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Apple to recall 1.8 million notebook batteries

msnbc.msn.com — Apple Computer Inc. will recall 1.8 million lithium-ion notebook batteries after nine devices overheated, causing minor burns in two users, U.S. safety regulators said Thursday. The recall is the second-biggest in U.S. history involving electronics or computers, after No. 1 PC maker Dell Inc. recalled 4.1 million lithium-ion batteries last week.

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  • xoineg, on 10/12/2007, -8/+67once again made by Sony....but the good news is that intel mac laptops should be ok...now i wonder if the PSP may burts into flames....
    • thedead, on 10/12/2007, -5/+51Wow...seems like everyone is effected..
      Sony - http://digg.com/hardware/Laptop_Bursts_Into_Flames_Twice
      HP - http://digg.com/hardware/HP_NOTEBOOK_CATCHES_FIRE_PICTURES
      Dell - http://digg.com/tech_news/Dell_to_recall_4_million_batteries
    • cambrown99, on 10/12/2007, -2/+131Someone take the gun away from Sony before they run out of toes!
    • MacGyver2210, on 10/12/2007, -23/+5the batteries are OEM'd even by sony - it's some factory in taiwan that actually builds them I'm sure.
    • apocalizer, on 10/12/2007, -26/+6Good thing Kevin sent in his Mac before it exploded...

      dammit, didn't mean to reply to this
    • Seumas, on 10/12/2007, -26/+5I couldn't care less. I'm sure my battery is part of the recall (I have a 17" Powerbook that I bought 18 months ago). It has been running 95% of the hours since then and is just fine. I think I'll take my one-in-ten-million chance.
    • Seumas, on 10/12/2007, -25/+4Oh, nevermind. Only laptops up to the 15" ones. Damn. And here I wanted roasted nuts and pyrotechnics.
    • uptown, on 10/12/2007, -2/+52I'm just wondering why Sony hasn't recalled any batteries for their own laptops yet. Anyone know?
    • Culat, on 10/12/2007, -9/+13@suemas
      If 9 batteries out of 1.8million have overheated, then you have a 1 in 200000 chance.
    • AppleOSuX, on 10/12/2007, -46/+27"The recall is the second-biggest in U.S. history involving electronics or computers, after No. 1 PC maker Dell Inc"

      That's Apple for ya...always a distant second.
    • Disparity, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12@culat:
      Only 9 batteries were reported to have overheated. It's much more likely that many more batteries are liable to do the same, or have done the same and just not been reported.
    • kspen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17Just talked to Apple---the page that processes the recalls is getting slammed. The serial number for your battery may qualify--but it states it doesn't--this will be fixed this evening, and it does no good to call--they will ask you to process it online later. They ask that you run the computer with power adapter only-no battery until then.
    • doodlebumm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19@uptown

      From the Art of War - sell defective goods to your enemy, and keep the good stuff for yourself.
    • rebrad, on 10/12/2007, -9/+14The question is: Why did it take Apple so long?
    • maijc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7i am confused, in apple its says the ibook A1061 serial from HQ441 to HQ507, but in macrumors its says 3K429 through 3K611and 6C510 through 6C626. and in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission webpage (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06245.html) says ZZ338 through ZZ427,
      3K429 through 3K611 and 6C510 through 6C626 who is right? im desperate to find it out!!!

      Edit: damn, i summited twice, the other one is "replying" paulchu
    • doctorcaligari, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"i am confused, in apple its says the ibook A1061 serial from HQ441 to HQ507, but in macrumors its says 3K429 through 3K611and 6C510 through 6C626. and..."

      I think those first serial numbers correspond to an earlier recall. I remember they had a recall last year for HQ441-HQ507, because I checked my battery and was a couple numbers short (HQ439). I guess this new recall is expanded in scope.

