MacBook Pro battery flies off the handle, busts wide open
By Darren Murph 
posted November 11th 2009 12:23PM
posted November 11th 2009 12:23PM
posted November 11th 2009 12:23PM
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I totally don't believe this!
why?
I'll take this time to remind everyone that users cannot easily replace the batteries in the uni-body Macbooks. I hope this doesn't happen to Macbook owners in a few years!
Maybe, Just Maybe...
Had the computer been designed with an easily removable battery, the expansion/explosion we see here would have simply resulted in a 'popped -off' battery door rather than complete destruction of the underside of the unit.
Personally, I find these non-removable batteries to be more trouble than they're worth.
Correction:
I understand now that it was merely the battery that sustained damage (older model).
In that case... WHOA - Good thing the user acted quickly and yanked that sucker out before the entire computer bit it!
This actually happened to me w/my work computer (Mac Book Pro) photo off the battery can be found here:
http://twitpic.com/4jibj
Don't worry, there is an app for this, Apple employees all have access to iBlame. the easiest app for assigning blame to someone else.
This has happened to my mbp 17 3 times. I have pictures from all 3 times, i will send them in tonight. I currently have 2 batteries that look like they are going to explode at home.
Lithium-ion batteries of all types have failures its just a fact not just Apple.
As for Macbook batteries mine is on 588 cycles and still charges to 4607 mHA down from 5020 mHA.
The trick to keep a battery going is to actually use is and not have the Laptop plugged in all the time (this is not actually difficult with the macbook as the magsafe connector is always coming out when you use it on your lap)
This happened to me last week only it didn't explode, it just put so much pressure on my laptop that the mouse wouldn't click anymore and it did not sit level. I pulled out the battery and watched it grow over a couple of days. Finally made it in to see a Genius at the Apple store and they replaced the battery with no hastle what so ever (and my apple care had expired.)
I have the same MBP and my battery swelled pretty bad, but thankfully I took it in before it exploded. It's scary using laptops these days...
'Just works' ...
This is news all of a sudden how? My Crapbook Pros have been doing this for years.
"wide open"? -- the battery didn't explode or anything. didn't it do exactly what we want faulty batteries to do? i.e. basically implode and retain the energy by expanding as their designed to, versus exploding all over us?
Now with the unibody models you can benefit from the whole machine exploding.
This battery looks like the ones that were recalled due to Sony's manufacturing error back in 2006 (which affected batteries used by all major manufacturers, not just Apple). Since the article does not provide any history of the battery, or clear images of the part and serial numbers, I am unable to decalre who to blame (if this was one of the recalled ones, and you failed to exchange it, it's your own damn fault, DumAss). I would also like to point out that this failure was relatively 'tame', since it did not shred the outer case, just expanded it. Look up the same failure with a Lenovo machine, which actually melted the (plastic) case and accelerated shrapnel outwards. The latter would have injured you if the laptop were on your lap. The Apple failure probably not.
That said, those are Li-Ion batteries which are inherently unsafe and need internal intelligent electronics to ensure safe operation. They have multiple failure points, and I am surprised that we do not see more events like that from other manufacturers which do not employ intelligent charging strategies like Apple (I know Apple does provide the proper charging protocol). Then again, we should all be aware that there's a lot of cherry-picking going on, and that Apple failures are mentioned more often than other manufacturers. You cannot provide a proper statistics or shift blame based on such anecdotal evidence.
Further, the inherent unsafety of Li-Ion triggered Apple's recent battery change. The difficult-by-user-replacable, internal batteries Apple uses now are Li-Poly batteries which do not have those safety problems (due to a much different electrolyte that cannot evaporate explosively). Li-Poly's do not need a stiff outer case to counteract the internal pressure from the electrolyte present in Li-Ions, for instance. It comes at a price, though: Li-Poly have lower energy density (hence the internal strategy, to maximize battery volume by kicking out space needed by the mechanical holding system), and are (still) more expensive.
Who are you kidding? Li-poly has many of the same inherent safety issues as previous li-ion battery designs. And they require intelligent charging/discharging circuits to prevent them from being over charged/discharged and bursting into flames too. When they do fail those flat plastic li-poly battery packs blow up like a ballon growing many times in volume, and if that now sausage shaped battery ruptures and lets oxygen in you can have a fast burning fire on your hands. I know, i fly them in electric R/C planes and have abused them to the point of failure...and the results are not pretty. But keep on kidding yourself that they are safer then cylindrical li-ion batteries. They are lighter & slimmer yes but just as dangerous when they fail. At least a few R/C hobbyists have lost a car to one of these batteries that kicked off after they went into the house and left their flying gear out in the car.
