Swollen batteries not covered...

[davidjearly]

Should. Not will. And how is it false advertising? His battery did, quite clearly hold up to 80% of its charge, up to 1000 cycles, up to 5 years. The link stated doesn't guarantee anything. The reason you wont link me to it is because you know, full well, that it doesn't exist.

As I have explained, if you use a battery quicker, it will not last as long. So it is perfectly normal and expected for a battery to die after 3 years and 900 cycles (show me another laptop that would be able to achieve that).

He's not entitled to a free battery. If he had used a nicer attitude in store then he may have got one as goodwill, but if that didn't work, then he's just going to have to buy a new one. Arguing on a forum isn't going to change that.

Wrong again.

The reason I refused to link you to it is simple. It's been linked and quoted before. But here it is again to satisfy your curious need for something that is both obvious and explicit.

"The built-in battery of your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air is designed to deliver up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles before it reaches 80 percent of its original capacity. In addition, Adaptive Charging reduces the wear and tear on the battery giving it a lifespan of up to 5 years."

Nowhere, does it say 'up to' 80% of its original capacity. It clearly states that up to 1000 cycles with only diminish the battery by 20% - not cause it to swell and fail completely. There is a significant jump, in print, from '80% of capacity with less than 1000 cycles' to 'dead with less than 1000 cycles', and this is why Apple didn't state the latter.

Stop defending the indefensible.

The OP is entitled to a new battery at no cost.

 

[Brian Y]

Wrong again.

The reason I refused to link you to it is simple. It's been linked and quoted before. But here it is again to satisfy your curious need for something that is both obvious and explicit.

"The built-in battery of your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air is designed to deliver up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles before it reaches 80 percent of its original capacity. In addition, Adaptive Charging reduces the wear and tear on the battery giving it a lifespan of up to 5 years."

Nowhere, does it say 'up to' 80% of its original capacity. It clearly states that up to 1000 cycles with only diminish the battery by 20% - not cause it to swell and fail completely. There is a significant jump, in print, from '80% of capacity with less than 1000 cycles' to 'dead with less than 1000 cycles', and this is why Apple didn't state the latter.

Stop defending the indefensible.

The OP is entitled to a new battery at no cost.

So, say it held 80% capacity at 800 cycles, and then died at 900. When I was at school, 800 was "up to" 1000 (by definition, up to x is equal to any value < x, not including x).

Plus, the ops battery is still actually working. There is no safety reason why the op cannot continue to use the battery. The op isn't entitled to anything, and wont get a new battery free of charge.

Apple can run a test on the battery which is what the technicians use to determine a failed or exhausted battery. I believe (off the top of my head, I don't have access to the figures right now) its thresholds are:

<90% at <350 cycles = fail
<80% at <700 cycles = fail
<80% at >700 cycles = exhausted

 

[davidjearly]

So, say it held 80% capacity at 800 cycles, and then died at 900. When I was at school, 800 was "up to" 1000 (by definition, up to x is equal to any value < x, not including x).

Plus, the ops battery is still actually working. There is no safety reason why the op cannot continue to use the battery. The op isn't entitled to anything, and wont get a new battery free of charge.

Clutching. At. Straws.

I'm not arguing the fact that 800 is up to 1000, and if the battery functioned normally, but operated in a diminished capacity, I'd agree that the OP would have less of a case.

However, that is not what is going on. The battery is clearly faulty and potentially hazardous. Not only that, it is causing the computer to malfunction as it is not operating normally within the advertised spec.

The OP is fully entitled to a free, warranty replacement.

 

[KPOM]

Clutching. At. Straws.

I'm not arguing the fact that 800 is up to 1000, and if the battery functioned normally, but operated in a diminished capacity, I'd agree that the OP would have less of a case.

However, that is not what is going on. The battery is clearly faulty and potentially hazardous. Not only that, it is causing the computer to malfunction as it is not operating normally within the advertised spec.

The OP is fully entitled to a free, warranty replacement.

