Bloated 17-inch MacBook Pro battery -- take 2
By Thomas Ricker 
posted April 3rd 2007 8:46AM
posted April 3rd 2007 8:46AM
Note: pictures are right-left inverted since they were taken with MBP webcam.
Update: Need more evidence? Check the bloated 17-inch MBP battery pics harvested from comments: Spain and Disko and Frank and Matt W and Max K and Brandon S and Casper and Adam and Antii. Last but not least, several threads on Apple's own support forum.
I don't think it matters which brand you buy, if you're unlucky then you'll get problems. Remember too that people are much more likely to shout about something if it goes wrong than if it does what it's supposed to, which does give a slightly warped perspective of how good a product really is.
I've had problems with Sony, Dell and Toshiba, whereas my 1st gen 17" MacBook Pro has been in constant daily service for almost two years, and is still going strong. The battery still manages a couple of hours' charge too.
Apple Macbook Pro 17" battery:li-ion, 6400mAh, 11.1V, 9-cell. It looks like very good.
More detail:
http://www.laptopbatterymart.com/laptop-batteries/apple-macbook-pro-17--series.htm
i called apple way back in march, 2008 and told them about my swollen battery. i was told no known cases of a 17" battery expanding like the 15" battery problem. i was extremely lucky it didnt explode until after i pulled it from my laptop.
http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a144/kimberllee/macbook%20pro%20battery/?action=view¤t=Photo532.jpg
I don't think it matters which brand you buy, if you're unlucky then you'll get problems. Remember too that people are much more http://www.batteryfast.co.uk/acer/btp-59a1.htm likely to shout about something if it goes wrong than if it does what it's supposed to, which does give a slightly warped perspective of how good a product really is.
My 17 inch MacBook Pro battery warped and Apple DID NOT replace it.
Instead they gave me a discount voucher for my next purchase of over $300. What a joke.
http://www.alivenotdead.com/jasontobin/Apple+Battery+Exchange+Program-profile-493023.html?newpost_1
After noticing some scraping on bottom of my 06 MacBook, I proceeded to remove & inspect the battery, come to find out the battery is physically bloated (warped) & leaking a very five white powder that entirely covered the cavity where the battery resides. I proceeded to contact Apple support, I very POLITELY explained the issue, the battery technician that tech support transferred me to acknowledge that the battery was defective and recommended that I discontinue using the battery altogether, (without me asking) the technician proceeded to try to get the battery replaced free of charge as a defective battery which HE (as a battery technician) concluded it was. He eventually transferred me to a customer service representative (Michelle); Michelle refused to acknowledge that we were dealing with a defective product and refused to allow for the free of charge exchange, she instead offered a $30 Apple store discount as a “we’re sorry for the inconvenience and the fact that your battery is about to blow up” apology. Instead of accepting I very POLITELY refused the discount coupon & again very calmly AND politely proceeded to state the case that this was a defective battery, at which point the Apple customer service rep. (in a very polite demeanor non the less) proceeded to say good-bye & hang up the phone on me while I was in mid sentence, you have to LOVE good costumer service.
Bottom line is; I have a deformed/defective MacBook battery half way to a achieving critical mass, full breach, blowup, fire, what have you & the Apple customer service reps are not willing to even acknowledge that this a defective battery, regardless of what the tech support technician (who happens to handle battery issues) says.
Do I have to leave the battery in and wait for the laptop to set itself on fire before Apple will acknowledge that we’re dealing with a defective battery, and decides to be more proactive with this issue?
Needless to say as an Apple user (since 2001) I am VERY disappointed & dissatisfied with Apple & its “customer support”.
Are MacBook batteries safe?!?!
After noticing continued problems with my battery life, I turned my macbook pro 17 over this morning to find the battery completed bloated like the picture above. I have been using a cooling stand which has a little gap underneath so not sure exactly how long the battery has actually been exposed and the fine white powder leaking. I got online to search the issue using my older powerbook model and though its battery life sucks now (about 5-6 years old) it has no sign of bloating at least.
I will contact apple today to see what they say and post an update.
Same thing happened recently to my MBP (17in, early 2008) 2 weeks ago (July 09). Battery got very hot, and expanded like in the photo.
