MacBook Pro images demonstrates reason for battery recall

Photos have been shared of a designer's Mid-2015 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro that has suffered a catastrophic battery failure, images that illustrate why Apple recently instigated a recall program for some units of that particular model.

On June 20, Apple launched a voluntary recall of the 15-inch MacBook Pro, specifically those sold between September 2015 and February 2017, over concerns the battery posed a safety risk. Under the recall, which provides a replacement battery for affected Mac notebooks, Apple explained the battery "may overheat and pose a fire safety risk" in some cases, something that has been illustrated by one unlucky owner.

Designer Steven Gagne of Pensacola, Florida, encountered a failure of his MacBook Pro's battery on June 17 while in bed, according to a Facebook post spotted by PetaPixel. The battery "blew and a small fire filled my house with smoke," wrote Gagne, noting the sound of the event and the strong chemical and burning smell.

One concern was that the MacBook Pro wasn't actively being used by Gagne at the time of the incident. He claims it was sitting "screen closed, unplugged, and in Sleep Mode" on a coffee table. Gagne was lucky in that normally the MacBook Pro was kept in a basket filled with notebooks and journals, or on the couch, with either location potentially causing far more damage than what transpired.

The scorched trackpad of the 15-inch MacBook Pro (via Steve Gagne/Facebook)

The images shared by Gagne shows a round hole on the base of the MacBook Pro, where the battery burned through, complete with a matching hole on the coffee tablet itself. Burn marks, soot, and other marks caused through the spilled chemicals are also visible, while notably there are also scorch marks around the front side of the trackpad.

Apple's recall site includes a serial number checker to see if a concerned user's MacBook Pro is eligible for a replacement battery. If it is one of the affected models, Apple advises to immediately stop using the notebook and to request a replacement battery, either via the Apple Store, an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or by mail via Apple Support.

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19 Comments

seanismorris 9 Years · 1624 comments

About 5 years ago

Missed out on marketing opportunity...

4th of July smoking hot fire sale on 15-inch MacBook Pro.

We promise not to explode your wallet, but if you get burned call 911.

avon b7 21 Years · 8054 comments

Has Apple detailed what 'some cases' refers to?

Every single Mac laptop I've owned has had battery problems (swelling only up to this point) except the MacBook Air, fingers crossed.

I wonder if heat is one of the cases as, for example, it can get very hot where I live and I don't have air conditioning.

I also wonder if Apple is substituting these damaged machines with MBPs from a more recent generation or the same line with 'fixed' batteries.

With a little luck Apple can proactively contact owners in most cases to notify them and rely less on other channels.

9secondkox2 9 Years · 3157 comments

Batteries are batteries.

It’s very mature tech, but like anything else, you are going to have some problems.

Apple, Samsung, Tesla, Microsoft, Google, etc. have all found this out the hard way.

Kinda scary though. You just never know. Checked my mbp yesterday and it’s clear, but wow. I’m taking a lot more care where I place my electronics when I’m not using them.

macgui 18 Years · 2472 comments

9secondkox2 said:

Batteries are batteries.

There's more to this than that.

Yeah, every manufacturer has had battery problems. But Apple is doing a voluntary recall of specific serial numbers. There is clearly some problem they discovered through their own research or information from their supplier.

Batteries are batteries and are mature tech (pretty much) and almost always just die, eventually, sans conflagration. There isn't any intrinsic randomness that Li-Ion says 'Hey, how 'bout I go out in a flaming ball of glory.

Something went amiss. We may never know exactly what happened, or someone may tell. But it would be nice to know why Apple focused on a certain range, batch, or run of MacBooks.

avon b7 said:

Has Apple detailed what 'some cases' refers to?

Every single Mac laptop I've owned has had battery problems (swelling only up to this point) except the MacBook Air, fingers crossed.

I wonder if heat is one of the cases as, for example, it can get very hot where I live and I don't have air conditioning.

I also wonder if Apple is substituting these damaged machines with MBPs from a more recent generation or the same line with 'fixed' batteries.

With a little luck Apple can proactively contact owners in most cases to notify them and rely less on other channels.

This is a very strange post...

I’ve been a tech/network admin/IT manager and I’ve never experienced this working with hundreds of Windows laptops (only a few Macs). I’ve had many many bad battery’s but the failures are related to charging/cables/other/electrical shorts (prevent machine turning on) but I’ve never seen flames or burns on batteries (yes, burns elsewhere).

Batteries should have similar failure rates (not that many manufacturers) between PC and Macs. The only reason rates should differ is because of the laptop design. These MacBooks must be experiencing excessive flexibility and not enough clearance around the batteries, resulting in damage to the batteries.

That said, both MacBooks or PC laptops have extremely low failure rates. (These 15” included, just higher than normal)

You know that, even though the MacBook Air (etc) can fit in an envelope it shouldn’t be transported in one...right?