View Full Version : YIKES !! MacBook exploding battery syndrome !!
Took my daughter back to Uni today so she could complete some essays for submission in the morning.
Got an urgent FT request this evening - turns out her MacBook Pro (2012) had suddenly started to expand around the touchpad area and the body was buckling.
Fortunately she shares a ground floor flat with a small back garden so I told her to take it out there immediately and dump it in the middle of it well away from fences and building.
After this I did some rapid Googling and found out these things can fucking explode ... WTF !!!
Appears Apple's advice on this has been somewhat laconic (to say the least) and this was simply a 'design feature' and that they recommend replacing the battery EVERY FUCKING YEAR at a cost of about £150 !!!
WTF !! (again)
Since when has a potentially life threatening flaw been a 'design feature' FFS and why didn't they tell us this not insignificant fact when we bought the overpriced fucking thing from the Apple store !!
Sorry - rant over .... but WTF !!!
Absolutely disgraceful!!. You would think a company such as Apple would design top notch gear, especially with the prices they charge. Thankfully your daughter wasn't hurt. I had similar experience with a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone, It got very hot both when charging and even when I tried to use it. I later found out Samsung knew there was a problem, some people had actually been burned by their phone but Samsung did nothing about it, just tried to hush it up and wheel out the S5 ahead of schedule.
Absolutely disgraceful!!. You would think a company such as Apple would design top notch gear, especially with the prices they charge.
Absolutely !!
Also incomprehensible and worrying that all the swelling apparently occurred while it was switched off and with her luggage in the boot while we were travelling up there (a two hour trip) If the thing had decided to ignite while we were on the motorway and emit noxious fumes (which is apparently what actually can and does happen !!!) lord knows what the consequences could have been.
Fortunately (as you mention) no one was hurt and no significant harm was done ... but I shudder to think if she hadn't needed it and simply left it in her bag overnight :eek:
Took my daughter back to Uni today so she could complete some essays for submission in the morning.
Got an urgent FT request this evening - turns out her MacBook Pro (2012) had suddenly started to expand around the touchpad area and the body was buckling.
Fortunately she shares a ground floor flat with a small back garden so I told her to take it out there immediately and dump it in the middle of it well away from fences and building.
After this I did some rapid Googling and found out these things can fucking explode ... WTF !!!
Appears Apple's advice on this has been somewhat laconic (to say the least) and this was simply a 'design feature' and that they recommend replacing the battery EVERY FUCKING YEAR at a cost of about £150 !!!
WTF !! (again)
Since when has a potentially life threatening flaw been a 'design feature' FFS and why didn't they tell us this not insignificant fact when we bought the overpriced fucking thing from the Apple store !!
Sorry - rant over .... but WTF !!!
Absolute disgrace
I think id be getting in touch with Apple.
See what they say or put it on social media so everyone is aware.
You don't want to hear of some poor kid injured because of the same issue.
Id be as angry as f*#k if it were my kid.
Steve
A batch of duff batteries no doubt. Alas this does seem to happen now and then. Its sad although predictable that apple will avoid being honest about it
Would have been extremely dangerous if your daughter had been flying at the time
Apple need to sort problems like this and be more open about defects, after all they are quite expensive machines
Steve
https://qz.com/1258843/macbook-pro-battery-recall-apple-ends-a-bad-week-by-announcing-faults-in-some-laptops/
there was an issue before with expanding batteries...
Audio Al
08-01-2019, 09:07
Its not only apple :(
I suspect some cheap China-sourced PSUs to be the root cause of this. If that's what Apple are using, and charging £150 for, it's not on. You can't take chances with people's safety. Mike, glad your daughter was ok!
Thankfully I've had no such issues with my Mac, and it's left powered up for many hours every day, but I'll certainly watch out for anything untoward.
Marco.
mightymonoped
08-01-2019, 09:15
https://qz.com/1258843/macbook-pro-battery-recall-apple-ends-a-bad-week-by-announcing-faults-in-some-laptops/
there was an issue before with expanding batteries...
