Macbook Pro 2019 swollen battery after 1.5 years of usage - I am done

[diekehle]

So i consider myself a PRO user in terms of making music (Ableton/Lots of external Gear) also making some heavy After Effects Animations with high ambitions doing 3D in Cinema4D (Which i know is heavy on Notebooks but little things should work) and working as an UX Expert.

So Apple commercializes the unit as a PRO device for PRO usage for doing PRO stuff i described above. I now used it 1.5 years as a PRO. I bought the first Retina Macbook PRO back in the days (Which was fantastic) and another Generation afterwards. I did the same things with these devices, No issues! Never.

Now the battery swolled after nearly 1 year of usage. I did't and don't use Apple Care (because it is a Scam in my opinion, this kind of devices should be usable at least 4 years without any harm). So imagine being an Apple Fanboy doing Fanboy things (UX Design for iOS, Animations, this and that) and praysing Apple torwards everybody i know. And now I sit there with a Macbook Pro (Which is a piece of S*** now) and payed 4.000 Bucks for it. Now it got the following issues:

1. Back Panel opened you can see insight the macbook (See images)
2. Keyboard swollen up cannot close the lid fully
3. Ventilation is always running (Even when i just surf the web)
4. Ventilation starts making weird noises
5. Sometimes just a shutdown
6. Performance issues
7. Crackling Sounds of the bodyparts

Currently there is no replacement program for it. My distributor won't change the battery because "the Macbook still works!". I should pay for it even when parts are broken or effected by replacement. Imageine a car who can suddendly blow up and your dealers says to you but it still drives. This is how i feel right now.

Opinions?

For my part i am done with Apple for a lot of reasons:

1. Not being PRO at all anymore
2. No NVIDIA Cards because they want to dive into the IP of NVIDIA, which they don't want, so Apple "banned" NVIDIA
3. Apple Care Scam (Pay a huge amount to get a full working product garantee, so instead being left alone when design flaws emerge)
4. Not being helpfull with this kind of situation at all
5. Waiting for replacement till the s***storm appears because somebody filmed a Macbook burning

This is not what i want as a PRO. They need us to make this products precious, we design, build and create worlds for apple users. Animations, Apps, Games, etc. But when you need them they just do enough.

I don't say other companies do better, but Apple was product and commercials wise way more correct than now. it is just another scam, selling out the last intels in 2019 to roll out the M1. I am a victim of this, also the people with the new 16" Macbook Pros.

So i will leave and go back to WIN at least i have controll of what happens in terms of hardware.

 

[velocityg4]

If you aren't willing to pay Apple for a repair. Remove the battery yourself and bend the case back into shape. Or get some cheaper repair at a third party shop. Where they aren't going to require replacing most parts.

Just get that battery out of their ASAP. No matter how you may feel about it. It is now a very real fire threat. It can also keep expanding and cause more damage.

 

[diekehle]

If you aren't willing to pay Apple for a repair. Remove the battery yourself and bend the case back into shape. Or get some cheaper repair at a third party shop. Where they aren't going to require replacing most parts.

Just get that battery out of their ASAP. No matter how you may feel about it. It is now a very real fire threat. It can also keep expanding and cause more damage.

I am in contact with my dealer to send it in, but i need some questions answered, they need to open it to check if a replacement under special waranty is granted (i am german in germany it is called gewährleistung). But what happends when they cannot close the whole mac back.

 

[svanstrom]

But what happends when they cannot close the whole mac back.

(About the same as what happens whenever I pack my bags for the return part of a trip.)

Without the bloated battery it will hopefully fit a bit better, though; but as long as it works it works, so worse case scenario like that is that you would have to use it with an external keyboard. Which is still a lot better than simply discarding it.

The tech should be able to get back to you about that when doing their first inspection.

 

[BrianBaughn]

Apple has been known to fix swollen battery issues out of warranty.

 

[Graham Caracas]

Why do you people continue to usa a laptop to do desktop work.
A laptop is a consumer grade, battery powered on-the-go machine.
A desktop doesn't have a portable battery and is configured for heavy, complex work.
You need the right tool for the job. In your case, pro gear.

 

[velocityg4]

I am in contact with my dealer to send it in, but i need some questions answered, they need to open it to check if a replacement under special waranty is granted (i am german in germany it is called gewährleistung). But what happends when they cannot close the whole mac back.

I should think a bloated battery would be covered by the gewährleistung. Unless they can prove a user caused the damage. A battery that new isn't going to puff up like that unless it was defective, grossly misused, abused or grossly overused. At least you could put up a stink over it if they refused. Especially on reviews of the store not honoring the warranty your laws require. Plus on Twitter and Facebook.

I mean a $300 iPad. I probably wouldn't press the issue very far. But on a $4,000 computer. I'd be pestering every level of management. If I thought I was legally due warranty work.

