Lithium packs swell when cells go. Then you’ve got keys that type themselves, a trackpad that’s always clicked, a lid that won’t close, and a fire problem. This isn’t a “calibrate your battery” tip. Stop using it.
Signs that are not subtle
- Bottom cover bowed, or a keyboard that has risen in the middle.
- Trackpad buttons stuck. Display no longer sits flat when closed.
- The machine rocks on a table because the pack is now a pillow.
Safe-enough removal
Power off. Unplug. Bottom off. Battery connector first, then the screws if it’s a screwed pack. Glued pack (a lot of thin laptops)? Stop and take it to a shop. Don’t pry under a swollen cell. A bent or hissing pack is above what I’ll do at home and it should be above what you do at home too.
On the bench
OEM-spec replacement pack
Match the model number on the old pack. Not “universal 11.1V.” Cheap no-name cells are how you do this twice. Search the exact part number printed on the pack.
- Do not buy from a generic search. Match the exact part number printed on the old pack, plus voltage and the connector. “It fits the bay” is not enough.
- After install, do a full charge with the machine off if the vendor says to.
Take the old pack to a battery recycler or a shop that collects them. That’s part of the repair. Don’t toss it in household trash.
Verdict
Swollen means stop, disconnect, replace with a pack that matches the part number, recycle the old one. There is no software fix. I don’t care what the calibration video said.