Apple were totally cool about it. They replaced the battery free of charge, even though the machine & battery were out of warranty.
Mine bloated last night. Looks _exactly_ like the one in the picture. Its out of warranty (about 3 years old) Can I still get a free battery on product recall or something. Any advice on how i should proceed?
Ta
In 2009, in my second replacement, I received another issue... The battery swelled so much the trackpad's button was continually pressed. After popping it out, I realized the issue. Even with the AppleCare Warranty (which expired two months ago), there is nothing that can be done for me, outside of purchasing another $130 battery.
Thanks for the info. It will guide me to choose wisely..
poor material selection, these are actually common problems most likely as a result of design faults and a few isolated incidents.
One more reason why I won't buy an Apple portable...at least not yet. Right now I'm in the market for a low-cost consumer portable to use for basic tasks and to display work to my clients (I'm a web designer/developer). My heart was set on the white MacBook, but given the innumerable problems these notebooks suffer from (discoloring plastic that also develops serious cracks, overheating, random shutdowns, application instability, etc., etc., etc.,), combined with the fact that Apple is currently charging twice the price for half the hardware of competing portables, my credit card is staying put.
It absolutely kills me to say this because I am a huge Mac fan... but at this moment I lean towards an HP Pavilion dv6000t or Dell Inspiron 1505. If I am to pay more than $1k for a notebook, the damn thing better be reliable, and trouble-free. Only a fool would pay so much money for a product with known issues. MacBook is a lemon. Yes, I know some of you out there are happy MacBook owners, without any above stated issues. Count yourself lucky because the problems reported on various Mac forums are neither random or isolated.
I won't make any hasty decision in purchasing my next laptop, but I am steering clear of Apple for now. Unless MacBook gets a major rev treatment in the next months, I'm going with HP or Dell. The clock is ticking.
As a Dell user, I highly recommend against getting one if you want a reliable computer. I wouldn't get the mac either, but that is because both have the same number of problems. Dell's just aren't as publicized because people know that Dell tends to = crap.
"MacBook is a lemon. Yes, I know some of you out there are happy MacBook owners, without any above stated issues. Count yourself lucky because the problems reported on various Mac forums are neither random or isolated."
I have a white MacBook and haven't had *any* problems whatsoever (first gen model), and the university I (used to) attend bought many a few months ago and other than a dead-on-arrival battery that was quickly replaced, no issues yet.
I'd stay away from HP's dv series as well. I absolutely hated the track pad buttons. I never thought something like that would be a deal breaker, but it was. I guess if you use an external mouse exclusively, then it'd be okay. But those buttons were just awful. The LCD also had a lot of wash-out and the bezel surrounding it looked cheap. HP does a good job getting you the best specs for the money, but their quality leaves something to be desired. Sony made the sturdiest consumer laptop I could find. But then again, you'll end up paying the Sony tax, which is almost as much as the Mac tax.
Unlike what KSmith said, I currently have an HP Pavilion DV6233se, and I actually like it. Yes, the track pad button are kinda odd, bubbly and click. But soft, it is different from my Toshiba Satellite but it's nice. I'm writing this post on my Toshiba right now and my DV6233se is on right beside me. The difference I can note, the touchpad buttons, and the screen brightness. Both have WXGA displays, but the Toshiba is by far brighter and clearer. I think the bezel on the HP looks good though. Personally, I chose the HP cause it is white, for basically the same reasons as you, not wanting to get a MAC, albeit they are super sweet looking, everytime I go into the Apple store there are hoards of people bringing in the Apple products to get fixed and that was a big let off to me.
Anywho, the Hp is cool. I had webcam driver issues with it out of the box once I removed Hp's preinstalled Muvee software from it. Don't waste your time with HP tech support though. I know it's free, but they're useless, they'll just tell you to pack up the laptop and send it in for servicing and leave you without a laptop for 2 weeks. I can't believe how horrible tech support is these days. Enough rambling.
Hp dv6233se is a good laptop especially for its price, unbeatable I'd say, plus it comes with a remote which is just plain old cool.
