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Swollen batteries not covered...

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evanmav

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 31, 2011
11
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Okay so my battery had been telling me for the past two months to service it and then recently like a week ago the right half of the trackpad would stop working on and off and I googled it finding out that my battery had been swollen and so right away I knew I had to get this fixed so I was thinking for sure that they would replace it since I do in fact have apple care.

Now I'm aware that applecare doesn't cover battery replacement BUT it does cover defective batteries. So I had pretty much the worst genius experience. The guy basically didn't care my battery was swollen he said its used up and thats basically why it's swollen and you'll have to buy a new battery since it's not covered by apple care. I was completely shocked. The genius was basically telling me that this is a normal symptom of macbook batteries and that it is not a defect and went on to tell me that they would not replace it. I was going no where with the guy as he was reluctant to even listen to me saying how I don't even want the battery fixed but my trackpad back! Obviously the only way was to replace my battery to do that. So anyways I asked for the manager.

First when I asked for the manager the guy said to me that you can try talking to the manager but that I would get no where and my problem would not be solved, which I thought was so rude to say. Anyways the manager comes out and I expect her to listen and instead she basically talked down to me (most likely because im a college student). I tried to explain that the trackpad not working should NOT happen as a result of the battery dying and that it is obviously a defective battery if the battery is swelling up not letting me use the trackpad. She basically told me batteries broken and wouldn't budge at all. I was completely shocked it was as if she wasn't even listening to anything I was saying. I tried to say that it makes no sense that this isn't a defect, I said so everyones batteries swell and make it impossible to use the trackpad? I said so basically apple makes the batteries so you HAVE TO replace them in order to want your trackpad back? Obviously that is not true but she was telling me that this is normal so that was my point in order to tell her that it makes no sense.

In the end she finally told me I could either buy a mouse or pay for the battery myself and told me that my battery was not defective. Honestly I want to know who here have run into this problem and if apple replaced it? I honestly felt like the genius and manager didn't listen to me at all and just wanted me to leave and thought they could easily get my money. I felt so disrespected and I couldn't actually believe that they were acting towards this to me. I'm pretty level headed and did not at all ever get angry I was getting frustrated because I would make my point and she would pretty much just say well the batteries broken so to fix the trackpad you need to buy a new battery. She gave me the analogy that if your car tire is popped then you can't use your car. Which makes sense but because the car tire not working my engine shouldn't then fail to work unless i fix the tire. I've never had such a problem and thought for sure this was covered. I just don't get how I should have to get a new battery to FIX my trackpad issue. The two should never be a result of the other and should not be normal behavior. If my battery stopped working I wouldn't expect it to mess my cd drive up and not let me watch movies and then the only way to ever use that is to fix my battery.

Sorry for the long post just so frustrated. Anyways does applecare cover swollen batteries? I'm thinking of going to another applestore near by but I'm afraid they'll see that I just went for my battery at another place and will completely disregard what I have to say. Honestly I do believe this is a defect and if it wasn't and my battery life just sucked I would choose to not get a new battery and live with it but because my trackpad is not not working i'm being forced to basically buy this battery I don't even care about.
 
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Call Apple - request to speak with a Customer Relations Senior Advisor - these people can move mountains. Explain your situation to them.
 
Pretty disgraceful they are making you buy a new battery just so you can use your computer. Not to mention you paid extra for AppleCare.
 
evanmav said:
In the end she finally told me I could either buy a mouse
Click to expand...

Good workaround if you don't want to change the battery! As someone said, how old is the machine and how long do you have left on the Applecare?

It does sound like you had a bad genius experience, they are usually very patient and understanding but they do have boundaries on what they can do.

The reason they can't fix the trackpad without fixing the battery first is because the problem would arise again. So they identified the cause and they have offered a pathway for you to choose to resolve the issue. It's annoying and it would be nice if they showed some goodwill but imagine if they admitted the swallen battery was a design fault. They would have a class action on their hands and would have to do a voluntary recall. Which costs millions. The best approach would be to go to another store, say you know 100% it's not Apple's fault and technically you are liable to the repair cost but could they show some goodwill to resolve the issue because ultimately all you want is your computer back and can't afford the new battery right now so was willing to soldier on without battery if you could get the trackpad to work again. See where that gets you...
 
My macbook is 31 months old bought it July 5th 2010 I remember. So my apple care should be good until July 5th 2013. And according to coconut battery I have 905 battery cycles used. Honestly I'll admit that I've used the crap out of my laptop I basically watch all my tv on it when at school and use it all the time for my work. I do though believe towards the end of the batteries life I basically had to keep recharging it more than usual. Anyways I have no doubt in my mind that the battery is in fact dead or should be replaced and has served its useful life.

