Popping coming from the battery(?) of a 2017 15" MBP?

[turtleface]

Hey guys, curious if anyone has heard of this happening with the 2017 models...

Whenever my MBP does anything to increase its temperature (like starting up, or doing something that requires some CPU power) something under the keyboard pops.

It's like something is shooting downward and tapping the inside of the computer's case, hard enough to be felt on your lap, and sometimes hard to enough to make the laptop hop off a table a little bit.

After 2 or 3 "pops", it stops until the computer has a chance to cool down.

It sounds an awful lot like the issues the 2016 MBPs had with the batteries swelling.

 

[Fishrrman]

Do you have a brick-n-mortar Apple Store nearby?
If so, make an appointment to have the genius bar check it out.

 

[turtleface]

Do you have a brick-n-mortar Apple Store nearby?
If so, make an appointment to have the genius bar check it out.

I do, and I did, but they couldn’t find anything wrong. The next step is to have it sent to a repair center (either Apple’s or Squaretrade’s) to see if *they* can find anything wrong. My Apple warranty just expired, so *that* repair would be out of pocket, but I do have an active Squaretrade warranty and could send it to them instead.

If I send it in, I’ll have to pick up a new MPB at the same time, as this is my primary work machine. I’m just not sure if it’s repairable and I’d be stuck having to sell a refurbished MBP, or if it’s totaled and I’d be getting a check.

I was hoping this issue was somewhat common just so I know what to expect.

 

[mick2]

Could be the fan catching on something inside (a wire?) as it speeds up?

 

[robvas]

It hops up off the table?

I have a 2017 with a bad fan that "clicks" that I need to swap out one day.

 

[turtleface]

I'm no hardware expert, but it seems different than what a fan would sound like. It sounds like if you flicked the bottom of the case with your finger (very similar to the 2016. And after it happens, you can feel something inside pressing against the bottom of the case that can be gently pushed back into place with a "click". It feels like there are 2 or 3 of these things that pop out of place, and they're roughly under the trackpad area.

The pops vary in intensity, but the biggest one so far did indeed cause the lower-corner of the laptop to jump off the table a tiny bit. I didn't mean to suggest it went completely airborn or anything.

It seems really similar to this:

https://twitter.com/x/status/852749839091630081

 

[TheIguana]

That sounds an awful lot like the one of the snaps on the bottom panel coming loose (circled in red on the picture), particularly given that you say you can click it back in with a bit of force. Perhaps the mounts pointsthey clip into have gone?.

 

[turtleface]

That sounds an awful lot like the one of the snaps on the bottom panel coming loose (circled in red on the picture), particularly given that you say you can click it back in with a bit of force. Perhaps the mounts pointsthey clip into have gone?.

View attachment 885495

Ooo, I think you might be onto something. It does seem as if something like that were loose, but would that alone explain things expanding/moving around inside the machine?

 

[turtleface]

Little update:

Now that I have the appropriate tools, I decided to pop bottom cover off while the computer was still warm to take a look, and found two of the battery cells were bloated. After a few minutes of cooling they shrunk down to the same thickness as the others.

The "popping" appears to be the batteries pushing against the case hard enough to pop the two snaps (that @TheIguana pointed to) out of place.

I've got another genius bar appointment later today.

Attached:

• One image circling the two most bloated batteries (The others bloat slightly, but not nearly as much).
• Another showing roughly how much the batteries are bloating. It's a shot from the left side of the machine, with the bottom case removed.
• And a newer development: A "service battery" message in my menu bar.

 

[turtleface]

Update: Genius bar dude now said that there's a repair program on these machines that covers the battery, keyboard, and something else (I forget what exactly it was). They took it in and replaced all those things for free and it was ready the next day 👍

USB ports on the left side don't work, but that's an issue for another day.

Thanks everyone, and especially @TheIguana, for helping me identify the issue enough to get it resolved. It's very much appreciated.

 

[turtleface]

Man, this thing has been a nightmare.

They fixed the USB ports after a few days, but broke wifi and bluetooth in the process.

I took it back again and they fixed it on the spot, after I insisted (initially they refused to "accept" the computer back as anything but a separate case to be scheduled for a later day).

The battery bloating/popping resumed shortly after, though it was more muffled (I assume because the two clips were no longer worn out). A couple weeks later everything was broken in again and it was popping just like before.

What would you guys do? Take it back and see if they'll fix the battery? Bite the bullet and toss the thing in the trash before it explodes?

 

[Sanpete]

They're not open due to COVID-19, so you'll have to call.