Also, a battery that continues to expand may flex the logic board enough to damage it or cause other functional problems. Just because it doesn't explode doesn't mean it is working properly. That's like having your brakes fail in your car and complaining to the manufacturer about it and them telling you 'that's what the air bags are for'. Now having said that certainly doesn't mean there isn't a problem. Of the few leaking or burning battery reports I have seen, they were not attributed to swelling batteries. Out of all the reported cases of swelling batteries, I haven't seen any result in a leak or explosion.

They are correct in saying that the battery is designed to swell and should not explode. A recall pretty much means you should return your battery. They had extended the warranty period for an additional two years. The information is available on Apple’s website.Just to clarify. That’s also true if you’re storing electronic devices for long periods. Then when you need the machine portable, plug the battery back in, charge it, and away you go. Unfortunately that’s not possible for “modern” MacBooks. If you had a removable battery, your best bet is to disconnect the battery after charging it 50%. If there’s a flaw in the battery it’s going to swell regardless. Batteries have a limited number of “cycles” unplugging uses those cycles, and that reduces the batteries longevity. With Li Ion batteries you leave them plugged in. He was thinking about the older type of batteries. Side note: if you have a MBP that has a swollen battery AND that battery caused additional damage, like breaking the trackpad and/or the top case it isn’t uncommon (though not guaranteed) for Apple to replace the trackpad and top case at no charge when you pay to replace the battery.

However, over-charging is one reason why batteries swell so perhaps the guy at the Apple Store was just confusing the two. That won’t necessarily cause the battery to swell but can result in a battery that just won’t hold a charge. Leaving the MBP plugged in to power continuously can wear the battery out in a fairly short time (I mean that in the sense of someone who uses their MBP as if it were a desktop computer so it just sits there for a couple of years, plugged in). The replacement eventually swelled too, but fortunately these batteries were easily removable, so I just took it out and gave up on batteries for that one. I pointed out to him that all of the laptops in the store were also plugged in with charged batteries, but he stuck to his story. I had to replace a swollen MBP battery several years ago (with the same trackpad problem described above), and at the time the guy in the Apple store told me it was my fault for leaving the laptop plugged in after the battery was fully charged.

Macbook air swollen battery recall