Screen on my Rev. B Air just went out - any cheap solutions?

My screen is fading and getting lines and freezing, making my Air no longer usable. AppleCare expired in Feb.

The first Apple Genius Bar guy I took it to, when the screen was still working ok, thought I might be able to get the screen replaced under the quality program but the screen would need to completely go out first. #

So once it went out the second Apple Genius Bar guy I showed it to said that because the hinge isn't damaged it wouldn't qualify for this program. (I actually already got the screen replaced in Oct. 2010 under the quality program.) He quoted me a price of £340 to replace the screen, which is about the same as the price on iFixit for a full replacement unit.

I am a UK student so the new base-model 13" Air is £859.20 and includes a free 3-year warranty and £70 gift certificate. So the cost of the new screen would be 40% of the price of a new Air.

I'm getting married in Sept. and funds are tight right now so was hoping to hold off on my next Air until the 2013 Haswell model comes out.

Any suggestions on a cheap solution? I'm wondering if I should try taking it back to the same store to see if I can find the original guy to help me out, or try different UK stores? I'm also going to be in Italy and I'm wondering how friendly they are on these types of issues?

Thanks!

bump

manhattanboy said:

A Rev. B MBA is the 2,1 model I believe....

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Actually, mine is the original Rev B, although perhaps the naming changed with the second design generation? Here's an Engadget article from 2009 that references the hinge issue with Rev A and Rev B.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/26/macbook-air-hinge-defect-not-covered-by-apples-warranty/

manhattanboy said:

Why not sell your old one for parts on ebay and then use some of that money for the new one?

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Excellent suggestion, hadn't thought of that. Wonder how much I could get for it? Mine is the 1.83Ghz with 128GB SSD.

Still hoping I can salvage this one for one more year (more on this below).

blesscheese said:

Re: temporary fix, do you truly need portability? If you use your MBA at your desk, why not just hook it up to an external monitor?

If you need to be portable, and can get by with just email/surfing/light word processing on the road, would an iPad or something similar work, and be cheaper?

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The desktop is a good suggestion, but I actually already have a desktop. I've thought a lot about an iPad but I come to the conclusion that I need a keyboard and the extra screen real estate.

blesscheese said:

I'm not sure what the best course of action is, trying to get a repair in Britain...I would raise a bit of a stink.

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I think you're right on about raising more of a stink. I went into another store today on the continent to see if I would get a different response and they said that because the corner aluminium is slightly bent the laptop has been damaged and therefore doesn't qualify for the Quality Program. I politely said ok again and left without putting up an argument.

But the thing is that a) that corner has been bent for at least 10-12 months prior to the screen going out, and b) the first Genius Bar guy I saw said that he would be able to replace the screen under the Quality Program but it would need to cease working completely before he could do so (it was working intermittently at the time I saw him). I feel like I've gotten a little unlucky with the last two Genius Bar guys I've seen.

My strategy at this point is to try a third time, different store (I assume they aren're recording notes after each of my visits on some master customer profile??) and argue the two points above. If that fails I'm going to see about trying to schedule an appointment with the first Genius Bar rep I saw when I get back to the UK in Sept. after my wedding. Hopefully Apple's customer system keeps a record of who I saw so that I request him.

blesscheese said:

Oh, and btw, if you think money is tight now, getting married isn't going to improve things any (unless your wife-to-be is rich!). Good luck!

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Fiancee is a fellow graduate student so unfortunately we're both poor right. Appreciate the well wishes!

Apple comes through!

this story has a happy ending.

back in London I went into my favorite Apple Store (Covent Garden) and they decided to replace the screen under the Quality Assurance program. i didn't even have to make a stink or argue it.

so two lessons:

a) if you get a customer service response from Apple that you don't like it pays to try again (and a second again in my case);

b) Apple undoubtedly has a great overall customer service. my air was out of warranty and they had already replaced the screen once before, albeit while it was still under extended AppleCare. but still, they didn't have to do this. they also put a new keyboard in, which is something i didn't even ask for. what a huge improvement that makes!

thank you, Apple! this will help me keep the finances in check until i get out of school and back into the working world.