What about macbook owners? Mine started to grow in size and apple said I was SOL. $129 later my wallet still hurts. They told me batteries are supposed to grow in size when they start to age however I'm not sure how true that is.

Batteries...grow? How come my Zune/Ipod/Cellphone/360 controller/cordless phone/bluetooh headset/PSP recharable batteries still fit?

To be fair, swelling or bloating batteries are a little misleading. The reactive part of the battery itself does not swell, merely the cosmetic plastic itself glued onto it. It in no way is a safety hazard nor affects the performance of the battery. I would be surprised if any still had this issue as it would've been prevalent early in the life of the system.

Still, if this is the case, I imagine taking the unit into an Apple store might grant one a warranty exception. If not, well, you've likely been sitting on this issue for 2-3 years already. Apple's warranty extension program typically extend to a maximum of 3 years since the affected system was offered through Apple as that's the longest timeframe Apple will warranty any of their systems.

I thought this said swallowed battery.

well, I'm sure that's not covered either.

@post_break: That is complete BS. Batteries are NOT supposed to visibly deform under normal operating conditions.

It's cute that the OP tried to sic the BBB on Apple. The reality is, the BBB is supported by its members, which are businesses, and all it takes to become a BBB member is $$$. So you as a complainant have the deck stacked against you if the business in question is a BBB member, and even more so if they are not. About the only thing I've found the BBB useful for is to check their ratings of companies *before* I do any business with them.

The Apple Store in Utah just replaced my battery on my 2 year old MBP. I didn't fight with them or anything I just explained that a week ago it suddenly died at 20% battery capacity. Then 2 days ago it started dying at 80 and then 90% battery capacity. I told them that I expected battery performance to degrade as the battery got older, but to go from nearly a full battery to only 10% in less than a week was a little ridiculous. After I noticed the battery wasn't performing properly I looked at it they it was showing the characteristic bulging on one side.

@post_break:

A. I have not ever heard of MacBook batteries swelling. Not same issue as what CR is referencing and MacBook batteries have a different design and did not use same plastics/glue as the cosmetic parts of the MBP batteries that were affected by this issue.

B. Batteries do not grow in size with age. That's BS, are you sure you were told this directly from Apple or was it an Apple Authorized Service Provider? Was the battery visually inspected? It's true that over time the battery and the case may shift or warp slightly, and so that battery won't sit in the case flush but that mostly depends on how the computer is used and stored. Carrying a computer in a case with other objects that may press against and flex the case tend to exacerbate this issue. Depending on how old the system is, you might take it in person to an Apple Store and get a second opinion, assuming you still have the old battery.

The Macbook in the CR photo looks to be 3 - 5 years old. I'm not sure how long Apple should be expected to support these things. People are really using 3-5 year-old hardware?

@tedyc03: Yeah, Monsieur Moneybags, we the people are using expensive hardware for as long as they are functional.

-Posted on a 15in. Powerbook G4 1.67 GHz, circa 2005

@districtdon19: But just how long should we expect the manufacturer to warrant the products? The replacements are supposed to fix the problem, which they offered to do for 3 years from purchase.

@districtdon19: Except a battery is a consumable item. It's not like the logic board died within 3 years and they won't replace it.

@districtdon19: Amen!

@tedyc03:

The original CR article states this particular unit was sitting on a shelf and not actively being used when they noticed the issue which explains why it wasn't dealt with earlier. I believe their diagnosis of the battery cells swelling was also incorrect. To my recollection, this issue affected a small percentage of original rev MBP systems before Apple fixed it in manufacturing. The problem was purely cosmetic and was that the glue or plastics on the outside of the battery would warp from the heat of the battery.

@tedyc03:

Have you ever looked at the resale value of old Macs on eBay? It's crazy. Yeah, people still use them.

@AlteredBeast: Oh snap!

@spittingangels: The... uhh... *defective* part is still true, and that part that Apple is the manufacturer and responsible for the safety and proper functioning of its products.