The expanding battery issue is not as uncommon as you would think, although it tends to be gradual, over time. Usually manifests itself as problems with the touchpad and will eventually show itself as bending in the chassis if left long enough. Quality of replacement batteries is a bit of a lottery too, unless you go via the extortionate Apple replacement service. Reliability has ever been the compromise of laptop aesthetics/ergonomics and it continues to be so. Even more frustrating is the inability to customise or upgrade the latest models due to 'hard-wiring' of key components and general inaccessibility for the sake of slimline design.
Ali Tait
08-01-2019, 09:25
I suspect some cheap China-sourced PSUs to be the root cause of this. If that's what Apple are using, and charging £150 for, it's not on. You can't take chances with people's safety. Mike, glad your daughter was ok!
Thankfully I've had no such issues with my Mac, and it's left powered up for many hours every day, but I'll certainly watch out for anything untoward.
Marco.
Appears to be only the 13” without Touch Bar that’s affected.
Appears to be only the 13” without Touch Bar that’s affected.
Nope - if you do a bit of digging it appears it can affect any laptop from Apple (and probably others) from at least the last ten years and right up to the present.
Its an inherent risk to all laptops fitted with Lithium Polymer or Lithium Ion batteries.
Apparently you should get a built in warning that the battery is 'due for replacement' but its can also occur quite suddenly and without warning.
Actual occurrences are also a lot more common than I expected but have not been really openly acknowledged as a threat by Apple until very recently.
Even then, they made it appear to be a limited issue .....
It’s not just Apple. Remember the burning Dell laptops? Then there’s the Boeing Dreamliner battery’s, Samsung and Nokia phones. That hover board thing etc etc. Anything that has a Lithium battery has a potential to explode or burn, it’s the nature of them...oh Tesla as well, try not to crash. Talk to RC enthusiasts who use fast charging techniques for their batteries and the issues there of.
I have a feeling MacBooks may have a longer use life than a similar windows laptop in that they are in single ownership for longer as they are expensive to start with and continue to be usable for a long time. My 2011 MBA is still going strong (it’s on its second battery) unlike my Dell latitude which became unusable after 3 years.
I suspect some cheap China-sourced PSUs to be the root cause of this. If that's what Apple are using, and charging £150 for, it's not on.
Most (if not all) of what Apple sell is 'made in China' - and has been for a long, long time.
sq225917
08-01-2019, 11:13
But let's not forget that the one under discussion here is 6 years old. Mines' 9 years old, been on 24-7 stills holds 93% charge
Most (if not all) of what Apple sell is 'made in China' - and has been for a long, long time.
Yeah, that's fine as long as they're not cutting corners unsafely on the bit that supplies mains power to the unit, just as often happens with Chinese valve amps.
Marco.
But let's not forget that the one under discussion here is 6 years old. Mines' 9 years old, been on 24-7 stills holds 93% charge
True - which is why I have always been happy to pay over the odds in the first place.
Longevity is one of the key reasons I have been using Macs since 1993.
My first Mac iBook G3 lasted about 12 years, albeit with a replacement (original) battery; only stopped using it when it became redundant tech.
Safety and reliability have also been other deciding factors and the main driver when we bought the MPB for my daughter (despite the high price).
What I never expected was for it to die in such a spectacular fashion :eek:
I had heard rumours of swelling batteries in MacBooks (I had a similar experience with a 'refurbed' iPhone off ebay) so always assumed it affected ones that had also been 'refurbished' with dodgy after-market parts and never paid it much heed.
More fool me it seems ... yet another nail in the coffin of the trust in Apple that I (mistakenly) had.
Just to add closure to this sorry tale on a relatively high note.
I assembled a range of suitable small screw drivers today and sent them off to daughter and also emailed links to good 'how to' pages so she could remove the hard drive before some enterprising soul broke the back gate lock and legged it with the conspicuous looking laptop in the back garden.
As luck would have it, her boyfriend was visiting from London and between them, and with the sole aid of a small phillips screwdriver that came (literally) from a christmas cracker, they managed to get the bottom plate off and remove the hard drive.
Unfortunately they couldn't remove the battery and save the rest of the MacBook because Apple (in their infinite wisdom) have secured it with tri-point headed screws ... presumably to stop consumers replacing batteries themselves and instead be tied to Apple's ludicrous replacement charges .....GRRRR !!