      I remember thinking "Cool, I can get a free new $100 battery" when I saw the first recall. I thought the same thing today when I saw this story, but alas, my numbers didn't match again.
    • iMacG5Freek, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3My Serial number for my Apple PB battery says its wrong when it accaully falls in the recall!! what the heck is wrong with apples site...
    • trieste, on 10/12/2007, -1/+312-inch iBook G4 A1061
      ZZ338 - ZZ427
      3K429 - 3K611
      6C519 - 6C552
      12-inch PowerBook G4 A1079
      ZZ411 - ZZ427
      3K428 - 3K611
      15-inch PowerBook G4 A1078 and A1148
      3K425 - 3K601
      6N530 - 6N551
      6N601

      Hope that resolves your 'desperation'.
    • saggygrandma, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10"I couldn't care less. I'm sure my battery is part of the recall (I have a 17" Powerbook that I bought 18 months ago). It has been running 95% of the hours since then and is just fine. I think I'll take my one-in-ten-million chance."

      You dont want to get a free battery to replace your 18month old one?
    • MakinBacon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2rebrad wrote: The question is: Why did it take Apple so long?

      It's funny you ask that because according to an analyst speaking to CNN, he says:

      "Since Apple was proactive in doing this immediately on the heels of the Dell recall, any negative impact on their brand or sales outlook will really be mitigated," said Steve Baker of NPD Group. The fact is that they've said they're going to replace all 1.8 million batteries and that these batteries aren't in any computers that are being sold today," he added. "The more important issue is how the company takes responsibility for the problem and tries to make things right, and I think they're doing a good job of that."

      http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/24/technology/apple_recall/index.htm?cnn=yes
    • paulmdx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"I'm just wondering why Sony hasn't recalled any batteries for their own laptops yet. Anyone know?"

      I believe I read on The Register it doesn't affect Japanese manufacturers because they have tighter safety controls that limit current output from the charger.
  • OandA, on 10/12/2007, -1/+36Does sony not use its own laptop batteries?

    Does sony provide some sort gurantee to its customers? I mean dell and apple are taking a huge hit here.
    • chrisirmo, on 10/12/2007, -5/+17I'm sure this is going to end up costing Sony a lot in the end. If I were a purchaser for any company that made laptops I'd be steering my business to anyone but those guys right now.
    • vhold, on 10/12/2007, -3/+27Well, they certainly have different designs on their own laptop batteries. Sony would never make something potentially compatible with another brand if they can avoid it.

      It's also strange to think that all this bad press for competitor laptops has gotta be somewhat good for the vaio brand.
    • OandA, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12I bet component cost mght be covered by sony to some extent but not the cost of actually carrying out such a massive recall for both companies.

      This explains why apple, dell, and lenovo are teaming up on batteries...
      Maybe we should expect a lenovo/ibm recall? Anyone know if they use sony batteries?
    • duhblow7, on 10/12/2007, -11/+43As I said on the Dell digg about the batteries:

      "A new car built by my company leave somewhere traveling at 60 miles per hour. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field (A) multiply it by the probable rate of failure (B) then multiply the result by the average out of court settlement (C). A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of the recall, we don't do one."

      In Sony's case, at this point in time, X is just less than the cost of the recall. This may change shortly. X had just exceeded the cost of the recall for Dell and Apple.
    • cantankerous, on 10/12/2007, -12/+15ok Fight Club boy.
    • duhblow7, on 10/12/2007, -31/+15LOL

      I paste that exact comment on the Dell Battery digg and i get Digg ++

      I post it on the smug apple battery digg and I get smug repsonses.

      I guess it's expected.

