Battery swollen

[Grolubao]

Hi guys,

I just reached a point on my late 2008 macbook pro where I couldn't click the trackpad anymore because of a swollen battery. I went to the apple store and I was forced to buy a replacement.

They told me I cannot leave my laptop charging all the time, but I also read on the web that it doesn't have a big impact m

I don't really care if the battery is still holding a lot of charge or not, I just want to avoid this swollen next time because I can't pay 100£ everytime this happens.

What is consensus on how to deal with this?

 

[blueroom]

The new battery should outlast the lifespan of that MacBook.

 

[GGJstudios]

They told me I cannot leave my laptop charging all the time, but I also read on the web that it doesn't have a big impact

Run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug any time you need to, regardless of the charged percentage, and you never need to completely drain your battery. Just make sure you don't run on AC power exclusively, as your battery needs to be used regularly to stay healthy.

​

The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[DeltaMac]

If your battery was original to a 5 year-old MBPro, then it's had a good life.
The swelling battery is, unfortunately, one element of the death knell of the removable battery. It's not uncommon, but many batteries do expire without any swelling.
In my experience, there's not much you can do to avoid swelling, other than to be aware when your battery is deteriorating due to age/use. If you discover swelling of the battery cells (and the hard-to-click trackpad is also a common symptom when swelling occurs) - it's simply time to replace the battery.
All batteries become exhausted due to use and age. The timing and actual life will vary each time, and IMHO, a particular usage pattern does not necessarily allow you to predict the battery's future.

The idea that a fresh removable MBPro battery will last longer than the life of the laptop is some wishful thinking… but your laptop is already 5 years old, so 3 or 4 more may be about right, you'll likely be done with it one way or another by that time.