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Apple Powerbook and iBook Battery Recall
doubleacr writes "The Register is reporting that Apple is recalling batteries in 12 and 15 inch Powerbook and 12 inch iBooks sold between October 2004 and May 2005. Apple has set up a page with info on model number and serial numbers of batteries affected, and also how to get a replacement."
affected, not effected
I rather like my exploding iBattery, thanks.
Q. Can I use my iBook or PowerBook without the battery in it?
A. Yes, once you've removed the affected battery, just plug in the AC adapter to power the computer.
And I thought only Windows users were dumb. How silly of me!
So that's why it keeps smoking! I'm so used to overclocked systems I thought that was normal.
Maybe if I scratch the serial number up...
"...the components could overheat and catch figure."
Get hot and strike a pose.
DO NOT put them in a washing machine and puncture them with a screwdriver!
air and light and time and space
..when they pry it from my cold, dead fing-
:-)
Oh wait, this is a good thing. Nevermind.
picpix image polls. create - share - vote. fun!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
From the article:
"Apple said the risk of combustion was very small. The recall comes after the US Consumer Product Safety Commission received six reports of batteries overheating, two from the US and the rest from around the globe."
Six, man. SIX! And only TWO in the US!
And they're taking what must be a pretty big loss just for the sake of having good business integrity.
I dunno, man. Sounds pretty cool to me.
http://augustwestproducts.i8.com
"The danger posed by these batteries is at its greatest when soaked in water and then stabbed with a screwdriver or other blunt object."
Just kidding. But it's true for the iPod, remember?
I am scientifically inaccurate.
Apple has asked 128,000 notebook computer users to return their PowerBook or iBook batteries on the off-chance the components could overheat and catch figure. I'd be interested in purchasing a computer that can catch figures for me.
God spoke to me.
It's incredible! I got my new battery from the recall, and my Powerbook is faster than ever before! Whether it's software or hardware, Apple just keeps getting better!
At any rate, my girlfriend, M (her real name is Olivia, but she feels that being part of the human community means identity must be simplified) said "Geez, Renfrew, don't you think you should at least pour some espresso on that?" I couldn't reply, as my penis was being seared and my mouse was starting to get sticky. I tried to think "What would Steve Jobs do in a situation like this?" but all I could think of was that he would probably order a muffin with a low-fat margarine substitute.
I haven't a clue what the solution to this is, but with the explosion of notebook sales, I think we're going to be seeing A LOT of these kinds of problems
Free MacMini
On the flip side, if they didn't decide on a recall, and someone were to get injured, they'd face a serious liability suit. "You already had six reports of failure, and yet your company did nothing. Your negligence is directly responsible for my disfiguring burns." Not a pretty idea.
Good business practices and fear of lawsuits often yield the same results. Which motivation you choose to ascribe depends mostly on how cynical you are.
I had a dell notebook once that had a battery recall. I didn't even know about the recall until one day I found an Airborn Express box on my porch with a new battery and a prepaid box to return the old one. After returning it I promptly got an ADDITIONAL battery and a $30 gift certificate to Dell's website as a thankyou/sorry. I thought that was pretty cool of them, the recall consumed about 2 minutes of my time to seal the battery in the return box, and I got a bunch of free stuff out of it too.
Companies too often get a bad press when they do the responsible and praisworthy thing of honoring their promises to consumers and recall their products to repair a fault. Yes, ideally the product should not have the fault in the first place, when that would be in an ideal world, and these thing just have to happen from time to time. I think companies should get a bad press when they don't recall a product when they should, not when they do the right thing.
I would prefer that to "Offtopic" or "Troll" or "Flamebait".
Mine is about 5 months old, but I've been babying the battery. Wish I'd known I'd be getting a freebie! To find out how many cycles your battery already has:
:(
ioreg -l -w 0 | grep Capacity
I only used 22 cycles.
Thank you
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
It seems there are some current problems with the website, just be forewarned!
Here's my story:
So, my battery for my PB 12" is in the range as testified on Apple's site. I tried to use the site to have my affected battery registered, but the site kept returning an error that my serial number wasn't recognized. Huh?
So, I call Apple, and the guy says, "your model number is the Powerbook battery #, but the battery's serial number is an iBook battery serial number, so the system is rejecting the battery # as inconsistent with the computer's #." Huh?
So, the guy went off to figure out what to do and put me on hold. For some reason, the hold music turned off, and this voice comes on every 30 seconds to say, "Please wait. Please wait. Please wait. Please wait."
It is very very very obnoxious.
So, they finally try to set up a manual request over the phone, but I have to give them a credit card number (They want to put a hold on it, I guess to keep you from getting a free battery), which is SOP but still annoying, because I don't have a credit card. So I have to call back later with a credit card (grrr) or wait for the website to be fixed (double grrr grrr).
for whatever reason, they *don't* requre the credit card info via the website.
hopefully my experience can be of assistance to one of you out there.
multifariam.net -- yet another nerd blog
I'm using it right now and haven't had a singl
+++ATH
NO CARRIER
I haven't seen anyone else mention it in this thread, but pouring water on burning lithium is an extremely Bad Idea. You'll get an effect similar to pouring gasoline on burning wood.
Most Slashdotters probably know not to pour water on an electrical fire, but I suspect far fewer know burning lithium can use water for a fuel source.
From a FAQ I found about how to handle a lithium fire (this is a google html version since the original was a .Doc file): "Use a graphite powder or a Lith-X (class D) extinguisher to extinguish burning lithium. Don't use water, sand, carbon tetrachloride, carbon dioxide, or soda acid extinguishers in lithium cell fires."
"The advanced societies of the future will be driven by competing systems of psychopathology." -JG Ballard
Obvious, not Informative
WE always had problems with the batteries and logic boards going out like crazy. Would anyone care to wager a guess why?
Because you were working in a repair company, so people didn't bring you the ones that worked?
What I say does not represent the views of my employers, my friends, my cats, or myself.
If you're like me, your battery is wearing out anyway and a free (and new) replacement is a pretty good deal!
(If it hasn't exploded yet, it probably wont anyway)
Had to end up calling Apple support directly (800-275-2273) who admitted that they are being slammed and all the techs are taking serial numbers to enter at a later time when the servers get quiet again...
Just to save everyone the hassle of trying to get registered on the web site...
"However many laptop power supplies are designed with the assumption that there will be this big battery installed acting as a capacitor."
No, they don't. Li-Ion batteries are destroyed if they are mischarged, and placing the battery in parallel with the power supply would be extremely dangerous. The battery would likely burn and/or explode the first time that it was connected due to overcharging.
Modern laptops have extensive power circuitry to preciscely control the charging cycle of the battery. The battery is never used as "a capacitor". That's what the real capacitors are for.
But to take advantage of something like that would be dishonest unless Sony wanted to replace everyone's 60min battery. Has it occurred to you that if people didn't try and exploit loopholes that policy filling them wouldn't exist and therefor wouldn't get in the way of legitimate problems.
Help I'm a rock.
"It only sounds like a stupid question. However many laptop power supplies are designed with the assumption that there will be this big battery installed acting as a capacitor. So the power supply just sends in dirty power, letting the battery smooth out all the noise into a nice steady DC current."
Laptops don't work this way. Cars use this method to smooth out power coming from the alternator, but all modern laptops work just fine with no battery.