      @cantankerous

      have you hugged a tree lately? Digg me down.
    • eadnams, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Sony is paying for Dell's batteries, dunno about Apple. Its not costing Dell anything apparently.
    • bbatsell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20Oh, it's costing Dell and Apple quite a bit, even if Sony is paying for the expense of the recall.
    • splatnik, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6Uh, you got one smug response duhblow...
    • lakawak, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3duhblow...while that may be the case normally, now that there is this much publicity about Sony batteries, that formula no longer applies. Well, it may still apply, but you then have to factor in the publicity as an extra cost assoicate with X.
    • webonics, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@OandA
      Sony uses their own batteries but only particular battery models are impacted the defect.
      ------------------
      The total cost of the Dell and Apple recalls could fall between 20 billion and 30 billion yen, or $172 million to $258 million, Sony said in a statement.
      ------------------
      The problem is not necessarily Sony as much as it is the Lithium and consumers demands for more power in smaller sizes. Lithium is a lot more volatile than Nickel-Cadmium and yield 3 times the power Ni-Cd in the same size. Lithium can also cause explosive results from overheating (in the direct sunlight, blocking fans and exhausts) as well as from sudden jarring. Similar recalls have been made in the last year for batteries used in cellphones, cordless drills, portable dvd players, etc.

      While it is possible that Sony had a defective design, it also entirely plausible that some of the incidents may have developed from consumer misuse and abuse. These are also all portable products that take a regular beating in transport. My boss uses a 15-inch Powerbook G4 that has had intermittent display issues. Rather than taking it into service center and being without his laptop (that probably is loaded with porn), he attempts to fix it himself...by banging on the sides of the display with hands repeatedly until the display is acceptable for him.

      Get the facts.
    • Limester, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Sony said the recalls will cost it between $172 million and $278 million. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said its recall was not expected to materially affect the company's results. Dell has said the recall would not affect earnings."

      Apple and Dell are not out anything, according to the article. Sony has to pay, pay, pay!
    • LiterateWolf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2No. Sony sells the cheaply made batteries to others and make good ones for themselves. Why give the competition good quality parts that your company uses? Sony did the only ethical thing here.
  • Phoenixaran, on 10/12/2007, -1/+30Its hasn't been Sony's best year PR wise. PS3 troubles, now these battery troubles
    • raltschwager, on 10/12/2007, -15/+8What's wrong with the PS3??? LOL! I'm securing a second morgage at the moment to be ready for launch day...
    • Flankk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+37Sony rootkits, PS3 delayed, Dual Shock removed from PS3 controllers, copying the Wii controller motion-detection, expensive release price on PS3, Sony's DRM flagship Blu-ray has issues postponing release, playing a DVD at a demonstration of Blu-ray capabilities, Sony licensing locks manufacturers into proprietary Blu-ray, exploding batteries, etc.

      Sony definitely needs some better PR people.
    • MikeCerm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Sony's problems are just beginning. If they ship PS3, it's going to be a nightmare of defective hardware (the over-heating 360's will be a wet-dream in comparision), and they're going to be buried in red ink if the hardware actually sells in the quantities they expect. If they bump the PS3's launch into next year which might actually happen (or don't ship enough to cover demand), it's going to be disastrous for them, especially the way that they're counting on the PS3 to carry Blu-Ray.

      If you haven't sold your Sony stock yet, you'd better get on that.
    • OandA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7@flankk

      If they had better products their pr people would be working to get coverage instead of doing disaster control every week
    • deff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@Flankk:

      You can have the best PR people in the industry, but if your products are crap your customers will see through the BS. I hope anyway.
    • foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2One of the many reasons the PS3 was delayed was that the PSU was overheating.
      I wonder if theres a trend.....
    • inqz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I liken Sony's PR to that of the RIAA. Both are shocking at it and adamant at destroying customer relationships
    • nobogeys217, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1theyve definently been F'ed in the A this year. It almost makes you feel bad for them.
  • Terminaltor, on 10/12/2007, -22/+9and....Quantas won't allow yo to plug in your macbooks....What a pleasure to own a Toshiba these days.
    • ScornForSega, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9How do you like them apples.
    • UncommonSense, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Yes, Apple has its share of problems, but at least Apple HAS customer service. Go to www.betterbusinessbureau.com and check out where Toshiba ranks.
    • MKREdit, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Sure you have great customer service when you are servicing 10 out of every 100 people. I wonder if the Mac Faithful will thank Dell for putting apple in the position where they had to recall their batteries? Cause as we all know before the Dell recall the great customer service reps at apple's solution to your laptop being hot was don't put it on your lap. So I say to the faithful when you kneal down at the altar of Steve Jobs tonight to say your prayers, before you drink the kool aid give a little shout out to Michael Dell.
    • DEIx15x8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Did you evan read the article or are you just that big of a dumbass. The recall is on IBOOKS not MacBooks.
  • Terminaltor, on 10/12/2007, -43/+17BREAKING NEWS
    --------------------------

