This seems excessive (battery swelling)

[roxics]

2017 Macbook Pro 15"
I had a battery swelling issues with it a few years ago and took it into the Apple store. Even though it was a year out of warranty, they took it in and repaired it for free.
Over the last year or two I've noticed that when turned on for a while the machine does seem to swell. When I would close the lid it would have a gap. Now for the last couple months I've been using the machine as a desktop, keeping the lid mostly closed. So this is what it regularly looks like. I don't know if it's worse than when I would keep it open and use it and then close it or not. Maybe it just seems worse because it's closed all the time now so I notice it more.
Do you think it would help to keep the lid open? I really don't want to run three screens and as far as I know these things should be designed to operate while closed since some people mount them vertically on stands as if they are desktop towers.

Is this an issue I should be concerned about or fairly normal? Again it's been running with this swelling for over a year now. It just looks bad so I'm worried. If I shut the machine off and let it cool down a while it does lay flat.

https://imgur.com/w7NgIJv

https://imgur.com/RMQYz2C

 

[Ploki]

You should get swollen battery serviced.
It's a fire hazard. Don't ignore it.

It's not normal and you shouldn't keep it like that

 

[SyntaxSavvy]

As stated by the other comment, get it sorted ASAP. Don't ignore it and take it seriously. It's a sign that there is a fault with the battery. If you continue charging and using it, it may result in a fire or worse, an explosion.

 

[MBAir2010]

i third the top replies.
get the battery serviced without using the MacBook, Bro!

 

[wilberforce]

It is not a fire hazard; that is a repeated internet myth, partially created by some misleading click-baiting YouTube videos.
However, the swelling can damage the trackpad (and has done so in a number of MacBooks) and possibly more, so should not be ignored.
It is surprising it is already swelling again after "a few years." You should not leave it permanently on the charger; for newer MacBooks this is not a problem because the charging profiles are now smarter, but for older MacBooks this is the most common cause of battery swelling.

 

[Madhatter32]

NOT A FIRE HAZARD. It is designed to swell for safety purposes. Anyway, the swelling can cause internal damage to the logic board and other components over time so it needs attention before it swells further.

 

[Ploki]

NOT A FIRE HAZARD. It is designed to swell for safety purposes. Anyway, the swelling can cause internal damage to the logic board and other components over time so it needs attention before it swells further.

yeah but if it swells enough that something inside the casing punctures it, it's gonna go

 

[SyntaxSavvy]

NOT A FIRE HAZARD. It is designed to swell for safety purposes. Anyway, the swelling can cause internal damage to the logic board and other components over time so it needs attention before it swells further.

The battery in that 2017 MacBook Pro is a lithium-polymer battery. LiPo batteries swell because of electrolyte decomposition, it's not a "safety" feature, it's a fire hazard. It isn’t worth the risk to use it. The safe thing to do is to completely discharge it and recycle it.

 

[appltech]

Not a problem if you brave enough and there're no glue or plastic smell from MBP gap where are the hinges.
But nevertheless, battery would need to be replaced (not necessarily to a new one), or removed eventually.

Matters only usage of the Mac (shouldn't be anything "heavy" to control internal temps, and surrounding, because in a warm/hot conditions -- your battery will puff

 

[Madhatter32]

The battery in that 2017 MacBook Pro is a lithium-polymer battery. LiPo batteries swell because of electrolyte decomposition, it's not a "safety" feature, it's a fire hazard. It isn’t worth the risk to use it. The safe thing to do is to completely discharge it and recycle it.

Your comment directly contradicts what multiple people at Apple have assured me. It also contradicts common sense. These batteries are designed to swell.

 

[sam_dean]

To my understanding bloated batteries is a safety feature to really force you to stop using the device.

It becomes a fire hazard if you insist on using it or not dispose of it.

I've had bloated batteries occur in devices that was left unused. This is a reason why I wish liquidated said device the day I received its replacement.

Your laptop's entering its 6th year so may as well have it replaced the battery so you can use it until 2027.

 

[Madhatter32]

To my understanding bloated batteries is a safety feature to really force you to stop using the device.

