A pile of junk

[Pagemakers]

I am so disappointed with my MBA.

The fans run at full tilt whenever they want to.

It is noisy and it drives me nuts.

I am not making it work hard, not am I watching flash files etc. The machine is only running at 49C and the fans are running at 6900rpm.

For no apparent reason they speed up and slow down it seems at will.

I wish I had never set eyes on this beta piece of rubbish.

[G4DP]

Feel better for that pointless childish tantrum do you?

Good well go crying back to mommy then.

[yoyo5280]

I got a great idea. Take it to apple. Get it fixed. Have a happier life

[Pagemakers]

G4DP If there is one thing I hate about Apple it is this.....You can't express a negative opinion without some smug comment from a person like you.

Yes I am having a tantrum. But I guess you are not the one sitting in front of something that sounds like its about to take off and is running at the speed of a snail - a every expensive new one at that.

Yes, I have been the the Apple store and the geniuses.

Yes, I have re-installed.

Yes, I have done everything I can possibly think of.

What am I supposed to do, just think, oh never mind, it's an Apple, it will be all right.

Well it isn't. It locks up, crashes and is as noisy as hell. My mate has one too and his is the same.

Yes I have other Macs, lots of them in fact and overall I'm happy, but this is an awful piece of kit.

Thank you for your helpful comment. I guess it is about a useful as this post. But at least I feel better for my rant.

yoyo5280 Yes I will take it to Apple to get it fixed but I honestly don't think it is broken. My mates is the same.

[yoyo5280]

I think that is a bit unfair to be saying that if macs don't work then nobody here is going to help just because it is apple.

You didn't ask for help. You ranted. You where throwing a tantrum.If you where to come up here and say "Whats wrong with my MBA. It locks up, runs slow, and is very noisy. Please help" maybe you would of had a more positive response.


Apple support is great. THere is no denying. Take it to the shop and have them REPLACE it.

Im glad you feel better BTW.

The MBAs are not perfect. have your m8 do the same...everything should work out.

[eggersj]

yoyo5280 Yes I will take it to Apple to get it fixed but I honestly don't think it is broken. My mates is the same.[/QUOTE]

I have had mine since March, and I barely hear the fan. I know the fan is a crap shoot, but I haven't had a problem and no complaints here!!

The fact that it locks and crashes means that something is wrong!! What did the genius' say?

[Pagemakers]

Yea I guess I could have been more forgiving and approachable in my post but to be honest I and just fed up with it.

I am a relatively new Apple convert and have only experienced Leopard and I have to say I am overall disappointed although part of me loves the OS.

Almost everything I use with Leopard just works....almost. There is a bug or something somewhere and I have seen more total crashes with Leopard, than any Windows OS. However, I like it and I am willing to persevere.

Maybe 10.5.3 will give me the stability I want.

I will take it back to the store but as I said before I don't think it is faulty. I think it is buggy and unfinished.

I was disappointed with the geniuses. They spent most of their time searching the Apple forums for possible resolutions. I can ( and have for hours) do that myself. I have only been a Mac user for about 7 months and in many areas I knew more then they did.

[yoyo5280]

Yea I guess I could have been more forgiving and approachable in my post but to be honest I and just fed up with it.

I am a relatively new Apple convert and have only experienced Leopard and I have to say I am overall disappointed although part of me loves the OS.

Almost everything I use with Leopard just works....almost. There is a bug or something somewhere and I have seen more total crashes with Leopard, than any Windows OS. However, I like it and I am willing to persevere.

Maybe 10.5.3 will give me the stability I want.

I will take it back to the store but as I said before I don't think it is faulty. I think it is buggy and unfinished.

The thing is dude, it is not buggy and unfinished. Leopard has only crashed once on me and I had it the day it was released.

Your macs are having some serious problems and if the geniuses are not really that smart id try to call up apple and talk to support there. I waited 45 mins once but when I finally got a hold of them they where great help. Story differs from person to person however.

[wordy]

There's lot of answers right here on the forums and also on Apple's Discussion forums - definitely more info about your MBA than a Genius would ever know, or admit to.

Unfortunately for you, crying to get what you want stops working at around age 3. For the rest of us, there's there's the 'search' feature.

