Weird bulge appeared on my MBP 15” 2018

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"It does sound like my issue as well. Cuz I kept it plugged in a lot..."

THERE'S your problem.
Keeping it plugged in much or all of the time is a prime cause of swelled-up batteries.

Take it to an Apple Store.
DO NOT take it to a "3rd-party provider", take it to a real "Apple" Store with a genius bar.

They may offer a free battery replacement.
If they do, just smile and hand it over.

OR... they may offer to replace the battery, but ask for a $199 payment.
If they do, just smile, hand it over, then reach for your wallet.

When you get it back, DO NOT leave it plugged in all the time.
3 or 4 times a week, disconnect it from the charger and let the battery go down to around 40-45%, then plug it back in.

EVERY NIGHT, whether you let it sleep or shut it down, pull the charger's plug out of the wall. Plug it back in the next morning.
Why the charger plug? So you don't put too much wear on the MBP's plug itself.

 

[TheBigDog]

Thank you everyone!

I'll go tomorrow to the Apple Store and ask them to check it. Don't think they will be able to replace it / fix it in a couple days... On Monday I'll be back to my home country and give it to the repair center ASAP.

I'm not 100% sure but I don't think you should fly with a defective / damaged battery. Would defo check with your airline.

 

[Webster's Mac]

removed due to me actually reading the thread lol

 

[trip_of_hope]

OP wrote:
"It does sound like my issue as well. Cuz I kept it plugged in a lot..."

THERE'S your problem.
Keeping it plugged in much or all of the time is a prime cause of swelled-up batteries.

Take it to an Apple Store.
DO NOT take it to a "3rd-party provider", take it to a real "Apple" Store with a genius bar.

They may offer a free battery replacement.
If they do, just smile and hand it over.

OR... they may offer to replace the battery, but ask for a $199 payment.
If they do, just smile, hand it over, then reach for your wallet.

When you get it back, DO NOT leave it plugged in all the time.
3 or 4 times a week, disconnect it from the charger and let the battery go down to around 40-45%, then plug it back in.

EVERY NIGHT, whether you let it sleep or shut it down, pull the charger's plug out of the wall. Plug it back in the next morning.
Why the charger plug? So you don't put too much wear on the MBP's plug itself.

OMG, thank you! That was stupid of me. Cuz I thought the less cycle count - the better.

Gonna apply these rules to my current and the next future laptop as well.

 

[trip_of_hope]

I'm not 100% sure but I don't think you should fly with a defective / damaged battery. Would defo check with your airline.

Hope it would be resolved before my flight. Had no problems though on my flight here.

 

[Argon_]

Hope it would be resolved before my flight. Had no problems though on my flight here.

Get it checked out soon. A lithium battery fire is no joke.

 

[TheBigDog]

Hope it would be resolved before my flight. Had no problems though on my flight here.

Lithium Batteries in Baggage | Federal Aviation Administration

Lithium batteries, which power everyday devices, can catch fire if damaged or if battery terminals are short-circuited. Devices containing lithium metal batteries or lithium ion batteries, including – but not limited to – smartphones, tablets, cameras and laptops, should be kept in carry-on

www.faa.gov

"Damaged, defective or recalled lithium batteries must not be carried in carry-on or checked baggage if they are likely to be a safety concern by overheating or catching on fire."

 

[GSWForever8]

Thank you! I'll get it checked.

Weird thing, I've had this laptop since 2018 and I don't event have that many cycle counts...

Wait a second… it says service recommended. You should get it serviced asap.

 

[Camarillo Brillo]

Don’t want that to happen on your lap

 

[cablefun]

It looks like a crease from being dropped or impact damage on the side, I bet the battery is fine.

 

[TheBigDog]

It looks like a crease from being dropped or impact damage on the side, I bet the battery is fine.

It says Service Battery in his System Info.

 

[trip_of_hope]

I booked an appointment at Genius Bar on Friday in Apple Store. Hope everything will be resolved.

 

[cablefun]

It says Service Battery in his System Info.

That is a system generated message based on battery stats. I’m not saying the battery does not need servicing but I’m betting it’s unrelated to the crease in the top case

 

[ataq]

I have the exact same issues, not only that. I‘m also in a foreign country and in Istanbul too. My case got swollen so the
MacBook cannot sit flat on the desk.
I have the MBP plugged in all the time.
Will make an appointment at Apple Store.

 

[GSWForever8]

I booked an appointment at Genius Bar on Friday in Apple Store. Hope everything will be resolved.

Keep us posted!

 

[hobowankenobi]

Hard drive swelling is not a thing, and that is not where the hard drive is located. Normally, when the battery expands, it pushes on the bottom making the bulge on the bottom of the computer, sometimes it can push up on the trackpad making it feel stiff. It's likely the battery, definitely not the hard drive.