As I'm in the US at 1.5 years. I'd be dead in the water (maybe*). As there is no protection outside of the factory or extended warranty. Except under special circumstances. Usually only applies for a mandatory recall.

* I say maybe. Because the US is much different than many countries. Most of the consumer protection laws are up to the states. There are 50 states each with their own rules and provisions. For the most part they are the same or similar. But there are some distinct differences.


---------------------------------------------------

I would advise if you are waiting to send it in. Stop using it. Disconnect it from power. Shut it down. Store it in a container which is fire safe and away from anything flammable. I know there are bags designed for LiPo battery storage.

 

[clueless88]

I should think a bloated battery would be covered by the gewährleistung. Unless they can prove a user caused the damage. A battery that new isn't going to puff up like that unless it was defective, grossly misused, abused or grossly overused. At least you could put up a stink over it if they refused. Especially on reviews of the store not honoring the warranty your laws require. Plus on Twitter and Facebook.

I mean a $300 iPad. I probably wouldn't press the issue very far. But on a $4,000 computer. I'd be pestering every level of management. If I thought I was legally due warranty work.

As I'm in the US at 1.5 years. I'd be dead in the water (maybe*). As there is no protection outside of the factory or extended warranty. Except under special circumstances. Usually only applies for a mandatory recall.

* I say maybe. Because the US is much different than many countries. Most of the consumer protection laws are up to the states. There are 50 states each with their own rules and provisions. For the most part they are the same or similar. But there are some distinct differences.


---------------------------------------------------

I would advise if you are waiting to send it in. Stop using it. Disconnect it from power. Shut it down. Store it in a container which is fire safe and away from anything flammable. I know there are bags designed for LiPo battery storage.

In the US, many (not all) Visa/Mastercard/American Express/Discover credit cards have a "free" warranty extension and will actually match the original manufacturers coverage up to two additional years for items purchased with the credit card.

Do the credit cards in the EU or Germany have the same additional benefits?

 

[svanstrom]

In the US, many (not all) Visa/Mastercard/American Express/Discover credit cards have a "free" warranty extension and will actually match the original manufacturers coverage up to two additional years for items purchased with the credit card.

Do the credit cards in the EU or Germany have the same additional benefits?

Yes, some (but not all) do; but we're terribly bad at even knowing about it over here. At most we know that we've got some coverage if our bags get lost while traveling; but we tend to also ignore that, as the hassle doesn't seem worth it after we managed the situation anyways.

We're just more stoic/pragmatic than greedy. ?

 

[jeyf]

are there any apple recalls that will work for your battery issue?
get model serial# and call apple support

 

[diekehle]

Why do you people continue to usa a laptop to do desktop work.
A laptop is a consumer grade, battery powered on-the-go machine.
A desktop doesn't have a portable battery and is configured for heavy, complex work.
You need the right tool for the job. In your case, pro gear.

Sorry to have my five cents here, i am aware of the fact you described. But they advertised that Macbook as it can do everything i described in my first post, check here nothing really different from my 15" (https://www.apple.com/de/macbook-pro-16/). I bought a Macbook PRO. Not an Air or an iPad to do the job. As a freelancer i need a portable.

Nevertheless, i will switch to desktop again for heavy duty, this time a WIN machine with NVIDIA Cards for Cinema4D Stuff.

are there any apple recalls that will work for your battery issue?
get model serial# and call apple support

I did, there is currently no Program.

THX everyone for the feedback and tips.

 

[me55]

My advice: Deal with Apple directly, not with Gravis, Implement-IT or whatever reseller you bought it from.

 

[Macbookprodude]

My advice like everyone else - suck it up and have Apple fix it, since they designed it and are responsible for their blunders - 2012 MB Pro is easier to take battery out.

 

[jeyf]

it looks like the frame of your unit is damaged.
i own a mighty 2017 MBP, NOT the best purchase i ever made, i also am NOT going back to apple
but
there are fastners on the bottom of my MPBP. My thinking is un do the back plate and you have access to the battery. Do the research and if you can just DIY.
or
i paid $50 at a local apple store and they replaced my iPhone battery. maybe the cost for a 2019 MBP is about the same
agree
Apple Care is a scam.

 

[Macbookprodude]

it looks like the frame of your unit is damaged.
i own a mighty 2017 MBP, NOT the best purchase i ever made, i also am NOT going back to apple
but
there are fastners on the bottom of my MPBP. My thinking is un do the back plate and you have access to the battery. Do the research and if you can just DIY.
or
i paid $50 at a local apple store and they replaced my iPhone battery. maybe the cost for a 2019 MBP is about the same
agree
Apple Care is a scam.

AppleCare is indeed a scam !

