Laptop with exploded battery

Removing the battery from the machine

Sep. 14, 2017 - Willem L. Middelkoop

Last night I had a nasty surprise: my original MacBook Air was swollen due to an exploded battery. I immediately had to take action, for reasons of safety and to preserve this piece of modern computer history. Don’t try this at home, but if you do... read along for some practical tips.

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The MacBook is back alive, greeting me with its boot screen.

The damage to the battery pack is clearly visible

Steve Jobs unveiling the MacBook Air in 2008 from a vanilla envelope

Once removed the deformation in the battery pack is clearly visible

Swollen and cracked. I carefully looked for any leaks.

The keyboard and casing is deformed

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