PowerBook G4/iBook battery recall (#6): Some countries require dealer exchange

We continue to report on Apple's massive recall of portable batteries manufactured by Sony, the confusion caused by initially vague serial number ranges, issues with replacement terms and more.

Some countries require dealer exchange As touched upon yesterday, some Apple divisions (including Australia) are requiring that users seeking replacement of their batteries under recall exchange the faulty components at an Apple authorized reseller, rather than through mail.

This is a significant issue for some users, whose nearest authorized Apple outlets are far away.

MacFixIt reader John Stachlewski writes:

"A global firm that has demonstrated that it can exchange faulty product - has effectively let a number of Australians down! Why?  Because they have asked those affected to exchange their batteries with an Apple Service Provider.

"Here's the catch -- what if you are 1000 kilometres away from a provider?  It seems that this whole set of problems was not well thought out and the 'spin' doctors at Apple Australia (Customer Relations?!) follow the party line without listening to problems that their customer base is expressing to them!

"I am still not sure after being told that it will be fixed - what they plan to do."

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Previous coverage:

• PowerBook G4/iBook battery recall (#5): Some replacement batteries damaged; Shipping discrepancies
• PowerBook G4/iBook battery recall (#4): Some countries apparently require original battery before replacement
• PowerBook G4/iBook battery recall (#3): Replacement may take a month or more; Serial number ranges updated to exclude some models; more
• PowerBook G4/iBook battery recall (#2): Some iBook G3s also eligible; continuing problems with serial number, date ranges
• Apple announces recall of 1.8 million PowerBook G4, iBook batteries; Recall system not working for some; Serial number range discrepancies

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