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Attack of the Fifty Foot MacBook Battery!!
August 22, 2007
So a couple weeks ago, we were hacking down at the Lullapad in NYC, when I noticed that the bottom of my computer was bulging. Uh-oh. I turned it over and saw this staring at me:
Yikes! So of course, I immediately took it out and put it over on a table, figuring I would take it to the Apple Store once work settled down a bit.
Flash-forward to tonight, when we were again sitting down and hacking and suddenly heard a loud POP!! We look over at the battery, and this time it looks like:
Um. Yikes!!
So now it's sitting inside the most robust bunker we could devise given what's available here: a cake pan, covered by a metal pot. ;)
By the way, you have to love marketing: Apple is providing me with a genuine opportunity "Update" my battery; it's definitely not a recall, oh heavens no. :P Check your batteries, kids!!
Anyway, I have an appointment on Friday to get it "updated" so I'll let you know how that goes. :P Anyone have any ideas on how to transport this thing safely?
UPDATE 2007-08-24 Well, that was easy. I booked an appointment at the Genius Bar, they called my name, I showed them the battery, they gave me a new one. Nice!
Though I recommend if this happens to you to go to a store in person, rather than trying to handle it over the phone. The dude on the phone tried to tell me my battery warped because I left my computer plugged in. :P
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I've been a mac user since before OS X
...and I love the productivity it allows - but - the apple store just pisses me off. I actually threatened to buy a pc and put ubuntu on it the last time I went to one. (and I halfway meant it, too)
Been there, done that :/
Sorry to hear this is the second time that you've had this problem. I've experienced it as well... I was kind of scared when I saw that, because of all the stories about exploding batteries and laptops that caught fire because of that.
Before it bulged, my MBP would power down for no reason when I was working on the battery. So it seems that's the only warning you get, if you get it. In my experience it doesn't change anymore once it has bulged and if you don't power it again. So I think you should be safe: it shouldn't matter how you send it to Apple.
The replacement service was excellent in my experience. Just show up at the Apple Store, show the battery, and within 30 seconds I had a new one :) Of course, it shouldn't happen at all. But I can imagine it could have taken a lot more effort if it wasn't an Apple.
Yikes!
I'm staring suspiciously at my MacBook Pro as I type this, wondering if it's going to explode or burst into flames at the least convenient moment.
macbug pro
It feels strangely 'good' to read that sometimes also other people's Macbooks seem to misbehave - for a while a sort of had the feeling it was just me.. or actually my 'book.. I just recently went through something completely different - but probably felt similar - for me it was 'only' the motherboard, the bluetooth and the keyboard.. Went to the repair people three times, and finally got everything fixed.. Strange anyways - did macs just go too close to pcs..?
greetz from berlin, till..
I had a battery replaced as well
I am on my second Macbook Pro. The first would power down for no reason from a full charge. Turned out that the battery was on the recall list. That laptop stayed with my previous employer (it was a company computer) when I moved to my present job at www.pingVision.com.
Me too!
The same thing happened to me with my first MBP. If I recall correctly it started powering off unexpectedly when the battery got down to about the third cell. When It bulged I took into the store straight away. So if it got that big I never saw it...
My gfs 13-inch MB powers off when it gets to about twenty minutes of remaining battery time left. It has been doing that for a while. The battery looks okay, but maybe we should retire it before it explodes...?
It seems like computer-powers-off-before-battery-is-empty, might be a symptom of the bulging battery. WDYT?
If your computer powers down
If your computer powers down before you get a MacOS-produced low-battery warning, you should reset your computer's PMU/SMC, re-calibrate your battery, and see if your issue is resolved.
Battery issue
If you have had this happen twice, its your AC/ the magsafe adapters are the cause of alot of the battery issues. The cable becomes frayed at the tip where it plugs into the machine, of course you cannot see it unless its really bad, but what this does is cause a short in charging, damages the control boards inside the battery that keep it from over charging. So the battery overcharges the cells causing to much energy to build up, when it discharges it creates a gas that has no where to go so it starts to expand the cell. I would go in and try to get a new AC from them otherwise you may have this issue again and again.
Bogus
Oddly enough, I had an old 17" macbook that stopped working over a year ago. The audio died and then one day it just stopped booting completely. Frustrated I just shoved it into its sack and moved on with my life (13" macbook)
After having a discussion in IRC the other day I thought to take the machine out and do an inspection. Sure enough - the battery was swollen and bursting identically to yours. I had not had this machine plugged into charger of any kind for almost 12 months...
I'll be taking it over to Apple to see if they'll do the right thing or not.