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iPad Pro Is this a Battery Issue? Cost to Fix?

choreo

choreo

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 10, 2008
910
358
Midland, TX
My 2015 MacBook Pro just went back to Apple because the battery started to swell up - bending the case and messing up the trackpad - otherwise the battery appeared to be working fine.

So, since my laptop is on the way to Apple to get fixed, I decided to switch over to my 2016 iPad Pro. I have always kept my iPad Pro plugged in since I bought it, but I rarely use it. I unplugged it and took it over to my recliner, opened the cover and it showed battery at 100% (as would be expected). I did some work and then noticed the battery was down to 85%, so I closed the cover and put it back on the charger. After an hour, I unplugged it to resume work and when I opened the cover it would not come on. I removed the magnetic cover completely and noticed that the screen had separated from the shell (no idea how long it has been like that or if it just happened tonight)! IT LOOKED JUST LIKE MY LAPTOP THAT I JUST SENT BACK TO APPLE TODAY FOR REPAIR WHERE ITS BATTERY EXPANDED!

Only one side of the screen has separated - I never would have noticed it had I not taken off the magnetic cover.

I then plugged the iPad back on to the charger and after about 30-seconds it came on and it showed battery was at 15%?

The iPad works fine as long as it has power.

So is this the battery? What should it cost to fix it?

See photos:

IMG_0738.jpg
IMG_0741.jpg
 
I feel like your main problem is obsessive charging for both your MacBook and iPad. If you constantly keep it on charge that means the battery is at a higher voltage most of its life time. It’ll degrade faster.
 
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The Game 161 said:
I’ve never done it but many people I know have taken it to places and had no issues. I can see why as apples prices are expensive
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I don’t know if Apple would touch that bulging battery iPad though. That’s a waiting fire hazard.
 
Just got off Chat Session with Apple Tech Support and showed them the photos. They said they will repair it and are sending me a return box.
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Just out of curiosity, how do they separate the case from the screen to access the battery? Heat?
 
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choreo said:
Just got off Chat Session with Apple Tech Support and showed them the photos. They said they will repair it and are sending me a return box.
[automerge]1590020241[/automerge]
Just out of curiosity, how do they separate the case from the screen to access the battery? Heat?
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Yep it has to be heat to melt the glue.
 
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Received a 'replacement" today. I guess they could not fix mine after all? Looks like they sent me an identical unit as best as I can tell. Not sure if it is a refurb or not?
 
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akash.nu said:
I feel like your main problem is obsessive charging for both your MacBook and iPad. If you constantly keep it on charge that means the battery is at a higher voltage most of its life time. It’ll degrade faster.
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I don’t know if this is true or not, but if it is, it would indicate that Apple battery charging management is very bad.
Intelligent chargers can nurse a battery left plugged in all of the time.

Can‘t blame the OP for assuming Apple should be able to appropriately control the battery charging of their devices.
I leave my MBP plugged in 24/7 like I have done with every laptop I have owned all my life (a lot of laptops).
Never had a battery doing anything stupid like that.
 
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I guess with the introduction of the Battery Management feature in the latest Catalina update, that is sort of an admission that something was overlooked in recent past. I don't recall seeing a warning on my devices saying to not leave them plugged in. The big question is why did they not make the new battery management feature retroactive to the devices where this problem started? Is it because they are off warranty and want to force people into buying a newer model? Bad enough that these batteries are not easily user replaceable, but I have never seen any batteries swell up and start fires in some cases.
 
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I'm fairly certain it is fine to leave it plugged in all the time, ideally, its best to let it get to 50% then charge to not fully discharge it.
 
Natzoo said:
I'm fairly certain it is fine to leave it plugged in all the time, ideally, its best to let it get to 50% then charge to not fully discharge it.
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Well, my Brother and I have kept our MacBook Pros and iPad Pros from 2015 & 2016 plugged in all the time and 100% have failed with swollen batteries at about 3 years.
 
In the past, batteries tend to do better with actual usage - (this applies today as well) - but today the software management of the battery is a lot better and helps mitigate the problems of always leaving it charged.

I think Apple underestimates how many people leave their devices plugged in all the time (I'm one of them).

I've never had a battery swell and I've had quite a few Apple devices for the last 10 years - but I know people who have.
 
