Swollen battery

K Shaffer wrote:

At distance, several authorized and trained Apple service providers appear

among searches of Apple repair Utah, and other variants of choice words..

The main thing is that if the OP wants some sort of Apple-endorsed battery replacement for such an old MacBook, that's not going to happen. But even with the vague description, it can only be three possibilities - the A1185, A1280, or A1331. I could get an aftermarket A1185 for less than $20, although I'd probably look for better. Not sure about the A1280, but that doesn't require any tools - not even a coin. The A1331 is bit more difficult, but not overly so. Many kits will include all the screwdrivers needed.

The original post is somewhat dramatic, when the solution is something even my totally non-tech father would be able to do with an aftermarket part.

There is this quality replacement battery available through owc macsales (link in previous post)

NewerTech NuPower 60 Watt-Hour Battery for MacBook 13.3-inch White Model.

Compatibility list here is for 2006-2009 (exception Late 2008*)

Replacement Batteries for Apple MacBook 13-Inch White

macsales/item/NewerTech/BAP13MBW56RS/Compatibility

...And *Late 2008 version, specific to MacBook5.1 unibody Aluminum 13-in:

NewerTech NuPower 54 Watt-Hour Replacement Battery for all Apple MacBook 13.3-inch Unibody Late 2008

There just doesn't seem to be a problem if one prefers to look outside their own neighborhood.

However I have spare computers; plus spare parts. Having repaired several dozen, I've no fear.

And everymac.com site has reference to other sources outside north America to get owc parts.

{A source of examples of replacement quality parts for older vintage obsolete portables, to use

as local comparison or with phone, talk to their informed staff. The seller is of good reputation.}

A few shops in some areas outside Salt Lake City offer some third party batteries. An advantage

to newertech nupower is owc has good customer support with quality product guaranty. (Not so

sure about those knock-offs or boxstore clones.) ~ I bought good newertech nupower battery from

OWC for my Mid 2005 iBook G4 1.33GHz (last model) to replace original Apple batteries I got w/ it.

+My 1st edition MacBook1.1 13-inch (first model) has great replacement battery & MagSafe adapter.

{I'd wanted to revisit the high desert and hope to find some buried rare Apples, but heard they

are behind a border Wall. To keep curious passersby from intruding on their happy retirement.}

In any event... I'm done.

Good luck & happy trails! 🙂

your device is 10 years old, it is under warranty for 1 year unless you purchase an additional 2 years with Apple Care, even then your system is 7 years past any warranty. You can contact an Apple authorized repair center outside of an Apple Store to see if they can do repairs, or you can try at your own risk with yourself or someone (hopefully) competent enough to do this.

A device, any device will have fewer resources as time goes on and manufactures can not support a system indefinitely unless they state that when it was purchased, and that was never the case.

If you are concerned of Apple polices you can contact Apple by going to apple.com/feedback, otherwise discussions outside of getting assistance with an apple product or service would need to be taken up on another forum.

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5952

I wouldn’t say it’s normal, but lithium rechargeable batteries swelling can happen from any manufacturer. Apple doesn’t make the batteries. It happened to the OEM battery in my 2007 MacBook when it was well out of warranty. Might have even been when the five years to “vintage” status had already begun. I brought it into an Apple Store with an appointment, they checked the battery diagnostics to see if it was under 300 cycles (I think), and they sold me a “service replacement” battery for $99 plus tax. I was also given the option to purchase a retail boxed battery for $129 plus tax. The retail boxed one came in a white box with a picture of the battery, came with a 1 year warranty, and I could have kept my swollen battery. The service replacement came in a brown corrugated box, had a 90 day warranty, and I had to give them my swollen battery.

I still have the replacement battery. It’s been through a few times where I forgot about it for months when the power adapter wasn’t plugged in and it auto shutdown in sleep mode, but after about 90 cycles it’s still registering as good. Tools say it’s about at 97%, which is pretty good.

At this point there are aftermarket batteries that will work. I don’t worry so much about their safety, but quality varies in terms of matching your case and longevity.

JimmyCMPIT wrote:

your device is 10 years old, it is under warranty for 1 year unless you purchase an additional 2 years with Apple Care, even then your system is 7 years past any warranty. You can contact an Apple authorized repair center outside of an Apple Store to see if they can do repairs, or you can try at your own risk with yourself or someone (hopefully) competent enough to do this.

A device, any device will have fewer resources as time goes on and manufactures can not support a system indefinitely unless they state that when it was purchased, and that was never the case.

If you are concerned of Apple polices you can contact Apple by going to apple.com/feedback, otherwise discussions outside of getting assistance with an apple product or service would need to be taken up on another forum.

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5952

I’m guessing it’s one of the ones where the battery comes out with a twist of a coin.

Sure, the OP was kind of vague about which model, and it was kind of a rant that “Apple won’t help me”. However, the description of “started to break through its case or shell” sounds like an A1185 battery.

For the OP, if it’s “vintage” (more likely “obsolete”) there are lots of aftermarket options today whether it’s one replaced by turning with a coin or requires screwdrivers. I wouldn’t trust a “new old stock” OEM Apple one today, because at best it’s been in a box for a 3 years self-discharging.

The OP seems to have the attitude that if Apple won't help, nobody will help. I think we mostly realize that these things happen. So GM no longer makes an oil filter for an older car. Why not just use one from Purolator and stop worrying about it?

So for the OP, just replace the battery yourself with a high quality aftermarket one. There are plenty of people who have successfully done that. Just because Apple no longer provides the part doesn't mean that nobody else has an equivalent.

We don't know what condition of the battery is in and what the condition of the surrounding components are. If the OP was unfamiliar with this I'd have someone qualified take a look, if not they can proceed at their own risk as I suggested earlier.

The worst outcome is the time needed to travel to a 3rd party repair center and get an estimate, which many do for free.

BogiBaby,

I doubt very much that anyone can give you advice of the nature that you would happily receive; but the fact is ... the term vintage is just a nicer way of saying 'obsolete'.

Computer science is advancing at such a rate as to limit the lifespan of machines much younger than yours. Once you realize that you will start seeing the matter quite differently.

It won't help with the finance side of the question but that's another matter. A battery has a limited lifespan too, but unlike the computer which in some cases can be upgraded, a battery lifespan is physical but its eventual degradation can affect the machine's components.

Sorry; but that's how I see it.

This is what happens when someone duplicates their post.

Although this discussion is nice enough, it would appear that second one similar

grew up over in this other place Swollen “Vintage” 2007-2009 MacBook ...

There are links to more information and some available replacement parts there.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

At distance, several authorized and trained Apple service providers appear

among searches of Apple repair Utah, and other variants of choice words..

Forty-five minutes driving time is plenty of time to get there. I'm used to much

further to get anywhere. Even a tank of gas in the vehicle often requires use of

a spare can, which is taken along for the ride to refill.

If you can drive 60 miles per hour, that's a mile a minute. Fairly quick on a freeway.

{There are no freeways here, so one could spend most of that time waiting for

'two-lane only road' to clear; accident or weather shut stuff down all the time.}

There are companies who rebuild portable Macs and ship them all across the US.

I've sent a few from AK to NC because they did a great job and my cost was less

than using a local shop who only forwarded them out for repair & marked up price.

Anyway, hopefully you can identify and contact whoever you need to, and then

consider a spare computer. If you get one, be sure to exercise & care for them.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