Reviews for Rechargeable Battery - 17-inch MacBook Pro

After nine months of constantly using my MacBook Pro 17, the system recently started to shut down unexpectedly, Now the battery casing is expanding and buckling and will not hold a charge. The effective life cycle with other rechargeable battery systems I have used seems to be about the same.

I was concerned about additional damage or safety hazard so I removed the battery. I called Apple Support and they agreed without dispute to send a replacement under warranty at no charge. Apple is still the best overall computer experience I have had!

People don't seem to be reviewing the battery at all in the top pile of negs posted here. Here's a quick crack at it....
My 17" Macbook pro comes with one of these batts (as does yours!) - If mine is anything to go by, you should get 1.5 years of regular use before you need to replace. This should be expected of any rechargable battery of this kind of size and complexity. Laptop batteries don't get treated properly because they regularly get plugged in when they are only at partial discharge. This is not brilliant even for modern Lithium ion etc. However, I treated mine to regular discharges and full recharges to keep the sectors / cells open and flexing (or whatever the term is - I'm no scientist geek!) and I have been very impressed with what these power cells can achieve when compared to my Sony Vaio and Dell laptops (I have many). I think £100 is a bit hot for a replacement here - so I have just bought one on eBay for £38. The dude says it's a real one. It had better be! Perhaps I'll come back here and tell you the story when it arrives! - Anyway - I would say, yes do buy this battery when yours starts to misbehave. And don't be dissapointed if you've had a year's worth of good use out of the one you are recycling. If you are out and about without mains a lot, then you should definately have at least one spare. Having two batts also helps you look after them properly because you can (if you're disciplined enough) let them discharge fully before swapping out. Battery swelling? So hot you can fry an egg on it? It does sound like it's time for a replacement doesn't it.... What's that you say? Only had it for 6 months... erm - why don't you send it back to Apple then, it'll be under warrantee! Stuff does do wrong sometimes you know. Honestly some people don't know a good thing when they see it.

Trust me - These are good. I know what I'm talking about.

Apple has engineered a great battery for the 17" MacBook Pro. It keeps chugging for 3.5 to 4 hours and greatly outpaces my old G4 15" Powerbook battery with double the operating time. I'm very impressed. Good work Apple!

Note: If anyone isn't getting fabulous operating time, or is experiencing battery warpage or overheating, take your notebook into the Apple store and get a new battery. If you're within warranty it should be free, or if out of warranty, $129 is a small price to pay for the power this little beast puts out.

If you've ended up here, then you likely have had problems similar to mine.  Here's mine: I use my computer plugged in most of the time, but often unplug to roam the house or to work somewhere without power.  The unit has worked well (although it does get HOT!) for a couple of years now (of nearly continual usage) originally getting approximately 3 hrs of usage - although of late I have noticed shorter & shorter battery life.  The other day (not certain whether I had just been utilizing the battery or had just gone to power), when I returned to it to start working I realized that the computer was wobbly - checked to see if it had lost a footing or had been placed upon something, then discovered that the battery case was almost completely out of its slot and the battery was all warped and expanded (to almost twice its size).  Removed power, shut it down, took out the battery and couldn't believe it - thought someone must have tried to pry it out of the computer.  It appeared that the unit had simply become unglued (although greatly expanded and warped).  No amount of effort could get it back together/normal (nor back in its slot).  

In looking to replace it, I ended up at this review forum (I will take it to an Apple Store to see if they will simply give me another - as some have apparently successfully done - albeit theirs were potentially still under warranty which I doubt mine is).  I have read most of these reviews and to save you the trouble here are the most salient points: 1. This has apparently been a problem since these units first came out - look at the reviews, back to September '07 (whether they have improved on the design since their debut is unclear, but they definitely have NOT solved the problem); 2. You can go into "About This Mac" to find details about usage - I read one place that the units have about 2250 charge cycles - you'll see a number showing how many you've gone through (some said that below about 300 remaining the battery starts to have serious problems like shutting down when it still shows a charge - I did experience this a couple of times just before the battery expanded, but wrote it off to pilot error & don't know how many I was on when this all happened); 3. As the unit expands it can do other really bad things like expand inward - shutting down the mouse pad and creating serious OS errors; 4. You apparently can re-calibrate your battery and doing so may help your battery's life, but actually doing so a lot may hurt it instead; 5. Seeing that this is a regular problem (and unfixed) I am hesitant to buy another unit (many here have gone through 3 or 4 batteries) AND I do not think I would want to have one of the new computers with non-removable batteries - what happens when it goes - could ruin your whole computer AND NOT be replaceable!

I have MacBook Pro17 for about 2 years. I always plug in my computer to the power source. Battery holds power for almost 3 hours. Two days ago I saw my computer now sitting properly on my desk. I thoung there was something under my computer. But I was disappointed to see that battery was buldged out. I tried to fix it but could not. I have to replace it now. It is not cheap, $129. Really disappointing.

After around 3 years of honorable service it simply popped open!!!

Not a very safe performance, I would say! Luckily there was no leakage: likely only swollen cells.

Battery swelled and burst out of its case.

Really excited about plopping down another $130 on this MBP for an admitted defect.

When this battery started to deform, I took in out of the PowerBook and set it on a counter. Three days later, it is 3x the size and would have torn the PowerBook in two. Not very impressed Apple!

I'm so glad I read the reviews; they saved my computer. The problem I first noticed was that my computer would suddenly shut off when the battery icon showed it still had around half a charge left. This led me to believe that the battery was dying and needed to be replaced, and I decided I could make due with the powercord for a while. However, the trackpad/spacebar started acting up too. I removed my battery and discovered the casing was coming apart and was starting to warp on one side. I came here to purchase another battery and discovered this was a trend, not an isolated case. Thankfully someone wrote that if you notice your battery expanding to remove it from your computer and leave it out for good; a few days after I removed mine it fully "exploded" and doubled in width. Had I left it in my computer, it would have broken everything.

To Apple's credit, they did give me a new battery even though my warranty was up. At least they realize that there is a problem with their product, but it's amazing to see that even after many years they haven't fixed the issue.

3 weeks ago, noticed the mouse pad on my 2 year old MBP would not work. Within a week I noticed the MBP would not lay flat on my desk, then discovered the bulging battery. Since removing the battery, the mouse pad works again and there appears to be no residual damage to the MPB case. Since removal, one corner of the battery case split open 2 inches, exposing the foil encased interior of the battery. I'm just relieved i didn't leave the battery in the laptop which could have caused major damage. From other experiences I've read recently Apple stopped replacing these defective batteries in May 2009. I will need to purchase a new battery, however my biggest worry is fear of the new replacement battery self destructing in 12-24 months. This battery issue is atypical of Apple quality - I have been a loyal Apple owner for 20 years - this is very disappointing.