MacBook Pro Batteries Swelling and Failing 388
JohnnyCakes writes "MacBook Pro batteries are apparently swelling, then failing. MacFixIt has some grotesque pictures of their own swollen MBP battery, which looks like it has suffered an internal explosion. Apple is replacing batteries on a case-by-case basis, but hasn't yet admitted any wide-scale issues."
Definitely issues with MacBook Pro batteries (Score:5, Interesting)
Then, there is the issue of some batteries swelling, slightly to severely. If this is shown to be heat related, it may be also related to the issue of too much thermal paste being applied during manufacturing [slashdot.org], thereby not allowing heat to be dissipated properly via the heatpipe and associated fans in a controlled fashion, but rather causing it to be dissipated in an uncontrolled way. Like, discharged into the interior of the case, affecting things like the battery.
The battery has definitely not suffered an "internal explosion", as the submitter speculates. This appears to occur over time to the batteries that do exhibit this issue, and it is by no means representative of the majority of MacBook Pro batteries. We've got plenty of MacBook Pros here, and we have yet to see one that exhibits this issue in a noticeable way.
These issues have not yet been acknowledged by Apple. While Apple is actually, from a statistical and reporting standpoint according to consumer organizations like Consumer Reports, the best at responding to these types of problems, it generally does not respond to or acknowledge any problems unless it already has a solution (or there is a defined safety risk that meets the muster of an immediate recall (which this is not (no, really, it's not))).
When Apple does acknowledge and address the issue, if it is indeed determined to be widespread (and anecdotal blog evidence aside, there is no reason to believe it is), Apple does make it very easy to get a replacement. See the examples for the previous PowerBook and iBook battery exchanges here [apple.com]. Just type in the serial number, Apple sends you a new battery. In this instance, Apple is most definitely replacing batteries that have failed or swollen; so, the end result is that affected customers still get a new battery. And, in the event that there is any larger problem that hasn't been addressed by the battery OEM, if that battery were to fail, it has its own warranty under which it will be replaced as well.
In any event, further awareness of the problem may adjust Apple's priorities in addressing the heat and battery issues on the MacBook Pro. For the record, with regard to thermal paste, Apple applies this much thermal paste on the new MacBook as well, and in the service manual, they specifically state that it is the correct, intended, and verified amount of thermal paste to be applying (even though that's a ridiculous assertion). So there's obviously more going on there, and anyone who has ever worked in a massive manufacturing operation knows how long a simple procedural change like this can take, and everything else that's involved.
As an aside, from the level of coverage all of these "issues" receive with Apple products, I can't help but wonder if some people get the impression that Apple just turns out one shoddy product after another, when the reality is that Apple is generally and consistently considered to be the best in the entire industry for quality, need for repairs, technical support, and so on, above all other manufacturers.
Apple are shysters! (Score:5, Interesting)
http://money.guardian.co.uk/consumernews/story/0,
http://money.guardian.co.uk/howtocomplain/story/0
Now it's apparantly not just iPod batteries causing problems! Very amusing.
You must be new here. QWZX (Score:2, Interesting)
Apple is replacing batteries on a case-by-case basis, but hasn't yet admitted any wide-scale issues.
When has Apple EVER admitted to any wide-scale issues? They're notorious for sweeping problems under the rug and downplaying them. Only after people kick and scream with pitchforks do they grudingly admit to a "limited" problem, and sometimes they don't admit to it all but just quietly do away with the product (e.g., the cube Mac with the cracking case).
Re:Definitely issues with MacBook Pro batteries (Score:4, Interesting)
I feel like my MBP was definitely half-baked on release. Unfortunately, the kind of baking it is doing to itself now is not the solution. Ah, the perils of early adoption.
Why this makes me so angry... (Score:5, Interesting)
Before this year, I hadn't used an Apple since a IIe back in grade school. Why? Because most of my clients are office junkees, and it was just a heck of a lot easier to use windows in the interest of "compatibility". Then came news of the Wintel: a Mac that could do BOTH! I ran out and bought a MacBook Pro the week after they came out. Then my problems began...
