MacBook Air with swollen battery

Opening and repairing 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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MacOS X correctly concluded that there are no batteries available, it works fine using a Power Adapter.

Swollen and cracked. I carefully looked for any leaks.

The original MacBook Air: Groundbreaking due to its thinness and lack of ports

That bobble is not supposed to be there.., causing the keyboard to be bend

This battery is dead.

I disconnected the battery from the logic board using a plastic tool (that does not conduct electricity).

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