Battery recall by Apple
 

https://support.apple.com/ibook_powe...nge/index.html

Some news reports claim this will involve around 1.8 million batteries.

The web page lists what models and an exchange process. Looks like some of us are in for new batteries.

Urg, why didn't I find out about this before my old battery died... Oh well, guess I'd better get to filling out the form, my good 'ol PBG4 has one of the batteries listed.

Damn you beat me to the punch, was just going to post a thread about this :p ...anywho yeah, this is a bummer...gonna turn off my mac now and check to see if my battery is one of the affected ones...ugh... :(

Just trying to drive up my post count. :D

Yey, both my batteries miss out, 3X44 they start with and I got them in december 2004.

ugh, having trouble with the recall program, please help: http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=59906 :(

alright well I called Apple support, and it turns out that yes indeed my battery is applicable for the program, and apparently the reason why I (and according to the rep I was speaking to, many other people) are getting that error is because the system is overloaded to the large amount of people accessing the website...so there's nothing to be done but to just wait until the traffic lowers :(...

can you make one of these battery threads sticky? so peeps know and stop making tons of duplicate threads....dang i am sounding like a moderator, crap better stop that nonsense

the recall effects machines from 2003 to 2006 so it probably effects lots on this forum

yes, or perhaps an announcement about this would be in order? Be sure to let people know of the current load issue the Apple site is experiencing ;)

Important: For those of you who may like I did, get a error message saying that your batteries serial # is not valid when trying to enter your battery into the program on Apples website, try entering the full battery serial # instead of the suggested 5 #s as this has let me and others at the apple discussions proceed and finish the process to enter our batteries into the program :)

.
For a moment I had my hopes up for a free new battery for my 3.5 year old PowerBook. Shucks. But for the people affected, especially those with the oldest models, this represents a wonderful renewal of their Apple laptop.

No need to turn it off.
I just did it, with the PowerBook on. Just plug the power charger first.

It's a good thing to have all your serials stored in a safe place.
It might be handy in case of your machine being stolen... and wouldn't make sense to save this document only on the hard-drive of this machine.

Is this the reason why Jobs doesn't make a keynote speech at Paris?

My laptop was doing just fine on the original battery. It's really inconveniencing to go without using a battery for maybe over a month. Remember that in addition to the 1.8m from Apple there are another 6m from Dell. That's going to put a huge strain on supply. I'm not sure how they are going to be able to supply almost 8m computers with new batteries. Hopefully it's first come first serve, I put my order in on Friday. I'm sure there are millions of users, especially on the PC side, who don't keep up with current events and may not even ask for a new battery.

.
Hot pants may take on an entirely new meaning...
.

i think it is still a good idea not to complain about it

http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/s...ple499x333.JPG

http://www.theinquirer.net/images/ar...%20banger1.jpg

http://blog.scifi.com/tech/pics/applelaptop.jpg

http://www.danaquarium.com/galleryal...es/pbfire3.jpg


Note that the 2nd image is a dell laptop but with the same battery that apple uses.

tlarkin:
Please don't use IMG tags to post inline images from any other site than one that you control. It is generally not appreciated by those sites as it is seen as "bandwidth stealing".
Please edit your above post to remove the IMG tags (just link to the images with URL instead).
And you could also delete the previous post where you tried to post the images.

[edit]
I see that you have edited your above posts as I asked - thanks
[/edit]

Great, I just received my replacement battery from one of the Apple resellers here. I applied for it on August 25th, if memory serves, and today is October the 7th. That means it took exactly 6 weeks since I actually got the call to pick it up yesterday.

I checked the serial range in the store and it was outside of the recall range. I also test fit it in the store and noticed something right away: One side of the battery top plate is slightly raised when the battery snaps into it's place. After further inspection I realized that the problem is too much glue applied in between the plastic battery housing and the metal top plate. The difference is very small, about 1/2 mm, but noticeable when the PB is upside down. It's raised on the side closest to the sliding battery lock and the Airport card.

I thought about asking them to order a different battery, but decided against it. I'm hoping that, after a week or two of usage and heat, the glue might settle or compress down a bit.

Any thoughts on this? Anybody know about the glue that's used in these batteries? How likely is the gap going to get smaller by applied heat and/or pressure?

got my replacement battery today, works great so far :D :) :cool: ...btw, did anyone notice that on the back of the customer copy of the return shipping label it states that you will not be charged anything unless: a) Apple confirms that service is covered but you fail to follow instructions on returning the part, you will be charged a non-return fee of $143.33 b) Apple confirms that service is not covered by Apple but you follow instructions on returning the part, the estimated costs of parts and labor is $121.11 c) Apple confirms that service is not covered by Apple and you fail to follow instructions on returning the part, you will be charged a total fee of $143.33 ...they sure didn't mention that on their website! :eek: wonder how they'd charge you and whether they actually follow through on that (in which case those people who I've seen listing their bad batteries on eBay will get a nice bill from Apple :p )... :confused:

Well, it's been almost three weeks since I installed the new battery. The excess glue hasn't compressed or settled at all. I still have this ridge between the battery and the case on one side (see post #18). Any thoughts on whether or not I should return the battery again?

Hmm, I don't think it should cause any real issues. If the glue is holding the battery should be fine. But I might contact them for aesthetic reasons...

12" G4 Powerbook battery replacements 2 don't fit!!!
 

I am now on my second battery replacement and the battery doesn't fit snugly like the original. Apple is telling me they will send another replacement (3rd one now) and hope that it fits.

I personally don't think that is a good solution.
I think they need to re-make the surface part of the batteries so they do fit flush how they are supposed to.

I've sent these picture to apple and they said they will forward to their engineering department. If you are having the same problem, please speak up to them. This is an issue they need to address! Don't settle for this very annoying defect.

Yep, that's how mine looks, but about half as severe as yours. It's just that they are putting too much glue between the metal plate and the plastic battery housing. The trouble is that the glue is really heavy duty stuff and won't settle or compress like some other adhesives.

I would guess this is what we can expect to happen when 10 million batteries are recalled at the same time, worldwide. I am going to wait a few months and then see what they say about giving me a battery that fits like it's supposed to. Hopefully by then the demand will have subsided enough that quality assurance is able to catch up.

Thanks for posting those pics by the way.

Try using the appropriate tool to unlock your battery from now on. A small flathead screwdriver is not the correct tool, as you have found out the hard way. I hope an AppleCare tech didn't do that to your PB!

That's why I never liked the PB's/iBooks.

Though I had to deal with those locks on my iMac DV...I just used my thumbnail to unlock it. If not that, you can always find a penny nearby.

Ya, i did that sadly when I first got my PB and didn't have a penny or coin in my new apartment (used a coin for replacing the recalled battery) and never again will use a flathead (i didn't know the metal would be so soft!) I know i've incriminated myself posting that one image with my mangled lock....but really, my replacement batteries don't fit.

Anyways, back to the battery recall issue. I guess I will have to wait until the demand subsides as ThreeBKK says. Out of the two replacement batteries they sent me, the first one actually fits alot closer (but still not flush) now than it did when i first got it. Maybe the heat has flattened out the glue so it fits closer.

ya it sucks i mangled the PB lock, will make it a bargain for whoever I sell it to...