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Hinge/screen problem with an ibook G4

N

Nico

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 24, 2005
2
0
Something happened with my ibook today and now the hinge is all wonky.

At the bottom it doesn't stay connected to the screen's plastic casing for unknown reasons and the plastic case around the screen itself over the lid at the bottom of the screen is pushing itself from the screen in the direction of the keyboard.

The screen and the computer work without problems, but the lid seems to heavy for the hinge now since it can no longer stay in upright position on its own. The ibook cannot be easily closed and opened either, the lid doesn't align with the bottom half and I have no idea what is:

a - wrong,
b - how it can be fixed
and c - if Apple repairs is going to charge me a new screen considering that probably just some piece of plastic somewhere in there broke.

Should I even ask if this is covered with the ibook's warranty?


I didn't take these photos, but my ibook looks exactly like that:
 

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stevep

stevep

macrumors 6502a
Oct 13, 2004
876
4
UK
You need to be careful here - I think (in fact I'm almost certain) its due to the hinge on the iBook being overtightened. This means that the polycarbonate screen surround and what they call the clutch cover (the lid part of the hinge assembly) gets over stressed every time you open and shut the screen. Apple will blame the problem on user abuse and will not honour the warranty. The clutch cover itself costs about £10 ($20), don't know what the screen surround costs.
My clutch cover has broken and a colleagues iBook has exactly the same symptoms you describe. Both are less than a year old and both have been very carefully treated.
If you ring Apple support, they won't be able to solve the problem over the phone, so they will log the fault against your serial number, with the note 'Support Denied' - this will make it impossible for an Apple service agent to put in a warranty claim on your behalf, because your 'Support Denied' tag will come up on screen when they type in your serial number. DON'T ring Apple!
Find a sympathetic service agent who believes you and you might be lucky with a warranty claim.
The repair itself is a pig, as you have to almost completely dismantle the lower and upper case. Labour charges could well be around £150 ($300).
Conclusion: Apple warranty = POS.
 
N

Nico

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 24, 2005
2
0
Thank you so much for your help. I am half despairing over here. Thank you.
 
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