MacBook Pro battery bulge: time for a recall?

By Jeremy Roche on 23 June 2006

Tags: apple | battery | bulge | fault | macbook | macbook pro | recall | shutdown | zdnet | blog

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RTG
24/11/2006 01:06 PM

Same thing has happened to my Macbook. Its affecting the operation of the mouse click. I feel that it shouldnt be my responsability to replace.

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raf
23/12/2006 02:35 PM

MacBook Pro bought in Singapore in early August 2006, 7 days ago started crashing with 35% battery, yesterday with 95% battery charge, have taken the battery out and its bulging like if its pregnant, if I wait a while maybe we get small chinese batteries coming out?

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Anonymous
04/02/2007 10:29 AM

This happened to my mac book pro 17-inch just today....I'm ticked. They talked to me like they didn't know what I meant!

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Anonymous
27/02/2007 07:49 PM

My mouse button didnt work and The system is ejecting any CD or DVD's during startup and battery life is down to 12% of original Doubtfully I inverted my laptop and had a look at my battery it just bulged out of the box

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amarquez
28/02/2007 03:36 AM

Today i noticed the same problem in my macbook pro 17´s battery

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Canucker
10/03/2007 07:24 PM

Mac Book Pro 17 I just had my battery bulge on me as well. It looks like the swelling bent the storage case. No Apple care so basically I'm scrwed into buying another one. Sad and frustrating.

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Randolph Weedman
28/05/2007 12:33 AM

I am the owner of a mac pro lap top 17 in ch screen and I am very disappointed in the batter life. I have done all I can to make sure the battery dies before recharging. Because I have found that most batteries now have memories and need to be drained before recharging. I am disappointed in the battery life. I've had my pro now for 4 months and the battery only now holds a 2 hour charge. And takes 2 1/2 hours to recharge. Not happy for the price it should be a 6 hour battery and it seems to be getting worse.

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CORMAC11
27/06/2007 04:35 AM

SO FRUSTRATED BATTERY ON MY 17IN MAC JUST SWELLED. 200 EURO I MAY ADD FOR A NEW BATTERY AFTER SPENDING ALMOST 3500 ON THE LAPTOP JUST OVER A YEAR AGO...

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Snorfel2
19/09/2007 07:52 AM

I have the same problem... my MacBookPro 17 inch battery swelled, and the trackpad would not work at all. The computer would only work if plugged in. I suggest we all write to Apple, or at least send them a message through their website. I have had my computer for 16 months and it is no longer under warranty, HOWEVER, on wikipedia it says that batteries have a 2 year warranty!

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phini
26/09/2007 10:34 PM

Hi, just today I recognized that the mouse button doesn't work at all any more. After some investigations I found exactly the same problem as you guys have. I bought my 17' inch Mac about 15 months ago. If someone writes to Apple, I'm with you.

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rob relish
15/12/2007 06:27 PM

me too! I couldnt figure out why my mouse button was stuck for a week! and then I by chance took the battery out to check the serial number when I came across the battery recall, and my problem was solved.. very disappointed in APPLE this time around.. though Im loyal customer.. they should have told everyone up front.

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auz
09/02/2008 05:34 PM

So is this a problem with the new macbook pro core 2 duo's? Because i want to make the switch but this article scared me.

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Fribs
21/02/2008 10:04 AM

The battery problem should no longer occur if you are buying a MBP now. There was a problem with the old batteries which has since been fixed. If you have any doubts you could check the serial # of the laptop and the # on the battery to see when it was made and if it was one of the recalled batteries. There's a blurb somewhere on the Apple site about this.

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Tahir72
13/03/2008 02:50 PM

Today I had to remove the battery of my 17" MacBook Pro. I had'nt heard that there is a problem with the MacBook, as I had'nt came across such comments from other Mac users. It seems that it is a common problem. the same thing happened to me an the mouse click did not work at all because of the swelling in the battery.