Contact Apple Support via phone or chat and they can run diagnostics to check some stuff out to see if it is indeed the battery, or something else.

Oh for sure it is.

You shove too much data in there, and they swell. Every time.

Even worse if files are compressed, and then the compression fails: Bang! Swollen hard drive.

















Come on people, these are the jokes!

 

[Bandaman]

It really depends on who you talk to at Apple. I sent my 2017 MBP 15" in for repairs and it was out of warranty and they replaced both the battery and a case fan for free.

 

[wilberforce]

Hi guys! Recently I noticed this weird bulge on the right side of my laptop and I’m not sure what it can be. Some inner parts could be swollen, right?

Quite long time ago (about 2 years) my right speaker stopped working and I know that that’s a hardware issue.

Should I be worried? Right now I need it for work and unfortunately I'm not able to get it checked by professionals.

Thank you.

That bulge coincides with the edge of the speaker driver housing, not with the battery.
I suspect it is therefore not a coincidence that your right speaker no longer works.

if the battery was swollen, there should be evidence of a slight doming of top and/or bottom of the case in the area of the trackpad, or either side of the trackpad. Try putting a straightedge on these surfaces.

Having had an MBP battery that has swollen, it is not very obvious unless you know what to look for, or it has got really bad. Sometimes the MBP rubber feet will not sit flat in contact on a table.

Take a look at these photos of where the battery cells and speaker driver housing are (he is holding the battery) in this iFixit site:

MacBook Pro 15" Touch Bar 2018 Battery Replacement

Follow this guide to safely remove the glued-in battery from your MacBook Pro using an iFixit kit with adhesive remover. The liquid solvent in the...

www.ifixit.com

A possibility is that some sort of pressure has been applied to the underside of the case in the area of the speaker driver, breaking the speaker driver and forcing the speaker driver housing upwards and resulting in that local crease. It would be interesting to see a photo of the underside and side of the case in that area.

 

[Wando64]

OMG, thank you! That was stupid of me. Cuz I thought the less cycle count - the better.

Gonna apply these rules to my current and the next future laptop as well.

The vast majority of people that keep their MBP plugged in most of the time don’t end up with a swollen battery.
On the other side, some people that nurse their batteries obsessively do end up with early failures and swollen batteries.

I’ve kept my Early 1015 MBP plugged in most of the time for 5 years and the battery still performs at acceptable levels for the age.

By all means, apply whatever rules you want in the future, but keep in mind that it will offer no guarantee that, in time, you might end up with another failed or swollen battery.

Will it reduce the probability of such event occurring? I’ve no idea, but I would guess it *might* marginally prolong battery life, and that’s why Apple has built battery management in all its modern devices and OSs. In other words, modern Apple devices will take care of this without user intervention.

 

[Bug-Creator]

It's just weird that that's the only thing that is swollen/bulged is this line.

Path of least resistance...

This is most likely the weakest part of the laptop that is "under pressure", wether that is a design issue or due to a prior impact is hard to tell. If that little extra space created here is all the swollen battery "needs" atm there is no reason for it to push the bottom out.

 

[trip_of_hope]

If anyone is interested in the results ?

Apple guy told me that's a physical damage and not a battery thing. They will replace for free my keyboard with top case, including speaker and battery as well... But the parts are not available and they will order them. Gonna stay in Istanbul for couple more weeks.

Thanks everyone for your messages!

 

[ataq]

Thank you for letting us now. Once I get my new M1 macbook, i will bring my macbook 2018 with bloated battery to the apple store in istanbul

 

[Super Xander]

I got a similar one on the lid

 

[Johnontheweb]

Hi guys! Recently I noticed this weird bulge on the right side of my laptop and I’m not sure what it can be. Some inner parts could be swollen, right?

Quite long time ago (about 2 years) my right speaker stopped working and I know that that’s a hardware issue.

Should I be worried? Right now I need it for work and unfortunately I'm not able to get it checked by professionals.

Thank you.

Yo Mista Hope. the minute you notice the bulge... Just back it up, take it down to the Apple store. They replace the Aluminum around the keyboard, the battery and all is good. Pay no attention to the battery health report. It only pings you when things are bad. It will cost you US$200 / CHF170. A bargain at twice the price. I have never held on to a MBP this long (from 2016), but it just keeps going. I have to keep making video rendering stuff up to just get the fans to come on. Best. Happy Christmas to all.

 

[cablefun]

If anyone is interested in the results ?

Apple guy told me that's a physical damage and not a battery thing. They will replace for free my keyboard with top case, including speaker and battery as well... But the parts are not available and they will order them. Gonna stay in Istanbul for couple more weeks.

Thanks everyone for your messages!

Called it!