The fact that the battery would actually swell up and basically make my trackpad inoperable is the point where I think it is ridiculous to say that is a normal thing that the macbook pro batteries do. I would gladly use my laptop with the battery I currently get which is actually not that bad. I still get like 4-5 hours if not watching videos. I just think its ridiculous that the battery is now affecting my trackpad and as a result I have to pay to fix my battery to fix my trackpad. It honestly makes no sense, I just want my trackpad fixed and not my battery. But they were basically saying were not gonna give you a free pass and give you a new battery just to fix your trackpad.
 
evanmav said:
My macbook is 31 months old bought it July 5th 2010 I remember. So my apple care should be good until July 5th 2013. And according to coconut battery I have 905 battery cycles used. Honestly I'll admit that I've used the crap out of my laptop I basically watch all my tv on it when at school and use it all the time for my work. I do though believe towards the end of the batteries life I basically had to keep recharging it more than usual. Anyways I have no doubt in my mind that the battery is in fact dead or should be replaced and has served its useful life.

The fact that the battery would actually swell up and basically make my trackpad inoperable is the point where I think it is ridiculous to say that is a normal thing that the macbook pro batteries do. I would gladly use my laptop with the battery I currently get which is actually not that bad. I still get like 4-5 hours if not watching videos. I just think its ridiculous that the battery is now affecting my trackpad and as a result I have to pay to fix my battery to fix my trackpad. It honestly makes no sense, I just want my trackpad fixed and not my battery. But they were basically saying were not gonna give you a free pass and give you a new battery just to fix your trackpad.
Click to expand...

Call Apple - request to speak with a Customer Relations Senior Advisor - these people can move mountains. Explain your situation to them.
 
evanmav said:
My macbook is 31 months old bought it July 5th 2010 I remember. So my apple care should be good until July 5th 2013. And according to coconut battery I have 905 battery cycles used. Honestly I'll admit that I've used the crap out of my laptop I basically watch all my tv on it when at school and use it all the time for my work. I do though believe towards the end of the batteries life I basically had to keep recharging it more than usual. Anyways I have no doubt in my mind that the battery is in fact dead or should be replaced and has served its useful life.

The fact that the battery would actually swell up and basically make my trackpad inoperable is the point where I think it is ridiculous to say that is a normal thing that the macbook pro batteries do. I would gladly use my laptop with the battery I currently get which is actually not that bad. I still get like 4-5 hours if not watching videos. I just think its ridiculous that the battery is now affecting my trackpad and as a result I have to pay to fix my battery to fix my trackpad. It honestly makes no sense, I just want my trackpad fixed and not my battery. But they were basically saying were not gonna give you a free pass and give you a new battery just to fix your trackpad.
Click to expand...

That's normal, just pay the money, you don't have a case here, save us the time with your initial rant without telling us the usage of the battery.

Edit: Remove the battery yourself, problem solved, won't cost you anything besides a screwdriver.

Spink10 said:
Call Apple - request to speak with a Customer Relations Senior Advisor - these people can move mountains. Explain your situation to them.
Click to expand...

No, see above, his battery had its fair usage.
 
Spink10 said:
Call Apple - request to speak with a Customer Relations Senior Advisor - these people can move mountains. Explain your situation to them.
Click to expand...

Customer relations won't want to handle it if it has been touched by a retail store.
 
evanmav said:
The fact that the battery would actually swell up and basically make my trackpad inoperable is the point.
Click to expand...

To be fair, you would have had weeks (if not months) of warnings telling you to replace the battery otherwise damage would be done to the machine which you chose to ignore and now you want Apple to bail you out. Don't you think Apple know this?

Go to another store, don't be 'entitled' in how you speak to them and you might get lucky. Otherwise, replace the battery yourself (ifixit.com) and then take the machine back to apple, tell them the repair was done by an authorised repair outlet and hope they don't ask you for evidence so they can then deal with your trackpad situation at no cost to yourself.
 
First of all, I don't think that you are eligible to free battery replacement, as your battery is clearly at the end of its life span and such things are not covered by warranty. However, if the battery swelling resulted in damage to your computer, the warranty has to cover this damage, as its not a 'normal' function of a battery. I also recommend you to call Apple Care and explain the situation to them. Maybe they will also be nice and give you a new battery free of charge.
 
I didn't realize that it saying to service the battery meant that something like this would happen and that it was necessary to even buy a new battery. I know that most people use their battery until it basically gives them no charge or very little time like less than an hour. Never realized that apple telling me that my battery was basically used its useful life meant I needed to replace it. I was willing to just keep using my battery until it literally couldn't hold a charge.

