MacBook Battery Fire

[iSee]

Any chance you could ask if he has ever noticed a black mark on his macbook pro between the battery and the battery release buttons, right where his has popped!

Iv noticed a few times that i get this black sort of charcoal mark that wipes clean in that area and first thot it ws my carry case rubbing off against the hot battery... i have since stopped using the carry case and the mark is still appearing!!!

I cannot afford to have anything happen to my laptop or send it for repair/replacement as it has all of my degree work on it.

Also did the was the battery replaced or the whole macbook pro???

I had the same problem and I inspected the battery well and battery very closely. I didn't see a black mark like the one you describe (nor any kind of black mark or anything else out of whack.)

I only needed the battery replaced. The battery itself kind of "popped" but all the expansion was downward, away from the rest of the computer.

Now that the battery is replaced, my computer is behaving normally (even before the battery popped, it had been shutting off when the battery power when below ~10%).

FYI to all - check Apple's web site for battery recalls that may affect your MBP. My battery was actually under a recall, but I didn't know about it until after it popped. Link: http://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/. Certain models of iBooks, PowerBooks and and MBPs are under a battery recall.

 

[SkyBell]

Any chance you could ask if he has ever noticed a black mark on his macbook pro between the battery and the battery release buttons, right where his has popped!

Iv noticed a few times that i get this black sort of charcoal mark that wipes clean in that area and first thot it ws my carry case rubbing off against the hot battery... i have since stopped using the carry case and the mark is still appearing!!!

I cannot afford to have anything happen to my laptop or send it for repair/replacement as it has all of my degree work on it.

Also did the was the battery replaced or the whole macbook pro???

Well, for one, it's a Macbook, not a Macbook Pro.

And yes, after a Fire like that, there's pretty much no way it could be prepared.

 

[DaLurker]

Wow... wonder what Apple PR's going to offer him At least he'll get some good gear out of this. I wouldn't use a Macbook again after an incident like this if it happened to me personally.

 

[iSee]

As I got closer I realised it was my mac book .... burning! I picked it up and blew on it and swung it around to put the flames out.

Not quite a Darwin award, but not the brightest LED in the bundle.

That's not fair. It's true that fanning a fire will cause it to burn more intensely--at a certain level. But, of course, it is possible to entirely blow out a small flame. Whether swinging it around and blowing on it would intensify the flame or blow it out is a judgement call which, apparently, the OP made correctly.

 

[BigPrince]

My must meet requirements would be:
A BETTER Replacement Computer
Some Apple Software

My Dream requirements would be:
WWDC Ticket w/air and hotel
30 inch cinema display
Meeting with Steve Jobs
GOOD Discounts on all future Apple Products
iPhone with service.
tickets to all Future Macworlds.

 

[SkyBell]

Wow... wonder what Apple PR's going to offer him At least he'll get some good gear out of this. I wouldn't use a Macbook again after an incident like this if it happened to me personally.

Well, maybe, but you've got to remember this was a very rare incident. Its not a common occurrence. The chances of this happening are less then 1 in a million, so I wouldn't be worried.

 

[iSee]

Well, for one, it's a Macbook, not a Macbook Pro.

And yes, after a Fire like that, there's pretty much no way it could be prepared.

I think anima8tor was referring to aricher's MBP pictures, not the OP's burned MB--at least that's what I assumed in my response to his post...
---
Edit: Oops, it's not the "OP's burned MB"--it's the burned MB from the story that started this thread.

 

[50548]

Would you still say that if it were your Macbook?

Sure. I would go to Apple and get a new one...and not pretend that it happens to every MB out there.

 

[wincc]

imagine that happens on an airplane over the atlantic. my guess in a few month we won't be allowed to use any laptop in flight anymore.

also makes me nervous knowing that my notebook is sitting at home alone plugged to the outlet..........

I went with British Airways from London to Sydney a month ago and the crew told us that Dell and Apple notebooks were not allowed to be used....

 

[john7jr]

Call me skeptical, but:

A) That's not the battery. It's next to the battery. I've seen the explosion photos and they don't generally explode in that direction. I could be wrong, but based on the picture, and not seeing the actual laptop, I'd say it's not necessarily battery related.

B) The magazine sitting next to it appears scorched too on the edge, as if the MacBook may have been sitting on the magazine when it caught fire. Potentially, if the machine got hot enough the magazine may have been the source of the flame. Perhaps the machine was closed, but crashed instead of sleeping, and then seriously overheated.

It's still concerning, but not as concerning as sensationalistic journalism riding the recall battery backlash.

 

[iTwitch]

As I got closer I realised it was my mac book .... burning! I picked it up and blew on it and swung it around to put the flames out.

Not quite a Darwin award, but not the brightest LED in the bundle.

Never a bucket of sand around when you need one.

 

[Jonacco]

This wasn't some fire that just happened out of the blue... According to his story he had been having power/battery issues for three weeks. If your car had been having the power go on and off you would have taken it to the shop and you would not have been using it.
He didn't even have a good battery in his smoke detector.
The article doesn't say if this was a new battery or one that was on the recall list.

Regardless of battery problems or not, a fire is a very extreme case and not the usual outcome of computer related issues such as this. I just hope some mainstream news source doesn't pick this up or it could mean bad news for Apple. Nobody likes to see a flaming laptop - and given the rare circumstance, people (most consumers) are reckoned to be scared off from this sort of event.