    CNN reports Apple fanboys are seen or the streets crying and cutting thier hands with knives, the fed gov has annouced a 50 M$ therapy fund to help Mac fans accept to live after this horror
    • krakelohm, on 10/12/2007, -20/+11BREAKING NEWS
      --------------------------

      Your a stupid douche... more at 11.
  • Jeez, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12I think its best for sony to breakup it has grown too big for its own good. It seems to facing the same problem GE, IBM once faced.
  • worthbak, on 10/12/2007, -24/+3this isn't a huge deal, at least for apple. its just a recall. no need to dupe this story 30 times. use perspective here. there is a war in iraq, you know...
    • OandA, on 10/12/2007, -14/+2yeah this story is still getting duped. why don't people see if someone submitted the story before they do...like i did.
    • Terminaltor, on 10/12/2007, -13/+6you're right, you can better "sell" the story by mentioning that John Karr used a Macbook to store his pics while vacationing in Thailand....
  • techbum, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12Did you ever wonder what they're going to do with all of those bad batteries?
    • ninjatarian, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23Probably sell them overseas. Really, you'd be surprised.
    • iSEPIC, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17yeah like Bayer did with the HIV infected medicine after the FDA got word - sold overseas.
    • MikeCerm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13They could recycle them, then use the recovered materials to make new defective batteries.
    • dazmax, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2I'm keeping mine. I've always wanted an extra battery for long trips without power.
    • foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5When you said travel, it reminded m,e. After this, laptops will soon be banned on airplanes with fear of explosion.......
    • aeiou, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"I'm keeping mine. I've always wanted an extra battery for long trips without power."

      They wont let you. You have to send it back to apple when they send you the new one.
  • OandA, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22My brothers battery has already been recalled once...if it gets recalled again that'd be great for him. Its like a free new battery every year.
    • pirco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8About a year ago, I sent in my powerbook to get the logicboard fixed, when I got it back, there was a different battery than what I originally had. Normally, I wouldn't mind, but this "new" battery would only hold about a 20 minute charge. I called applecare, and after about an hour, I made them send me a new battery. Anyways, I had the new battery and it was great, and about 2 months later, there was a recall on my brand new battery. So they had to send me another brand new one, on top of the "old" brand new one I just got.

      It was battery joy.
  • tlmac59, on 10/12/2007, -2/+35This story could set a new record for duplicate posts on Digg - I counted 27 dupes in just 21 minutes. I am willing to bet that the final total could near 100. I think the problem of duplicate posts is going to kill Digg long before anything else does.

    The URL screen that is done during the posting process is simply inadequate. Clearly, posters cannot be relied upon to do any searches of their own prior to posting (otherwise, we would not have so many dupes). The answer: Digg has to adopt some sort of key word screening that lets people know that they are potentially submitting a dupe. Without that, we will continue to see dupes galore.
    • Terminaltor, on 10/12/2007, -10/+5Digg mgmt should ban FOREVER anything that has "Ramseys" in it
    • cboj, on 10/12/2007, -15/+8Well I was 1 minute behind this post with mine.. But I did search.