Absolutely disgraceful!!. You would think a company such as Apple would design top notch gear, especially with the prices they charge. .
Why would they want to do that?
They have people queuing down the street to buy overpriced substandard gear, why waste money making it last longer?
montesquieu
09-01-2019, 21:50
Apple laptops in general have in the past lasted hugely longer in usable condition (ie fast enough for hard working professional use) than even the highest-spec PC laptops. I've seen the wife go through a succession of high end Sonys and Lenovos with touch screens and the like, while my last two Macbooks (13in Macbook Pro from mid 2009, and a 2011 15in Macbook Pro, just go on and on forever. Both have had replacement batteries and no issues other than occasionally losing rubber pads or screws from the back. (They do need tightened up now and again). The 2012 Macbook should be a very good machine as it was made before the brand hit the skids.
Sadly, there are clear signs that Apple started to go down the pan even before Jobs died - the whole thing with dongles where they keep changing/removing connection options, building phones where the camera sticks out in a stupid way (early lenses were flush), and generally doing stupid things like the touch ribbon. They have lost control of their supply chain (as well as their design integrity) in a never-ending quest to increase their margins (hence the doubling of the price of the most expensive iPhone since only 2015), and these quality control issues such as described above. I would be absolutely furious too.
I'm curious though - if this is a 2012 laptop then it's likely to have had at least one battery replacement - was it bought new or a few years back as a refurb from the Apple store? There are a lot of fake 'Apple' batteries around so just buying a battery off ebay and sticking it in is not the best idea. With genuine batteries I really don't think they would need replacement annually.
It's a shame as Apple has pretty much always had THE state of the art laptop to have (the original Luggable from 1989 excepted which was a total turkey) ... I've owned Macs since 1985, the year after the Mac came out, and never been without at least one ever since. I even worked for them for back in the 90s. I've owned pretty much all of the iconic desktop and laptop models (such as the SE30, IIfx, the original Apple Powerbook, the early iMac, the G4 desktop) though I didn't get into the iPhone till the 4S, being stuck with a corporate Blackberry till then. Their reputation for quality used to be absolutely deserved. Not any longer though.
I'm curious though - if this is a 2012 laptop then it's likely to have had at least one battery replacement - was it bought new or a few years back as a refurb from the Apple store? There are a lot of fake 'Apple' batteries around so just buying a battery off ebay and sticking it in is not the best idea. With genuine batteries I really don't think they would need replacement annually..
It was bought new from Apple Store when my daughter was doing her O levels. Hindsight is always 20/20 and sure enough reading back there have been recent symptoms of what was to come (sticking touchpad among others) and a replacement battery would likely have avoided this - eBay would not have been the route for this either way given my own experience with 'refurbished' iPhones (in each case mildly disastrous). The note about annual replacement came from Apple themselves apparently in response to someone with similar problems with a 2015 15inch Pro Retina model.
I mentioned it earlier, but like you I have a long connection with a wide range of Apple products (my first one was a Performa back in '93) and opted for a MacBook because I general trusted them to provide high quality, albeit at a cost. That said, I am not a complete fanboy and there have always been (usually well concealed) underlying weaknesses in their product lines. Peripherals, in my view, have almost all been more gloss than substance and I stopped buying keyboards, mice, charging leads, etc. from them a long time ago because most of them are quite frankly poorly made and ill-functioning shite.
Also agree that they have been in rapid decline for some time now and their more recent design strategies (soldered in memory, glued batteries, etc) mean that my current Mac Mini 2012 is likely to be the last Mac desktop machine I will own.
AJSki2fly
09-01-2019, 22:34
I don’t quite understand this, you buy a MacBook presumably around 2012, and it is now 6 years old and I would guess that it has been charged and discharged rather a lot and from what you say and has never had the battery replaced. If I recall correctly Apple said these models were ok for around 500-600 charges and should be replaced around that. I believe most users will charge their machines around 150 times a year, so it’s probably well beyond that.
montesquieu
09-01-2019, 22:40
It was bought new from Apple Store when my daughter was doing her O levels. Hindsight is always 20/20 and sure enough reading back there have been recent symptoms of what was to come (sticking touchpad among others) and a replacement battery would likely have avoided this - eBay would not have been the route for this either way given my own experience with 'refurbished' iPhones (in each case mildly disastrous). The note about annual replacement came from Apple themselves apparently in response to someone with similar problems with a 2015 15inch Pro Retina model.
