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Thread: YIKES !! MacBook exploding battery syndrome !!

  1. #41
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness

    Posts: 2,602
    I'm Dave.

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    Quote Originally Posted by struth View Post
    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.
    Dave

  2. #42
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness

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    I'm Dave.

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    Quote Originally Posted by montesquieu View Post
    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.

    Battery 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.
    Dave

  3. #43
    Join Date: May 2012

    Location: Toulouse, France

    Posts: 6,562
    I'm Kevin.

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    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.
    Kevin

    Too busy enjoying the music....

    European loan coordinator for Graham Slee HiFi system components..

  4. #44
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness

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    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.
    Dave

  5. #45
    Join Date: May 2012

    Location: Toulouse, France

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    I'm Kevin.

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    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.
    Kevin

    Too busy enjoying the music....

    European loan coordinator for Graham Slee HiFi system components..

  6. #46
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness

    Posts: 2,602
    I'm Dave.

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    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.
    Dave

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