MacBook Pro 2018 swelling

[Appledoesnotlisten]

My 2017 15" is swelling again (this time out of warranty), which makes me want to keep the 16" more and more.
What can I say to increase my chances of getting it fixed by Apple?

Or just sell on Craigslist while the swelling is tiny?

 

[tomnavratil]

I’m in a same boat unfortunately. Noticed wobbling a few days back but not it’s more visible. Maxed out 13" 2018 and only 120 cycles as I keep it on a charger most of the time. Hope they replace it without an issue.

 

[junkw]

what is the manufacturer name in coconutBattery?

 

[tomnavratil]

what is the manufacturer name in coconutBattery?

SWD. I just realized I got my Macbook in States and I missed the 1-year warranty period by two months. Considering Apple doesn't have a recall program for 2018, I'm pretty much screwed, right?

 

[tomnavratil]

Also, if anyone is interesting - Apple is changing my whole top case as I've run into keyboard issues as well. Even though my Macbook is no longer in warranty, they need to swap the whole top case for the keyboard so battery comes with it.

 

[BlackHeart VRC]

I have the same issue. I have a MacBook Pro 15" 2018 (Max Config 1TB)
I had noticed for the last few weeks my trackpad has not felt the way it should and requires me to put effort in to clicking in the middle. Now I know I have pressed hard some times to the point that I notice the trackpad has bowed a bit inwards, so while I was at work I decided I was going to pull the trackpad out and gently bend it back.

I started to take the back lid off when I noticed that the screws are not coming out normally and the case it opening it self, I got all the bottom screws off and my heart stopped because I knew something was wrong, took a peek and noticed that all the cells were swollen. Some to the point that it looked like they were going to explode. I left work and rushed it down to the Apple Store (in fear it was going to explode on my watch) and they had no opening so I had to drive a extra 30 mins out to the next best option. The Apple Store looked at it like they are not surprised (told them the screws came out, which was a lie but I'm not trying to pay money for there mess ups). They looked up laptop and said I had ONE DAY LEFT on the warranty.

Talk about luck. They said it will be a week for the repair. I have a MBA so I have a computer for the time but its gonna suck using Blender with a Intel GPU lol. Well only positive to my warranty now being out is I can replace the thermal paste XD

This is to sus for this not to be a trend. Its only a matter of time before one explodes and they open a recall
[automerge]1574904588[/automerge]
Also I do as well keep my MBP closed and in a stand so the heat excused out the top and connected to a CalDigit TS3+ half the day and the other half of the day its open on my desk at work connected with a IOGEAR Thunderbolt 3 dock. I do run the GPU to max a lot of time when I'm in Unity or Blender. Is there a tread here?

 

[mightyjabba]

I encountered battery swelling twice on my 2014 MacBook Pro. After a couple of years, the case was starting to get deformed and the trackpad no longer clicked, so I paid to have the battery replaced. Then a year after that it happened again and this time I replaced it myself with a $50 battery from Amazon (seems to be working okay).

I am fairly certain that the way I used the computer was a major contributing factor. It was connected to an external monitor and keyboard almost all of the time, so I basically never used the battery. I think I had less than 20 cycles the first time, and the second time I literally only had one cycle (I kept thinking that I should make an effort to use the battery, but before I knew it a year had passed). I see a number of other people in this thread that seem to have similar setups, so I guess the point is that even though you might expect that Apple's software can cope with this kind of use case, it doesn't seem to -- at least not over the long term.

 

[BlackHeart VRC]

Just got my MacBook Pro back today, the replaced the entire bottom (casing, keyboard, Touch Bar, Trackpad)
I guess I need to make a habit of discarding the battery every week to make sure there's more cycles on the battery to prevent it from going bad again. Still think it was a defect as it started messing with my trackpad within a week or 2.

 

[jerryk]

delete

 

[matram]

I assume you meant "discharge", otherwise it would be expensive 🙂

I believe Apple no longer recommend this practice and you can keep your MBP connected to power at all times.

There is a tiny microcontroller in the battery itself which should manage the health of the battery.

I guess I need to make a habit of discarding the battery every week to make sure there's more cycles on the battery to prevent it from going bad again.

 

[mightyjabba]

I was under the impression that the computer would “just handle it” on my 2014 MacBook Pro that I mentioned above, but after encountering swelling twice in a row I am not willing to risk it.

 

[triumph71]

I've owned 3 of these new macbook pros, now on the 2019 16". This has happened to both the prior ones. Luckily I always get Applecare and it usually only takes 5 biz days to send the device in get it fixed (single day), and sent back to me. It's never caused any performance or reliability issue, and I get it fixed while transitioning to a new machine, so doesn't cause in hiccups in my workflow.

