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Macbook 4,1 battery swollen AGAIN

Replace the battery about 14 months ago, now it became this again, called Apple and they ask me to bring it to a local service center for assessment. Finger cross, hope I don't have to fork out 500 Ringgit Malaysia(MYR) for this battery replacement again..

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MacBook White 4,1, Mac OS X (10.6.7), 2.1Ghz 4GB RAM

Posted on Jun 26, 2011 10:03 PM

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16 replies

Jul 27, 2011 12:47 AM in response to foo0110

Update: Apple Care just approved a battery replacement for the swollen battery, free of charge. The service center actually ask me to call Apple Care and speak to Customer Relation, it took quite sometime during the call being transfer from technical support to customer relation. Since the battery cycle is only 38/300, so they consider it as faulty-battery. What a nice day.

Jan 6, 2012 11:30 AM in response to foo0110

As far as I know, a swollen battery is a manufacturers defect and is a hazard to the machine and the person using the machine. If you call Apple Care or take that machine to a Genius bar, it was common (when I worked for Apple Care and then as a Genius) to replace those batteries in or out of warranty. It was never before referred to as "normal/expected behaviour". When a battery no longer holds a charge, I completely understand having to pay for a new one. When a battery just starts expanding one day (from no fault of my own), it is considered a defect and should be replaced without question as this was a defect with the manufacturing process and has nothing to do with the life of the battery.


I spoke to a tier 2 agent and a manager at the Apple store and they both told me that it is normal behaviour for a battery to swell. I can't even describe how livid and disapointed I am with the support I received today and the change in Apple's stance on defective batteries.


So, does anyone from Apple want to give a reason why this is "expected behaviour"? This would mean that these batteries are designed, by Apple, to fail in that manner if this is expected. If not, then it should be considered a defect. So Apple is stating that these batteries are designed to fail and potentially damage your $1000+ machine.


So, this brings me to the question, if this is a design flaw and not something that has been designed into the battery by the engineers, why is this design flaw not fixed by now? If this can severly damage a machine (from pushing on the internal components), why is this not being taken more seriously?


I await Apple's response on this.

Jan 6, 2012 9:29 PM in response to foo0110

for those of you with out-of-warranty batteries who are not as lucky to get an Apple replacement:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/powerbook/batteries/


my 2007 MacBook recently had this problem, the battery was pushing on the built-in button (under the trackpad) into the clicked position overriding any intentional mouse clicks on an external USB mouse. It was out of warranty and out of AppleCare. I just ordered a NewerTech battery.

Feb 3, 2012 2:53 AM in response to foo0110

There are different battery situations, a situation like yours is a battery defect (so a manufacturing fault), so of course they must replace the battery.

however many other battery issues are just general wear and tear or user misuse, so these aren't replaced for free and you are charged for them!!

I go into the store, there must be aorund 100 staff there and probably the same number of customers, yet the genius bar involves a 30 minute queue until your serviced, and then over priced replacements and inconsistent advice, the guys in store seem to know what they are talking about, but the advice and charges on situations like this are soo inconsitent between country and area!

May 14, 2012 3:33 PM in response to foo0110

I was just told by an Apple Support representative that this swelling is a feature of the battery, and that it swells instead of "blowing up." Yes, I am quoting him exactly. I had him repeat it because I couldn't believe it.


Needless to say, they're telling me I'm SOL and I'm off to buy another battery since I need to keep using this MacBook Pro for a while.

Jun 16, 2012 7:41 PM in response to foo0110

I went to the apple store and the rep told me they can replace it for 129$. I told him, I checked online and people are getting a replacement for free (since its a known problem which Apple has admitted). Then he said, do you want an appointment with the genius bar, maybe they can help you. I said sure. The Genius bar guy got a new battery and gave me a receipt for 0$. Now I have 1 more yr warranty on the battery.

Macbook 4,1 battery swollen AGAIN

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