I mentioned it earlier, but like you I have a long connection with a wide range of Apple products (my first one was a Performa back in '93) and opted for a MacBook because I general trusted them to provide high quality, albeit at a cost. That said, I am not a complete fanboy and there have always been (usually well concealed) underlying weaknesses in their product lines. Peripherals, in my view, have almost all been more gloss than substance and I stopped buying keyboards, mice, charging leads, etc. from them a long time ago because most of them are quite frankly poorly made and ill-functioning shite.
Also agree that they have been in rapid decline for some time now and their more recent design strategies (soldered in memory, glued batteries, etc) mean that my current Mac Mini 2012 is likely to be the last Mac desktop machine I will own.
I can just imagine if my daughter had similar issues. They do on on and on so there's no obvious reason to change the battery while it's all working well. Total bummer.
Is this something that is just applicable to the apple brand as it seems they have a tendency to have battery issues. Only last month a neighbour of ours had to take his iphone in for "battery issues" and the guy asked him to leave the store immediately...., pointing to the burn on the carpet.... explaining that the burn was due to a battery explosion..... it seems a tell tale indicator is if the battery swells and the casing starts to part.... his phone was like "bulging" ..... very serious situation and one which I would of thought should be looked at in a better way by not only the manufacturers but also the governing bodies.... surely, these items have to pass stringent tests etc.... I do know that Germany has some tough tests relating to items used on vehicles TUV etc...
Its all very concerning and something that I hope I don't come across, especially seen as 99% of put these phones next to our heads.... and sit in front of these laptops etc...
br
Lou
RobbieGong
09-01-2019, 22:53
It was bought new from Apple Store when my daughter was doing her O levels. Hindsight is always 20/20 and sure enough reading back there have been recent symptoms of what was to come (sticking touchpad among others) and a replacement battery would likely have avoided this - eBay would not have been the route for this either way given my own experience with 'refurbished' iPhones (in each case mildly disastrous). The note about annual replacement came from Apple themselves apparently in response to someone with similar problems with a 2015 15inch Pro Retina model.
I mentioned it earlier, but like you I have a long connection with a wide range of Apple products (my first one was a Performa back in '93) and opted for a MacBook because I general trusted them to provide high quality, albeit at a cost. That said, I am not a complete fanboy and there have always been (usually well concealed) underlying weaknesses in their product lines. Peripherals, in my view, have almost all been more gloss than substance and I stopped buying keyboards, mice, charging leads, etc. from them a long time ago because most of them are quite frankly poorly made and ill-functioning shite.
Also agree that they have been in rapid decline for some time now and their more recent design strategies (soldered in memory, glued batteries, etc) mean that my current Mac Mini 2012 is likely to be the last Mac desktop machine I will own.
You make some good observations Mike,
Can particulalry relate to the iPhone charging leads whcih always go in exactly the same area - as all the different images here show https://www.google.com/search?q=broken+iphone+charging+leads&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZl-SN4-HfAhVzAmMBHe55CJ8Q_AUIDygC&biw=1920&bih=938#imgrc=opDIZKOStR59eM:
Apple know this but have never ever looked to make what would be the simplist and cheapest of fixes / improvement to that area which always perishes.
Obvious why it has never ever been addressed - They charge around £20 a pop and the things last know time as I too well know due to my my daughters and wife having Apples.
They refuse to pay nearly £20 for an Apple replacement that will go exactky the same way sooner rather than later. :rolleyes:
I never got into the Apple thing, always been happy with the phones I've had, Nokia then Samsungs in the smart phone era.
Daughter wanted a Mac book for Uni, everything crossed so far no issues although only into her second year.
