Apple has asked owners of its 15in MacBook Pro notebook who bought their machine between February and May 2006 to contact the company and request a replacement battery. Apple stressed the batteries it wants to replace "do not pose a safety risk".

The Mac maker didn't specify why it was recalling the MacBook Pro batteries - Apple simply said: "Some 15-inch MacBook Pro batteries supplied to Apple do not meet our high standards for battery performance."

The issue may be related to reports of MacBook Pro batteries with cases that split open at the edge - something this writer can confirm, as it's happened to his own MacBook Pro battery. Some early MacBook Pro batteries have also been claimed to exhibit erratic storage capacity.

Nor did the company reveal how many users are affected. Apple's recently published Q3 FY2006 figures included sales of 798,000 notebooks in March, April and May.

In May, Apple asked certain PowerBook G4 owners to return their batteries. In August 2005, it did the same.

The affected products are model number A1175. They have a 12-digit serial number ending in 'U7SA', 'U7SB' or 'U7SC'. The details can be found on the battery itself, but you'll need to remove it from the computer first.

The replacement scheme extends all around the world. Apple said it will replace the batteries free of charge. Old batteries should be returned to Apple in the pre-paid envelope supplied with the new power cell.

MacBook Pro owners from around the world can check their eligibility for the replacement programme here. ®