From a couple of responses I've read on this post I am starting to wonder if some Apple employee troll's may be on the case here. How anyone either be it an Apple employee or Apple Fanboy can turn a bloated battery around to the customers problem really impresses me. Companies should replace the defection no matter the time period, that is what the bloated prices are for that pay for the Liver transplants the Apple owner gets. Period.

My battery isn't swollen but it's under 100 cycles and won't last more than 3 minutes without being connected to a power source. Since my Macbook is out of warranty Apple told me I'm on my own. Buying a PC this time instead.

I have a 3yr old MBP 17". the replaced my exploding battery twice since I bought it. Even more amazing. The last time was in june 2009 and my applecare 3yr warranty was already expired.

just because some reporter tries to make apple look bad, does not make it true. reporters love to dig on apple because in reality they are better then EVERYBODY else.

@bigd7387:

If you are implicating me, I've never claimed in my responses that it's the customer's problem or that Apple is not responsible and I'm sorry if anything I said came across that way. I was only attempting to add info on Apple's typical warranty coverages and recommending people take the system into an Apple store so the battery can be visually inspected in the hopes a warranty exception is granted. This issue is an old issue and at this point most affected batteries would likely be ones that sat on a shelf somewhere (as CR states in thier original article: [blogs.consumerreports.org]) or that users neglected to address during the time Apple offered a warranty extension for this problem. Even though Apple has no obligation to address an out of warranty issue such as this (regardless of your opinion of the matter), they do often do make exceptions on a case by case basis.

I also took the time to clarify the specifics of the issue, as a claim in the original article that the inner cells of the battery expand is factually incorrect. Only the outer casing of the battery expands because of inferior materials used. This is not a trivial distinction because if the actual cells of the battery were expanding then that would be rather alarming and a potential safety issue. I don't want people unnecessarily freaking out because poor wording or misinformation makes them think their battery might explode.

And no, I am not an Apple employee but yes, I am a big fan of Apple products despite their occasional flaws.

If my attempts at providing helpful information is interpreted as trolling, then I am done here.

Hehehehe.
"Fatty battery."

That one got me.

@gamabunta: you think going PC will help?

We have Dells that didnt make it half a year before re replace their batteries. It was a manufacturing problem across the board.

EVERYONE got hit. Apple, Dell, HP you name them.

@Jim Topoleski: Not having to pay the Apple premium for substandard service. At least buying a PC I know what I'm getting into; and let's be honest, it's all made by underpaid, overworked child labor in China.

Please remember to take any out-of-warranty batteries directly to an Apple store, not a reseller or Authorized Repair Centre. Only Apple Corportate can overrule their system.

@gamabunta: "100 cycles" doesn't tell the full story. Your battery could be three years old yet have a relatively low cycle count because you keep it plugged into AC power most of the time. The more interesting fact to your story is that the computer is out-of-warranty, meaning it is at least a year old. Apple's warranty only covers the battery during its first year.

@gamabunta: "Not having to pay the Apple premium for substandard service. "

Substandard how. I would like you to tell me HOW its substandard.

Cause all you are showing right now is how you dont know what you are talking about when it comes to laptops, and are assuming things are better with other companies when all evidence points otherwise.

Also please stop with the premium myth. Its been disproved to death at this point. Saying just makes you look like a idiot when anyone can go right to a PC manufactuer get the stats of a EQUAL spec machine to a mac, and show that often the Apple is cheaper.

No the 500 dollar crap laptops that last maybe 1 year from BestBuy dont count.

Your absolutely correct whether it is the plastic or not. I have had two batteries swell up and croak on my Mac Book intel 17' Pro. Apple replaced both at no charge. Also my ATI X1900 at graphics card was extremely defective on my tower, they also replaced that even without the extended warranty. GO APPLE!

This is actually really interesting. Last thursday, I went into an Apple store in Portland, OR and told them that while my MacBook Pro was out of warranty, the battery was swollen, and I asked them if there was anything they could do about it. He gave me a new battery then and there, and I was out of the store in under 10 minutes. Maybe this is in effect as of today?