Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I just got this from my brother-in-law - he asked if I could clean it up, and maybe upgrade the hard drive. Its battery was pretty low. So I plugged it in, and within 10 minutes the track pad popped out, and the case started to deform. I quickly got the screws off the bottom and this is what I found.

It is outside on the patio on a glass and metal table, away from anything combustible. The table can be sacrificed, I never liked it anyway.

I can't even take it to the computer recycling place, since it is like having unexploded ordnance - which I would not like to have go off in my car.

Of course Apple doesn't want anyone to mess with their batteries, so they use this uncommon screw with a head that resembles a Tri-Wing® screw, and I don't have a driver to remove it.

So it stays outside until I can figure out what to do with it. Scary stuff.

If I never bring another Apple product into my house it will be too soon - these things are dangerous!!

[Edit] the last pic was just taken, about 1 hour after the self-destruct sequence activated itself.

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Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Are you sure you plugged it in properly? Those Macs can be temperamental.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

I would put it in a safe corner of your yard, run an extension cord, turn it on and step back and watch. Put a sandbag on it if you are really concerned.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I had something similar happen with an IPad. My wife dropped it and cracked the screen, so I took it to the local Ubreakfix repair shop to have the screen replaced. Many months later, it failed to start, so I plugged it in to a charger on my desk. Just happened to check back an hour later, and the bottom was too hot to touch. I removed the screen and found that the tech had neglected to replace the 4 screws holding the digitizer screen in place. Ultimately, over time, it moved enough to short the positive trace going to the battery connector to ground, melting the connector, and since the connector was part of the main board, the IPad was toast - good only for parts. After threatening to bad mouth the repair shop everywhere from local social media to their corporate office, I managed a partial settlement (since I couldn’t PROVE they had left out the screws) and purchased a new one. Lessons learned: (1) Li ion or NiMH batteries can deliver enough current to easily start a fire if shorted (2) In the future, I’ll replace a cracked screen myself - IPads are not that difficult to disassemble/reassemble if you’re careful around the connections for the WiFi antenna and controls.

jinx

Reminds me of the cell phone that exploded in my granddaughters hands. She was at the counter of the store tell them it got hot and it exploded.

twosummers Loc: Melbourne Australia or Lincolnshire England

I had a similar problem on my "trusty" 2010 MacBook Pro - first noticed that the trackpad was not working correctly, then it began to deform. Luckily I changed the battery (the culprit) before the situation became too bad. The new battery came with the correct screwdriver. My local recycling place accepted the old battery. BE CAREFUL

SteveR Loc: Michigan

My son told me Macs were the best computers, so I bought one. I loaded photos onto the SSD drive. They were all there when I loaded them. However, when I try to access them, some are missing, just showing gray blank areas where the photos used to be. Thank goodness I still have them on my backup drive. I don't know that I'll trust my photos to a Mac SSD drive again, however.

happy sailor Loc: Ontario, Canada

Yep not a lot different than a lithium battery in any device which has become defective for whatever reason.

Depending on what model, replacement battery is available on Amazon for $50 to $80 and most come with the screwdriver tritip you need.

Come on Gene, you’re a pretty handy guy, you can do this rather than just taking a swipe at Apple.

tcthome Loc: NJ

I had an Asus 10" tablet a few years back. Stopped working. I decided to play around & take it apart. I folded & snapped a soft battery ( Still attached to the board). All of a sudden it started to get warm & lucky enough to be only a few feet from my balcony sliding doors (3rd floor condo) . By the time it went over the railing it was smoking pretty good & in flames by the time it hit the grass.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Imagine 1000 pounds of this beneath the seats of your car.

Ramled Loc: Victoria, British Columbia

This was a problem with some MacBook Pros. I had mine do the same so I took it to a computer shop and they wanted a fortune to replace the battery. I ordered one through Amazon with the tools and the screw driver and replaced it myself, it wasn't that hard and it works great. The interesting thing is that Apple wants a lot more money for their battery and the one that was in it was the same as I ordered on Amazon, made in China.

Swifty Loc: Canfield Ohio

Many times these “special” screws can be loosened with a flat blade screwdriver. Pick one that fits in the screw and nestles along the side of the edges. Hard to explain but start with a small blade and work up to a larger blade until it “locks” in place and you are good to go.

BobU Loc: Sarasota Florida

It is not uncommon for old batteries to swell like that, and start to deform the case etc. A telltale sign can be when the trackpad can not be pushed down, (clicked) as easily as it one was,. The battery swelling has restricted its movement. I have replaced a fair amount of these batteries and it is not a hard job.

It also appears that the mac has a regular hard drive. If you replace the battery with success, you may consider putting in a solid state drive which will speed it us as well.

As others have mentioned already, many replacement batteries come in a kit with the tools you need. Battery life on the replacements can be hit or miss, I have had "name brand" replacements fail in a few months, so its good to get a battery with a decent warranty.

hrblaine

I started with personal computers with an Apple Lisa (anybody remember that?). Prior to that I had always worked on a mainframe. (The federal contract I was working on wanted us off the mainframe for some unknown reason, probably just my idiot contract officer. I disliked those guys, let the Research Foundation at The Ohio State University deal with them as much as possible.)

Graduated (?) to a Mac but finally got tired of the hassle and got away from them. I'm now retired and use a HP laptop. While working, I finally decided that Macs were for home use in a one computer home and had no place in a Microsoft business world. End of story - except that I still am suspicious of Apple and probably wouldn't take one if you gave it to me. Harry PS My wife uses an iPad and a MacBook Pro. Otherwise, she's fairly normal.