      So blow me
    • tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Is a similar story from a different source a dupe though? I mean, I wouldn't want 27 stories about the batteries on the FP, but why should only one single instance of the story be put in the queue? Surely it's better to allow 'dupes' of the same story, but from different sources, and allow the best one to make it to the FP?
    • 5thfreedom, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Digg already does this. There have been several times when i have gone to submit a story and I've been told the story has already been submitted and that I should digg that story instead of re-submit it. I guess people just ignore this warning.
    • tlmac59, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5cboj "Well I was 1 minute behind this post with mine.. But I did search." - Your point is a good one and I don't doubt that the first few dupes could not have know that they were submitting a dupe. You are not part of the problem.

      tizz66 "Surely it's better to allow 'dupes' of the same story, but from different sources, and allow the best one to make it to the FP?" Oftentimes, the source is different, but the story is identicle or nearly identicle. However, I am not suggesting an absolute ban on similar stories - instead, a submitter ought to at least be forced to recognize that there are similar stories already posted and then decide whether to post.

      5thfreedom "Digg already does this."



    • zadadka, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5People post from different sources, and so dupes don't show up on the URL-checker.

      If only you were also "obliged" to search by three to five keywords also....... laptop + battery
      would be enough in this instance.
    • tlmac59, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The bottom of my last comment got cut off.

      5thfreedom "Digg already does this." - Digg used to do this, but not anymore. This feature disappeared with the last major upgrade. Trust me, the only screening that happens anymore on Digg is URL screening. Of course, if you've recently submitted anything on Netscape, you know that they employ a key word screen.
    • 5thfreedom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@tlmac59

      Well I'll be damned. You're completely right. I just submitted a dupe of this article (from a different source, of course) and it never showed me a list of related stories like I remember it doing. No wonder we've been seeing so many dupes since the implementation of V3. Thanks for correcting me, as you can probably see by my profile, I'm not the biggest Digg submitter.
    • tlmac59, on 10/12/2007, -0/+25thfreedom

      No problem. Probably the best thing you can do is what I've done - email Digg about the problem of dupes - this is really something that they need to fix.
    • radicaldementia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I definitly agree, the current processes for eliminating dupes are not enough. I think digg needs a way of combining submissions of similar or exact articles, especiallly when you have the exact same article from 2 different websites. For example, allow a submission to have more than 1 url, so when someone tries to submit the dupe, digg detects the same title, and instead adds the new url to original submission.

      The worst part about digg is having to deal with dupes either when you submit the dupe or someone else does and you gotta bitch about it, we shouldn't have to worry about that kind of stuff.
  • slstsang, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5http://www.apple.com/support/batteryprogram

    the apple recall page is not working, I wonder if they're ready for the huge recall. i'm trying to find out if mine is affected
  • 9tailfox, on 10/12/2007, -2/+915-inch MacBook Pro Battery Exchange Program
    https://support.apple.com/macbookpro15/batteryexchange/

    Battery Exchange Program iBook G4 and PowerBook G4
    https://support.apple.com/ibook_powerbook/batteryexchange/
  • Jangles, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I never thought it was possible for one company to get so much bad press in such a short amount of time. But Sony the past year or two has just gotten slammed. At this point they might as well stop while they are still ahead.
    • MikeCerm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9It's not just the bad press that's hurting Sony. The fact that Sony has consistently screwed up and done a bunch of stupid things is the real problem.
  • maddogg, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4The correct web address: https://support.apple.com/ibook_powerbook/batteryexchange/index.html
  • tisk, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Same deal here. You'd think they'd have the page set to go before they released a statement to the media...
  • migraineboy, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3Here is a good link to find out if your battery affected by the recall.
    http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06245.html
    That is the official release from the Consumer Product Safety Commision and has detailed information on which computers this affects.
    Note: This recall does NOT affect the new MacBook or MacBook Pro.
  • orangetiki, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6But it seemed like such a great idea to outsource al our electronics to untrained little kids who get paid pennies a day.