I don’t quite understand this, you buy a MacBook presumably around 2012, and it is now 6 years old and I would guess that it has been charged and discharged rather a lot and from what you say and has never had the battery replaced. If I recall correctly Apple said these models were ok for around 500-600 charges and should be replaced around that. I believe most users will charge their machines around 150 times a year, so it’s probably well beyond that.
Two things:
The MacBook was a 2012 model .... not sure if we bought it then or in 2013 but either way not particularly relevant. A product at that price point should have a reasonable lifespan.
Apples states a charge cycle of 1000 (not 600) after which the battery will gradually lose the ability to hold a charge .... what they do not say is 'after that it might blow up or destroy your laptop'
At 150 cycles p.a. that would mean that it could be approaching renewal 6 years in ... so by your reckoning it was certainly not 'well beyond' a likely renewal date. Having said that, the laptop was mainly used for study purposes and did not have the kind of demands placed on it that most would be subjected to. In common with a lot of young people in this day and age, my daughter used her phone for just about everything else ....
And again - I couldn't find any advice from Apple that I must renew the battery after 1000 cycles OR IT MIGHT BLOW UP nor did they make me aware of this when I shelled out the hard-earned on their webstore.
Hindsight is (as I said earlier) 20/20 but there were very few signs that this was likely to happen ... nor reasons to suspect it would.
montesquieu
10-01-2019, 00:27
Hindsight is (as I said earlier) 20/20 but there were very few signs that this was likely to happen ... nor reasons to suspect it would.
Agree totally it's pretty shabby. As I mentioned I have two Macbooks of similar vintage, the older 13in (2009) is semi-retired now (only used for streaming and the wife recently borrowed it for a few months while her top of the line Lenovo was in for a new touchscreen), the 15in (2011) is used daily. I whipped the DVD/CD drive out of both put an SSD drive that runs the OS and apps, the things really fly (no need for DVD internal really I have a boot system on memory stick for troubleshooting and an external DVD drive for when it's required). Both had new batteries about 5-6 years in, but symptoms were simply not holding charge - no buckling or bulging. This is a worry and there should be advisories out if it's a genuine risk.
The Macbooks from this era are so solidly built, and use processors that are still respectable today, that they just go on and on. It's a real shame to hear about the battery issue.
I don’t quite understand this, you buy a MacBook presumably around 2012, and it is now 6 years old and I would guess that it has been charged and discharged rather a lot and from what you say and has never had the battery replaced. If I recall correctly Apple said these models were ok for around 500-600 charges and should be replaced around that. I believe most users will charge their machines around 150 times a year, so it’s probably well beyond that.My iPhone will have been charged over a 1000 times. It got charged every day, sometimes twice if usi g it a lot.
It is still fine and still lasts as long as it did.
Problem seems to be with the polomer batteries.
Ive one lappy with a polomer so will be keeping a close eye on it
As I mentioned I have two Macbooks of similar vintage, .
Somewhere in the house I have one of these; still worked last time I tried it :)
https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/1/0509/24/mint-apple-newton-emate-laptop_1_d43c4c3762512fab727c1bc3b5491bdc.jpg
AJSki2fly
10-01-2019, 06:52
At 150 cycles p.a. that would mean that it could be approaching renewal 6 years in ... so by your reckoning it was certainly not 'well beyond' a likely renewal date. Having said that, the laptop was mainly used for study purposes and did not have the kind of demands placed on it that most would be subjected to. In common with a lot of young people in this day and age, my daughter used her phone for just about everything else ....
And again - I couldn't find any advice from Apple that I must renew the battery after 1000 cycles OR IT MIGHT BLOW UP nor did they make me aware of this when I shelled out the hard-earned on their webstore.
Hindsight is (as I said earlier) 20/20 but there were very few signs that this was likely to happen ... nor reasons to suspect it would.
As I said the average is around 150 a year, I did not say that was likely to be your daughters usage. You said she used it at school and through UNi, so it’s pretty likely it got charged virtually every day due to running the battery down during the day which would likely take it beyond 1000 cycles. Also a battery life cycle as defined by Apple is every time you charge it to 100% counts a 1 life. There is battery care guide on Apple site which explains this.