 

[subi257]

However, you can complain all you want, but the reality from my experience is that as far as customer service and standing behind their products...nobody is better than Apple. At work a few years ago I got an HP "mobile Workstation" laptop for almost $7k....It was almost DOA! I plugged it in to charge and it would not take a charge. HP sent me a new battery...did not solve the problem. They sent a tech to my office to replace the power supply....no dice. All this time they refuse to replace it. I had to send it in to the repair depot for a new motherboard. WTF! I just paid (well my company dd) $7k for a brand new computer and ended up with a refurb. No other company supports their products as long as Apple does.....just my .02

 

[Macbookprodude]

However, you can complain all you want, but the reality from my experience is that as far as customer service and standing behind their products...nobody is better than Apple. At work a few years ago I got an HP "mobile Workstation" laptop for almost $7k....It was almost DOA! I plugged it in to charge and it would not take a charge. HP sent me a new battery...did not solve the problem. They sent a tech to my office to replace the power supply....no dice. All this time they refuse to replace it. I had to send it in to the repair depot for a new motherboard. WTF! I just paid (well my company dd) $7k for a brand new computer and ended up with a refurb. No other company supports their products as long as Apple does.....just my .02

Really ? Fact check - Apple dropped PowerPC and did not allow Snow Leopard to be the last OS and it wasn’t even 7 years at that time and Steve even stated “ more PowerPC products yet to come” - all lies of course and now the Intel to M1 which they are going to pull the same crap that they did with PPC to Intel.. don’t tell me they support their products long term. Don’t know how old you are, but you sound very ill-informed about how Apple worked then and now.

 

[appleenthusiast1]

Discuss with Apple Support online/phone I'd imagine they will very much look after you. This is MASS consumer electronics, issues happen, much like in the car industry as you refer to.

I think as long as you've done nothing against Apple, (3rd party cables, chargers etc) they would look after you.

 

[Martin29]

You’re in the EU. As such, you’re protected with a mandatory 2 year warranty. Any product sold in the EU is garuanteed for a minimum two years. Apple have no choice, they must repair your machine.

 

[CooperBox]

I think there are several issues here.
Firstly I have mentioned in several posts that imho, anyone having purchased a high value Apple laptop in recent years without ApplCare+ were taking on a fairly-high risk. Why? Simply because the way they are designed is complex, and with complexity comes the higher risk of problems, especially when these devices since the late 2012 'unibodies', have become thinner and thinner, whilst maintaining relatively simple cooling systems, which struggle to keep the internals sufficiently cool after a year or two, when the CPU/GPU thermal paste is nearing or passed it's prime.
A recent classic example is the MacBook Air8,1 (introduced in 2018) with an abysmal, virtually non-cooling configuration, where the heatsink as far as I can see doesn't appear to even reach the cooling fan. One doesn't need to ask why there are so many failures being reported.......! New owners if they're "lucky" - and I use that term lightly, may have problems within the first year which would normally be rectified under warranty. Outside that time period the repair for parts and labour will be high, indeed extremely high unless one has opted for AppleCare+. The MBAir is just one example.
I'll rapidly skirt over the MBPro touchbar, and butterfly keyboard issues, suffice to say these are other complexities which when defective and out of warranty, repairs will be costly.
On other recent laptops, Apple have decided to hide some replaceable items such as M.2 MVMe SSD's below the logic-board, making replacement a timely process, and expensive outside of warranty unless one is into DIY like myself. Another downside with recent laptops, although many will probably disagree, is that soldering RAM memory onto the logic board was a huge step backwards, although it's fairly obvious why it was done. It assists in keeping the laptop profile slimmer, albeit significantly increasing eventual repair costs, probable replacement of logic board immediately comes to mind. Ouch! Expensive!
Another issue. In the urgency to get new and complex models into production and into the stores, the hardware beta testing is limited, resulting in problems often occuring once the product is released and exposed to the rigors of in-service use.

I reckon that the OP is doing himself an injustice in believing, "Apple Care is a scam", and so are others who believe the same.
I sincerely believe AppleCare+ is a MUST when purchasing a high-end expensive Apple product. It should be viewed as an insurance policy. If a claim is required, you're covered. If not you've paid for something equally important, i.e. peace of mind.
And just for the record, in terms of repairability, most of the Apple laptops from the 2012/13 and onwards Retina era' score poorly, the 'best' of the poor being 4 out of 10, whilst most of the others score a disgraceful 1/10. Imho anyone purchasing a recent Apple laptop to use for 3 years or more without AppleCare plus, either enjoy a gamble, don't care, or are uninformed about the high complexity of their product with potentially very high repair charges.
Apple are not alone here. Fwiw the MS Surface laptop score in 2017 was 0/10. Enough said about the worth and common-sense of purchasing extended warranties with complex high-tech products.