    China Grow Stronger
  • quisxt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2The link in the article doesn't seem to work, but this does:

    http://support.apple.com/batteryprogram/ (iBook G4 and PowerBook G4)
    https://support.apple.com/macbookpro15/batteryexchange/ (15-inch MacBook Pro)
  • javiel, on 07/08/2008, -2/+4This is becoming a trend among companies. Hope this doesn't happen to electric power vehicles.
    • theholymac, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Hybrid cars at the moment don't use lithium-based batteries. I would not trust a production car with lithium batteries. I'm on the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project; our car uses lithium-polymer batteries, and we've got an incredible amount of automated protection circuitry, and as a backup there's always someone monitoring the telemetry to make sure the battery voltage and temperature are in the safe range.

      And we've only got a 25kg battery pack. Even with these comparitively small and incredibly closely monitored packs, I hear about at least one team every year that has a catostrophic battery fire. This year's was the Australian-based Aurora team, their car was reduced to basically a pile of ash in France this June.

      When I think about driving around a car with several hundred pounds of these batteries in it, and without a team of elecrical engineering students following me around and monitoring its every move, I shudder in fear.
    • rocketryguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Fortunately there are some advances being made in the electrode technology for lithium-polymer batteries that should reduce this issue substantially with less resistance across the electrode/core interface. Combine that with an crack resistant physical matrix for the polymer itself, and we should see something that works in production. I also think we're slightly over-reacting (A dozen failures out of 1.8 million?). But hey, I'm getting my new battery, so why complain?

      The new Tesla electric sports car is using Li-polys, but it apparently has diagnostics built in, and is probably armored to a degree. And that's not exactly a high market penetrator, so bad example I guess.

      Also cool are the Milwaukee li-po battery kits for the Prius, hot rodding it up to ~105MPG. Those packs are apparently ruggedized so you can drop them off a ladder with no problems, so you take a bunch of them and wire them up into the Prius with a new controller. Have to wait and see if there are any issues over the long haul, but I'm betting in a few years this will be a non issue, if it isn't already.

      Of course, Sony will possibly be a non-issue by then too...
    • theholymac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Maybe the ones used in such hybrids are safer. Still, I'm just waiting for the first one to turn into a fireball.
  • norcalscan, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3This is the proper link
    http://support.apple.com/batteryprogram/

    nevermind - beat me to it. 9 replies in the time I typed this :)
  • Kazrog, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4More negative Apple press. Time to buy AAPL stock:
    http://finance.google.com/finance?q=AAPL
    • schappsj, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0the stock is up today so no clue what you are talking about. apple acknowledged the battery issues weeks before Dell did so it shouldnt affect the stock price today.
    • Kazrog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well schappsi, it's on an overall short-term downturn. I agree that it's up from a little while ago.
  • Aero1, on 10/12/2007, -15/+4oh no! fanboys unite and jump on Steve Jobs to protect him! Steve Jobs must be protected at all costs!!!!!!!
    • phpfreak, on 10/12/2007, -11/+2So what if we're loyal customers?
      PC users should be ban from the Apple section of Digg, all they do is try to keep their PC beliefs alive - claiming that Windows is superior to OS X and shame us for being interested in something other than they are.
    • Aero1, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2i have a mac douche.
    • pirco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It's great you have a Mac, but I don't see too many people bringing up Steve Jobs to begin with.
  • paulchu, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6I don't understand why people are saying "my battery hasn't blown up, doesn't affect me." YOU CLOWNS! This means you get a free battery exchange, even if your battery doesn't blow up, you can turn in your old, beaten LiON battery and get a fresh one that will extend the life of your battery!

    My battery does certainly fall in the category (First 5 is 3K503, just like in the sample picture), but apple website tells me that it is not part of the recall... anyone else having this problem?
    • tomatogirl, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Yes, I'm having the same problem! Apple says mine doesn't qualify, even though it's right there in the range of serial numbers. I guess we have to wait it out until Apple fixes the form.