Surprise. A negative article about Apple and Windows fanboys bashing away.
Take THAT you Apple Fan Boyz!
My Lenovo has NEVER exploided.
Apple Poppers! Yum! NOT!
> Oh, and if this all-too-commonplace occurrence happens to you
> next, let's hope you aren't actually using your laptop on your, um, lap.
>
Why do you think that Apple calls them "portables" but never "laptops"?
@John - batteries are an expendable item, just like the brakes in your car. Until recently, they were designed to be recharged about 300 times. Your portable keeps track of this number, it's in the Apple Menu, System Preferences --> About This Mac --> More Info. Choose "Power" under "Hardware" and look for "Cycle Count". If it's above 300, even it it took less than a year to get there, the battery's not defective. It's just worn out.
"Until recently, they were designed to be recharged about 300 times."
That's wrong. There is nothing to design, and that number is not something a designer can play with. It's a technical limitation. The battery only can take that many recharges, and a Li-Ion battery like this also ages just sitting there, not being used.
I can only advise people to take the status display and warnings of the software seriously.
Just glad no one got hurt. Battery = condensed bomb. Who knows when it is going to go off. People have tried their best to protect consumers from them, but heck there will always be faulty cases. (eg china made). hahaha
Its a good thing that's an external, user replaceable battery....
I love how these people say they pay the Apple Tax because of Apple's superior build quality, attention to detail and quality control...but when their batteries start exploding they justify it by pointing out that they are the same exact components used by Dell/HP/Acer etc. and they have the same problems with them too. Um, OK. What did you pay the Apple Tax for again?
I've gone through 2 batteries for my 17" 2nd generation MBP. The last one bulged so much the track pad button wouldn't work.
Both were replaced without a hassle.
Mine didn't explode, but it was well on the way. The battery from my 17" MacBook Pro (non-unibody) started expanding and I first noticed when my laptop started wobbling side to side on the desk. I called Apple and was first told that Apple wouldn't take fault for my batteries malfunction so they weren't going to replace it. I called back the next day "fearful" that it might explode and I had a new battery the next day. Not the greatest situation but all in all they didn't take too long to correct the problem.
Ha, this just happened to my 17" Macbook Pro last week. It was only on cycle 323. Seems to be way to common.
We were recently sending back out of lease Apple Macbooks and here are 5 batteries that just wouldn't fit in the cases anymore.
http://tr.im/EM2k
We probably get a dozen of these each year. To put that in perspective we only have about 200 MacBooks.
Really, when is the last time you every set your laptop actually on your lap?
Thinking about it chemistry-wise, this is bound to happen. The lithium in these batteries is one of the most reactive elements known to man (it catches on fire when it touches water), so batteries are just time bombs waiting to explode if anything goes wrong.
Same thing happened to my 2+ year old MacBook Pro. Called Apple and they had a new battery out to me within a couple days. The best part is, I never purchased AppleCare when I bought the computer.
thats what happened in mine except it warped the laptop until the lid wouldn't close. i held onto the laptop that way for like a month (they had just announced the 15" unibody) so when the 17" unibody became available i had them replace the whole laptop. i purchased applecare but it was gonna expire in 4 months, waiting for the 3.06 ghz would have been cutting it really really close...
This is why I buy Thinkpad.
He avoided much pain.
So who's up for a class action?
My MBP battery also "exploded" out if it's casing. I have a spare, but most of the time, I am near an outlet so I just use my MBP without any battery in it at all and keep my spare battery for times that I really need it. Seems to have worked fine so far for almost a year now and it runs a lot cooler then when I had a battery in it. I also noticed that the fans went on all the time when I had a battery in it...I had to replace one. Since I have been using it sans battery, the fans barely go on at all. I have a sheet of plastic over the battery slot and keep a Speck case on the MBP so that no dust gets in.
It happened to me too a couple of months ago. Frustrated.
Even more frustrated by the way the Apple guy talked to me on the phone. He was basically saying, "buy a new one, dude! not a big deal!"
This does not surprise me at all. I am on my 3rd battery for my circa-2007 MB Pro 17". The previous two batteries both swelled up to the point of worthlessness, I presume because the computer runs hot as a damn electric stove. I havde to keep a "lap desk" between it and my lap.