Anyways I'll most likely end up going to a store tomorrow just tell them straight up what happened went to a previous store didn't get much help this is my story. And if they say it's not covered I'll just have to pay and muster up eating 130 bucks. Just nervous as all that this exact problem will happen 2-3 more years down the road. I shouldn't have to end up buying a new battery every 2-3 years in order for my computer not to end up having other problems as a result of a shotty battery. Also I never felt "entitled" as you put it just wanted respect and for them to even listen to my problem. I do believe that the battery should be fixed because of a defect but obviously I've come to realize that this is a normal issue that obviously happens a lot. Learn something new everyday. Batteries swelling up and growing and making other parts of the laptop unusable is obviously a normal thing that should happen to every battery at the end of its useful life. I just want my trackpad fixed! not the battery fixed, it's apples fault the only way to fix the trackpad (in this situation) is to replace the battery. I could honestly care less about the battery

Anyways thanks for the help everybody didn't expect such a response! Glad to have heard some input whether negative or positive definitely made me realize stuff about my battery.
 
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leman said:
First of all, I don't think that you are eligible to free battery replacement, as your battery is clearly at the end of its life span and such things are not covered by warranty. However, if the battery swelling resulted in damage to your computer, the warranty has to cover this damage, as its not a 'normal' function of a battery. I also recommend you to call Apple Care and explain the situation to them. Maybe they will also be nice and give you a new battery free of charge.
Click to expand...

Now, this I agree with 100%, if damage is done, yes Apple should fix this but the cost of the battery is his.
 
evanmav said:
I didn't realize that it saying to service the battery meant that something like this would happen and that it was necessary to even buy a new battery.
Click to expand...

Yeah, "service now" certainly doesn't mean it's important. Silly people.

Blowing up like a balloon is common when they die though. Only battery Apple has ever replaced for me under warranty had 12 cycles on it. That one was clearly defective

evanmav said:
I have no doubt in my mind that the battery is in fact dead or should be replaced and has served its useful life
Click to expand...

So, why the rant? Pay the $ and move on.
 
evanmav said:
My macbook is 31 months old bought it July 5th 2010 I remember. So my apple care should be good until July 5th 2013. And according to coconut battery I have 905 battery cycles used. Honestly I'll admit that I've used the crap out of my laptop I basically watch all my tv on it when at school and use it all the time for my work. I do though believe towards the end of the batteries life I basically had to keep recharging it more than usual. Anyways I have no doubt in my mind that the battery is in fact dead or should be replaced and has served its useful life.
Click to expand...

It's rated for 1000 charges. While Li-ion batteries can swell, it is usually a result of overcharging, which the battery is supposed to be designed to prevent. I'd try a different store first, and if you get nowhere, call Apple directly. They may reasonably want you to buy a new battery but should cover the cost of repairing the damage cause by the swelling.
 
Batteries swelling up are normal. It's an inbuilt safety feature (one that differentiates it from the cheap chinese clones ;)). They're rated for 1000 cycles in 5 years - so 900 in under 3 I'd say is about right.

Consumed batteries are not covered by the warranty or AppleCare. Also it hasn't damaged your trackpad - it's just swollen into the area the trackpad clicks down into. Removing or replacing the battery will solve this, no harm done. Also - your quote "seems like they didn't listen to me' reads more like "I got angry because they didn't give me what I wanted".

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Spink10 said:
The senior advisor have more authority than any retail employee.
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Unless the retail guy didn't follow policy, they won't override the store.
 
Spink10 said:
I edited your statement so it was more accurate.

Obviously you have never talked/dealt with a senior customer relations advisor.
Click to expand...

(Obviously) I have. Customer relations have no authority over stores. They can take your laptop away and do whatever they want with it, however, they cannot physically make the store do anything. They can ask the store to do things, but it's the store's decision at the end of the day.
 
I had this happen on my 17" non-unibody. I had ordered a second battery thinking i could just swap the battery out, when I went to clip the new battery in it wouldn't stay in, got to looking at it and it broken the battery tray and trackpad.

I had 2 months left on the applecare, took it into the apple store, showed them the swollen battery and showed them what it had broken. I told them I didn't have an issue buying a new battery as I already had, but I did have an issue with the swollen battery damaging the machine. They replaced the trackpad, keyboard, bottom case, hinges and a couple of other parts.

To me it seems like the battery going bad after a certain period of time 2+ years is relatively acceptable for someone like me that has a lot of cycles on the battery, however it's not every acceptable for the battery to explode/expand. You shouldn't have to worry about a bad battery ruining your entire machine. Not holding a charge is normal, expanding is a defect.
 
evanmav said:
The genius was basically telling me that this is a normal symptom of macbook batteries and that it is not a defect and went on to tell me that they would not replace it.
Click to expand...
The Genius is right. Batteries may swell for two different reasons. Swelling could indicate a defect in a newer battery, but many batteries also swell near the end of their useful life. In your case, it sounds like the battery is simply used up and now to the point of swelling. If you had taken it to be serviced 2 months ago, you might have had a different experience. Don't blame the Genius because your consumable battery is depleted. You got some good use out of it and it's time to be replaced at your cost.

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.
 
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