How old is the second battery? 9 cycles means it's staying plugged in all the time which is bad for lithium ion batteries...
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Apple Launches Recall and Replacement Program for Batteries in 2015 15-Inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display
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Two years. It's been plugged in almost all the time, but I trusted the charging system to stop charging it when full...
It does quit charging it...but that still damages the battery long-term. Why not get a Mac mini or iMac if you aren't going to take it with you? Better thermals, no battery to worry about, etc...
My 2015 MBP is not on the list.
System report shows exactly who made the battery etc.
Manufacturer: SMP
Device Name: bq20z451
Hardware Revision: 1
Cell Revision: 3244
SMP = Simplo Technology Co. Ltd. from Taiwan
Would be interesting to know what the eligible MBPs use.
You should run it off the charger once every week or two down to around 49% to "exercise" the battery. It is not good for it to just sit plugged in 24/7 for 2 years. Whether it swells or not, it will prematurely fail. And that goes for any laptop, not just MacBooks.
I am picking up one more 2015 MBP to use as a family laptop (don't like sharing mine 
), will be checking to see if that one would require it.
), will be checking to see if that one would require it.Honestly I'd buy it if it's got one of the affected batteries because that means free battery replacement...which knowing the age of these machines...is probably needed. New battery = new top case as well (keyboard, palmrest, trackpad, etc)...good deal IMOI am picking up one more 2015 MBP to use as a family laptop (don't like sharing mine
I'm getting it anyways, and to know about this problem this early means getting it addressed before I set the machine up!
my 2015 mbp battery expanded and they charged me to replaced it. i should be able to get a refund of the cost right? gotta call Apple for this. thoroughly disappointed that i was charged but the article and the support page didnt say anything about a refund if already been serviced
Wouldn't hurt to call and see...but they have not announced refunds yet like they have with the keyboard service program or other programs. This is a recall, not an extended service/replacement program, so they may not do refunds.
I'd call and see though
Apple replaced the swollen battery last December. Now I checked the serial number and it's eligible for a new battery.
Model Information:
Manufacturer: SMP
Device Name: bq20z451
Pack Lot Code: 0
PCB Lot Code: 0
Firmware Version: 702
Hardware Revision: 1
Cell Revision: 3241
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh): 8009
Fully Charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 8396
Health Information:
Cycle Count: 48
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12787
Model Information:
Manufacturer: SMP
Device Name: bq20z451
Pack Lot Code: 0
PCB Lot Code: 0
Firmware Version: 702
Hardware Revision: 1
Cell Revision: 3241
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh): 8009
Fully Charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh): 8396
Health Information:
Cycle Count: 48
Condition: Normal
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 0
Voltage (mV): 12787
Download and run coconut battery, and click on battery information. Post a screenshot of that. I want to see when your replacement battery was manufactured...
I hate Apple's way of handling these problems with a passion. They'll ignore and deny everything and will take years to even admit an issue that's become painfully obvious to anyone; and it shows with this issue, their unusable keyboards saga, and more times than I'd like to remember.
I used to own a MBP Early-2011, and this entire line was built with faulty AMD chips and poor cooling, which made my laptop break less than 2 years in. It spent more time broken than it spent functioning. Apple denied everything for years and only acted 4 years later, when a high profile lawsuit was just about to be filed, in the form of a repair program that lasted a single year. I received a new mainboard with this program, and it broke once again one month after the program was discontinued. Its resell value, even if repaired, became nearly zero as it was a completely undependable machine.
I continue to use iPhone and iPad, but have stopped buying an Apple laptop since then. I do prefer them, but I'm not that hungry for self punishment.
I hate the way they handle *most* of these programs...but there was never any denial about this. Even Luis Rossmann commended Apple for getting out ahead of this instead of waiting for several machines to catch fire before doing anything. One machine catching fire and being analyzed by engineering is all it took and they’re doing a massive recall on them.
I had a MBP Early-2011 that spent more time broken than it spent functional, and I received a new mainboard from a repair program that lasted just until after the program was discontinued. This made me swear off Apple laptops forever. Get a PC, you'll be fine.
Fingers crossed on mine. I doubt I'll be able to afford any future replacement larger screen MBPs.
It's been a really nice machine for me - except for the battery swelling.