[Krevnik]

I was disappointed with the geniuses. They spent most of their time searching the Apple forums for possible resolutions. I can ( and have for hours) do that myself. I have only been a Mac user for about 7 months and in many areas I knew more then they did.

How's this for a resolution for you?

Flash is a CPU hog, and will drive one of the cores to 100%. The Air responds to the heat this generates by turning on the fans. You don't /think/ you are pushing it, but Flash in Safari sucks down CPU like there is no tomorrow.

[dvince2]

open up Activity monitor, and see your CPU usage. I randomly get "Brother Scanner" (for my printer) using 80%+, making my fans turn on.

[flyfish29]

Yes, I have done everything I can possibly think of.

What am I supposed to do, just think, oh never mind, it's an Apple, it will be all right.


You have done everything *you* can think of which I assume is why you came here? (just an assumption)

for starters, if you have a product that is not performing the way you expect, you work directly with the producer...you say you have, so I guess you next option is to either Rant (check) or come to an amazing forum like Macrumors and attempt (really attempt with an open mind) to get your issues resolved.

I think those are your only options...unless you want to sell it to me for a few bucks!:p

Yes I have other Macs, lots of them in fact and overall I'm happy, but this is an awful piece of kit.


So you say you have lots of macs...do you own multiple and all are Leopard based...and you bought them all in the last several months??...are they crashing like this one? Do you install lots of software that is not from "mainstream" sources (ie. microsoft, Adobe, Apple?)

Do you have many widgets on your MacBookAir? I think those are CPU or memory drains- but not sure if those could be the cause for the fans going bezerk.

Good luck! (Like I said, I will take it off your hands...I could use some more air flow in my house- should be a hot summer~!:D

[dpaanlka]

Feel better for that pointless childish tantrum do you?

Good well go crying back to mommy then.

Usually if you feel the urge to post something like this, it's probably best not to.

G4DP If there is one thing I hate about Apple it is this.....You can't express a negative opinion without some smug comment from a person like you.

That's the crux of the problem. Why do you feel the need to express your opinion to fellow customers as if we're the cause of, and somehow obliged to solve, the problem and/or feel sympathy for you?

Yes I am having a tantrum. But I guess you are not the one sitting in front of something that sounds like its about to take off and is running at the speed of a snail - a every expensive new one at that.

I've sat in front of many a broken, wheezing, unstable Mac. You have to take a breath, be reasonable, and cool headed.

Yes, I have been the the Apple store and the geniuses.

Yes, I have re-installed.

Yes, I have done everything I can possibly think of.

What am I supposed to do, just think, oh never mind, it's an Apple, it will be all right.

Well it isn't. It locks up, crashes and is as noisy as hell. My mate has one too and his is the same.

Then you're doing the whole Apple Store Genius thing wrong. You have to be like "this is broken, here I'll show you. (Demonstrate problem here.) There, see how that just crashed? I don't want this back until you fix it." and be done with it. If you do that, they will not reject you or turn you down in any way. I don't see how you could possibly have done this and walked away with it malfunctioning the same way.

yoyo5280 Yes I will take it to Apple to get it fixed but I honestly don't think it is broken. My mates is the same.

Well then you have two broken MBAs. Or you have something else installed/hacked/messed up that you're not telling us about.

[mac jones]

It's true that the fan , if it chooses, runs at any speed it feels like at the moment.

If you object to the fan's odd behavior you had better sell it to someone who will not object.

They all do this, and that's that.

Feel free to rant as this isn't a popularity forum.

It's more like a 'HELP ME/ I HATE THIS!/ I LOVE THIS/ I'M SO BROKE!
forum.

Consequently, your post fits right in nicely.

edit (or maybe it is a popularity forum?...I'm not sure)

[juro]

First you come in ranting about the Air, then suddenly it's Leopard you're complaining about - which is it, really?

[TwinCities Dan]

Then you're doing the whole Apple Store Genius thing wrong. You have to be like "this is broken, here I'll show you. (Demonstrate problem here.) There, see how that just crashed? I don't want this back until you fix it." and be done with it. If you do that, they will not reject you or turn you down in any way. I don't see how you could possibly have done this and walked away with it malfunctioning the same way.