Not necessarily. The battery is clearly worn out from use. It had been throwing up service messages for over 2 months. Had the OP taken it in 2 months ago the store would have seen that it had nearly 900 cycles on it and concluded a new battery was necessary (at whatever Apple charges for a new battery).

That said, if the battery expansion has subsequently caused damage, I'd argue that the damage should be covered, but not the battery itself. So if the trackpad needs to be replaced, Apple should cover it, but the battery life itself was about what Apple projected. It may be difficult to argue that a manufacturing defect caused the battery to wear out early. Perhaps a manufacturing defect caused it to expand, but only after it was exhausted.

 

[Brian Y]

Clutching. At. Straws.

I'm not arguing the fact that 800 is up to 1000, and if the battery functioned normally, but operated in a diminished capacity, I'd agree that the OP would have less of a case.

However, that is not what is going on. The battery is clearly faulty and potentially hazardous. Not only that, it is causing the computer to malfunction as it is not operating normally within the advertised spec.

The OP is fully entitled to a free, warranty replacement.

It would be quite nice to have a mature discussion without resorting to attacks like "Clutching. At. Straws.".

Plus one other point. If the battery was able to trigger the "Service Battery" message - then it was quite clearly working properly. If the circuitry in the battery was naff, then this message will not be displayed (in the case of a battery *fault*, then it would have displayed "Replace Battery Now")

----------

Not necessarily. The battery is clearly worn out from use. It had been throwing up service messages for over 2 months. Had the OP taken it in 2 months ago the store would have seen that it had nearly 900 cycles on it and concluded a new battery was necessary (at whatever Apple charges for a new battery).

That said, if the battery expansion has subsequently caused damage, I'd argue that the damage should be covered, but not the battery itself. So if the trackpad needs to be replaced, Apple should cover it, but the battery life itself was about what Apple projected. It may be difficult to argue that a manufacturing defect caused the battery to wear out early. Perhaps a manufacturing defect caused it to expand, but only after it was exhausted.

Any damaged caused will indeed be covered, even outside of warranty/applecare - however there wont be any damage. It's designed to swell into the area under the trackpad. It will stop it clicking until the battery is removed, but there wont be any permanent damage .

 

[T5BRICK]

First of all, I don't necessarily agree that your battery should be covered under warranty. You ignored the warnings your computer provided, and honestly, 900 cycles is a lot.

Anyway, for issues like this going back into the store doesn't always help(I'd actually advise against it). Just get on the phone and call AppleCare, they're more likely to help than the Apple Store.

 

[Ccrew]

Er, yes.

I'm not going to link you to a page that has already been both linked and quoted. Apple's website clearly states that notebook batteries should still hold 80% of their original capacity AFTER 1000 cycles.

Show us where that's the statement for warranty replacement. I posted Apple's link where it's definitively not.

Now you're clutching at straws. Post the link. In other words "**** or get off the pot" My guess is where you might find a reference to expected lifespan, that's not a definitive warranty policy. Mine was.

"up to" is NOT a definitive guideline. As another poster said, battery swelling is a common EOL failure scenario. I only have 5-600 of them around me, I see it weekly. We replace them and move on.

 

[Asherpotter]

I had a similar problem with a battery a few years ago. Swelled so big I couldn't even use some of the keys.

I'd recommend trying another store, or asking them about the possibility of it exploding. Ask whether they're ready to be subpoenaed in that eventuality.

 

[Brian Y]

I had a similar problem with a battery a few years ago. Swelled so big I couldn't even use some of the keys.

I'd recommend trying another store, or asking them about the possibility of it exploding. Ask whether they're ready to be subpoenaed in that eventuality.

It won't explode. The battery expands to relieve pressure in the cells themselves, thus reducing the risk of an explosion. It's a safety feature.

 

[stridemat]

MOD NOTE

Closed.

We have deleted a number of posts which were deemed as arguing and not constructive to the overal discussion. I think the Original Poster has had their question answered so will leave this closed.