He was using it on his lap. Those computers are called “lap-top” metaphorically, not literally. Laptop doesn’t mean that it is to be used on someone’s lap or belly. That model has tiny air intakes on left and right bottom borders. If those are obstructed and the heat outlet below the hinge is also obstructed (very common case when using on the lap), I wish I am wrong but the unusually excessive heat may harm vulnerable parts such as battery. I am rather inclined to find a user error in that incident instead of an error in Apple’s quality control.
As others have mentioned, this is ridiculous.
All modern Macs and PCs have thermal monitoring. They will throttle back the CPU, and in extremis will shut down completely, rather than heat to such a degree.
It's always better to ensure adequate cooling, especially on the 15" MBPs when you're looking for top performance, but you are not risking a fire by blocking the vents. (You are risking your work, if it shuts down with work unsaved.) It's possible that you might shorten the lifespan of your Mac a bit, if you do that frequently, by hastening the demise of one of the internal components. But it's unlikely to make a significant difference. The internal components are made to tolerate high temps.
A Reddit user has shared pictures of his 2015 MacBook Pro that burst into flames, practically demonstrating what stored energy and flammable electrolyte can do if a battery is damaged.
Was this battery damaged? It doesn't sound like it from the rest of the article
The battery is absolutely the only thing that will cause this kind of destruction. But if your question is asking if the battery was damaged before the fire, there's not enough info to tell.
So why is the article worded as it is in the first paragraph? It implies that this story is about a damaged battery.
He was using it on his lap. Those computers are called “lap-top” metaphorically, not literally. Laptop doesn’t mean that it is to be used on someone’s lap or belly. That model has tiny air intakes on left and right bottom borders. If those are obstructed and the heat outlet below the hinge is also obstructed (very common case when using on the lap), I wish I am wrong but the unusually excessive heat may harm vulnerable parts such as battery. I am rather inclined to find a user error in that incident instead of an error in Apple’s quality control.
As others have mentioned, this is ridiculous.
All modern Macs and PCs have thermal monitoring. They will throttle back the CPU, and in extremis will shut down completely, rather than heat to such a degree.
It's always better to ensure adequate cooling, especially on the 15" MBPs when you're looking for top performance, but you are not risking a fire by blocking the vents. (You are risking your work, if it shuts down with work unsaved.) It's possible that you might shorten the lifespan of your Mac a bit, if you do that frequently, by hastening the demise of one of the internal components. But it's unlikely to make a significant difference. The internal components are made to tolerate high temps.
Writing is good, it makes you think and your mind clearer, as in “It's possible that you might shorten the lifespan of your Mac a bit, if you do that frequently, by hastening the demise of one of the internal components”...
“The internal components are made to tolerate high temps” but under normal usage conditions, i.e. good ventilation, clean interior, dustless fans etc... Throttling simply keeps your CPU cores at their rated temperature but it won’t cool down your computer if the heat accumulates unevenly and continuously on the other parts as a result of bad handling. If your CPU cores’ rated temperature is 100 deg C, throttling won’t cool those down to 70 deg C, it will simply prevent those from reaching, say 110 deg. Thermal shutdown is expected in a fully working computer but if the computer is previously hit by continuous thermal damage due to misuse then it may not even shut down before some component ignites (most vulnerable being the battery).
My work's Mid 2015 MacBook Pro's battery swelled up and caused a bulge at the bottom. Checked the SN it's not part of Apple's battery replacement program. Hope it won't catch on fire.
My 2007 MacBook had a swollen battery. I took it to a Genius Bar in 2012. I started explaining the problem, and the rep interrupted me by saying, "You have a swollen battery. Hang on, and I'll get you a new one."
He was using it on his lap. Those computers are called “lap-top” metaphorically, not literally. Laptop doesn’t mean that it is to be used on someone’s lap or belly. That model has tiny air intakes on left and right bottom borders. If those are obstructed and the heat outlet below the hinge is also obstructed (very common case when using on the lap), I wish I am wrong but the unusually excessive heat may harm vulnerable parts such as battery. I am rather inclined to find a user error in that incident instead of an error in Apple’s quality control.
Ummm... have you been in the airport, or a coffee shop or a university or in my house recently? People use laptops on their lap all the time. StrangDays is right - if that caused fires every single Starbucks would have gone up in smoke long ago.
He was using it on his lap. Those computers are called “lap-top” metaphorically, not literally. Laptop doesn’t mean that it is to be used on someone’s lap or belly. That model has tiny air intakes on left and right bottom borders. If those are obstructed and the heat outlet below the hinge is also obstructed (very common case when using on the lap), I wish I am wrong but the unusually excessive heat may harm vulnerable parts such as battery. I am rather inclined to find a user error in that incident instead of an error in Apple’s quality control.
As others have mentioned, this is ridiculous.
All modern Macs and PCs have thermal monitoring. They will throttle back the CPU, and in extremis will shut down completely, rather than heat to such a degree.
