iPhone 15 Pro Battery Swelling at 40,000ft

[Manchild_from_Aus]

Hi MacRumors readers.

Looking to share within the Mac community.

My iPhone 15 Pro first used in September 2023, started to delaminate at 40,000 ft yesterday on a flight with its battery swelling. The phone was otherwise in excellent condition being internal at the start of the flight. Have contacted Apple and they don't seem to be terribly alarmed... Just letting the community know.

 

[Macdctr]

Time for a battery replacement service. What a time for this to happen! 😳

 

[AppleForeverandEver]

What condition was your battery. 3 years of heavy use is a lot for some. You should not charge it anymore.

 

[eyoungren]

Have contacted Apple and they don't seem to be terribly alarmed...

I have an iPhone 5 (two actually) and that model is prone to this. Mine has been replaced for battery swelling three times, my wife's once.

Apple is not alarmed because the battery is contained within a sleeve that expands and contracts as the battery does. It is this sleeve that protects the outside environment from the battery itself.

Get it replaced, it should not cost you anything.

 

[eyoungren]

You should not charge it anymore.

That depends.

Generally, I tend to agree with you. However, after three battery replacements on one iPhone 5 and once with my wife's iPhone 5, the replacements started to swell again.

How I deal with this is to drain the battery and then let it sit. With my iPhone 5 it took about six months before the battery went back to normal. With my wife's iPhone 5 it was out in the garage sitting for about a year and a half to two years.

I had to deal with it this way because at a certain point Apple would not replace the phones.

Both of those iPhones are now sitting on my desk, plugged in all day and monitoring stats on my Macs. At night, I take them off power. I've not had any issues since. And they were used for a couple years before that for other things.

 

[chabig]

Clearly there is some gas in the battery cells. That's not a good sign. As the others have said, you should replace it.

Airplanes are pressurized so the cabin altitude at 40,000 feet was 6,000-8,000 feet, depending upon which type of airliner it was. Swollen batteries are a high concern while flying because you and the battery are trapped in a confined space and if the battery were to catch fire it's very dangerous. You might decide to continue using that battery on the ground, but please don't fly with it.

 

[eyoungren]

Clearly there is some gas in the battery cells. That's not a good sign. As the others have said, you should replace it.

Airplanes are pressurized so the cabin altitude at 40,000 feet was 6,000-8,000 feet, depending upon which type of airliner it was. Swollen batteries are a high concern while flying because you and the battery are trapped in a confined space and if the battery were to catch fire it's very dangerous. You might decide to continue using that battery on the ground, but please don't fly with it.

It is my understanding that most airliners now have fireproof cellphone bags onboard and that the flight attendants are trained in how to use them. Not that this isn't dangerous (I agree with you). I'm just bringing it up in case anyone didn't realize this.

EDIT: Yep. Avsax, HOT-STOP and Brimstone, three manufacturers. These are FAA approved and available retail for private customers as well.

PED (Personal Electronic Device) fire containment bags.

 

[AppleForeverandEver]

No way I would use a phone with a swollen battery, but that is just me wanting to not have my house burn done😳

 

[eyoungren]

No way I would use a phone with a swollen battery, but that is just me wanting to not have my house burn done😳

Did you read at all what I said?

I wouldn't charge a battery that was swollen either. And I am a homeowner. If it remained swollen, then I'd have left it alone. But neither battery on my two iPhone 5's are swollen anymore. One took six months to go away and the other took about two years with no charging at all during that time.

 

[AppleForeverandEver]

Did you read at all what I said?

I wouldn't charge a battery that was swollen either. And I am a homeowner. If it remained swollen, then I'd have left it alone. But neither battery on my two iPhone 5's are swollen anymore. One took six months to go away and the other took about two years with no charging at all during that time.

I am glad your swollen batteries healed themselves. I would still not trust them once they swelled. Everyone has choices, this one is mine.