It becomes a fire hazard if you insist on using it or not dispose of it.

I've had bloated batteries occur in devices that was left unused. This is a reason why I wish liquidated said device the day I received its replacement.

Your laptop's entering its 6th year so may as well have it replaced the battery so you can use it until 2027.

Battery swelling is normal. It effects most batteries of this type over time. It will not explode but is dangerous if punctured. I agree that the battery should be replaced upon noticing any swelling. But people really need not worry about it being a fire hazard in most circumstances.

 

[wilberforce]

The batteries are inside flexible bladders to contain the chemical and off-gassing, as these can include harmful chemicals (to people and devices). If the bladder swells so much that it ruptures, it may release these harmful elements, possibly causing corrosion of the circuitry and human exposure to them.
There are YT videos of people stabbing a swollen battery with a big knife, and an ensuing fire. Well, the fire is a result of of the runaway release of electrical energy due to shorting between the anode and cathode layers by the steel knife, not due to puncturing the bladder.
Don't stab your batteries with a knife.

 

[Ploki]

Battery swelling is normal. It effects most batteries of this type over time. It will not explode but is dangerous if punctured. I agree that the battery should be replaced upon noticing any swelling. But people really need not worry about it being a fire hazard in most circumstances.

Nobody said it's not normal or that it doesn't happen, we're just saying that it's not wise to keep using it like that.
A swollen battery is much more prone to puncture than a non-swollen one.
And if it gets punctured (either by swelling more on it's own, by pressure of using it/carrying it around/poking something in the chassis), you're in for a treat

 

[benwiggy]

Here's ifixit.com 's take on swollen batteries. They are reliable, authoritative source of information about Mac repairs, not just some bloke on the internet.

What to do with a swollen battery

Removal and disposal of a swollen battery can be dangerous, but leaving a swollen battery inside a device can also cause serious harm. Read all warnings carefully and proceed at your own risk. All batteries are hazardous waste and must be disposed of properly.

www.ifixit.com

Removing a swollen battery can be hazardous, but leaving a swollen battery inside a device also poses risks. To prevent potential device and bodily harm, don’t operate your device with a swollen battery. These guidelines offer best practices for removing swollen batteries, but can't guarantee a safe repair. If you have doubts, power the device down, place it in a fireproof container, take it to a repair professional and ask them to remove the faulty battery. Don't delay battery removal.

 

[Madhatter32]

Here's ifixit.com 's take on swollen batteries. They are reliable, authoritative source of information about Mac repairs, not just some bloke on the internet.

What to do with a swollen battery

Removal and disposal of a swollen battery can be dangerous, but leaving a swollen battery inside a device can also cause serious harm. Read all warnings carefully and proceed at your own risk. All batteries are hazardous waste and must be disposed of properly.

www.ifixit.com

Removing a swollen battery can be hazardous, but leaving a swollen battery inside a device also poses risks. To prevent potential device and bodily harm, don’t operate your device with a swollen battery. These guidelines offer best practices for removing swollen batteries, but can't guarantee a safe repair. If you have doubts, power the device down, place it in a fireproof container, take it to a repair professional and ask them to remove the faulty battery. Don't delay battery removal.

Not persuasive at all. Just to clear this matter up ... ifixit is NOT an independent reliable source on this matter. As I am sure you are aware, they are in the computer repair business. They also sell replacement batteries. Next time, if you want some credibility, cite to an independent reliable source.

Anyway, I cited personal my experience with multiple Apple personnel on this particular issue. You can also refer to Dell, which agrees with Apple's assessment.

Swollen battery is not a safety issue​

A swollen battery does not present a safety issue. It is the result of the generation of gases per the normal degradation of the battery cell over time. HP has worked closely with our battery cell suppliers and third-party industry experts to help minimize the potential for HP batteries to swell over time and to identify that swollen batteries are not a safety issue.​

Both Apple and Dell, actual manufacturers of laptops, have legal liability for product liabilities. You can believe what you want and we ultimately agree that swollen batteries should be replaced ... but let's not get carried away with scaring people about fire hazards.