YES! I have a 2 year old MBP that I have easily logged 7500 hrs on without a trouble at all. All of the sudden, it made the "airplane taking off" sound (as described previously in this thread) and I started freaking out and shut'er down. I later did some web searching and found many stories (and YouTube videos) with the same problem. It was just a bad fan, I went in talked to a Genius (Even telling them it was the Right Cooling Fan) and asked when I could get it back. He said 3 days, I got it back the next day good as new.

Point is, remember, even though they are a "Genius":rolleyes:, sometimes people need a little instruction. Explain that it is unacceptable and the tell them to fix it, if they can't they will just ship it directly to :apple:, either way, they will get it fixed.

[jonswan]

The major problem is that it is simply a petulant rant > you went to the "piece of junk" too quickly, rather than detailing your problems. Nobody wants to help someone who behaves childishly, and paints all MBAs in this way. Mine works perfectly, yours doesn't, neither does your mate's. Had you read on the forums a little you'd have discovered that many people are having problems, many not.

And if Rev As, or betas as you call them, are so appalling to you, why'd you buy one and take the risk?

Take it back, demonstrate its problems, ask them to fix it and call you when it's ready. Cool down a little.

[Hawkeye411]

Sorry to hear that you are not happy with your MBA. Personally I steer clear of a brand new product release until the bugs can be worked out. I hope it gets fixed!!!

Cheers.

[gcmexico]

I am so disappointed with my MBA.

The fans run at full tilt whenever they want to.

It is noisy and it drives me nuts.

I am not making it work hard, not am I watching flash files etc. The machine is only running at 49C and the fans are running at 6900rpm.

For no apparent reason they speed up and slow down it seems at will.

I wish I had never set eyes on this beta piece of rubbish.

there is a thread about the thermal paste, that u can fix yourself...try to search of it...supposedly they put too much paste which causes fan problems or the computer to over heat (something to that extend)...some dude fixed the problem, try to search for the that

[Clix Pix]

Right now I am sitting here in my bedroom typing on my MBA. "A pile of junk" ???!! I think not!!! I have had no issues with my machine, which I got on February 8th, so it was one of the early ones.

One thing that it is important to remember is that the MBA, just like any other machine, is going to have limitations. One purchases the machine knowing about these limitations. For instance, I am not sitting here trying to post-process a lot of high-res photographic images in CS3 on this machine, nor am I trying to make a movie on it. I bought it for use as a travel computer and for an around-the-house-and-out-on-the-deck computer, one which doesn't need to do the heavy lifting for which I use my other Macs.

Back in the days when I was still using Windoze, I'd buy a new machine with whatever the latest version of Windoze was and either update all of my software that I could or eliminate any which might cause problems. I'd listen to friends moaning about wrestling with their new computer and an old version of some software and say, "maybe you either need to update that software or forget it if it's something which isn't going to install well in your new computer." Well, DUH....

The MBA is not a machine designed to do some of the same stuff my Mac Pro can do, and I don't expect it to take on that impossible task.

Look at what you're trying to do with your MBA and consider if maybe you need a different computer for some activities or make the decision as far as whether or not you want to compromise with the MBA because of its value in other ways. It is that simple.

[kleo]

its a tinny computer man and flash video are REALLY in efficient under mac osx. As a result the CPU is working hard, producing allot of heat...

[bmb012]

Yeah dude, there's probably like 400 people here who can help you out with the thing. First thing's first, though. They shoved a ton of stuff into that computer slice, fans are going to have to blast to get the heat out of it.

And as someone mentioned, Flash video is a complete and utter CPU hog.

Check out undervolting, or if there's issues with the thermal paste, fan tweaking, check out your activity monitor. Of course, there's always the option that there really is something wrong with that one. Check out a store display and put it through the paces, or if a friend has one, see if all of them do the same thing, make sure that yours isn't really messed up.

