battery swollen, metal back is buckled out

Hi Bill,

When the computer is asleep the hard disks don't stop spinning they just spin slower ( http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25801), even is one turns on "put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible" you cannot be sure that the hard disk(s) will not turn on and spin while asleep. So a computer can still make heat while in sleep. Also since having any portable computer on a soft computer reduces/restricts ventilation I would not want to have my MBP in my bag while it is on, even when asleep.

IMHOP

I see nothing in the article you mentioned that says the hard drive will keep spinning when the computer goes to sleep, and have never witnessed such behaviour on any notebook computer. Could you quote the exact sentence that makes you think so?

---------------------
What happens when the computer goes to sleep (not just into idle mode or display sleep)?

On all computers:
The microprocessor goes into a low-power mode
Video output is turned off, and the connected display may turn off as well, or enter its own idle state
Apple-supplied hard disks spin down
Third-party hard disks may spin down
---------------------

The term spin down means that the drive stops spinning.

Have the battery problem also. It was working fine since the SMC Firmware update. I do have one of the first macbooks with the suspect serial number, but only started having problems since that update. Take power out, wait 5 minutes, dead.

Called Apple 2 times, 1st time got through to a foreign lady who would only talk to me if I paid £280 apple care for phone support. 2nd guy much more helpfull, was on hold most of the time but I was browsing the forums and found this thread and mentioned it to him. He promptly dispatched a new battery. It's just a bit difficult now having the battery out, im constantly trying to make sure the mag safe doesn't get knocked 🙂

Hopefully a new battery will solve it.


To be honest I wouldn't be suprised if this was a heat related issue, I'm pretty sure I could fry an egg on the underside..I may have to prove this one day.


macbook pro 15" Mac OS X (10.4.6)

macbook pro 15" Mac OS X (10.4.6)

macbook pro 15" Mac OS X (10.4.6)

I noticed the same exact problem this weekend. My Macbook Pro started shutting down randomly when running on the battery. I noticed the bulging on the battery. The problems have gotten worse over the last few days. Apple imediately agreed to send me a new battery and it's on its way. I pre-ordered my Macbook Pro in January and it's a week 8 build. I think I'm going to phone them back and get the express mail the battery to me.

It'd be good if they would. still waiting for mine, its a right pain trying to make sure the magsafe stays in, I get paranoid im gonna knock it off. Also always having to shutdown rather then just close it for sleep. Its like using a windows laptop 😟

Have the battery problem also. It was working fine
since the SMC Firmware update. I do have one of the
first macbooks with the suspect serial number, but
only started having problems since that update. Take
power out, wait 5 minutes, dead.

The battery bulge happened to me one week before installing the SMC update, so I don't think it has anything to do with that. Chances are that the early battery batches just have a high rate of defective units and that your battery life was declining before you installed the update. The bulge is obviously a chemical change that really has nothing to do with firmware.

I was very pleased with the way the Apple store handled my defective battery. As soon as they saw it, they did some paperwork and handed me a new battery.

Same problem of sudden shut down but my battery didn't swell yet…

My MBP is from the W8607 batch and my battery from 6N606 series…

Apple is sending me a replacement…

My battery is swollen too and the swelling causes the trackpad button to click or click-and-hold by itself. The computer is unusable right now with the battery in. My laptop is a W8612 and the battery serial number begins 6N612, so the problem is not limited to W8610 laptops. Hopefully the replacement battery will last longer than 3 months.

I was having the random shutdown problems when the meter was reporting nearly two hours of life left, much like others here have reported. I paid a visit to the Genius Bar in Santa Monica. They replaced my battery without giving me any grief. As I was popping the old battery out, I noted that it was bulging out significantly. They guy at the genuis bar said "Whoa! Good thing we're replacing that."

Yeah. I have to wonder if the battery simply can't tolerate the temperatures my MBP is operating at. What is the battery's operating temperature range, anyway? Is the laptop getting too hot for the battery to handle?

I did notice that this started happening after the SMC firmware update, but I'm not sure if it's just coincidence or not. I was running it plugged in 95% of the time for a month or so prior to the update.

Anyway, this combined with the buzz (I contacted Apple and have an open ticket to send it in for logic board replacement...I'm told it's a faulty power inverter) actually does make this the most defect-ridden computer I've ever owned. I was about to comment that the buzz had gone away, but as I unplugged the power cord to start calibrating the new battery I hear the familiar nails-on-chalkboard sound is back. Sad, because the software is great. I really wish Dell or someone else could pick up the ball on the hardware front. Will they ever go back to licensing so I can buy the hardware from someone else?

Disappointing MacBook Pro

Even when my MBP reaches its maximum temperature, the battery gets just lukewarm, so I don't think it has anything to do with heat. There was just a bad batch of batteries that is now getting replaced.

The buzz you're hearing may be one of two things: either a problem with the display inverter board, which Apple has chosen to replace now, or a normal noise originating from a capacitor on the logic board. Though the noise is normal (and, as far as I know, is present in all Core Duo based notebooks) it can become a little unnerving in a quiet environment. Maybe there will be a power management software update to fix this, maybe not.

I had the same problem. I first started noticing random shut downs, then I noticed the bulge. I made an appointment for the soho apple store... waited a bit to see a genius... then I finally was able to show what was happening. I told the genius about this thread and that he'll start seeing a ton of people with the same problem in the near future. He said he wasn't aware of the problem as of yet. He claims it was just the adhesive that was coming off because of heat and the random shutdowns weren't related. I begged to differ. He asked if I had any other issues and then I started to go off on build design (ie the grey trim slightly buckling) and my slight processor buzz. I guess this wasn't enough to get a completely new cpu on the spot. I also mentioned heat being insane and he didn't seem to care. He said its normal or whatever. So in the end soho didn't have a battery, but the new 5th Ave store did. He wrote up a case number and gave me a card that basically put me to the front of the genius bar line. This was ok because it gave me a chance to check out the new store for the first time. I showed up and was moved to the head of the queue and promptly recieved my new battery. I let the head genius at the 5th ave store know that if he hasn't seen this problem yet, he will. He said I was the first case that he had seen. So in the end my issue was taken care of and I'm fairly happy.

On as side note -- I don't like the way the 5th ave store is layed out. There is no waiting area for the genius bar and no where to sit. Thus people waiting are strewn about the store. This is poor planning in my opinion.

Scotty D

Alright, now it bulges out… Good thing I called Applecare thursday and a replacement is already on its way…

I am very suprised, Apple didn't made a recall yet !

It seems noone from Apple are commenting this thread, this is somewhat disappointing. I would like to know whether
- this is a problem linked to a few machines, a few series of batteries, or potentially to all machines given the user acts in some specific way.
- the problem is solved with a new battery
- the way of using the new PBs is restricted in any way, compared to the RISC PBs.
It is very good there is a discussion on the Apple site on this, but I hope Apple will comment upon it as well.

Trond.