Apple Admits to Faulty Laptop Batteries

Apple admits to faulty laptop batteries

Apple today issued a statement saying there are some known problems with MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks in which the battery might have poor performance, but there are no safety concerns. These performance problems include:

• laptop  Battery is not recognized causing an "X" to appear in the battery icon in the Finder menu bar


• laptop Battery will not charge when computer is plugged into AC power.


• laptop 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.


• laptop Battery pack is visibly deformed.

Macbook users have been issued with a software update to fix ‘visibly deformed’ battery packs, among other problems

Apple has admitted that some batteries in its Macbook and Macbook Pro line of laptops have ‘performance issues’ and has issued a software update to fix the problem.

Among the symptoms of batteries that are affected are swelling, the battery not being recognised or not charging, and a shorter than expected battery life.

"The factors causing the performance issues do not present a safety risk. You may continue to use your current battery," the company said.

Reports of problems, including swollen batteries, have been circulating since the laptops were launched in 2006.

In its support notes to users, Apple says battery packs which are "visibly deformed" are among the symptoms of battery problems.

The company advises users to install the update on all "MacBook and MacBook Pro computers and extra batteries that were purchased between February 2006 and April 2007".

Apple has a support site up and if your battery experiences any of these symptoms you should download the software to try and correct the problem. If the issues with the battery persist, Apple has a replacement program in place. Information on their site will guide you through this.

Despite the problems, Macbook remains a successful range for Apple. The company recently reported that sales of its portable computers rose from 498,000 to 891,000 over the 12 months to March 31, helping boost quarterly profits to $770 million (£386 million).