I have a MBP and an HP.. (laptops)
My HP could be used as a defense mechanism because I seriously could probably seriously injure someone with this brick.
its tudsay and im durnk.
I took photos of the same thing last week. 17" macbook pro battery: http://forums.mactalk.com.au/showthread.php?p=277753
Lemon, is a bit harsh. It's still a great machine. The batteries are really the major problem here.
My 1st gen MBP is kicking along really well, but the battery had to be recalled like the one in this article. However, my replacement IS TOTALLY DEAD. It doesn't even register as a battery at all. The lights are all filling up with light with the touch of the button, but it will not give the laptop any juice whatsoever.
Does anyone else have this issue? I've searched everywere online and can't find any sources.
Exactly- if you want reliable, Panasonic is the way to go. If you don't need an optical drive, go for the T5/R6 (especially the R6 if you feel that you'd have trouble with spilling water on the keyboard) otherwise go for the upper end (W5/Y5). If only their Chinese tech support was as responsive as their Japanese tech support- broken screen and still waiting for them to get parts from Japan since they don't sell the T5 in China (they're one model series behind Japan- 2 in the case of the R-type laptop).
Someone needs some Beno.
Kent, actually the MacBook has been pretty solid. Remember that the % of Mac laptops with battery problems that you've seen is so small as to be incalculable. While the early MBPs had lots of issues, I've been tempted by the C2D Macbooks and Macbook Pros, which seem to be more reliable (and also cooler than my 1st gen MBP, which would be nice in the coming summer months).
Dell isn't seriously on my list actually. I just tossed them in my post for shock value! ;-) I have seen so many Inspiron failures in the past three years I wouldn't touch one. The Latitude line is more reliable, but extremely clunky.
One the whole, Dell portables are junk, and nothing to write home about in the aesthetics dept. The HP model I referred to is a damn nice laptop though. Even has a built-in cam.
Had the same issue with a users 17" MB Pro. It hosed his system. Display had large bars/lines going through it and keyboard was unresponsive. I brought it to the "Genius Bar" and the guy said he's seen a lot of batteries, but never the whole machine geetting hosed.
@Peter
The show stopper for me is the cracking case issue, which still remains unresolved. Even new MacBook C2D users are reporting cracks after just A FEW WEEKS of buying the machine. If you haven't heard about this issue before do a bit of searching and you'll see photos that will scare the laptop bag off you. It starts out as a hairline crack and progressively worsens into portions of the case actually breaking off entirely. That problem has existed since MacBook first shipped in Jan. '06. And still remains unresolved with C2D MacBooks.
That is inexcusable.
Oh right! A few isolated faults out of how many hundreds of thousands batteries = reason not to buy an apple. Using the same logic, one might surmise that since one dog a person, all dogs bite.
Idiots.
Firstly, you should really make sure you're not making any completely meaning-changing typos before you call other people idiots. Secondly, as has been pointed out, these are actually common problems most likely as a result of design faults (poor material selection, etc) and not a few isolated incidents. Thirdly, even after correcting your typing, your analogy is simply wrong, because "Apple laptops" is a lot more specific than "all dogs", and the number's we're talking about are far more than the "one dog" you speak of. A more apt analogy would be to surmise that because 100 rottweilers are known to have bitten people then rottweilers are likely to bite.
I think the reason for it is the new metal bottom on the batteries must trap in/create heat. The older PPC macs had plastic bottoms at least my pb g4 does, and there were never any problems with those.
Whoops! I meant to say "one might surmise that since one bit dog a person, all dogs bite."
I converted to Mac last year and picked up a new 15" MBP and have to say that everything has been fantastic. I could not be happier with reliability or build quality and I am a stickler for both. Swelling batteries was an issue when I made my purchase but I have never had problems. I did have my logic board swapped out for the quieter one but only because I knew it was available. Otherwise, I probably would have been satisfied. But I read and monitored the support forums daily and know that most of the issues mentioned have been addressed with the awesome care that Apple support delivers. This I thought was the biggest difference from all previous computer companies.
Do your research, Supermeerkat... the problems are neither few nor isolated. These are widely reported manufacturing defects. Cracks which develop spontaneously are not some random anomaly. Neither is discoloring plastic, or overheating.
