battery swollen, metal back is buckled out

I'm glad to say that replacement was no problem whatsoever. I called Apple directly, immediately got a case number with which I went to the local retailer and was given a new battery in return for the busted one. Excellent.

The same thing just happened to mine, (MBP 17 bought in May '06), first I experienced a couple unexpected shutdowns, then it would not boot up without the power pluged-in even if the battery reported 100% just before (and the test button shows all lights on). I looked at the battery and it is swollen outwards..
Called apple and they said to take it to an apple store and they should replace it. I'll see if they do so tomorrow.

I'm sure they will. Weird - that there has been no recall on these batteries too despite this happening relatively frequently - or that they were not included in the last recall. The guy in the shop told me they even had two MBP which themselves were damaged after the battery swelled up and bust the machine!

gday


i have the same problem, battery stopped holding charge, then buckled until the trackpad no longer worked, all in the sapce of a few days of limited use..

took my battery in to apple repair store

they laughed, said the diagnosis seemed quite obvious, ordered new battery, should be in tomorrow.

fairly good service so far.

Same problem here; it happens quite sudddenly: I have been checking on my laptop battery at least once a week and then one day
- Yesterday trackpad button stops working.
- Today I check the battery and sure enough it is swollen.





<img src="http://karlie.smugmug.com/photos/140515208-S.jpg>

<br><br><span class=otherinfo>MacBook Pro Core Duo 17" Mac OS X (10.4.9) Battery S/N 6N62229LUS0A

i'm standing at the apple store in ala moana center, honolulu hawaii right now waiting for my appointment at the genius bar. after i made the appointment i held up my 17" mac book pro (showing the "geniuses" the swollen battery) and calmly queried, "do you think i should remove this battery?". the genius blanched and quickly relieved me of the faulty part promising to replace it at no cost (well, duh).

it's nice to see apple stepping up to the plate and admitting that there are sometimes problems with its products. particularly with faulty parts from third party vendors.

this should be a company policy if it already isn't. its always better to willingly replace faulty parts and recall faulty products immediately rather than risk messy lawsuits or bad p.r.

steve jobs please take note... i am a sworn mac addict for life in part because no matter how big apple may become it always listens to its customers. keep up the good work.

17" mac book pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

17" mac book pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

17" mac book pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Hey there,


I bought my MBP 17" Rev. A May last year, a while after it was released. Now just 1 mth my warranty runs out, my battery gave way. I experienced more or less the same symptoms as a few of you guys here - random shutdowns. Never happens when running only on AC with no battery in it. It happened to me a few times two nights ago.

I pulled the ac off to bring the lappie to my room so I could draw and listen to music. A while later it shut down. Then it refused to boot, so I flipped the machine around and push the battery indicator button and it flashed low-batt. Impossible I thought, since it was fully charged just moments ago. So i put the AC in, and let it charge and resumed my music, then it shut down again. Out of curiousity I unplugged it and tried booting on batt again. It came on and then off with a mild POP sound. I panicked, so I immediately removed the battery and noticed that while not as bad as most images posted on the web, it was no longer even throughout the entire surface and you can clearly feel a bump inside.

I am a student in Italy. My machine came from Hong Kong. I went to the apple shop nearby and all they could tell me is call apple support - which never picked up even after holding the line for ages...plus they charge per minute!

So I gave up. A relative is coming to visit next week and she'll be bringing me a new battery from HK. I just wanted to know if anyone of you experienced any recurring problems after replacing your battery. Cause my mother was at the mac shop where I got the machine in HK and the salesman told her to tell me to get applecare because he thinks my machine may be faulty. But I've used it for almost a year, on AC, with and without the battery in it and nothing has gone wrong at all. Are there any known issues with the MBP that causes the battery to malfunction or is it a problem with the battery itself? I'm planning what to do next... but I'm not sure. I am reluctant to get the applecare since apple support in Italy is crappy.

Thanks for reading! Any advice would be much appreciated!

Exactly same happened to me. Had to replace. Wouldn't charge properly. Plate lifted from main battery body.

The heat was unbelievable.

Suddenly this weekend, my 11 month old 17" MacBook Pro's only lasts about 2 and a half hours on battery. With anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes remaining, the computer just shuts down without warning. Today, I took it to the Apple Genius Bar, they looked at the Apple System Profiler and concluded that my battery had run it's course (with a cycle count of just 217), that warranty would not cover it, and that I would need to purchase a new one for $130. Unbelievable! I guess our $2,799 computers include a $130 annual battery usage subscription! Needless to say, I did not purchase the battery and await to speak with someone else from Apple first.

At any rate, I am home now, found this thread, took a look at my battery and lo and behold it has definitely begun to warp in the middle; slightly, but it's definitely lifted higher a the center than at the edges where the clips hold it in.

What does everyone think of this? Is the notion of Apple refusing to replace a battery while the computer is still under warranty unheard of? Or is a measly 217 cycle counts really all the longer we're to expect our batteries will last?

20 2Ghz G5 iMac Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Hi Cory,

I have a week 9 15" MBP, with one of the "battery exchange" batteries. That means my battery is actually only about 6 months old, vs. the age of the computer. It too has stopped providing a full charge. In fact, it currently only retains 65% of its full capacity. It hasn't deformed yet, but I guess it is only a matter of time. I'll be heading into an Apple store later and will report back. I will likely come home $120 poorer.

Hello Cory,

Like you, my MacBook Pro is 11 months old. I was having the shutdown problem and my battery was slightly swollen. I took my laptop into the Apple Store and told them of all the threads on this topic. The person at the Genius Bar replaced my battery free of charge. This was covered under the one year warranty.

I would try the Genius Bar again, and be sure to mention all the threads on this topic.

demoneyes & MacManI, thanks for your replies.

Apple is sending me a new battery free of charge. Their phone support was much more helpful than their genius bar wanted to be, but to be fair the genius wasn't aware that my battery had begun to swell — neither did I until I got home, read this thread, and took a look. My new battery should arrive early next week. Good thing to, because I think it's gotten worse since my first post earlier this week.

This same thing happened to my battery. Prior to the battery bulging my trackpad and clicker stopped working. If I move the cursor with my trackpad, the clicker stays stuck in the depressed mode.

Does anyone else have a history of this?

I've been working to backup my data and delete sensitive information with an external keyboard and mouse. I plan to take my machine to the Apple Store today.

OMG, I have work to do.

My MBP is having all the problems described in this thread but my battery physically looks fine... has anyone had this experience? I'm not sure what to do. I've taken it out since the stories here are alarming and I'm wondering if the batterie's on the verge of bulging. But could there be other explanations for the laptop shutting down without warning while running on battery power, before the battery is apparently out of power?

Hi all,

I have been having alot of problems with the battery too. I have a first generation mac book pro (15 inch). The original battery was fine, but the extra battery I bought while in Tokyo started shutting down all the time. I removed it, and after reading all the threads now, I went back to take a look at it: the metal casing is almost entirely OFF with the contents inside very visible. Is this dangerous? The reason I was checking this out now again is that my computer has been shutting down again (original battery), and i just took a look and it TOO has the casing just begining to come off. I am very upset, particularly as I live abroad (teaching in the Middle East now). What can I do? Also, if I am to buy a THIRD battery, what should I look out for??

I really need advice here!

Cheers.