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Technology (Apple) Businesses Power Apple Technology

Apple Recalls 1.1 Million Laptop Batteries 156

elzurawka writes "Apple has issued a recall of over 1 million batteries in the U.S.. This comes after Dell recalled over 4 million batteries just last week. It appears to be again an issue with Sony produced batteries. From the article: 'Computer giant Apple is recalling upwards of 1.1m batteries used in its laptop computers in the US. The announcement affects laptop computers sold between October 2003 and August 2006 and impacts the company's latest range of machines ... The recall is said to be the second biggest in consumer electronic history and will come as a blow to Apple after its launch of new MacBook and MacBook Pro machines had been hailed as a huge success for the firm.'"
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Apple Recalls 1.1 Million Laptop Batteries

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  • Henceforth it shall be known as the "MacBoom"
    • by Cybrex ( 156654 )
      I get the joke, but actually it's only G4 iBooks and PowerBooks that are affected. None of Apple's current lineup is included.
  • One thing I'm curious that never seems to be mentioned. In both the Dell and Apple recalls, which company is paying to replace all these millions of batteries? Is it Dell/Apple or does Sony have to foot the bill?
  • by Mister Whirly ( 964219 ) on Thursday August 24, 2006 @04:06PM (#15972962) Homepage
    I thought Macs were immune to all types of attacks, even faulty batteries. Are you sure this isn't a PC only problem?

    Can you see the new "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" commercial?

    PC guy: Hey Mac, you look a little hot.
    Mac guy: (smoking) I don't feel so good. (falls to ground and bursts into flames)
  • If a story on the front page of slashdot causes the "Slashdot effect", what is it called when something from the front page of CNN causes the same thing?
  • CNN says that 1.8 million batteries are being recalled. http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/24/technology/apple_r ecall/index.htm?section=cnn_topstories [cnn.com] Which one is it?
  • In my office I have a both a Dell and an Apple laptop. Both batteries are recalled. Yeah for me.

    Apple is claing 3-5 days to get teh replacement. Dell 4-6 weeks.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Crap! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by BlackGriffen ( 521856 ) on Thursday August 24, 2006 @04:45PM (#15973333)
    My battery isn't listed in the recall: https://support.apple.com/ibook_powerbook/batterye xchange/index.html [apple.com]

    iBook G4 12-inch battery model: A1061
    serial number starts with ranges:
    ZZ338-ZZ427
    3K429-3K611
    6C519-6C552

    PowerBook G4 12-inch model: A1079
    serial number starts with ranges:
    ZZ411 - ZZ427
    3K428 - 3K611

    PowerBook G4 15-inch model: A1078 and A1148
    serial number starts with ranges:
    3K425 - 3K601
    6N530 - 6N551
    6N601

    It is, however, down to about 75% of what used to be full capacity at full charge.

    I wanted a new battery. :(
    • by Sicnarf ( 529730 )
      less than a year ago apple had a different battery recall. (do a search for it) (for the 12" g4, the battery serial started with HQ3.. until HQ6..) i was waiting until my battery got weak; reading this story motivated me. i just applied for the old recall and it's still valid!
    • Funny thing is, my battery IS in the range listed ( 6N541 prefix which I assume is in the '6N530-6N551' range) but their web app says that my battery's serial # is not valid!!

      --jeffk++
      • by djeca ( 670911 )
        Same here. My battery serial starts 6C539 which should be in the 6C519 - 6C552 range, but it says it isn't a valid serial number.

        I'm going to call first thing tomorrow (UK time) to find out what the hell's going on.
        • Me three. 6C536.
          • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

            Just called apple support in China (where I'm located at the moment). In my case, even though I couldn't confirm the serial number online, since it was in the range of affected batteries, I was told just to bring my bad battery in to an official apple care service center in either Guangzhou or Hong Kong and they'd give me a replacement. I'd imagine that should be true as well in other countries.
      • Mine is in range according to a reading of the page, but their script is telling me that the battery serial no. is ineligible. I'd like a nice new battery, too. This one has lost some its capacity, and it's got so many dents and dings that I think I'm warping the frame of the PowerBook when I put it in.
    • This is what vendors get for buying the "part o' the week". I'm sure that the poster below who is loosing both his Mac and his PC laptop would appreciate having something working. It's really sad that they charge so much and sell you such cheap crap!

      2 cents,

      QueenB
  • My 12 inch iBook is in the affected range, so I've been trying to get a replacement since I got home. The website says my battery serial number is invalid, and that I should call apple support (with a phone number given). I tried calling apple support, and pressing the battery recall option (#5, I think) and a couple menus later it tells me that phne support has been discontinued, use the website. I tried calling back and hitting 0, and it seemed to work but then I got a different voicing telling me "Sor
    • by Chang ( 2714 )
      I've got the same issue my computer serial validates but the battery serial doesn't despite being in the correct range.

      I just called (6:55PM EDT) - They validated my battery but told me their computers are down and asked me to call back later.

      The CSR was nice enough (gotta love Canadian tech support) and I'm a realist so I just let it go for today.

      It really sounds like they are just trying to ride out the storm. I could hear people in the background and it sounded like they were trying to calm down people
      • by topham ( 32406 )

        Just a guess, but my bet is that after many people saw the footage of a Dell bursting into flames they are taking battery recalls a lot more seriously, so they called right away when they heard of the recall, instead of over a period of days or weeks.
        • by Kelson ( 129150 ) *
          Plus more people are affected. I don't remember what the numbers were on the LG recall, but certainly the date range was about half the size.

          Speaking of people taking the battery recall seriously... My wife read about it on the BBC site this morning, then immediately called me up on my cell phone:

          Her: "Do we have to go to the Apple Store tonight?"
          Me: "Huh?"
          Her: "The battery recall."
          Me: (thinking of the MacBook issue from a few months ago) "I didn't think ours was affected."
          Her: "It's every G4 PowerBook mad
  • My battery serial number was in the range for a recall according to the info, but when I entered it on the website it decided my computer was valid, but the battery serial number wasn't. After 50 minutes of being on hold (hurray for speakerphones) I found out there were some server issues and that they apparently were being worked out. Managed to get things taken care of over the phone while i was there already.

    Guess I shouldn't complain... the battery was starting to not last as long and now it'll be bac
  • QANTAS (the national airline here in .au) recently banned using DELL laptops inflight on battery power because of the risks of explosion. Will they ban Apples now too? OR will they ban all laptops?

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