Swelling Macbook Pro Battery

the batteries are still swelling in 2012, my macbook 13" with 118 cycles on the battery and 87% capacity swelled enough to stop the mouse pad working. Apple definitely have used dodgy batteries in their computers. I have lithium batteries that are 6 years old still working perfectly with no swelling, Im hoping my iphones don't suffer the same fate. BTW lithium batteries only swell if they are manufactured incorrectly and is the result of contamination by water etc during manufacture at a chinese factory where there is a lot of humidity...Apple take note: China is not a good place to make lithium batteries. Or maybe the Chinese workers put in cardboard as the seperator(which usually results in explosions). Either way if it's made in China it's going to be crap. In this case Apple is responsible for replacing every swollen macbook battery as they know about the production issues with China. For this reason I'll never buy a computer with a built-in battery like the MBP. The MB battery I have was assembled in China, which means made in Japan and sent to China where the dodgy assembling takes place. The chemistry that takes place at the anode and cathode can cause problems but this usually requires contaminants to speed up the process, which is why there are a lot of Apple batteries swelling after 2.5 years.

I have a 3 1/2 yr. old 15" MBP. It is less than 6 months out of Extended Apple Care warranty. The past few months I noticed the back swelling. Last week the trackpad was real buggy and inconsistant. I took the back off and the battery was swollen. I took it to the brand new Apple store in Houston in Highland Village. The supervisor, Dan, was unrelenting in not replacing the battery for free. Instead I got a lecture, on how I must have overcharged the battery! I had to pay $99 for a new battery. This happened after I told him that my wife just purchased a 11' MB Air, my son and daughter each have a 13" MBP, we have an Ipad, and 4 apple Iphones. Where is the descretion for customer loyalty? All the Apple employees pseudo greet you but really don't give a **** about you!

Well, you certainly didn't deserve a lecture about overcharging the battery, which you couldn't do if you wanted to: it's impossible. But a 3.5-year-old battery is usually due for replacement whether or not it swells, so you didn't deserve a free battery either. The average lifespan of a MBP battery from before June 2009 is 2-4 years, so you got a very fair shake from yours, and swelling is one of the common indicators that the time has come for a replacement.

Here's the thing: I own a 17" MBP, rev.b (i.e., model 1,2), BTO'd, Apple Care'd.

In the original 3 yr period of Apple Care, the MBP:

Optical drive failed

Battery failed

Logic board failed

Video board failed

Lid has issues closing and going to sleep

The first time, they replaced the optical drive (which failed a year later- the replacements also failed, after 1.5 years of use). The 2nd time, the optical, logic, and video. 6 weeks later, the battery swelled. 1.5yrs later, the repl. battery swelled again. They never did fix the lid issue.

The 3rd time (now out of Apple Care), the battery has swelled (AGAIN), and the optical drive (which can ONLY be replaced by the admittedly flawed optical drive, hence the continued fails) has also failed (3rd time if you're keeping count).

So, now, I have the option of:

Ditching it, and buying a new MBP.

Ditching it and buying a BTO PC/Hackintosh (thereby being able to choose the components myself).

This, after being jacked at the Apple store for my COMPANY iPhone, where the headphone tip (after the ring sleeve) had broken off inside the headphone jack. The rep said, 'Sorry, I can't remove it, the phone is out of warranty {it's an iPhone 4s - how can it be out of warranty?!?!} and it will cost $199 to replace'. My COMPANY iPhone mind you. The SAME small business that moved into Apple hardware (and so, what, like they've spent $20000+ in 3 years; not a lot admittedly, but still- every $ helps right?) 5 years ago ON MY ADVICE.

Which, BTW, I fixed myself after searching on YouTube, with a pen insert tube and supergle- took me maybe 30 minutes and ) dollars.

The A' Store is like any other company; some places give you great service, others not so much. But I'm not buying a $4000 burrito, ok? So they have a higher standard than 'normal battery wear and tear' BS I keep hearing. Again, they're PRICED HIGHER because they SUPPOSEDLY have better components and design/engineering. I call BS on that, if you're using 'batteries have blablahblah' as your argument.

Apple didn't used to be like this; they just didn't - and you're talking to a guy whose first mac was a IIE. So I ain't no n00b. They've become Microsoft and that's the worst insult I can think of- actually, you know what? They've become worse, the old-schoolers just haven't noticed it yet.

Or maybe they've always been this way, it's just that I hated Windoze so much...oh well, the beautiful part is, someone else will come laong and make an even BETTER OS and hardware?

On can always hope.

Yesh, I know, 'how much reasonable use do you expect out of a laptop built in 2006?' - listen pal, my frickin' g3 from 199whatever STILL RUNS FLAWLESSLY. Answer me that, captain.

I know isn't it ridicules. I still use my Quadra and the sad part is, it probably outlast the Macbook I got in 2007.

I'm not sure what captain you're spraying saliva at, Tricky, but since you nominally replied to my post, I'll just mention that I'm not a captain and don't owe you any answers, particularly when you don't seem to have a question and are just here to rant. Your computer has no video board, by the way — its GPU is soldered to the logic board.

Yesterday I found it impossible to click my trackpad, removed my 3.5-year-old MBP 5,1's battery, and saw that it had begun to swell. I took it down to my local Apple Specialist reseller, recycled it and bought a new one. Problem solved, and the new battery's Full Charge Capacity after calibration is 108% of its design capacity. Not bad at all. I paid $275 for AppleCare on this computer, and it has now expired without my ever having a problem and needing to use it. That's not bad either — it was there if I needed it, just as yours was. You got many times your money's worth out of yours.

