YIKES !! MacBook exploding battery syndrome !!

[mikmas]

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]

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]

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.

[jbl4355]

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]

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=brok...pDIZKOStR59eM:

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.

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.

[mikmas]

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]

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.

[struth]

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

[mikmas]

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

[AJSki2fly]

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.