It's always better to ensure adequate cooling, especially on the 15" MBPs when you're looking for top performance, but you are not risking a fire by blocking the vents. (You are risking your work, if it shuts down with work unsaved.) It's possible that you might shorten the lifespan of your Mac a bit, if you do that frequently, by hastening the demise of one of the internal components. But it's unlikely to make a significant difference. The internal components are made to tolerate high temps.
Writing is good, it makes you think and your mind clearer, as in “It's possible that you might shorten the lifespan of your Mac a bit, if you do that frequently, by hastening the demise of one of the internal components”...
“The internal components are made to tolerate high temps” but under normal usage conditions, i.e. good ventilation, clean interior, dustless fans etc... Throttling simply keeps your CPU cores at their rated temperature but it won’t cool down your computer if the heat accumulates unevenly and continuously on the other parts as a result of bad handling. If your CPU cores’ rated temperature is 100 deg C, throttling won’t cool those down to 70 deg C, it will simply prevent those from reaching, say 110 deg. Thermal shutdown is expected in a fully working computer but if the computer is previously hit by continuous thermal damage due to misuse then it may not even shut down before some component ignites (most vulnerable being the battery).
Your supposition isn't impossible but it's wildly unlikely. So much so that it doesn't really bear consideration.
The chances of this happening are extremely minute. Probably in the same ballpark as being struck by lightning. I wouldn't walk around holding an umbrella in an open field while it's raining, and I don't recommend using your Mac on (say) a bed with a fluffy comforter. But really, the Mac's a lot less dangerous than the umbrella.
This is the kind of fetish that will get the iHaters all wet in the pants. So far, the article is dramatic, with absolutely zero detail and of course is (purposely?) left to the imagination of the reader to decide what happened.
I hope this story is followed up. I'm curious if it was a genuine Apple battery that exploded on its own, or a 3rd-party charger or replacement battery, or physical damage occurred that is not being mentioned.
If it's legit, that makes ONE Apple laptop out of how many gazillions sold? Either way, considering the explosive nature of lithium-ion batteries, I'm impressed that Apple's QC stays on top of this.
Yeah except no one has got "all wet in the pants" because it's a one-off failure, unlike say, their keyboard issues - where customers (or as you like to call them, "iHaters") have legitimate concerns.
He was using it on his lap. Those computers are called “lap-top” metaphorically, not literally. Laptop doesn’t mean that it is to be used on someone’s lap or belly. That model has tiny air intakes on left and right bottom borders. If those are obstructed and the heat outlet below the hinge is also obstructed (very common case when using on the lap), I wish I am wrong but the unusually excessive heat may harm vulnerable parts such as battery. I am rather inclined to find a user error in that incident instead of an error in Apple’s quality control.
He was using it on his lap. Those computers are called “lap-top” metaphorically, not literally. Laptop doesn’t mean that it is to be used on someone’s lap or belly. That model has tiny air intakes on left and right bottom borders. If those are obstructed and the heat outlet below the hinge is also obstructed (very common case when using on the lap), I wish I am wrong but the unusually excessive heat may harm vulnerable parts such as battery. I am rather inclined to find a user error in that incident instead of an error in Apple’s quality control.
As others have mentioned, this is ridiculous.
All modern Macs and PCs have thermal monitoring. They will throttle back the CPU, and in extremis will shut down completely, rather than heat to such a degree.
It's always better to ensure adequate cooling, especially on the 15" MBPs when you're looking for top performance, but you are not risking a fire by blocking the vents. (You are risking your work, if it shuts down with work unsaved.) It's possible that you might shorten the lifespan of your Mac a bit, if you do that frequently, by hastening the demise of one of the internal components. But it's unlikely to make a significant difference. The internal components are made to tolerate high temps.
Writing is good, it makes you think and your mind clearer, as in “It's possible that you might shorten the lifespan of your Mac a bit, if you do that frequently, by hastening the demise of one of the internal components”...
“The internal components are made to tolerate high temps” but under normal usage conditions, i.e. good ventilation, clean interior, dustless fans etc... Throttling simply keeps your CPU cores at their rated temperature but it won’t cool down your computer if the heat accumulates unevenly and continuously on the other parts as a result of bad handling. If your CPU cores’ rated temperature is 100 deg C, throttling won’t cool those down to 70 deg C, it will simply prevent those from reaching, say 110 deg. Thermal shutdown is expected in a fully working computer but if the computer is previously hit by continuous thermal damage due to misuse then it may not even shut down before some component ignites (most vulnerable being the battery).
Oh geez you are. The throttling ensures the components stay below a temperature threshold so their lifetime will not be affected. The computer has sensors for battery temperature as well as other critical components, and it will reduce charging rate, CPU and GPU speeds and eventually shut down if it cannot cool itself enough to prevent damage or a reduction in lifetime. Apple is so obsessive with noise that the CPUs will regularly hit 105°C before throttling, and then the fan slowly ramps up to bring the temperature back down to sub 100°C, so obviously Apple thinks the high temperatures won't cause issues long-term, and since CPU failures are basically non-existent, they are proven correct.