The 1000 cycle charge life relates to full cycle charges not each time you plug it in. IE if the battery is 50% charged and you charge it to 100% that is half a charge cycle, repeat it again and you now have 1 full charge cycle. Apple state an 80% battery charge retention at 1000 cycles and give a one year warranty. It’s also worth adding that high temperatures will also shorten the life of the battery.
Reiterating what I said earlier lithium batteries can explode, in any device, it’s not just Apple devices that are affected.
I'm sure the overwhelming majority of Apple device users are blissfully unaware of the battery care guide or whatever it is called, but of course Apple's vast posterior is well covered by it. I bet they could easily build in a feature that measured battery condition or number of charges to date and at least give a warning that things might take a drastic change for the worse if the battery wasn't checked out.
montesquieu
10-01-2019, 23:11
I'm sure the overwhelming majority of Apple device users are blissfully unaware of the battery care guide or whatever it is called, but of course Apple's vast posterior is well covered by it. I bet they could easily build in a feature that measured battery condition or number of charges to date and at least give a warning that things might take a drastic change for the worse if the battery wasn't checked out.
There is a clear message when battery needs replacement, in the battery menu visible at the top of the screen with every application ... indeed it's telling me now mine needs replacement even thought I'm still getting about 3-4 hours per charge and it's charging up nicely.
https://i.imgur.com/tgZyPHt.png
There are other third party utilities that show how many battery cycles - free or costing peanuts - that can be downloaded from the apple store, such as the one I use - you can see here that my battery has had over 1000 cycles, but actually is reasonably healthy by other measures. I go with this one rather than the overcautious Apple one.
https://i.imgur.com/kAYtDAw.png
walpurgis
10-01-2019, 23:43
Being realistic, the chances of your home being burnt down by a rogue incinerating battery are probably reasonably remote. However, if in doubt, bin it!
Fair comment Tom, but these involve a certain degree of awareness and monitoring that many will not have. You could argue that it's irresponsible of them not to check but as has been said the dangerous consequences of battery failure are hardly highlighted in advertising or at point of sale so it's understandable that people will generally not worry or hope for the best rather than fork out for an expensive (perceived) precautionary measure. A more proactive approach on the part of the manufacturer wouldn't go amiss - maybe 'replace battery soon' could be changed to a more alarming system generated message on the home page.
Being realistic, the chances of your home being burnt down by a rogue incinerating battery are probably reasonably remote. However, if in doubt, bin it!
This unfortunate chap didn't get time to get it in the bin ....
https://medium.com/@dourvaris/my-2015-macbook-pro-retina-exploded-119ea5ea9d1f
And for the sake of balance: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v78U6xPGdB0
I’m sure Dell’s equally as large backside was adequately covered in this instance as well
Fair comment Tom, but these involve a certain degree of awareness and monitoring that many will not have. You could argue that it's irresponsible of them not to check but as has been said the dangerous consequences of battery failure are hardly highlighted in advertising or at point of sale ...
Or not all in fact ... I am very much aware of Apple's Support pages and have used them regularly pretty much since getting my first Apple products (and the internet) back in the '90s but this is typical of their half hearted approach to key safety issues relating to Lithium battery use and repeated in other areas linked to at the bottom of the page I have quoted from (although to be fair it's actually better than most manufacturers I've encountered)
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201585
About battery cycles
"When you use your Mac notebook, its battery goes through charge cycles. A charge cycle happens when you use all of the battery’s power—but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge.
For example, you could use half of your notebook's charge in one day, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two. In this way, it might take several days to complete a cycle.
Batteries have a limited amount of charge cycles before they're considered to be consumed. Once consumed, a replacement battery is recommended.*You can use your battery after it reaches its maximum cycle count, but you might notice a reduction in your battery life.*
Knowing how many charge cycles your battery has and how many are left can help you determine when a battery replacement is required. For best performance, replace your battery when you reach its maximum cycle count."
(emphasis added)
dave2010
12-01-2019, 09:36
And for the sake of balance: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v78U6xPGdB0
I’m sure Dell’s equally as large backside was adequately covered in this instance as wellI'm sitting typing this with my 2013 MBP on my knee! Currently it's plugged in to the charger. I did have a replacement battery last year.
