If you purchased a replacement battery for your MacBook Pro at Best Buy, you may need to take it back to the store to damaging your laptop – or worse, hurting yourself.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, certain ATG lithium-ion batteries, in particular the MC-BOOK13W and MC-MBOOK13B models, can overheat and catch fire when the computer is charging. So far, the agency confirmed 13 cases of the batteries in question lighting on fire, and in one instance the defective part inflicted “serious burns” on a person's leg.
CNET noted that approximately 5,100 batteries are affected by this recall, but Best Buy was not the only retailer to sell this replacement battery. As such, consumers should look to see if they have a bad battery in their MacBook even if they purchased a separate battery from another business.
“After receiving reports from customers of these lithium ion batteries overheating when charging, we believe the right thing to do is to contact our customers and ask them to return the product for replacement or for a Best Buy gift card,” responded Best Buy in a statement released to Gizmodo. “While we are only one of many companies that may have sold these batteries, we feel they are a potential fire and burn hazard and want to keep our customers safe.”
Additionally, CNET reported that this recall has nothing to do with Apple-made batteries, and that MacBooks are far from the only device affected by overheating issues. Lithium-ion batteries have a tendency to get too hot, and these kinds of issues will likely only become more prevalent as the number of mobile devices increases. For instance, one person was burned earlier this year when his Samsung phone overheated in his pocket, and another person died in 2009 when a mobile device exploded by his neck.
Don't let all this doom and gloom get you down though! Yes, in rare instances lithium-ion batteries can cause some problems, but know that any related concerns can be quickly and easily handled. If you ever have any issues with your battery, turn to iResQ's MacBook repair services to keep your laptop in pristine condition.