Major Apple Laptop Design Flaw

[Timmyjoe]

Maybe others have experienced this issue with their Apple laptops, made after about 2005, when Apple stopped making their laptops with swappable batteries and started building the batteries into the computers. Overnight, for the third time, one of my Apple products with a built in battery exploded. The first was many years ago, an iPod Mini, and I thought, no big deal, it didn't cost that much. The second, a couple years ago, was my daughter's MacBook Pro. With patience I was able to take it apart, clean it up, put in a new battery, and it is still working today. In researching that explosion, I read that leaving the laptop plugged in to a charging cord could cause the battery to overheat and explode. So with my other laptops, I am religious about unplugging them as soon as they are fully charged.

Well last night my MacBook Air exploded. It had not been plugged into the charger for over a week, and because these computers were designed to be slim and very lightweight, the ruptured battery destroyed the computer, as seen in the images below:

Besides the frustration and loss of a computer, everything on the internal hard drive is now nearly impossible to retrieve. The computer is not safe to be plugged in, and even if I could get that to work, the trackpad and clicker button are badly damaged so I'm not sure I could even navigate the operating system.

I find this very frustrating, as my 2004 & 1999 Apple laptops, with swappable batteries, still work perfectly (although their operating systems are outdated).

I use a second MacBook Air for work, which is from 2011, and wonder how long it will be before that one explodes.

Going forward, I will make sure everything I have on any Apple laptop is backed up on an external hard drive, as this Apple design flaw can put our data at risk.

Best,
-Tim

 

[olakiril]

This is very unfortunate! This is actually more common than expected with some MacBooks.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3681221?page=3
Try taking it to an apple store to see if they can help.

 

[jsrockit]

That sucks... mine is certainly bulging at times... I wonder what makes them finally explode?

 

[retinax]

I'd take my money elsewhere.

 

[jsrockit]

I'd take my money elsewhere.

But then we'd have to use Windows... a fate worse than this! 😉

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

Is this not a flaw with Li-ion batteries in general?


(And no, I'm not an Apple apologist. I have been using their stuff for over 12 years, but I think the idea of a laptop with a non-replaceable battery or any computer with a non-replaceable hard drive/SSD is nuts. Unfortunately, the entire industry is moving in this direction.)

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The Battery Packs for my Micron Trek 2, bought in 1999- have never exploded. They still hold a good charge. I use the computer in the Lab, mostly as a terminal emulator these days.

I have a lot of Panasonic Toughbooks, never had a battery pack explode. Using a CF-53 right now.

Exploding batteries- Apple should be forced to issue a recall and repair the faulty packs. This should be a safety concern.

 

[Solinar]

The idea of a laptop with a non-replaceable battery or any computer with a non-replaceable hard drive/SSD is nuts. Unfortunately, the entire industry is moving in this direction.)

Yep - thank the modern smart phone for leading the way.

By the way, didn't the original MacBook Air crib some components from the iPods of the late 2,000 noughts?

 

[Timmyjoe]

That sucks... mine is certainly bulging at times... I wonder what makes them finally explode?

John, if you want to try to save your laptop if it is already starting to budge, you might want to replace the battery now instead of waiting for it to completely explode & destroy the whole laptop.

It's not that difficult.

Best,
-Tim

PS: Anyone who has a laptop like mine above, a 2008-2009 MacBook Air, can obtain a replacement battery to install before your battery explodes like mine did at this web site:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/BAP89MBA37/

I have no affiliation with this company, though I have purchased products from them in the past and they seem to be on the up-and-up.

 

[retinax]

But then we'd have to use Windows... a fate worse than this! 😉

Linux! There is very respectable photo software for Linux nowadays.

 

[jsrockit]

Linux! There is very respectable photo software for Linux nowadays.

Respectable sure, but I actually like Lightroom. 😀

 

[jsrockit]

John, if you want to try to save your laptop if it is already starting to budge, you might want to replace the battery now instead of waiting for it to completely explode & destroy the whole laptop.

Ok, I will look into this... thank you.

 

[willie_901]

Sorry about your string of bad luck.

Since 2002 we owned 7 MacBook Airs and PowerBooks. None of them ever had this issue. In 2012 I did replace the battery in an old MacBook because it gradually stopped holding a charge.

I had two serious failure MacBook Pro/MacBook Air failures. I spilled a glass of iced tea all over a MacBook Air keyboard and killed it. I owned a 2017 MacBook Pro that suffered a screen hinge cable failure. I had that one repaired in 2019 (~$400).

Both iMacs I owned were 100% trouble free. I sold both of them to finance newer Macs.

My 2012 MacMini was perfect. I traded it in this summer. My 2012 Apple Cinema Thunderbolt Display just keeps on trucking.

 

[Creagerj]

The type of battery failure you experienced can happen to any lithium battery as far as I know. The ballooning is by design to prevent the battery pack from rupturing and catching on fire (maybe yours did?). Take it to Apple and see if you can get it repaired, hopefully under warranty. Always keep a backup offsite for any data that is important to you.

FWIW, this isn't unique to newer Macs. My 2007 MB with a replaceable battery also did this and I had to replace it. The hard drive also failed at one point.

While I do agree it is unfortunate that there is a downside to non-replaceable batteries, this is the cost of thinner devices. Personally I pick thinner, lighter devices because I want to be able to throw it in my bag and not know it is there. There are still plenty of laptops out there with replaceable batteries. They just aren't made by Apple.

 

[splitimageview]

Yes, this is the occasional nature of these batteries. Can and does happen to all brands of devices that use such batteries, like an AT&T branded wifi hotspot I had a while back.

 

[benlees]

A shame you lost the whole thing, but 13 years is a good run for a macbook air. Congrats on keeping it in good enough shape to make it this long. Every design has good points and... compromises. Has never been otherwise!

 

[bob338]

We had a Macbook Pro 2012 fail in the same way. When I took it to the Apple store, they told me I was lucky the house didn't burn down because it had been left charging over a long weekend when we weren't home. It is a major design flaw in my opinion, but I doubt it will change. It's much cheaper to solder the batteries in than using plug and play materials.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/macboo...cbook-pro-laptops-due-to-fire-and-burn-risks/

Is your computer in this recall?

If not- Apple needs to expand the recall.

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

Yep - thank the modern smart phone for leading the way.

By the way, didn't the original MacBook Air crib some components from the iPods of the late 2,000 noughts?

Yes, the original 2008 MacBook Air had a 1.8″ hard drive that I believe originated in the iPod. I had one of these MacBook Airs and took it apart to replace the hard drive with an SSD from macsales.com. Not too hard but it took an hour so. The battery in this model was also replaceable, although you had to take the machine apart to do so.

 

[ornate_wrasse]

I had this very problem about a year ago. I did not notice the bulging in my MacBook Pro, but my computer tech noticed it when he took a look at it. He immediately got extremely concerned and told me I needed to have the battery replaced immediately, if not sooner. If I didn't have it done, he explained, it could explode. He knew someone locally here in Portland that was able to replace the battery.

I was very very lucky. If I had not had it done when I did, the battery would likely have exploded. As it was, the computer was really bulging, a sure sign that ithe explosion would have happened in the near future. My computer tech told me when he saw it that it was the worst he had ever seen.

Since I had the battery replaced, I have not had any problems.