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Superhands
06/04/2008 02:44 AM

Same problem again with 17 inch macbook pro. Bulging battery, trackpad doesn't function properly with battery inserted so currently have to plug in to use it. (which is incredibly annoying when someone does actually trip over the magsafe power lead and my laptop cuts out. Foolishly bought mine 2nd hand due to finance issues so i have no original purchase information and no sign of any warranty. Have apple provided a solution yet or am i gonna have to empty my already empty pockets for a new one?

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nyenyec
29/04/2008 11:40 PM

Same thing happened in the last couple of days to my 17'' Mac Book Pro I purchased in Dec, 2006. Random mouseclicks, shutdowns with 10%, 25%, 30% charges, bulging battery.

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screed
05/05/2008 09:34 PM

Just happened to me last night - shut downs - then no use of track pad - when I flipped my computer over...bulging battery - I have had my computer in the Apple store several times for how hot my MacBook Pro gets and they continue to tell me it is normal - I got an Email back from Apple asking how my service was at the store and if they could contact me about the service - I stated the people were nice but my issue was never resolved and I would appreciate it very much is someone actually did contact me! - never happened - there is no extended care on my Mac - will they still replace the battery?

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aznttboy
16/05/2008 02:31 PM

Same thing happened to my 17" MacBook Pro. Called the Apple SOS number and after checking their records and documentation, I was told that since it is over the warranty period that they will not replace my battery. I am really pissed off (which is a big thing considering I am a huge Apple fan and owns $150K in AAPL stocks). I would agree that I am just out of luck if the battery is having issues charging or holding a charge. However, the issue is the battery bulging out of its casing, which I consider a manufacturing defect. Will see if the actual Genius Bar person will see things my way or stick to the company line.

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aznttboy
17/05/2008 09:33 PM

After the disappointing support call to Apple's SOS Hotline, I made a reservation to see a Genius Bar specialist at a local Apple retail store. After explaining my reason for the visit and showing him the defecting battery, which has now swelled to more than 2x the normal thickness of a brand new battery, he immediately said that they will give me a replacement for free after doing the required paperwork. I asked him if Apple has had a lot of this kind of battery issues and what the cause may be. He said that he has dealt with a few similar cases before, but had no explanation as to the cause of the problem. Anyway, Apple's SOS Hotline staff can probably benefit from more training (know when to stick to company policies and when they should reasonably make an exception and feel empowered to do so), while the Genius Bar staff was extremely professional and handled my hardware issue effectively. If this had been an issue with a Dell purchase, and there is a Dell retail outlet that I can visit to speak to one of the Dell Reps, I doubt the situation will be resolved to my satisfaction (especially within 30 minutes)

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sgurl
03/07/2008 02:04 AM

I am having the same issues with my 17" macbook pro as well... bulging battery, random shut offs with no notice, trackpad problems and it wont click anymore, this all happened within the course of about a week. It went downhill fast. When i called to set up an appointment the lady at the apple store was very rude and asked me, "Are you sure it's a battery problem?" and considering my battery is bulging so bad right now that it wont even sit flat...i said "uh... have you been listening to me at all?!" I have an appointment today to get it fixed, although it says online that I dont have apple care protection, which I do. I have a feeling that's going to be another issue to deal with, considering I accidentially threw out the box, and just kept the apple care cd, and the box had the serial number in it.... but I still have my receipt, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed.....

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Peter
09/07/2008 02:33 PM

same problem here...2 mac laptops in the family and within a month of each other BOTH laptop batteries swelled...but since Apple 'isn't even aware there is a problem' we decided never to buy these pieces of SH?T ever again...we are going pc from now on...

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Guy_in_Belgium
04/09/2008 08:48 PM

The problem seems to persist. Identical symptoms here with a 17” MB Pro bought late June 2007. Random shutdowns, and then suddenly the battery starts to swell. It does not stand flat on the table anymore, and the trackpad and its button become useless. Several e-mails (with scary pictures) to Apple Belgium (because that’s where I live), but no reply so far. Are they still in the phase of denial?

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