Apple Recalls Old 15-Inch MacBook Pro Units Over Fire Risk

Bill Pan
By Bill Pan
June 22, 2019Science & Tech
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Apple Recalls Old 15-Inch MacBook Pro Units Over Fire Risk
Stock photo of a 15 inch MacBook Pro. (Alexey Boldin/Shutterstock)

Tech giant Apple said on June 20 it would recall certain old generation 15-inch MacBook Pro units over worries that their batteries could overheat and catch fire.

The company said a limited number of 15-inch MacBook Pros, sold between September 2015 and February 2017, contained batteries that “may overheat and pose a safety risk.”

Apple has set up a recall site, which allows customers to enter the machine’s serial number to see if it’s eligible for recall. The serial number can be found by clicking on the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and selecting “About This Mac”.

Apple, which advised customers to stop using the affected MacBook Pro units immediately and have the battery replaced as soon as possible, said the recall does not affect any other MacBook Pro models.

Battery safety in portable electronic devices has been drawing attention in recent years. The possibility of batteries overheating was taken more seriously by the electronics industry after the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone caused a series of battery fires around the world. The device, known for bursting into flames, was recalled not once, but twice before its permanent discontinuation.

Last year, Apple launched an iPhone 6s battery replacement program, allowing customers to replace out-of-warranty batteries in their phones. Its goal was to preserve the battery life of older models and prevent them from shutting down unexpectedly.

Apple was accused by some iPhone owners of intentionally “throttling,” or lowering, the performance of older iPhones. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, admitted that the company was indeed slowing down some devices with older batteries.

“We’ve been hearing feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance for iPhones with older batteries and how we have communicated that process. We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize,” read an apology posted on Apple’s website in 2017.

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