 

[GrumpyCoder]

I am in contact with my dealer to send it in, but i need some questions answered, they need to open it to check if a replacement under special waranty is granted (i am german in germany it is called gewährleistung). But what happends when they cannot close the whole mac back.

Sounds like you have an issue with your dealer, which isn't exactly an unknown issue in Germany. Deal with Apple directly and I'm pretty sure they will take care of it.

 

[jeyf]

have you contacted Apple?
or
have you googled diy methods


apple care is a scam

 

[subi257]

Really ? Fact check - Apple dropped PowerPC and did not allow Snow Leopard to be the last OS and it wasn’t even 7 years at that time and Steve even stated “ more PowerPC products yet to come” - all lies of course and now the Intel to M1 which they are going to pull the same crap that they did with PPC to Intel.. don’t tell me they support their products long term. Don’t know how old you are, but you sound very ill-informed about how Apple worked then and now.

I am most likely older than you and I have been using Apple/Mac's since the 512K ! And I call bull on your comment. Technology changes and there are times when you make the change and pull the plug on the old ****. Apple is much better at supporting their products than any windows companies. 7 years is a dinosaur in computer terms. On all of our server and workstations, in any major computer environment 3-5 years is "end of life" for that product, shoo if Apple is supporting them for 7 that is better than the rest. We replace all of our video servers at 5 years.....all 750TB of storage...on 10Gb/s optical fiber to all workstations. Computers are replaced every 3.

You sound like one of those people that are trying to keep MacPro 1,1's running with all kind of butchering to make it run Big Sur. Those things are done....put them to rest.

Processor technology changes and can be incapable of running older OS's and software and for the company to support what ever tweaks and hacks is just too complicated and unnecessary.

 

[subi257]

I think there are several issues here.
Firstly I have mentioned in several posts that imho, anyone having purchased a high value Apple laptop in recent years without ApplCare+ were taking on a fairly-high risk. Why? Simply because the way they are designed is complex, and with complexity comes the higher risk of problems, especially when these devices since the late 2012 'unibodies', have become thinner and thinner, whilst maintaining relatively simple cooling systems, which struggle to keep the internals sufficiently cool after a year or two, when the CPU/GPU thermal paste is nearing or passed it's prime.
A recent classic example is the MacBook Air8,1 (introduced in 2018) with an abysmal, virtually non-cooling configuration, where the heatsink as far as I can see doesn't appear to even reach the cooling fan. One doesn't need to ask why there are so many failures being reported.......! New owners if they're "lucky" - and I use that term lightly, may have problems within the first year which would normally be rectified under warranty. Outside that time period the repair for parts and labour will be high, indeed extremely high unless one has opted for AppleCare+. The MBAir is just one example.
I'll rapidly skirt over the MBPro touchbar, and butterfly keyboard issues, suffice to say these are other complexities which when defective and out of warranty, repairs will be costly.
On other recent laptops, Apple have decided to hide some replaceable items such as M.2 MVMe SSD's below the logic-board, making replacement a timely process, and expensive outside of warranty unless one is into DIY like myself. Another downside with recent laptops, although many will probably disagree, is that soldering RAM memory onto the logic board was a huge step backwards, although it's fairly obvious why it was done. It assists in keeping the laptop profile slimmer, albeit significantly increasing eventual repair costs, probable replacement of logic board immediately comes to mind. Ouch! Expensive!
Another issue. In the urgency to get new and complex models into production and into the stores, the hardware beta testing is limited, resulting in problems often occuring once the product is released and exposed to the rigors of in-service use.

I reckon that the OP is doing himself an injustice in believing, "Apple Care is a scam", and so are others who believe the same.
I sincerely believe AppleCare+ is a MUST when purchasing a high-end expensive Apple product. It should be viewed as an insurance policy. If a claim is required, you're covered. If not you've paid for something equally important, i.e. peace of mind.
And just for the record, in terms of repairability, most of the Apple laptops from the 2012/13 and onwards Retina era' score poorly, the 'best' of the poor being 4 out of 10, whilst most of the others score a disgraceful 1/10. Imho anyone purchasing a recent Apple laptop to use for 3 years or more without AppleCare plus, either enjoy a gamble, don't care, or are uninformed about the high complexity of their product with potentially very high repair charges.
Apple are not alone here. Fwiw the MS Surface laptop score in 2017 was 0/10. Enough said about the worth and common-sense of purchasing extended warranties with complex high-tech products.

I am completely with you on that.

 

[smoking monkey]

OP. Did you keep the laptop constantly plugged in? Batteries need to cycle and be used.
That's of no help to you now, but good to know for the future... if that is something you didn't know. And as others say, contact Apple directly.

I personally only ever buy my Apple products from Apple. I always get the "SCAM" on their computers.
In your situation, had you had it, you'd have a new/refurbished computer right now. Is it too expensive though? YES!