I will skip the horror stories we have all read about, but needless to say the thing is hot, loud and the tech support people are still in denial about everything. I gave up, and down-graded to a MacBook instead. All in all, the MacBook is a solid machine and a quality value- but it still has MANY of the same problems (and a few all its own). In other words, things I consider unacceptable at $2,500 I view as "good enough" at $1,000. Then again, I've been using Dells for the last decade...silly me for thinking quality was a function of cost, eh?
I simply cannot understand why Apple would do this to itself. The iPod was a grand slam, and I was expecting these Mactels to DOUBLE Apple's market share in time for Vista. I had nothing but high hopes, which is probably why I am so disappointed now.
Bad metaphor time: I come visit you the day a family member dies. Mom is crying. Dad is drunk. Sis is sneaking a cig. Unbenknownst to me, for 20 years your family has been normal and wonderful, but this is one hell of a shitty first impression. I tell myself "never again", and don't bother to return your phone calls next week.
In the end, Apple nets even because I bought a second MacBook for the fiance. However, the way I see it, they still LOST a potential $1,500- and probably one heck of a lot of Windows users who are less patient that I am.
Re:Definitely issues with MacBook Pro batteries (Score:5, Interesting)
So, (my anecdote)+(your something like an anecdote)=not much, right?
More than you believe (Score:5, Interesting)
personal experience (Score:3, Interesting)
Now, one of the laptops lost two fans within three weeks of ownership...but that's offtopic.
Re:Does /. have it in for Apple? (Score:5, Interesting)
Who is the battery supplier? (Score:3, Interesting)
Sad thing is that Apple gets the bad press over it.
Here's a much more disturbing photo [xlr8yourmac.com] of one of those batteries. It was posted on Accelerate Your Mac [xlr8yourmac.com] on June 15.
Re:Does /. have it in for Apple? (Score:2, Interesting)
Hardly any other site that's not solely focused on Apple is as pro-Apple as Slashdot.
I've had comments modded down so often for even hinting that something could be wrong with Apple's strategy from time to time. Basically, either you're new around here and don't yet understand the nature of the site, or you're on Apple's pay roll.
Re:Definitely issues with MacBook Pro batteries (Score:3, Interesting)
I was contacted a few days later by Apple to inform me that the failure was due to spill damage... I was ticked. I knew I hadn't spilled anything on it, and I live alone (no kids, separated), and I RARELY have people over and hadn't since the Mac was bought. I escalated the complaint to Customer Relations, and they emailed me photos of the spill damage. I argued that that could have happened while it was in their custody, they held fast to their position. I asked how much the repairs would cost... just shy of $1000. I asked if they could do anything to reduce the cost, and the CR lady agreed to charge me 66% of the repair. I wasn't happy, but what can you do? I needed the machine back.
I got my machine back this Monday. They had replaced the lower case, the upper case, the keyboard, the inverter, the main logic board and sundry sensors. Basically, a brand-new machine, containing a few of the parts from my MBP... why do many parts replaced? Then I noticed that they said it was a covered repair, meaning I don't pay -- and they haven't charged my card.
I am guessing that upon further investigation / tech work, they found that the spill damage was just a small part of a bigger issue, and replaced all of the bad parts, and accepted that it was a warranty issue... they could still have charged me the agreed-upon $650, but didn't, even though I would have been none the wiser.
That restored my faith in Apple. And it's consistent with previous interactions with AppleCare.
Re:More than you believe (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Bad Mac Users! (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Huh? (Score:3, Interesting)
You don't have to. You can replace it yourself in 5 minutes instead of 30 seconds, the one time you'll need to do so every 2 to 4 years or so.
Or you can just not get an iPod, I suppose, if having a battery door is really that important to you.