BigMcGuire said:
I think Apple underestimates how many people leave their devices plugged in all the time (I'm one of them).
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Most of the time my MBP is in clamshell mode, so I don’t really have a choice anyway other than keeping it plugged in.
Loads of people use their MBP this way.
 
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AutomaticApple said:
I'm also one of them, but I have learned my mistakes and I think that'll change once I get the 2020 iPad Pro.
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What would you do different, I would think its bad to constantly discharge it to 10% and charge. Would you recommend charging it once it hits 30-40% and let apple software do its thing and let it rest at 80% for a bit.
 
Natzoo said:
What would you do different, I would think its bad to constantly discharge it to 10% and charge. Would you recommend charging it once it hits 30-40% and let apple software do its thing and let it rest at 80% for a bit.
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You don’t have to be that specific, just don’t keep it plugged in all the time.
 
My experience is as follows with regards to this topic:

I have a 2009 MBP and about 6 years ago I leant it to a friend for a year. She used it as a desktop computer - leaving it plugged in 24/7. When I got it back I came home and turned it on and the battery in the taskbar had an exclamation mark (!) - saying the battery needs servicing and it and would die after about 30 minutes. It had been fine before lending it to her, lasting 4-5 hours or so...

I have a 2011 MBA. A bunch of years ago I just didn't use it. For like 2 years it sat on a shelf. When I finally decided to use it, the battery was obviously dead. I plugged it into the charger. After about 30 minutes I noticed the lid was lifted up, so I opened it and the trackpad was being pushed through the chassis by the battery which was swelling up.

So in my experience, don't let a battery discharge fully for too long, and do not leave a battery plugged in for too long.

Just my experiences.
 
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In my experience with repairs like this, Apple does not “repair” anything of this nature. They just send you another one, and the cost of the repair is determined by what the issue is, if it’s still under warranty, if there’s AppleCare+, etc.

This has usually worked out well for me, EXCEPT the last time I did it. I needed my battery replaced on my 11” iPad Pro out of warranty and without AppleCare+, and their phone support people totally mislead me about what the cost was going to be and how the repair would work, claiming that I would have a chance to “approve any charges”. That turned out to not be how it worked. They sent me another 11” iPad Pro that was not in as good of cosmetic shape as the one I sent them, and then charged me the full value of the iPad to replace it.

I was livid and had to get on the phone with a manager in order to get it taken care of, but they did do the right thing and reversed the charges since support told me the wrong information.
 
Yes that is most Likely a battery issue. If you can do it yourself the battery won’t be too expensive on eBay
 
BigMcGuire said:
In the past, batteries tend to do better with actual usage - (this applies today as well) - but today the software management of the battery is a lot better and helps mitigate the problems of always leaving it charged.

I think Apple underestimates how many people leave their devices plugged in all the time (I'm one of them).

I've never had a battery swell and I've had quite a few Apple devices for the last 10 years - but I know people who have.
Click to expand...
Ok I wouldn’t actually do that. Let the battery undergo use and discharge (not completely of course).

When I was in the market to buy a used Prius high mileage for beater car purposes one of the things I learned is skip low mileage older Prius. I’m talking about 10 yrs old with less then 70,000 miles. It’s not good for the battery and they usually fail anyways. It’s better to buy used Prius with actual daily use of the battery. My 2nd car is a 2006 with 307k miles on it.
 
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1rottenapple said:
Ok I wouldn’t actually do that. Let the battery undergo use and discharge (not completely of course).

When I was in the market to buy a used Prius high mileage for beater car purposes one of the things I leaned is skip low mileage older Prius. I’m talking about 10 yrs old with less then 70,000 miles. It’s not good for the battery and they usually fail anyways. It’s better to buy used Prius with actual daily use of the battery. My 2nd car is a 2006 with 307k miles on it.
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Agreed completely. One of the bad side effects of sitting on my *** all day long at a desk job with cables nearby. A bad habit I need to get out of. :)
 
choreo said:
Received a 'replacement" today. I guess they could not fix mine after all? Looks like they sent me an identical unit as best as I can tell. Not sure if it is a refurb or not?
Click to expand...
Apple doesn’t repair iPads. They just replace them.
 
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