I do treat my mbp as a desktop 99% of the time. It sits on my desk on a stand, plugged into two 5k displays. It never even 'sleeps', just the screens turn off after a 15 min timeout. I'm sure this is contributing to the issue, but I know this has happened to other people who treat their mbp's in a more 'laptop-like' fashion, ie. sleeping it when not in use, not 100% connected to power. It seems to be just a side-effect of these modern batteries and the technology being pushed so hard. Not great obviously, but has impacted me too much so far.

 

[gimlithecat]

I keep my laptop with an external monitor, keyboard and mouse so I went to put a skin on it and noticed the bulge. I hadn’t removed it from my dest for a couple of weeks so it had to of happened during this time. My computer is a MacBook Pro 15 inch 2018, 2.2 GHz 6 Core Intel Core i7, 16 GB 2400 MHz DDR4. Apple is sending me a box to send it in to be repaired. I am 3 months out of warranty and am praying that they cover it. I really should of bought Apple Care!

 

[alphaod]

Some batteries swell with age, it's just a fact of life, nothing Apple can do about it.

Not sure what folks are expecting. I have all kind of lithium batteries that swell, from other laptops, to a cellphone, to my electric drill.

 

[mightyjabba]

Part of the problem is that the batteries are now very difficult to remove and replace, unlike say the batteries in the previous gen MacBook Air, or the pre-retina MacBooks Pro.

I do wonder what it is about the more recent batteries that seems to encourage swelling. I had never experienced it with any device until my 2008 MacBook Pro (but since that’s a removable/exchangeable battery it was a simple fix). And my 2014 model as well.

 

[tomnavratil]

I assume you meant "discharge", otherwise it would be expensive 🙂

I believe Apple no longer recommend this practice and you can keep your MBP connected to power at all times.

There is a tiny microcontroller in the battery itself which should manage the health of the battery.

That's what I thought as well until told otherwise by the technicians who still recommended to discharge the battery from 100 % to about 20-30 % from time to time.

 

[jerryk]

That's what I thought as well until told otherwise by the technicians who still recommended to discharge the battery from 100 % to about 20-30 % from time to time.

If you use as a laptop every once in a while that should be fine. Just disconnect it from the power an hour or two ever week or so. You could even do so when you go home if at work, or to sleep if at home so it has no impact on your usage.

 

[rmus]

Just brought my MacBookPro 2018-15 to let replace the battery as well. It is covered by a replacement program from apple - puh.
The keyboard was swollen to an extend that the display could not even close properly anymore!

 

[BlackHeart VRC]

Would be nice if apple would detect "hay I have been plugged in for a week straight, drain the battery to 50%"

When you think about it this is expected if you don't use it as a laptop and more a desktop then as soon as you try to use it on battery its gonna start releasing gas and swell.

 

[1196403]

It's in. Top case, keyboard and trackpad need to be replaced. Bottom case probably, given the amount of pressure. According to the Apple technician I spoken with, the probability of getting battery swelling is quite low with this line of 15 inch MBP.

couple more repairs toward your free new MBP 16 inch. Just keep taking it in

 

[Bunnarith]

Apparently, I'm also having that swelling effect on my 15 inch 2018 macbook pro too. But as I'm needing the laptop to do my work now, do you think that it's ok that I keep it for another month or so until I am able to bring it to the store?

 

[88Keys]

Apparently, I'm also having that swelling effect on my 15 inch 2018 macbook pro too. But as I'm needing the laptop to do my work now, do you think that it's ok that I keep it for another month or so until I am able to bring it to the store?

Never chance it with a swollen battery, replace it immediately. This is why its good to have a "beater" computer for situations like this. Slower work is better than no work.

 

[WaruiKoohii]

That's what I thought as well until told otherwise by the technicians who still recommended to discharge the battery from 100 % to about 20-30 % from time to time.

And you'll also find "technicians" who tell you to drain from 100% to 0% several times because the battery will "learn", and that Li* batteries trickle charge when you leave them plugged in.

Just because someone is a "technician" doesn't mean they know what they're talking about.

 

[Viamusic10000]

Part of the problem is that the batteries are now very difficult to remove and replace, unlike say the batteries in the previous gen MacBook Air, or the pre-retina MacBooks Pro.

I do wonder what it is about the more recent batteries that seems to encourage swelling. I had never experienced it with any device until my 2008 MacBook Pro (but since that’s a removable/exchangeable battery it was a simple fix). And my 2014 model as well.

Can you still replace them

 

[mightyjabba]

Can you still replace them

I am not really sure what the deal is with the latest models in terms of user replacements. I have replaced the battery in a 2014 MBP, which is also glued in. But it sounds like it's even more difficult with the later ones.