 

[notjustjay]

B) The magazine sitting next to it appears scorched too on the edge, as if the MacBook may have been sitting on the magazine when it caught fire. Potentially, if the machine got hot enough the magazine may have been the source of the flame. Perhaps the machine was closed, but crashed instead of sleeping, and then seriously overheated.

What temperature do you need to have for a magazine to spontaneously catch fire?

That would have to be one serious overheat.

 

[SuperCompu2]

The article doesn't say if this was a new battery or one that was on the recall list.

No MacBook batteries are featured on the Recall List. Only those of PowerBook G4s and Maybe iBooks I think.

Either way, these things make you worry about laptops spontaneously bursting into flames; especially the older models in your homes you may take for granted to sit quietly and charge all day. I'd personally be really nervous if a new product were to catch fire, with all the strict requirements needed to pass safety tests.

But I do agree strongly with the theory above. The magazine may have started the fire after a sleeping overheat (becoming more and more common with MacBooks, just read a post not 20 minutes ago) and thus lead to the power leads or some other flammable part of the underside.

 

[ortuno2k]

It doesn't really scare me, but it does concern me that I leave my MBP plugged in at home all the time.

 

[aricher]

Any chance you could ask if he has ever noticed a black mark on his macbook pro between the battery and the battery release buttons, right where his has popped!

Iv noticed a few times that i get this black sort of charcoal mark that wipes clean in that area and first thot it ws my carry case rubbing off against the hot battery... i have since stopped using the carry case and the mark is still appearing!!!

I cannot afford to have anything happen to my laptop or send it for repair/replacement as it has all of my degree work on it.

Also did the was the battery replaced or the whole macbook pro???

No scorch marks, just the battery was replaced and his MBP has been fine ever since - about a month now. If your MBP is showing black scorch marks I would recommend getting it looked at ASAP!

 

[J.Stunnaz]

it could be a bad battery, or some short circuit, or that the person probably didnt take good care of their mac, since by the pic that person's house looks like trash.

 

[longofest]

The article doesn't say if this was a new battery or one that was on the recall list.

There are no recalls for MacBook batteries. There is one non-safety related recall for MacBook Pro batteries, and of course there is a big recall for iBook and PowerBook batteries that DOES have to do with safety, but not for the MacBook.

Li-Poly batteries were supposed to prevent/reduce the risk of just this type of scenario.

Link to see all Apple's active recalls: http://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/

 

[john7jr]

What temperature do you need to have for a magazine to spontaneously catch fire?

That would have to be one serious overheat.

I also grabbed one of our MacBooks here for comparison. I was trying to remain objective, but that really is the battery, I had forgotten they are longer than the previous iBook batteries.

I also read his post those pictures came from. It sounds like the battery controller chip was shorting out or a cell was dying. Either way, he had clear evidence that it was damaged and continued to use it until it burnt his bookshelf up.

So I'm more inclined to say it really is a battery defect which should be looked into, but also a stupid user who deserves to be smacked for letting it happen.

 

[anim8or]

Let me make sure I get this right... You have clear signs of electrical arcing and you can't afford to lose all your data... so you aren't going to send it in for repair because you can't be without it? You've got to be kidding.

So what, you suggest i send it away and be without my entire years work for an animation degree, due in 8 weeks, and hope my tutors just say oh well here's a top mark, or any mark at all, anyway.

Perhaps you need to read a little harder before replying.

I can back up but cannot give up a day never mind potential weeks without a computer to work on!!!

Are YOU kidding!!!!!!

 

[longofest]

it could be a bad battery, or some short circuit, or that the person probably didnt take good care of their mac, since by the pic that person's house looks like trash.

How would you suggest that the person better take care of his Mac to prevent the thing from exploding when it is not even being used?

You aren't the only one to have insinuated user error, but come on folks... Could he have heeded the warning signs a bit earlier? Yes. But then again, hindsight is 20/20 and there seems to be a bunch of Monday-morning quarterbacking going on as to what HE should have done to prevent his laptop from catching fire.

Assuming he didn't subject the machine to extreme conditions (hot/cold or other tampering), which at this moment considering past history of batteries I have no reason to believe he did, the laptop's battery catching fire can't be blamed on the user. No ifs, ands, or buts.

 

[alansky]

"I cannot afford to have anything happen to my laptop or send it for repair/replacement as it has all of my degree work on it."

Uh... You do backup your files, don't you???

 

[longofest]

What temperature do you need to have for a magazine to spontaneously catch fire?

That would have to be one serious overheat.

Fahrenheit 451

 

[anim8or]

I think anima8tor was referring to aricher's MBP pictures, not the OP's burned MB--at least that's what I assumed in my response to his post...
---
Edit: Oops, it's not the "OP's burned MB"--it's the burned MB from the story that started this thread.

iSee

You are correct i was referring to the other pics.

I have checked the apple site to see if my battery is a recall battery and its not.

I received my macbook pro the day before they released the C2D ones, a month o two after the big battery recall and a long time after the initial macbook pro battery recall.

 

[pacohaas]

I can back up but cannot give up a day never mind potential weeks without a computer to work on!!!

If you're working on something that sensitive, i wouldn't be doing it on a laptop. You need to be working on a desktop that has a RAID mirror set up in case of hard-drive failure and much more user-serviceable/replaceable parts in case of other error. Seems kinda stupid to spend all that time and effort working on a machine with so many potential failure points and few easy fixes.