[NT1440]

oh no! a fan cooling your computer like its supposed to? how terrible:rolleyes:

how does one negative (if you can consider that bad) of a product make the whole thing a "pile of junk?"

just a quick question too: did you do any research before buying your computer?:apple:

[MacHappytjg]

oh no! a fan cooling your computer like its supposed to? how terrible:rolleyes:

how does one negative (if you can consider that bad) of a product make the whole thing a "pile of junk?"

just a quick question too: did you do any research before buying your computer?:apple:

hes probably a pc user trying to find a way to say macs suck :p

[Scott6666]

I am so disappointed with my MBA.

The fans run at full tilt whenever they want to.

It is noisy and it drives me nuts.

I am not making it work hard, not am I watching flash files etc. The machine is only running at 49C and the fans are running at 6900rpm.

For no apparent reason they speed up and slow down it seems at will.

I wish I had never set eyes on this beta piece of rubbish.

I agree with you. People ought to be more sympathetic to you rather than berating you. You should not have to go through all the hoops they want you to go through (even to the extent of redoing the thermal paste) just to get a decent laptop.

Mine was a total piece of unpredictable crap.

It was light however and I did not miss the ports or the internal drive but it should not have gone fan crazy and dropped cores periodically.

Many of those who comment their is "fine" seem to go on later to say that their fans spin up - but only when they should because they are doing something to push the machine and it's to be expected.

Total bs. Rationalizing of a bad product by fan boys.

Even if there are some good ones out there (and I doubt it because I think it has a design flaw either in the heatsink or the CPU or both) the rate of bad ones out there seems to be shockingly high.

I only thank my lucky stars that I traded mine in for a MBP. Apple was good to me about that.

Love my MBP. Silent. Fast. Not too heavy. Love Leopard (recent convert from Windows). Runs Windows in Parallels or Fusion just fine. The case does get hot at times (really hot!) but that's the price of no fan noise. I prefer it although I could use smcFanControl to have more fan and less case heat. Love my MBP. HATED HATED HATED my MBA. Would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a MBA that worked as it should.

Rev A = Total piece of crap because of one error in design - heat dissipation.

[NT1440]

I agree with you. People ought to be more sympathetic to you rather than berating you. You should not have to go through all the hoops they want you to go through (even to the extent of redoing the thermal paste) just to get a decent laptop.

Mine was a total piece of unpredictable crap.

It was light however and I did not miss the ports or the internal drive but it should not have gone fan crazy and dropped cores periodically.

Many of those who comment their is "fine" seem to go on later to say that their fans spin up - but only when they should because they are doing something to push the machine and it's to be expected.

Total bs. Rationalizing of a bad product by fan boys.

Even if there are some good ones out there (and I doubt it because I think it has a design flaw either in the heatsink or the CPU or both) the rate of bad ones out there seems to be shockingly high.

I only thank my lucky stars that I traded mine in for a MBP. Apple was good to me about that.

Love my MBP. Silent. Fast. Not too heavy. Love Leopard (recent convert from Windows). Runs Windows in Parallels or Fusion just fine. The case does get hot at times (really hot!) but that's the price of no fan noise. I prefer it although I could use smcFanControl to have more fan and less case heat. Love my MBP. HATED HATED HATED my MBA. Would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a MBA that worked as it should.

Rev A = Total piece of crap because of one error in design - heat dissipation.

how in the holy hell does a fan turning on make a bad product?

[New2MacRU]

Hi Pagemakers,

First really I did not think you ranted but if you did it was a polite rant :).

I agree with Clix Pix, Krevnik, dvince2 and especially TwinCities Dan--- strong suggestions / ideas. I also think it is a good machine but one person's junk is another's treasure. Unfortunately, the fan does not seem to be able to be modulated by the user directly and the noise will probably not get much better for you, unless its in the realm of what TwinCities Dan suggests. The good thing is if you continue to be bothered by it I am pretty sure you could sell it easily --- not the best thing I know but at least you would not lose all.