I don't think it's only Apple kit which has this kind of problem, but videos like the Lenovo one here show that things can go bad rather rapidly. I have noticed my MBP getting hot sometimes, and the suggestions in the video here make some sort of sense.
1. Don't charge a computer on a sofa or other fabric surface.
indeed preferably
1b. Don't leave a computer on a sofa or other fabric surface at all.
Always use a hard surface - as this allows air to get in to the case, and if necessary the fans can pull in more air.
I'm not sure about the charging cycles.
2. Don't leave the computer connected to the charger for long periods.
I'm not quite sure about this. I often have mine charging overnight (on a hard surface), and I use it quite frequently while connected to the charger to relieve the strain on the battery.
I am used to the heat issue - warms my legs, but exploding --- that's something I wouldn't want to happen.
Ouch!
So should we all go back to using desktop machines? I could, but I've gradually been shifting to laptops and tablets for everyday use.
i usually use my laptops with battery out. my new one doesnt charge it if near full either so it just runs off the psu.
dave2010
13-01-2019, 08:38
i usually use my laptops with battery out. my new one doesnt charge it if near full either so it just runs off the psu.Maybe I'll start using mine more often with the psu rather than off the battery - though that would be a reversal of recent trends.
It's worrying that this could happen randomly, and if I travel I do take mine on aircraft. Couldn't do without it sometimes. What would happen if one exploded in an overhead locker? If airlines stopped these (as they did with one of the Galaxy phones), then I'd have to go by train to some locations, and perhaps even the railways would stop taking them.
Presumably statistically the chances of major problems are very low, but it does seem that although the probability of issues seems very low, that the consequences are rather severe.
I think I read somewhere that Toyota haven't so far been permitted to sell their hybrid or plug in cars in the UK with their most advanced batteries, as not considered safe enough yet. The older Prius models used Ni-Mh batteries, which energy wise aren't as good as some of the lithium based ones. Unfortunately I can't find the link where I read that. I think it was about the different cars allowed in different countries - perhaps including the remaining (in all senses of the word!) EU ones.
dave2010
13-01-2019, 08:57
There are other third party utilities that show how many battery cycles - free or costing peanuts - that can be downloaded from the apple store, such as the one I use - you can see here that my battery has had over 1000 cycles, but actually is reasonably healthy by other measures. I go with this one rather than the overcautious Apple one.
https://i.imgur.com/kAYtDAw.pngBattery Health and Battery Health 2 are free. Battery Health 3 is more expensive almost a tenner.
Currently according to BH my battery is healthier than it was when made, and can store more charge.
I might watch the number of cycles more carefully, as based on that my battery might only last another 3 years if going to the suggested limit of 600 cycles.
The previous battery went beyond the point at which warnings were given about battery servicing, but finally the machine became erratic and would stop without warning, which forced me to go for a replacement - almost £200 IIRC. I was told that my battery was more expensive because of the i7 processor option.
However, if the machine is still going in 3-4 years (I hope so), then I hope that it will still be possible to install a new battery. The Apple Store people were rather good about this, as they detected a problem with the keyboard, and put in a new one FOC, so it was a good service after all.
They carry equipment on aircraft to contain battery fires from devices like this.
This is why you are not alllowed to put anything with a battery in the hold.
dave2010
14-01-2019, 22:45
I'm now wondering whether it might make sense to buy a spare charger, even at Apple's stupidly high prices (£79 the current price from the Apple Store), and to run my MBP mostly connected to the charger. Assuming the computer will last a few more years, if it's going to cost £200 every few years to replace the battery, then it might make sense to minimise the number of battery cycles. However, it's probably not a sensible economic proposition, though I'd be sad to lose this computer, and for it to fail because of battery issues in a couple of years time.
Those battery health monitor apps show both good and bad news. My battery seems to be good, but the cycle count is higher than I'd have liked.
It’s not just related to apple. I had this issue on my HP laptop at work.
The battery swelled up, causing the rear cover to bulge.
It was replaced under warranty.
dave2010
11-02-2019, 14:45
Since reading this thread I've been tending to keep my MBP on charge more - to save the battery, and keep the cycle count down.
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