Good luck with yours!
If you want it back a bit more quickly, you may want to skip the Apple Store and take it to your local AASP.
The Apple Store here is quoting a week on repair time. Meanwhile, as long as parts supply is good, we can have them done the next day. Your local AASP may vary, but they'll probably still take less than a week.
Make sure that they've had at least one tech get the battery shipping certification, it's required for a shop to do these swaps.
Thanks! I have two other computers in the house to use and also a couple of iPads so I am not in a situation where I need to have my machine returned to me as soon as possible. I can live without her for a week......and I will be surprised if it actually takes that long. I have already booked an appointment for my 2015 15” at the closest Apple store Genius Bar for tomorrow afternoon, and will take her in then for the diagnostic testing and whatever is needed and leave her for the battery transplant..... Projects that I am planning to use her for have just been put on temporary hold, not a big deal.
Please stop telling people this. It's not true.
If you're storing a Li-ion battery for a long time, you want it at about 1/3 charge. But a battery in an actively used machine isn't stored, it's used. A MBP is not likely to overcharge the battery, which is what might result from a Li-ion battery plugged in all the time with a low-quality protection circuit. Deep discharging a Li-ion battery will damage it, so storing one that's close to dead for a long time will frequently result in you coming back to a battery that will never charge again.
Battery cycles are the usual killer. That won't typically cause swelling, but you're MUCH better off leaving it plugged in than intentionally running up the cycle count. What I always tell users is "If it's convenient to plug it in, plug it in. And never intentionally fully discharge the battery unless you care more about the estimated time counter than you do about battery life. But don't worry about plugging it in if it's not convenient, it's a portable, use it however it works best for you."
But a low cycle MBP battery that fails is generally going to be one of two things: Heat, or a battery that was defective from the factory.
Heat is the one thing you can control. You don't have to do anything special, just don't run your MBP on an insulating surface, NEVER put one of those stupid snap on covers on it (those will kill a computer. I know, you want your computer to be purple. Just don't.) And never run it in "clamshell" mode. You know, where you've got the lid closed and an external monitor and keyboard hooked up? Yeah, I know, Apple says you can. You can't, you'll cook it to death far more quickly than if you just use the built in screen as an extra monitor. It dumps quite a bit of heat through the keyboard and palm rests, heat that can't go anywhere if the screen is closed.
The ideal charge range for a lithium ion battery (for longest lifespan...according to Battery University) is 40-80%. When the MacBook stays plugged in all the time, the charge controller charges it to 100%, then let’s it run down *slightly* to help ease the long term wear...but it is still wearing out faster than it would if it were used once a week.
See here: https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries
Less than a month ago, I had to send in a MBP 15" to get a swollen battery replaced. It was just 2 weeks out of warranty.
Can someone comment on how Apple considers battery expansion in the 13" macbook pro a recall worthy defect, but not for the 15" macbook pro?
I mean, if you stretch a bit (or swell), you could say Apple considers "the component" around the battery defective that cause the battery to swell, but the swelling itself is not an issue. But realistically, this swelling mechanism destroys the body, keyboard, trackpad and possibly the logic board.
Source: https://www.apple.com/support/13inch-macbookpro-battery-replacement/
I mean, if you stretch a bit (or swell
), you could say Apple considers "the component" around the battery defective that cause the battery to swell, but the swelling itself is not an issue. But realistically, this swelling mechanism destroys the body, keyboard, trackpad and possibly the logic board.Thanks for responding, question to everyone here, for those of us with minor symptoms, eventually if one does indeed have a defective battery, the physical effects to the Macbook case and trackpad will become obvious as it gets worse, correct?
The practice that I've always employed with my Macbooks over the years has been to use the sleep function and remove the plug whenever I was done using it, I guess I need to fully shut it down until I am certain I don't have any battery issues in case of the low chance of a fire breaking out.
Again with my mid-2015 Macbook Pro, the lid sometimes does not fully close, very slight amount, equal gap on both sides, no trackpad problems, and I do use a Moshi Ivisor cover which possibly could be throwing it off. And zero physical/visual effects of a swollen case or messed up looking trackpad.
Thanks for your help.
The manufacture date of the replacement battery was 2018-09-11 (287 days) and the service was done around mid-December 2018.