Apple laptops appear even more over-priced once you discover where they are made. Three Chinese manufacturers -- Quanta, Hon Hai, and Conpal.
These three factories source almost all components and do full assembly not just for Apple, but for Dell, Fujitsu, Gateway, Compaq HP, Sony and Toshiba.
Apart from the case design and perhaps a custom ASIC or two, the only difference between an Apple and the other six brands is the badge.
"Quanta, Hon Hai, and Conpal."
Try Asustek.
Old news - mine swelled 3 months ago, replaced. They had updated the recall notice to include those batteries - you all just missed it.
Sucks for sure but get over it - does every Apple recall have to become news on a gadget blog - next thing you should cover the Dog Food refund too.
Right, you know you can just go get this replaced at any Apple Store or Apple Reseller right?
A recall is not necessary. Just take some time and get it done. A small percentage of the batteries have an issue, Apple will fix it.
My battery was much worse than those pictured, and after I realized what was going on, I removed it. After sitting on my desk for a week, it got severely worse!
Luckily I was still under my one year warranty. I stopped by my local Apple Store, and with no questions asked, they gave me a new battery.
If you are still under warranty, I recommend doing the same!
I've had a Dell D600 for several years now...and I have to say it's one of the most reliable machines I have ever owned. And the Dell service is incredible! I had the in-house repair service and my Bluetooth module stopped working. A Dell service agent arrived at my house with a new Bluetooth module and mother board. Replaced both and now everything is working again.
I personally own over a dozen working Dell computers from Pentium Pro 200 to my pair of XEON 3.4ghz slim desktops....and have had no issues with any of them. No support issues, no repair issues...no issues at all...I truely believe that people make their own problems and this is mostly true when dealing with technical items like computers!
Ed
web/gadget guru
I had a swelling battery with my 17" MacBook Pro last week and took it to the Apple Store in Bondi Junction Sydney. They just replaced it for a new one as it was under warranty. It was quite painless. I have had HP (cracked case), IBM (HDD failure), Dell (lcd problems), Gateway (HDD failure) and Sony(CPU failure) laptops. My next laptop will be an Apple. The software is so much better and more than makes up for the issue I had with the battery.
For #1 - my wife has a white Macbook since last year this time and it's been flawless. No overheatings, random shutdowns, and it's still bright white.
Do yourself and stick away from Dell - their machines at ALL levels ARE GARBAGE!!!!
I'd also stay away from the low end - most of those sub $1k machines are not durable for real business use. There is a reason why there are business and consumer class machines!
"I've had a Dell D600 for several years now."
Sorry to hear that. Where I work we did a stint with Dell on the Desktop and had some D600/800's. UTTER GARBAGE in every way, from the creaking, deforming plastic to the warped cases to the keyboard that felt like it was held in place with foam pads.
Dell makes JUNK, plain and simple. I won't even discuss the 2 Dell servers we had nor the "Business desktops" that are utter GARBAGE.
But they sure keep the techs busy.
I've had a MBP C2D for 2 months now, problem free --- it's actually still in mint condition after heavy use.
If a few bad ones = OMG FEARRR DONT BUY!!?!!!!!!11!!!one!!
does
a lot of good experiences = POMG BUY TWO, ONE FOR EACH HAND?S?!
same problem here...
http://www.electrobeans.de/archiv/2007/04/aufgeblasene_macbook_pro_17zol.html
:-(
To the Engadget staff,
Very nice, unbiased reporting about the problem. No quips or snide remarks. Now let's see you do the same for a non Apple product please.
Thanks!
Mike, you're kidding right?
http://www.engadget.com/search/?q=sony%20battery
Thomas
Our CEO had this happen just this morning.
this same thing happend to my ipod nano battery, and it poped the back case right off.
Hmm.
So Apple sold a million or two laptops, and a few of them developed problems. How surprising. Get a clue guys. That’s what a warranty is for.
It’s not as if this guy didn’t know his battery was having a problem as he seems to have been waiting “a few weeks” for it to do this, probably just so he can gain his 5 min of fame blogging about it. Pathetic.
Why didn’t he just RMA it?