If the system monitoring was fooled and caused damage by someone using the laptop on their lap, and by a reasonable amount of dust being present in the cooling system, then that's an engineering failure not a user error. Also, without intentionally causing "thermal misuse," i.e. by removing the fan or temperature sensors, or using it in an excessively dusty environment, the system is able to ensure thermal damage isn't possible, by keeping temperatures within specs. Temperature sensors don't get damaged by sustained high temperatures if they're designed for it, which being temperature sensors, they are. If Apple chose sensors that couldn't handle the heat, that's an engineering failure not a user error. So chatting about "thermal damage" causing overheating is a pile of bollocks. This was just a one-off incident, and unless the MacBook was physically damaged or modified in any way, it's not the user's fault. It's a testament to Apple's awesome battery charging & protection circuitry, high quality cells and well designed software and hardware that this doesn't happen more often.
He was using it on his lap. Those computers are called “lap-top” metaphorically, not literally. Laptop doesn’t mean that it is to be used on someone’s lap or belly. That model has tiny air intakes on left and right bottom borders. If those are obstructed and the heat outlet below the hinge is also obstructed (very common case when using on the lap), I wish I am wrong but the unusually excessive heat may harm vulnerable parts such as battery. I am rather inclined to find a user error in that incident instead of an error in Apple’s quality control.
Dude...you are claiming you can't use a laptop on your lap? That's absurd. I've used Apple laptops for 20 years. I've had ones that get so hot, you need a cooling pad to have it on your lap. Unless you're surrounding it with thermal blankets, there is no way it's going to catch on fire without some type of malfunction. It could be the charger, damage to the battery, manufacturing defect, etc. It's not that it was on his friggin lap.
Even if it isn't part of apple's battery replacement program, still have them take a look. Extended warranty on mine expired a month before I saw the expanding battery and they issued a "CS" code and covered the repair, including replacement top case.
My work's Mid 2015 MacBook Pro's battery swelled up and caused a bulge at the bottom. Checked the SN it's not part of Apple's battery replacement program. Hope it won't catch on fire.
Comments
“The internal components are made to tolerate high temps” but under normal usage conditions, i.e. good ventilation, clean interior, dustless fans etc... Throttling simply keeps your CPU cores at their rated temperature but it won’t cool down your computer if the heat accumulates unevenly and continuously on the other parts as a result of bad handling. If your CPU cores’ rated temperature is 100 deg C, throttling won’t cool those down to 70 deg C, it will simply prevent those from reaching, say 110 deg. Thermal shutdown is expected in a fully working computer but if the computer is previously hit by continuous thermal damage due to misuse then it may not even shut down before some component ignites (most vulnerable being the battery).
Yeah except no one has got "all wet in the pants" because it's a one-off failure, unlike say, their keyboard issues - where customers (or as you like to call them, "iHaters") have legitimate concerns.
Are you actually being serious?
Oh geez you are. The throttling ensures the components stay below a temperature threshold so their lifetime will not be affected. The computer has sensors for battery temperature as well as other critical components, and it will reduce charging rate, CPU and GPU speeds and eventually shut down if it cannot cool itself enough to prevent damage or a reduction in lifetime. Apple is so obsessive with noise that the CPUs will regularly hit 105°C before throttling, and then the fan slowly ramps up to bring the temperature back down to sub 100°C, so obviously Apple thinks the high temperatures won't cause issues long-term, and since CPU failures are basically non-existent, they are proven correct.
If the system monitoring was fooled and caused damage by someone using the laptop on their lap, and by a reasonable amount of dust being present in the cooling system, then that's an engineering failure not a user error. Also, without intentionally causing "thermal misuse," i.e. by removing the fan or temperature sensors, or using it in an excessively dusty environment, the system is able to ensure thermal damage isn't possible, by keeping temperatures within specs. Temperature sensors don't get damaged by sustained high temperatures if they're designed for it, which being temperature sensors, they are. If Apple chose sensors that couldn't handle the heat, that's an engineering failure not a user error. So chatting about "thermal damage" causing overheating is a pile of bollocks. This was just a one-off incident, and unless the MacBook was physically damaged or modified in any way, it's not the user's fault. It's a testament to Apple's awesome battery charging & protection circuitry, high quality cells and well designed software and hardware that this doesn't happen more often.
Dude...you are claiming you can't use a laptop on your lap? That's absurd. I've used Apple laptops for 20 years. I've had ones that get so hot, you need a cooling pad to have it on your lap. Unless you're surrounding it with thermal blankets, there is no way it's going to catch on fire without some type of malfunction. It could be the charger, damage to the battery, manufacturing defect, etc. It's not that it was on his friggin lap.