HP Notebook PCs - Swelling or deformation of notebook battery | undefined

To protect your hardware from potential damage, HP recommends discontinuing the use of the notebook if you experience battery swelling until you can replace the battery. Be sure that you disconnect the notebook from AC power as well.

support.hp.com

 

[Fishrrman]

Regardless of whether it's a potential hazard or not (I would regard it as such a hazard), you need to get it replaced.

Make an appt with the genius bar at the Apple Store and have them look at it.
Since it's out of warranty, they may or may not offer a free replacement.

If they offer to replace it again for free, TAKE IT.

Even if they won't do it for free, they should offer you the $199 battery replacement option.
For that you get:
- a new, Apple-labeled battery
- installation
- a short warranty.
All in all, a pretty fair deal.

In the future...
DON'T leave it plugged into the charger all the time.
Once or twice a week, take it OFF CHARGE, and let the battery run down to 40-45%. Then re-connect the charger.
I would also UNPLUG the charger from the wall at night (whether the MBP is powered down or just sleeping).
Doing these things should help to prevent "swelling" in the future.

 

[wilberforce]

Yes, there are lots of circular citations on the "fire hazard" of swollen batteries. This is when authors of articles cite each other (or simply make a statement without citing anything), with no actual credible original scientific source. Or something is cited that sounds relevant but actually is not.
After enough such repetitions it becomes "true" on the internet.

 

[roxics]

So this is annoying. Since losing my office job in 2019 I've had no use for this machine as a laptop. It sat for nearly a year and ahalf barely being touched by me because I was using my 2012 mac mini instead. Until one day I was like "what am I doing, I have a newer more powerful machine I should be using as a desktop instead." So this past December I made the switch. Reorganizing all of my external hard drives and getting everything sorted so that I could offload the mini as a server and begin using the MBP as my main desktop machine (always plugged in). But now many of you are saying I shouldn't do that, or stop using it completely. So what use is it to me then? I have no use for a battery powered desktop. At the same time I don't want to pay Apple $200 to replace a battery I'm never going to use. On top of just not having that kind of spare cash right now anyway. Because again my goal is to keep it plugged in all the time and use it as a desktop.

This is the most expensive computer I've ever bought and is apparently becoming even more expensive.
I really wish Apple didn't build-in batteries that can't be removed. I hate that. I could at least remove my old 2008 Macbook battery I used before this machine and I still use (sans battery) as a desktop in the other room on occasion.

Argh!

 

[wilberforce]

I might suggest replace the battery yourself for about 1/3 the cost, but this is one of the more difficult MPBs to replace the battery, and risks damaging it (I have replaced a 2015 MPB battery myself, so I know what is involved):

MacBook Pro 15" Touch Bar 2017 Battery Replacement

Use this guide to safely remove the glued-in battery from your MacBook Pro with the help of an iFixit kit with adhesive remover. The adhesive...

www.ifixit.com

Depends on how comfortable you are doing such things

 

[xraydoc]

So this is annoying. Since losing my office job in 2019 I've had no use for this machine as a laptop. It sat for nearly a year and ahalf barely being touched by me because I was using my 2012 mac mini instead. Until one day I was like "what am I doing, I have a newer more powerful machine I should be using as a desktop instead." So this past December I made the switch. Reorganizing all of my external hard drives and getting everything sorted so that I could offload the mini as a server and begin using the MBP as my main desktop machine (always plugged in). But now many of you are saying I shouldn't do that, or stop using it completely. So what use is it to me then? I have no use for a battery powered desktop. At the same time I don't want to pay Apple $200 to replace a battery I'm never going to use. On top of just not having that kind of spare cash right now anyway. Because again my goal is to keep it plugged in all the time and use it as a desktop.

This is the most expensive computer I've ever bought and is apparently becoming even more expensive.
I really wish Apple didn't build-in batteries that can't be removed. I hate that. I could at least remove my old 2008 Macbook battery I used before this machine and I still use (sans battery) as a desktop in the other room on occasion.

Argh!

There are ways to mitigate the effect of having a battery-powered computer plugged in 24/7.

