It seems even the beloved MacBook battery is not completely safe from battery troubles, the owner of a black MacBook discovered the hard way. So what is an angry mac user to do? Start a blog of course! MacBookFire.Blogspot.com has pictures and plenty of information on this users MacBook battery explosion. The account of the fire is too long to quote here, so read it there.

The pictures are relatively poor quality so we haven’t posted one, but if you’re interested, look here.

Not good!

Great news for MacBook and MacBook Pro owners who have had battery troubles,Apple has extended the warranty for an additional year beyond the date of purchase for problematic batteries. Problematic batteries include many issues we have reported on before, such as Battery with an X through it and the infamous bulging.

This program extends repair coverage on the battery for up to two years from the date of purchase of the computer for Intel Core Duo-based MacBook and MacBook Pro computers

Here’s Apple’s methods of identifying if your battery could be problematic and if it deserves a call to Apple:

Identifying an affected battery

Affected batteries will have one or more of the following symptoms:

* Battery is not recognized causing an “X” to appear in the battery icon in the Finder menu bar.
* Battery will not charge when computer is plugged into AC power.
* Battery exhibits low charge capacity/runtime when using a fully charged battery with a battery cycle count (as shown in System Profiler) of less than 300.
* Battery pack is visibly deformed.

Note: If your MacBook or MacBook Pro battery does not have any of the symptoms noted above, your battery does not need to be replaced.

If you have a bad battery, contact Apple!

More information from Apple

Endgadget reports on yet another bulging battery from a MacBook Pro 17″. Referencing the above picture:

After a few weeks of slight bloating, this is what he discovered this morning following an overnight charge. Think it’s an isolated issue do you? Then perhaps you missed the “me too” comment revolt in our original posting a few weeks back. Now, what say you Apple, time for an exchange? After all, just like your 15-inch MBP batteries, it’s safe to say that these also do not meet your “high standards for battery performance.” Or do they?

If one thinks it is an isolated case, the comments on Engadget’s blog would show otherwise, with at least nine other readers coming forward with pictures and their own stories of bulging batteries. Will there be a recall?

Update: Even more reports are coming in of swelling batteries. Here are some more links: EndlessElevation, MacInTalk Forums

Engadget is reporting that a users MacBook Pro 17″ has exhibited the lovely swelling battery problem, the story below:

The engorged battery photos you see above and in the gallery below were sent to us by a reader named Brian. He claims that he was watching a movie on his 17-inch MacBook Pro (core duo) when it suddenly shut off. This happened twice before, only this time with a notable difference: his battery was fit to burst. As we have all learned, swelling is typically the final stage before explosion.

More pictures of the battery can be seen on Engadgets page. This is not the first time MacBook Pro 17″ batteries have swelled, you can see two other reports on AppleDefects here. If your battery is swelling, call Apple as soon as possible, no exceptions.

A Core Duo MacBook has burst into flames, destroying the laptop and causing some property damage in the process. The battery looks to be the culprit as it erupted into a firestorm, much like the exploding Mac’s of the past. Here’s a shortened version of the story:

3am last night. I woke up to my housemate screaming (yelling “Matty!”) and the dog barking…
As I was running I saw a fire. At first I thought that the lamp had fallen and set fire to the curtain. As I got closer I realised it was my mac book …. burning!

…My housemate said she heard it hissing like a steam valve, then smoke started pouring out of it and a couple of seconds later, a very large flash fire started. I’m sure you have read about these and seen the dell video. This is what happened to my macbook.

The battery is swollen and burnt so it’s definitely the battery that exploded and caught fire. The macbook is melted on the bottom and severely charred (along with my bookshelves, books, magazines and the wall). The space bar is melted as is the track pad. The screen has been damaged a little too.

Thankfully no one was hurt in the incident and the fire was quickly put out. See the full story at the MacTalk forums, including more pictures.

Despite Apple’s recall of the bad MacBook Pro batteries, the expansion problem will occasionally still surface. A reader emailed us these pictures of his completely defective MacBook Pro battery, failing miserably into some expansive self destruction. The reader called Apple, who apparently notified him that the battery is safe to use:

Apple considers these batteries to be safe to use and keep while we wait for a replacement?
I certainly wont be keeping mine in my house.

Safe or not, the thing looks awful. Thankfully Apple is replacing these batteries without any hassle. Here’s a few more pictures of the same battery, bulging out of the MacBook Pro:

If your battery looks anything like this, or exhibits any other signs of a defect, call Apple immediately for a replacement.

Despite the battery recalls, every now and then a MacBook Pro battery still exhibits the random expansion that puzzles us all. The latest is from a MacBook Pro 17″, and unfortunately the owner didn’t post much of a story or explanation with the pictures, saying only:

Hi I have an 17” MBP my battery warped

We still wonder what causes these mysterious battery expansions, but it does seem that Apple replaces them quickly. Apple and batteries have had a tough relationship over the past year, as you can see from our archives on the topic.

Photos of the MacBook Pro 17″ Battery here

DefectWiki: Swollen Battery

Note: The above image has been lightened

CNet is running a story about the frustration among Chinese PowerBook users regarding the service they are getting:

Chinese people who own Apple computers think they are getting shabbier treatment, however, and they are burning up the Internet about it.

ChinaTechNews reported a few days ago that contributors to Chinese Internet forums are complaining about how the recall has been handled here. Unlike in the US, where Apple handled all shipping and essentially made the process effortless, Chinese consumers have to pay shipping themselves.

Forcing the consumer to pay for a companies defective battery recall is just not fair, especially when in other countries Apple foots the bill.

In the past few weeks, several airlines have resorted to banning various Dell and Apple laptops from flights, due to the fire risk of exploding batteries. Now…

Virgin Atlantic has become the third airline to restrict the use of Apple and Dell laptop batteries on its flights. Passengers who want to take their Inspirons, Lattitudes, iBooks, PowerBooks, MacBooks or MacBook Pros onto the carrier’s planes are asked to remove the battery first.

It is interesting to note that even the new MacBook and MacBook Pro are included in the ban, despite neither having any confirmed ignition of their batteries. It is assumed that Virgin is simply being prudent in their all-inclusive blockade of potentially disasterous defective batteries.

Read about the new ban here

Discuss this in the forums

Brian May of the world famous rock band Queen recently bought a MacBook Pro, and hates it! Citing complaints of the battery function, battery size, weight, various software issues, and the tremendous heat, he emphasizes:

I have been trying to resist writing this. I have been a big Apple Mac supporter for years.

But I am really beginning to hate my new one.

but…

Usually I get no warning of the low battery - it just suddenly DIES

This sounds eerily familiar, his battery is likely suffering from the inappropriate shutdown issue which we reported on a few months ago. It would be assumed these batteries would be fixed or recalled but perhaps some are still floating around.

Read our past report on the MacBook Pro battery complaints here

But the biggest complaint of Brian’s, as well as countless other MacBook and MacBook Pro owners:

And the WORST THING? the HEAT !! The AWFUL HEAT ….

The damn heat … As I type this the left hand part of the computer is burning my hand. It’s like trying to sit over an electric bar fire. It’s utter misery. I run the thing on a special well-ventilated stand, with a pharmaceutical cold pack underneath. It STILL burns my thighs … and makes me break out in a sweat after about 20 minutes. This really sucks.

So it seems even rock stars aren’t immune to the computer troubles that plague the rest of us.

Read Brian May’s complaints here.