I have had the same issue in the UK, though my battery was over 4 years old. Apple flatly refused to replace the battery and it has continued to expand till it fell apart. Strangely, it still has charge in it.

I wrote about it in apple discussions, but it was promptly removed with a message about it being inappropriate for discussion. I am going to post it elsewhere and make a YouTube video which hopefully will go viral. I didn't rant. It was all very factual. Too bad they are behaving like this. I repair Macs and have recommended them endlessly over PCs. I think it is shameful behaviour on the part of Apple and very bad for customer relations.

Just FYI - I have a 2006 17" MacBook Pro - This is its second battery, less than 3 years old and this one has began to swell so bad the laptop no longer sits level. I read these posts and did a little research. Here is a link to the article I found concerning this issue which states Apple will replace the battery regardless of whether the Macbook is out of warranty or not.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/apple-to-replace-swollen-macbook-batterie s/

Hope this helps anyone encountering resistance from he powers that be about the swollen battery issue.

Cheers and be well,

Don a/k/a MacBookBro1967

Weird - for some reason the website would not let me edit my prior post. I just wanted to add that I can totally validate the fact the battery swelling issue has not dissipated with the updates provided by Apple. My system is running the latest updates of OSX Lion and I just checked the cycles using System Profiler - this battery has run only 180 cycles. If this is an issue more prevalent with the 17" models - perhaps that is why Apple discontinued making 17" MacBook Pro computers. At any rate - battery swelling on a LIon battery nearing the end of its lifecycle is one thing . . . but 180 cycles - its hardly even middle-aged at this point. I am going to the Apple Store today to see if I can get this replaced even though further checking seems to indicate Apple officially discontinued the battery replacement program.

I would say to Apple: "Why produce such great and powerful computers built to last if you don't plan on supporting the people who like to get the most value out of their investment?"

My 2008 MBP was suffering the same swelling problem two years ago. Apple store replaced it no charge which I didn't expect. I was ready to argue. Today, the swelling on the replaced battery is worse than the first time. I am headed to the Apple Store but don't expect the same luck.

if you have a 2008 macbook, buy a generic replacement...as someone pointed out, Apple do not manufacture batteries, they simply put a logo on them?...... about £40-45 online with 18 month guarantees? It's a two minute replacement with no tools, no genius bar visit, no arguements, no hassle.

Trackpad works perfectly again, battery holds full working charge, happy again.

Mine just started bulging today... early 2008 MacBook Pro (A1261), which I noticed after the trackpad/text input started badly misbehaving.

The current battery was recently replaced when Apple refurbished the laptop (a really great deal, nearly $1500 value for only $210, plus $100 for labor, + tax). It is less than 2 years old, and only has 135 cycles on it.

I am surprised that Apple would have such a problem. I have crappy PC laptops (including Sonys) whose batteries are still going strong after many more years.

As a previous poster stated, a bulging battery is most likely caused by a manufacturing defect such as contamination, not due to normal use and aging, and not by design, unless it's a very flawed design. But then, Apple did sell those liquid cooled PowerPC processors in G5 desktops that eventually leaked!

No company is perfect, but Apple has been better than most IMO and generally speaking.

Be sure to keep an eye on it, or a hand, to detect any high heat levels. Best Buy recently recalled a few thousand 3rd party MacBook batteries because they were catching fire.

I got mine replaced for free today. Apparently, if the battery and other diagnostics are normal, but the battery is bulging, they will replace it. Mine was normal and 100% charged, and just bulging and randomly the MacBook would power off if unplugged...

My 2008 MacBook3.1 battery expanded, and about 2 weeks later I started not feeling so good...so my mom took my to the hospital. I had very low potassium and lactic acidosis. We took my computer and the battery, which were now dead back to the Apple store, and they grabbed them from my mother stating "THESE ARE WAY TOO DANGEROUS FOR YOU TO HAVE!!!" Anyway, I have been having all kinds of very weird medical problems and we just kept thinking it had to do with that **** battery. We went to the Apple store and called Apple to ask what the battery was made of so that we would know, and all they would say is "It's a "Lithium-Polymer" battery". But that basically means **** it terms of batteries. It could be a Li-Mn, or Li-Ar. So, I cut off all of my hair and sent in a hair sample from the time that I was exposed to the battery from my computer. I just got the results back from the Trace Minerals Laboratory. And, for clarification, a PhD in Trace Minerals ran my hair so I trust the results.

I HAVE BEEN ACUTELY POISONED WITH ARSENIC. A NORMAL AMOUNT OF ARSENIC IN THE BODY IS <.01-.2 (People should have about .01). MY ARSENIC LEVELS ARE .35.

A friend gave me an identical 2008 MacBook3.1 Battery and I found a lab that is going to do a mineral contents analysis on it, and I am going to have my hair anaysized from about a year ago, prior to the battery (basically before the thing expanded and before I started feeling sick.)

BTW PEOPLE, APPLE WILL NEVER ADMIT THAT ARSENIC IS IN THESE BATTERIES BECAUSE THEY ASSUME THAT NOBODY IS SMART ENOUGH TO FIGURE OUT THAT WE ARE GETTING EXPOSED TO IT. IT DOES NOT LEAVE YOUR BODY, SO YOU CAN ALWAYS HAVE YOUR HAIR TESTED.

www.tracemin.com for $75 will test your hair for arsenic