Apple Balks at Repairing MacBook Air Hinges Under Warranty
2:40 pm, February 26th, 2009, Lonnie Lazar
Apple is apparently refusing to cover the cost of repairs to some MacBook Air notebooks, even though the devices are under warranty, according to a report at Engadget.
Some MacBook Air owners who embraced the device in its original iteration (Rev.A) have found that over time, with normal use, the hinge fitting the screen to the body of the laptop becomes irreparably loose, sometimes even catching and cracking.
Discussion about the problem first hit the Apple Support fourm back in Feb. 2008 and appears to be well documented, though as an official matter Apple says it is not a “known” issue.
The Engadget report relates a case in which “Apple did the repair for free, but only after we escalated the issue to a manager, who let us know how very nice of them that was.” Apple classifies the damage as “accidental,” and thus not covered under the normal warranty. The hinge repair costs around $800.
Let us know in comments below how widespread this problem might be among Cult readers and whether you think you’d have what it takes to get an Apple Repair manager to cover repairs to your broken MacBook Air screen.
Posted by Lonnie Lazar in Apple, Hardware, News | Comment on this article
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I hope this is resolved in a way that everybody is happy.
TreasureIslandHotelLV, on February 26th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
What is it with Apple’s attitude lately towards repairing faults that arise due to iinherent design flaws?
c..f The ‘CrackBook White’
We wouldn’t let any other company get away with it, would we?
Belengazi, on February 26th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Time for a class action lawsuit?
Merry Prankster, on February 26th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I to hope that this gets resolved in a way that makes everybody happy. However, I seriously doubt it. For those of you MacBook Air users who want to see what is probably going to happen check out Apple’s handling for the of the myriad of complaints on the Power Mac G5. The only advice I would have to a MacBook Air user with a damaged hinge is keep calling Apple and do not accept no as an answer. Eventually, maybe, you will get the mythical exception code which will get you mac fixed on Apple’s dime. Good luck.
Shawen Donnellan, on February 26th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Find a 3rd party Apple Certified shop and see what they quote.
Mike, on February 26th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Stop mistreating your equipment. The discussion board post makes me think it was accidental damage too; they bent the screen too far back.
I’ll also note that I have an original White MacBook that’s survived over two years uncracked and unstained.
Mike, on February 26th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I had a version of this problem in my Rev.A MBA. The screen got kind of floppy as if the hing had somehow become worn and loose. I didn’t want to wait until it got worse. Called Apple Care and was sent to my local Apple Store where they looked at it and I think made a phone call to Apple after which they took it in, sent it for service and it was back in my hands, shipping paid, in less than a week. No hassle. On the other hand, now it’s a couple of months down the line and I’m beginning to think that the cover’s starting to get loose, again. So, we’ll see. Apple Care has always been good to me, though so maybe the incident in the report is something of an aberration.
David Schwartz, on February 26th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
I own a MB Air from Feb 2008 and have already had the hinge replaced under warranty (actually it’s the entire upper chassis that they replace). I did make a convincing case, and the Apple Store repaired it very fast without fuss.
I doubt they’ll repair it again though, which is a real bummer because the hinge seems like a weak point in the Air design.
kiwinerd, on February 26th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Anyone remember the fragile hinges on the titanium powerbooks? I sure do. I babied mine but it still broke right near the end of the 1 year warranty. I had to beg & plead, and make several calls but eventually they fixed it without charge.
John, on February 26th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
I have the Rev A Macbook Air, and my screen has become loose as said in the article. I sent it into Apple’s mail-in for service on something else, knowing they fix anything they see wrong, but yet the display is still loose. I guess I’ll have to call AppleCare and complain
.
Justin, on February 27th, 2009 at 6:26 am
I had a problem with my keyboard and trackpad ceasing to work on a macbook pro. Had it in for repair which resolved the issue for a matter of months. Lots of reports of the same issue on message boards.
Apple response was ‘this is not a known issue’.
My computer now has a tissue stuffed between the case and the battery, which seems to keep things working.
How many reports do they need to officially call something a known issue?
acro, on February 27th, 2009 at 6:57 am
Why do people always assume it’s an inherent design flaw as opposed to inherent customer flaws?
When was the last time you heard of a customer walking into Apple and saying, “Hi. I totally broke my hinge pushing the screen hard past the point where it’s supposed to open.”?