      BTW, I'm with you on the "w00t - free battery!" thing.
    • maijc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i am confused, in apple its says the ibook A1061 serial from HQ441 to HQ507, but in macrumors its says 3K429 through 3K611and 6C510 through 6C626. and in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission webpage (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06245.html) says ZZ338 through ZZ427,
      3K429 through 3K611 and 6C510 through 6C626 who is right?
  • phpfreak, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4This is coming at a very bad time for Apple - just in time for the back to school laptop buying season. Just as people are beginning to see that Macs are better than PCs, they are also likely to have their minds changed by this easily if they do not know the specifics of this recall. Consumers are very quick to judge a company on its quality, and I hope that Apple will not be swallowed up in this - Sony should.
    • McMultiverse, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Well, every news report is making it clear that this is a manufacturer-wide problem with anyone using the Sony batteries in question. I doubt this will hurt Dell or Apple much, or even Sony in the long-run. Battery recalls are kind of a standard thing with notebooks, since one bad batch can affect a number of machines.
  • kordless, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4"Note: After removing the recalled battery from the iBook or PowerBook, consumers should plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives."

    Ummm, no.
    • dbug, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Why not?
    • dontbejack, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Just ***** wing it. The battery will be there before you know it.
    • miken32, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Dear Apple Customer,

      Thank you for ordering a replacement battery. Your request (Order number 2000000) is currently being processed.

      It will take approximately 4 to 6 weeks for your replacement battery to arrive. Please note that shipping time may vary due to availability of your battery model.

      Battery Exchange Program details and an FAQ may be found at:

      http://support.apple.com/batteryprogram

      We appreciate your cooperation with this exchange program.

      Apple
  • Tsujigiri, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4Personal opinions on platforms aside, this really sucks for Apple. They were doing really well riding off the surge of popularity from the ipod and a really effective marketing campaign. I had hoped they would become a more widely accepted solution for a home computer by the general populace. That level of competition in the market could have been really good for all home computer users.
  • turbodigg, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3At least its not on the macbook, as they seem to be apples big seller today...
  • gallagb, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0new battery for me!
  • theholymac, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0Odd... none of the 17" PowerBooks appear to be affected. No fresh battery for me, I guess.
    • AllnightChemist, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1My supremely expensive AppleCare *just* ran out on my G4 17" and now the battery drains in, like, 20 minutes. I thought I was saved...
  • Shisan, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3I hope Sony as well as other companies learn their lessons. The lesson which is STOP SENDING CRAP TO CHINA...and friends. The Chinese can only do so much and with all the stuff they have to make, the final products will be crap. What sickens me is that several years ago, an army recruiter came to our school and gave us some metal army tags. Well, I looked at the tags and what did I see? "MADE IN CHINA." That is pathetic. Although, it is quite funny because apparently, the Japanese don't like the Chinese and here the Japanese are sending stuff to China so no wonder the stuff is becoming faulty lol
    • TimSee, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3That genie is out of the bottle. You should come to grips with the fact that your stuff is designed in the US, made in China and supported out of India.

      Of the few Apple products I've purchased they seem to proudly display "Designed by Apple in California. Made in China".
  • porkstacker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5In my opinion, Sony lost their focus on producing high-quality consumer electronics products a while ago... ironically not too long after they decided to be a GIANT worldwide media/entertainment company. I think they lost their focus since they have their hands into too many markets, so it is no wonder that quality control (and quality vendor research, such as who is making the individual battery cells) seems to have taken the back seat.
    • MikeCerm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Sony has become a movie studio/record company. They only continue to make hardware so they have proprietary formats to deliver their content on.
  • digitallysick, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Sweet my laptop battery has not been holding a charge as good as it used to, cant wait for a new free one =) nice! thanx apple
    • capran, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2They'll only replace it if your battery is one of those affected, or alternatively if you're still under (extended or normal) warranty.
  • plefno, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1Personally I don't have a problem with this. It's obviously annoying that I wouldn't be able to play HD-DVDs on an older 32-bit system, but I plan to have a 64-bit processor before I get Vista. It's only an inconvience at least to me.
    • repruhsent, on 10/12/2007, -8/+5Ummm... I think you're posting in the wrong story, buddy.
  • miserymachine, on 10/12/2007, -15/+8burn apple fanboys.....burn....BURN!!11!!!.....
    • nacs, on 10/12/2007, -7/+7PCs are affected too idiot.

