Apple Battery Bulge fire safety hazard

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Level 1

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Apple Battery Bulge fire safety hazard

When I returned from vacation I found the battery in my son's MacBook Pro had bulged from a flat wafer into a little hamburger-shaped aluminum sandwich. The battery was hot. Before leaving on vacation I turned off the laptop and unplugged the power cord from the wall outlet. The laptop was on a desk. Had it been located on a flammable surface such as bed sheets I fear the heat from the battery would have caused a fire while we were on vacation. The battery and laptop worked fine before the battery bulge. I called Apple Care today and spoke with Robert Schroeder, Senior AppleCare Advisor. He told me the batteries are designed to expand when they are old. "I sorry" he said, "I would be happy to order a new battery for you." The price is $129. What! Apple almost burns down my house and all Apple Care can do is charge me full price for a new battery!!!!

This will be my last Apple product. No more IPhone, No more IPod, No IPad, No MacBooks. Apple service has been exemplary in the past. But this change in product quality and customer service policy has soured my taste for Apples.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Aug 13, 2012 8:50 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

127,141 points

Aug 13, 2012 8:53 PM in response to MacProOregon

You may get a different answer at the genius bar. No charge for an evaluation, in warranty or out. Appointment required, but you may not have Exclusive access to the technician, as they often have overlapping appointments, and use the time while running tests or downloading to service more than one customer.

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Answer 2

Aug 13, 2012 9:01 PM in response to MacProOregon

What year was the MBP produced. I, too, had trouble with a bulging battery and had to buy new ones - mine was a 2006 model. It's normal - unless you have a new computer. If your computer is still under AppleCare then they should replace it. But all notebook batteries are consumables - they never last for 5 or 6 years. That's why Apple made the user-replaceable battery early on.

If your machine is old and the battery's just worn out, I don't see it as Apple's responsibly to repair or replace the battery. You can get a NuPower battery for $99 from OWC or you can pay $130 for an Apple battery.

You don't fault the flashlight manufacturer when you need new batteries - why fault Apple?

Clinton

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Answer 3

MacProOregon Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 16, 2012 11:07 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant- Thanks for the advice. I visited the Genius Bar and showed the bulged battery to the genius. I am satisfied with the results. Much better service than AppleCare by telephone. The dialog went like this:

Genius Bar Rep - "The battery was designed to bulge. It is a safety feature. Apple has no replacement policy for this."

Me: "This is a safety hazard. There are hundreds of complaints in the blogs on Apple's website and Consumer Reports' website. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of customers received replacement battery at no cost. I would like to be treated the same. Can I show the blogs to you?"

Genius: "I can replace the battery for $99" ..."The bulge is a safety design."

Me: "This is a safety design? I was an Apple Fan, but I am having a hard time "drinking the Kool AId" on this one. The blogs seem to indicate that my best chance at being treated fairly is to visit a Genius Bar and hope that I get a representative with good customer service skills. Before stepping up to the bar, I sat there waiting and watching, hoping that the person I was assigned to would be the right one. Hopefully, you are the one. This is a safety hazard. I came here to have this battery replaced with a safe new battery."

Genius: "Would you like to talk with a manager?"

Me: "Yes"

I sat at the bar for about 5 min, spinning the burger-bun-shaped battery upon the counter while I waited. When the genius returned he held a new battery in his hand. He installed the new battery in my MacBook and shook my hand. No charge.

Postscript - Batteries on all new MacBook Pros are sealed within the "unibody" of the laptop and are not user replaceable. When a battery dies the user must carry or mail the laptop to an Apple certified service center to have the battery replaced. Thus, only Apple will know if the battery simply wore out from use, or is defectively bulging. .

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Answer 4

alanhw

Level 1

0 points

Nov 6, 2014 11:30 AM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

I'm pretty sure the worn out batteries in a flashlight don't destroy the flashlight, potentially set fire to your room, or potentially explode and release toxic gases. Apple's policy seems to be, of course your Macbook may set your room on fire at any time. What's wrong with that?

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