And as for consumer benefit, don't you think there might be benefits in terms of size, weight, and unblemished, sleek appearance from not having to have battery doors or other access mechanisms? Because - and I hate to say this, because people don't seem to believe it - it WOULD be bigger and heavier. That's because it's not just a matter of having the back come off with screws. They'd need to design the innards such that the battery was physically segregated from the rest of the inside, likely requiring some tradeoffs that would increase size and weight, however slightly. If people want to think "Apple fucked up" or that this was done to make iPods disposable, they'd be completely wrong, for one (since the batteries can be replaced in myriad ways), and it would seem they'd also not be a good decisionmaker at Apple, since the decisions on the iPod so far have led to it having 92% share for portable music players.
Re:Bad Mac Users! (Score:3, Interesting)
And while this article is regarding batteries, the arguments are regarding first generation products, of which it would appear that the Intel iMacs have had little problems. The sweeping generalization that many people make about the status of quality regarding first generation products, whether they are Apple's, or any other company's products, is wrong.
No swelling, but mine did fail. (Score:3, Interesting)
My hardware:
First gen MacBook Pro 2.0 GHz (shipped the first week,) with 2 GB of RAM and the 7200 RPM hard drive. All firmware updates applied, running Boot Camp. (95% of the time in OS X, 5% in XP.)
My symptoms:
This whole process occurred over about two weeks.
So I took it to an Apple Store's Genius Bar, and they did some diagnostics, then finally declared it a bad battery. (The Genius hadn't heard of any company-acknowledged failures that covered this.) Swapped my battery for a brand new one (straight off the sales shelf,) and went on my way. (I bought a second at the same time, simply because I had been wanting a second battery anyway.)
Re:Early stories (Score:3, Interesting)
The problem is that in some cases temporary infertility leads to permanent sterility. In order to sell this drug as a male contraceptive pill they would have to do extremely lengthy and expensive studies to provide that it works as such, and it is not entirely unlikely that they would have to stop selling it in the interim. (The current status could "require" reevaluation.)
The drug I really want is melanotan, or alpha-MSH. There was an article about it in wired a while back, which prompted me to do additional research. Basically, it was originally intended to do what normal MSH, or Melanocyte Stimulating Hormon does; stimulate melanin production, causing darker skin, and increased resistance to UV. (Melanin is metallic.) It has two side effects; it suppresses appetite, and increases sexual desire. Wired's tagline was "Thin! Tan! Hotter than hell!" Sounds perfect to me. Now I'm just waiting for it to hit the market SOMEWHERE so I can internet-order it :) Unfortunately it's been continually delayed, and the reason given is the sexual appetite improvements. Mind-boggling.
We use LiPo batteries for radio control planes... (Score:5, Interesting)
Then there's the whole cottage industry of R/C flyers buying 'bare cells' and soldering together frankenstein combinations of cells in series and parallel to get the perfect size/voltage/weight battery for the plane we are building.
So in other words it comes as no surprise to me that LiPos in consumer products are swelling (and exploding) as the capacities and loads are increased, and as manufacturing perhaps gets shoddier as supply demand increases.
As I mention here [gadgetophile.com], the more power you need, the more energy you need to store in a battery, and the higher the likelihood of some sort of catastrophic failure.
Re:Definitely issues with MacBook Pro batteries (Score:2, Interesting)
I call bullshit on this. The only rebate on the iPods is the back to school sale (going on now). There hasn't been any other rebate on the nano since it came out.
Additionally, when an iPod needs replacement in the Apple Store, we have them on hand and simply give you a new one. The only time you have to wait, is when we don't have the part on hand. In that case we order a new part and you come back _with the nano_ to get a replacement (aka we don't send anything out).
Heat issues - Windows sharing (Score:5, Interesting)
For what it's worth, I found that my Mac Book Pro was running hot, and was consistently idling at 40% cpu activity, when there didn't seem to be anything consuming that much cpu as far as top was telling me.
It appears to have been caused by having Windows Sharing turned on. It was using that many cycles even when I was at home with no Windows machines on the network.
When I turned off Windows Sharing, the cpu usage dropped to single digits, and the laptop has been running much cooler.
Your mileage may vary, of course, but it might be something worth looking at if your laptop runs hot.
Re:Early stories (Score:3, Interesting)