      This is a Sony battery problem and isn't limited to Apple.
  • mobilehavoc, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2"Sony said its recent recalls - 1.8 million batteries for Apple and 4.1 million for Dell announced last week - will cost the company between $172 million and $258 million."

    That's a big chunk of change..even for Sony.
    • Kazrog, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Meh, pocket change for me. Of course, I own the world. Or rather, pwn it.
    • dontbejack, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Actually it's going to be more than that. Dell alone may cost 500 million. Total may cost close to a billion.
  • TimSee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Misery loves company. I see Dell *already* has a post about the Apple recall on their corporate blog. I didn't know VPs could type that fast. Almost makes it look like they knew this was coming....http://www.direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2006/08/24/2215.aspx
    • dontbejack, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Well, they are working together to develop safer batteries now. Maybe they got wind of it sooner.
  • ScornForSega, on 10/12/2007, -6/+7Hmmm...

    Apple+exploding battery = applesauce?
  • Perc, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Does anyone have details on the recall? Do people have to send in their old batteries and wait forever to get a replacement, or will I get a new one delivered to my door right away?
  • ziggystardust, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06245.html

    This has product codes and instructions if you need to return yours.
  • abandonow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3My newest powerbook battery is among the recalled ones, but the damn apple replace site seems to be dugg down or something. :/
  • ehmjay, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1yeah apple's site is down - I think that I'm okay but this is not the kinda thing I want to just assume. Perhaps I'll just call Apple Support...which I'm sure is going to be a nightmare.
    • TimSee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I went back to Dell's blog and found this post on the day their site went live back on 8/15. Maybe Apple could learn something from Dell on how to rollout servers:

      "Roughly 33,000 customers are accessing our website at a time right now. This is only about 8 percent of our capacity so performance is excellent. We have had 15.4 million folks access the website since it went live last night."

      http://www.direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2006/08/15/1883.aspx
    • dontbejack, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Yea, but this is all over CNN and is labeled as Breaking News all over the networks and people are all like "APPLE OMG BATTERIES BOOM" right now.

      And I am a bit of a fan boy. I just wanted a damn new battery that my iBook isn't eligible for.
  • ladymix, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Very pleased. My battery life was cut in half a couple months ago before the first year warranty was up. They wouldn't repladce it but I win and get a new fresh battery anyway!
  • bufbarnaby, on 10/12/2007, -9/+4Bury your head Apple-boys...say it ain`t so !
  • monkeybutler, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14I hear Apple batteries explode twice as fast and and more elegantly than those lousy Dell's.
    • ArmandoM, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3But they won't power most of the software you want to run...

      wait, what were we talking about again?
  • Nocturnalis, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Both recalls are expected to cost Sony between $172 million and $278 million

    I wonder is this will cut into the PS3 budget.
  • xLiKx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4sony's next mission? make the ps3 a nuclear bomb
  • 13tongimp, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3http://applebatteryrecall.ytmnd.com/

    Fresh off the internets.
  • chrisvalls, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I have one of the offending power-books and I told the tech here at our Apple store that the bottom of the lap-top kept getting really warm, and should I worry.
    They said that because of this, many computer companies stopped referring to lap-tops as lap-tops and now refer to them only as "portables".
    So apple has been aware of the batteries heating up for some time, but, I'm glad to see that I can now replace this "Terminator" battery.

    If anyone else has an apple and needs to replace it, go to apple.com/support.
    On the right hand side of the page, you'll see the link for the battery exchange.
    I was told that it should be up and running soon.

    -Chris
  • orlandot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Here Are Some Sites.....That Talk About This Subject.

    1. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14500443/

    2. http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/08/18/HNdellsonybattery_1.html?source=rss&url=www.infoworld.com/article/06/08/18/HNdellsonybattery_1.html

    orlandot
  • gsoftcomputers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2thats easy to do, just put batteries in them
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