.

 

[Bawstun]

all these fix-it programs apple is having recently....on one hand its good they are proving the service, but on the other hand what does it say about their product quality?

It says that innovation and quality are dead and Tim Cook should have been fired, yesterday. Whyyyyyyy is he so praised because of stock price? HE. IS. KILLING. THEIR. BRAND. IMAGE. AND. LOYALTY.

Oh, nevermind. Nobody gets it.

 

[Burning]

Glad to see this - I have the 2015 MBP and my battery is on its last legs.

I don't expect it to burst into flames anytime soon, but a replacement is long overdue. I'm glad it will be free.

 

[TVreporter]

Silly question but do you need proof of purchase? Ironically I’m currently negotiating to buy a used 2015 but not sure yet if it’s one of the recalls? Do they just go by serial number?

 

[TokMok3]

Last week my 2015 15 inch MacBook Pro was repaired because of a dangerously swollen battery. The Mac Genius at the Apple Store told me that it had to be repaired for safety reasons. It cost me $200 plus tax.

It seems to me swollen batteries is much worse problem than, for example, the butterfly mechanism problem because someone could wind up dying because they are unwilling to pay the $200 for the repair or because they sell their machine to someone who doesn't notice the defect right away.

I was unable to make a case for a refund because my machine wasn't covered by the program (it was manufactured in June of 2015 rather than in September or later). Apple can save themselves huge amounts of money by leaving people out of the program who maybe should be covered. As I recall, Apple expanded their coverage of the butterfly mechanism problem after people reported their problems in public forums and trade journals began writing about the problem.

2 months ago they replaced the screen(lamination problem) and the battery(expanding) for free. I was lucky because my machine was in the 4 year replacement program.
[doublepost=1561080164][/doublepost]

Silly question but do you need proof of purchase? Ironically I’m currently negotiating to buy a used 2015 but not sure yet if it’s one of the recalls? Do they just go by serial number?

I don't think so, they did not asked me proof of purchase.

 

[powerslave12r]

Another day another Apple recall. Had to pay for a replacement battery on my late 2013 because it started expanding, rendering the trackpad useless. A year later the SSD/Logic board died.

How bad was it warped?

 

[drumcat]

Anyone know how long they expect this to be available? I would prefer to wait a bit.

 

[Glockworkorange]

so 2015 product gets recall 4 years later? How does that work?

Takes 4 years to start exploding

 

[az431]

so 2015 product gets recall 4 years later? How does that work?

Here's how it works:

1. Manufacturer discovers a safety defect in one of its products
2. Manufacturer recalls the product

 

[Glockworkorange]

Oh I totally love Apple is fixing it. I really am. But people have been saying it was a machine without problems. Point I'm trying to make is Apple does stand behind their products like no other tech company that I have seen. This program is out of an abundance of caution and we should be happy they are doing it. I do wonder what will happen after 4 years for the 2016-today MacBook Pros with the butterfly keyboard. So far they are standing behind that product even though the keyboard has been a nightmare. They are trying to do one day turn around for keyboard repairs now. Time will tell, but I am far happier today with my 2016 than I was at launch.

I’d be surprised if they service the 2016 era more than four years after purchase, but I guess we’re not far from that time, are we?

 

[ls1dreams]

Can anyone clarify?

The site for mine says:

"The serial number you entered may be eligible for this program. Please choose one of the service options below."

Does that mean I could bring it in to Apple, not have a laptop for 1-2 weeks, and they might potentially do nothing? Or are they replacing batteries on all of these models?

 

[Xarthan]

Can anyone clarify?

The site for mine says:

"The serial number you entered may be eligible for this program. Please choose one of the service options below."

Does that mean I could bring it in to Apple, not have a laptop for 1-2 weeks, and they might potentially do nothing? Or are they replacing batteries on all of these models?

I just did a chat when I saw that message and they are sending me a box to ship it back.

 

[macdevc]

I had a 2014 MBP with a swollen battery. Apple store seemed pretty certain they'd never seen it before, but ended up having to replace the battery and the logic board (though it's possible the logic board replacement was due to technician error). Luckily they only charged me for a battery replacement.

Same here and the swollen battery thing happened on both of my 2014 and 2015 MBPs AT SAME TIME. They only charged for the battery but after this recall, I think they should refund the cost.

 

[nouveau_redneck]

I got lucky, mine is not being recalled. I certainly didn't want to be without my machine two weeks. When it's out of AppleCare, I'll replace it myself.

 

[Vampire14]

That will be nice! Yes, when there was the situation with delamination on screens, I had that issue with my 2015 13" MBP and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the screen was replaced and the computer back in my hands again. I expect that the battery replacement on this machine will be pretty speedy as well, or at least I hope so.

Hi
I have a late 2015 MBP 13” & it has just started to show the de laminating issue. Does anyone know if they are still replacing screens under the programme?

 

[smitster]

The. Best. Laptop. Ever. Made.

I have two within the recall period range and both are not affected.

The best! Detachable power cable. No dongle HDMI. No dongle thunderbolt. No dongle USB A. Excellent keyboard. No touchbar. Functional ESC key. The last of its kind, unfortunately.
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Agreed. I can live with soldered RAM, but the SSD was a deal breaker back then, particularly because of pricing.

Now the keyboards are the dealbreaker, since I'm sure Apple is NEVER going back to socketed anything but I don't want to give up the OS (yet).

True about the Ethernet port lacking on the 2015. It would be nice if it had one. But the Haswell processor has aged well.

 

[Cohenator]

My battery was replaced this January for being swollen and the machine running hot. I was told that it was likely related. My computer is a Mid 2015 15" MBP and may be impacted by the recall.

Chatting with Apple Support was kinda annoying tonight, they may need to have the machine for 1 to 2 weeks. They couldn't tell me if the battery that they put in just 5 months was part of the recall.

I identified the battery as a Simplo Battery manufactured Oct of 2018.

The agent was not able to offer anything by way of an exchange or a loaner. I get that it is an older machine, but dang I just replaced the battery via AppleCare and they don't know if this one is a problem.

I would really love an exchange or a loaner, anyone ever have an experience where they would do that?