Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Swollen MacBook Pro Battery - Temporarily Store

M

mrmeister

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 26, 2010
139
1
Hi,

My wife's Macbook Pro had an issue with the trackpad where it was dislodged and she couldn't remember dropping it. I decided to take a look just to see if it was easy enough to push back into place, so I made a backup of the system, powered down and removed the cord and started removing the screws on the rear.

Something didn't appear right from this point as all the screws were incredibly tight, like there something lodged inside the Macbook causing pressure. When I finally managed to pop the cover off, I've noticed that the battery is pretty badly swollen.

I want to take it in to get it looked at as soon as possible. I really don't like the idea of touching that battery and don't want to cause any further problems. The only problem is, there isn't an appointment until at least tomorrow and we might not be able to make that, so the earliest would be Saturday (Thursday today).

Is it safe to leave this battery connected to the computer? I haven't put the rear panel back on, but I'm also sure that I wouldn't be able to without permanently disfiguring the rear panel as the battery has swollen to such a degree. When I was running a backup on the system I did hear a creaking sound, and just figured it was to do with the mouse... I guess it was, but only because the battery was getting bigger.

Any help please? I don't really want to disconnect it if I can help it, I just want to know how it should be left. Is a warmer or cooler house better?

Thanks!

Edit: for those interested, the model in question is a 2010 Macbook Pro 15", 2.53GHz CPU and NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 256MB
 
Cool conditions powered off. Do not charge or discharge the battery in any way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Queen6
to my knowledge, Apple is required by law to recycle that battery. It turns out some Apple geniuses don't know about that, so you may have to insist...
 
I managed to get a last minute cancellation last night. They took the battery to dispose of it, but sadly wouldn't replace it for free like I've seen some people get when they don't have Applecare. I'm just going to buy a third party battery on ebay for about $30 instead of the apple replacement for $129
 
mrmeister said:
I managed to get a last minute cancellation last night. They took the battery to dispose of it, but sadly wouldn't replace it for free like I've seen some people get when they don't have Applecare. I'm just going to buy a third party battery on ebay for about $30 instead of the apple replacement for $129
Click to expand...

Your choice but cheap 3rd party batteries are notoriously awful and possibly dangerous.
 
mrmeister said:
I managed to get a last minute cancellation last night. They took the battery to dispose of it, but sadly wouldn't replace it for free like I've seen some people get when they don't have Applecare. I'm just going to buy a third party battery on ebay for about $30 instead of the apple replacement for $129
Click to expand...

Do not do that. Try to buy a used battery that has been tested on eBay. There are tons and tons of "genuine" batteries on eBay that look real, but are actually terrible, fake, and will destroy your computer down the road. I have now come across over 10 MBP/MB/MBA over the years with fried logic boards/SMCs because of these batteries. Sellers will not stand behind the product either. And since this happens well after the return period, you cannot do anything through eBay.

Just the other day a friend of mine sent me his computer to fix (2009 MBP 15"), would not power on at all. He replaced the battery with a fake one from eBay for $60 months back. When I got it, had no life. He said it was having power issues and the battery wasn't working before it stopped booting. I put in a fresh, new Apple genuine battery, but still had to bypass the SMC, the only way I could actually boot the computer. Even with OS X booted it would not recognize any batteries. Fans on full blast, does not pass startup test. Used ASD and confirmed that the SMC was fried, and wouldn't even reset. I think its valid to say the cheap, crappy battery from eBay was probably the reason for it.

Your best bet is either genuine from Apple or a used pull on eBay with good health.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back