Swollen battery for Spectre x360 15-ch011DX

[jacalope]

I'm trying to understand how to deal with a swollen battery issue for my HP Spectre x360 15-ch011DX laptop. I've enjoyed the system very much over the past 2.5 years and would like to continue using it, but the battery has swollen itself so much that it has warped the chassis of the machine. I didn't notice the issue until the space bar practically stopped working from the stress the battery has put on the keyboard from the inside.

Is this a defective product? I'm annoyed by this issue as I've read horror stories about batteries in this state catching fire.

I've removed the bottom of the laptop. The battery almost looks like it has "pillows".

I've looked for information about the battery in the HP parts database, but I can't figure out what I'm supposed to order as the replacement. How do I safely dispose of the old battery? How long should I expect this new battery NOT to swell up like this one?

[Jay_G24]

Hi @jacalope,

As this is a hardware issue, I'd suggest you contact HP support in your region regarding the service options for your printer

Follow the instructions below to reach them:

1) Click on this link - https://support.hp.com/us-en/contact-hp

2) Select your product type below.

3) Enter the serial of your device. 

4) Select the country from the drop-down. 

5) Select the chat or get phone number options based on your preferences. 

6)Fill the web-form and proceed further.

If you are having trouble navigating through the above options, it's most likely because the device is out of warranty. If yes? please send me a private message with the region you are contacting us from. Check next to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it.  

Have a great day! 

And, Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

[jacalope]

---

As this is a hardware issue, I'd suggest you contact HP support in your region regarding the service options for your printer

Huh? My problem is a swollen battery on my Spectre x360 15-ch011dx that's damaged surrounding hardware. I contacted hp support. They sent me here. Now you send me back.  Does this smack of incompetence or strategy?

This battery issue is well documented. Considering the number of people I've seen here trying to get HP to acknowledge the problem (much less put their name on a replacement battery) and on Amazon trying to find a substandard replacement has led me to the conclusion that there's a dangerous defect in the product.

[Jay_G24]

Please look for a private message from me requesting additional information. Keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Community's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Community.

[jacalope · Accepted solution]

To the community at large, my experience and resolution on this problem went as follows:

HP offered battery replacement for $300. I bought a knockoff on Amazon for $40 since that was all that was available to me.  The installation went smoothly. I followed the instructions on the product's Amazon page, which included a few charge/discharge cycles once the new battery was connected. Everything seems to be working well. Whatever "solution" gets marked for this thread, rest assured *this* solution is what worked for me.

Of course, the machine frame is still warped, so the system doesn't sit flat. The rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop had to be peeled off to get to the machine screws. It didn't seal back properly to the bottom, so I had to cut them in pieces and epoxy them back to the bottom in strategic locations so I could again get to the screws if and when it becomes necessary.

There is a lot to love about this laptop, but there's quite a lot that has left me scratching my head over the past couple of years, i.e. design decisions that were ultimately flawed.

To HP, specifically:

Your resolution was ultimately unsatisfactory.

I am saddened that a company from which I have purchased hardware for more than twenty-five years has decided to abandon the fundamentals of customer support. If you design a product and you later learn the product design, which includes the components you chose to include in the build, is inherently flawed, you as a company should do the honorable thing and recall the product (or at least the misbehaving component).

Batteries that inflate and threaten to explode, essentially hanging as an electrolytic Sword of Damocles over a customer's data and livelihood is not a recipe for garnering new customers. Rather, it is a sure-fire way to lose your loyal ones.

Consider me lost to you.

[AmyJoHo]

Revised 7/16/2021

I came back to warn Spectre owners not to lose their privileges.

My first reply below was angry because I agreed with Jacalope, and I hated having to fork out $300 on a nearly new top shelf machine.  But as I began looking for a replacement battery to install myself, I realized that would render my beautiful $1250 Spectre a permanent orphan with raggedy clothes. Plus, I had very little faith in the outcome. HP certainly would not support my home repair. 

I called tech support and learned that the Spectre Dedicated Task Force is still a thing. I got right through and was treated like royalty. Except I had to pay big time for the repair. $479 for a repair they swore would make it like new again. I was numb when I said yes. He said I'd have it back in one week tops. Most of that was waiting for the special box to arrive, then getting it packed and to Fedex. HP Repair Center texted me the next day to confirm they got it, then 24 hours later to say it was fixed and on its way home. I got it the next day after that. I looks brand new.

The guy who arranged the repair had said to call when I got it back so they could walk me through updates and whatnot. I just got through that process with another guy named Dev. Nearly two hours of amazing tech support, full of respect and education on how to take care of my computer.

Dev said I caused my battery to expand by not giving it a proper charge/disharge cycle. It is true. I leave the thing plugged in most of the time. Left. I left the thing plugged in. Now I learned I must unplug every time it hits 100% and run it down to 10%. He also walked me through a bios setting that silently caps the charge at 80%, so when I see 100%, it's really 80%. Said that free space on the ions will extend my new battery's lifespan dramatically.

While we went through the HP Support Assistant screens, an ad kept appearing to invite me to upgrade to 24/7 live phone support. I asked Dev why I never had to pay for phone support. He said the Spectre and Omen both come with free phone support for the life of the computer, regardless of when the hardware warranty expires. The other product owners have to pay for tech support after the warranty expires. THAT is worth $479 to me! If I replaced the battery myself, I'm sure I'd be giving up that free, intensive, competent lifetime support.

Hopefully, with all the maintenance education I just got, this Spectre will rock on for another 10 years. Meanwhile, I'm back to my old stance of paying top dollar for top service.

Original reply 7/7/2021

Thank you, Jacalope, for taking the time to come back and share your story. You are going to save a lot of people a lot of stress and money. I agree 100% with your assessment that HP should be offering a more customer-centric solution to such a giant design flaw so early in the product's lifespan. I knew from the first "printer" response to your "notebook" question that we've lost our beloved HP to the world of sloppy bureaucracies and unreliable communications. 

Sadly, Amazon, Google, and YouTube have also proven grossly unreliable in word and deed. The tech world is on thin ice.

I am going to follow your lead and grab a knockoff from Amazon, probably with 5,000 fake reviews and future quality issues. But I don't see how my odds are any better with HP.