Just pointing out that customers have as much incentive (usually more) to fib about the cause of failures than Apple does. Owning a MacBook Air, I have no idea how any potential design flaw would cause what I see in that picture above. The hinges on my MacBook Air seem pretty sturdy. That looks like it took some force.
Yes, Apple has design flaws like any company. But when you hear someone say, “Oh. It’s obviously a flaw in the design.”, your first thought should be skepticism. Only after a lot of solid data should you conclude that it’s likely a problem with the design. Start with this assumption and you’ll be right 95% of the time.
Kevin, on February 27th, 2009 at 9:24 am
My MBA is fine. If there are a few that show up with bad hinges, might be users dropping them or perhaps prying the screen open too hard?????
MESLL, on February 27th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
1. to be an inherent design flaw you have to prove that apple knew the hinge was faulty at the time the units were originally released and didn’t care
2. the article even says that this is ‘over time’. it’s not like you bought it, opened it twice and then suddenly it breaks in half. and ‘under warranty’ can mean as long as 3 years if you bought the extra apple care. so 3 years of opening and closing the case and it breaks and it can’t possibly be wear and tear. it just has to be something that apple did wrong.
next you are going to claim that crappy 3g service on your perfectly working phone is Apple’s fault and not that ATT doesn’t have enough towers in your area
Lucas, on February 27th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
My wife and I both own MacBook Airs (Rev A). Mine is the 64GB SSD model and hers is the 80GB HD model. Both of our computers have the same issue with the hinge. In both computers, it started off with just a little bit of play that slowly increased with time.
We are both VERY careful users and do not move our computers from our respective desks often, nor do we ever open the lid to the full extent – so it definitely seems like a design flaw to me.
To the defenders/enablers of Apple who are doubting that this “damage” (as seen in the picture above) could occur with normal use, please be aware that the gap between hinge and computer base does not occur all at once. It gradually increases over time. I certainly cannot defend or criticize other users with this problem since I have no way of knowing if they were abusive with the handling of their MBAs. But I CAN speak for my own experience, and I am absolutely certain that I am the only user of my computer and that I have treated my MBA very gently from day 1.
I plan to take both of our MBAs to the Genius Bar this week with the expectation that they will repair this flaw that is obviously (at least in my case) due to a manufacturing and/or design flaw.
David
Harvard Medical School
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oldspunkers, on March 17th, 2009 at 1:01 am
I’m seeing a lot of jackass comments on here from people saying that it’s the users fault, that we push the screens back too far, etc. What the hell? Who in the world is going to shell out $1,800 for a luxury laptop and push the screen too far back? Hell, who is going to do that to ANY laptop?
It just doesn’t make sense. I, and many other MBA users, have taken very good care of it. Mine has hardly left my house. Don’t insult me and leave such arrogant comments such as you have done.
Despicable.
Jeremy, on March 17th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I have had the exact same problem happen with my Macbook Air….left hinge. I do have the 3 year extended warranty and my MBA is about 13 months old. I took it into an Apple store after researching and finding that this is a fairly common problem. The “genius” there said it would not be covered under my warranty even after he referred to it as a defect. He caught himself I think and tried to backtrack and say that I must have pushed the screen back too far, stressing the hinges and causing them to break. I explained to him that I knew it was a common problem and he tried to convince me that they (Apple) have no knowledge of this problem and they don’t take into consideration anything anyone posts about these things on the internet. I stopped short of calling him a liar but let him know I was not happy and found it hard to believe that Apple has no knowledge of this defect when doing a quick google search for “macbook air broken hinge” brings up hundreds (thousands?) of hits instantly. He offered to send it to the depot (whatever that is) for a final decision but he said more than likely they would call with a price of about $600 to fix it. I told him no thanks!
This morning my husband called Apple Care and didn’t have a problem at all. They are sending a box to ship it back to them and they are going to repair it. They did say that if there is anything on my MBA that I want to keep to get it off because the machine will be reset. I have no idea what that is about.
I guess, at this point, my advice would be to call Apple Care and not deal with the so called geniuses at the stores. Good luck everyone!
I will just add, to the people saying it is user abuse, misuse, etc. that my MBA has never left my house until I took it to the Apple store with this complaint, I have been very careful with it, never dropped it or abused it in any way. I have no children in my home. The case is in brand new condition. This is obviously a design flaw…..a hinge (or hinges) that are too weak to do their job reliably.
gr82cu2, on March 21st, 2009 at 10:26 am