Current versions of macOS have an "optimized charging" mode that will only charge the laptop to 100% when it thinks you're going to unplug it and take it with you (based on recent past behavior). The rest of the time, the machine will sit near 80%.

The other is to use an app called Al Dente that will basically do the same thing, but with full manual control of the continuous state of charge, when you want it topped off, and if you want the battery to discharge to a certain level then be maintained at that level. It's what I use and it's worked extremely well.

My MacBook Pro spends 4/5th of it's life pretending to be a Mac mini pro - sits on the desk connected to two external displays, a docking station with ethernet, an external SSD, a couple other USB peripherals, and an external keyboard and mouse. I keep the battery at 80% and only boost it higher when I know I'm going to be out of the house with it for an overnight trip. Even if I just take it to work for the day, I don't need more than 80%.

I've been doing this on and off with laptops for years now. I've never had a battery swell on me yet. Even my old 2016 15" MacBook Pro which my wife now uses still gets decent battery life (well, as decent as a 2016-era Intel quad-core i7 and AMD dGPU can get).

However, with the swollen battery on your MacBook, you should get that repaired ASAP before it causes permanent damage to other components like the logic board, keyboard, etc., due to bending pressure. Once fixed, I recommend installing Al Dente and setting the charge limit to 60-70% or something if you rarely plan to use it as a laptop.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

So this is annoying. Since losing my office job in 2019 I've had no use for this machine as a laptop. It sat for nearly a year and ahalf barely being touched by me because I was using my 2012 mac mini instead. Until one day I was like "what am I doing, I have a newer more powerful machine I should be using as a desktop instead." So this past December I made the switch. Reorganizing all of my external hard drives and getting everything sorted so that I could offload the mini as a server and begin using the MBP as my main desktop machine (always plugged in). But now many of you are saying I shouldn't do that, or stop using it completely. So what use is it to me then? I have no use for a battery powered desktop. At the same time I don't want to pay Apple $200 to replace a battery I'm never going to use. On top of just not having that kind of spare cash right now anyway. Because again my goal is to keep it plugged in all the time and use it as a desktop.

This is the most expensive computer I've ever bought and is apparently becoming even more expensive.
I really wish Apple didn't build-in batteries that can't be removed. I hate that. I could at least remove my old 2008 Macbook battery I used before this machine and I still use (sans battery) as a desktop in the other room on occasion.

Argh!

Here’s what my recommendation would be, but of course I don’t know everything about your needs so take this with a grain of salt…
First, get that battery replaced. Even if you don’t follow anything else in this message, get that battery replaced.
Second, sell that laptop for between 500 and $600.
Lastly, get the new $599 Mac Mini, or get a refurbished/discounted M1 model (you should be able to find them for somewhere around $550).
Totally eliminates the battery problem and will get you a computer that leaves your MBP in the dust.
And if everything goes smoothly, you shouldn’t be out of any cash at all.

 

[AlixSPQR]

An article from WP about swollen batteries. 🔋

Are swollen batteries dangerous?
They can be, but it’s not a sure thing.
“Swelling certainly isn’t good, and it’s an indicator of decreased performance,” said David Mitlin, a battery researcher and professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “But it doesn’t instantly mean the battery is going to catch on fire.”
Even so, swollen batteries can cause issues. They could, for example, damage other parts of a device as they get bigger. A smartphone’s fragile screen might crack if an expanding battery puts too much pressure on it. In a laptop, meanwhile, a battery that has begun to swell could push its trackpad out of place or otherwise mar the computer’s body.
In other cases, a swelling battery could prevent you from using a gadget as intended.

If you're denied access, use a Chromium based browser or Firefox with a Bypass Paywalls add-on.

 

[chrono1081]

NO SWELLING IS NORMAL AND CAN CAUSE A FIRE. I didn't even read any of the other comments because what I stated is fact, period, end of story. A few jobs ago a watched a dell laptop with a swollen battery catch fire right on a desk.

While generally they don't case fires, the possibility is always there and increased. Also swollen batteries often break other components.

 

[Madhatter32]

I didn't even read any of the other comments because what I stated is fact, period, end of story.

All laptop batteries can catch fire. You should read the thread to get the real facts.