One other thing, this site and this discussion group / Forum is really a great site. I am not a 'typical' Mac user in that I do not know a lot about style, computers or even the Mac 'philosophies', still I have seen many people here really take a lot of time to explain many many things that people like myself would have just been lost on. I know you got a lot of 'personal' comments that did not seem to me all that useful. I think many Mac users are very committed to Mac and are 'passionate' about the product and the good thing is that many of these people will share this passion and help you out on the Forum. Yes, it is true that if you say anything that even remotely resembles a complaint and don't make it as sweet as molasses you are gonna have some people come down on you. Trust me you are going to have more instruction on how to properly phrase a complaint, how not to rant, how the very syntax of your wording was just not "Macish" enough --- then you will get the bit creepy ones that have quasi paranoia who will say "Humm must be a PC user" --- lol, its all fun. Its a bit of a double standard though because if you go to any positing and put something like "I love my Mac" you will get not one complaint that this statement does not have much to do with the issue at hand. However --- and the truly great thing about Mac people is for me, that for every person that says "hey cant you use your search like I do" you will usually have 10 people that do not care if you did or did not and will be really happy to share information with you. These people can literally be like "little life savers" with good information --- I mean like very good information, because Mac people seem to really want 'to know' and work to find out the answer. Really I find Mac people just 'get' that it takes a lot more effort to think of ways to insult people than to just help people .... and generally we all learn even more in the process, they just are kind of 'confident' that way. So whenever the negative comments appear just think of those commercials with the big bloated Windows guy and go on to the next answer more than likely at minimum you get a bit of useful information .... hey even those 'with it' Mac people can have a bad moment, dont take it too hard for the most part Mac Rumor Forum really seems to attract great people with a real love of Macs.

Again, I hope some resolution can be done for you and I will say that in most circumstances I have found Mac products to be really reliable and do pretty much what they say it will do with not much issue.


Good Luck !!!

[HotAir]

I agree with you. People ought to be more sympathetic to you rather than berating you. You should not have to go through all the hoops they want you to go through (even to the extent of redoing the thermal paste) just to get a decent laptop.

Mine was a total piece of unpredictable crap.

It was light however and I did not miss the ports or the internal drive but it should not have gone fan crazy and dropped cores periodically.

Many of those who comment their is "fine" seem to go on later to say that their fans spin up - but only when they should because they are doing something to push the machine and it's to be expected.

Total bs. Rationalizing of a bad product by fan boys.

Even if there are some good ones out there (and I doubt it because I think it has a design flaw either in the heatsink or the CPU or both) the rate of bad ones out there seems to be shockingly high.

I only thank my lucky stars that I traded mine in for a MBP. Apple was good to me about that.

Love my MBP. Silent. Fast. Not too heavy. Love Leopard (recent convert from Windows). Runs Windows in Parallels or Fusion just fine. The case does get hot at times (really hot!) but that's the price of no fan noise. I prefer it although I could use smcFanControl to have more fan and less case heat. Love my MBP. HATED HATED HATED my MBA. Would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a MBA that worked as it should.

Rev A = Total piece of crap because of one error in design - heat dissipation.

Scott, you sure hang out here in the MBA Forum a lot for hating your MBA so much as I've read numerous times. ;)

[archesdevil]

I think Billy Balmer pays people to whine in these forums.

[Stratus Fear]

I think the reason anyone in this thread got miffed is because unrealistic expectations by some users apparently means go into a forum and call the thing "a piece of crap." If you're looking for a flame war, that's the easiest way to start one. It would probably be better to go looking for help or advice rather than dumping on the product in a product forum. The latter just isn't smart.

It occasionally bugs me that the fans on the MBA run higher RPM more frequently than other Macs, but at the same time I realize it runs that way for a reason. It's thin. The heat and increased fan speeds are by design. It's a tradeoff for the thinness and lower weight of the MBA. Expecting it to act the same as a thicker (and obviously different) notebook is unrealistic. It's not the same as a MacBook or MacBook Pro, so if you want something quieter and cooler, then go get that MacBook or MacBook Pro that has more room to dissipate heat. Alternatively, accept that you can mitigate some of the disadvantages of the MBA by some methods that members of this forum have detailed, but if you're not willing to do those things and you still want to complain, you should have done more research and not bought one in the first place.

Consumer self-education is pretty important in buying something. If you aren't taking a thorough look at the advantages and disadvantages of a product, it's design and features before you buy it, you're probably going to have issues. You should figure out what you're willing to accept and what's right for you before your wallet comes out of your pocket. In this case, it's pretty obvious that the MBA is heavily weighted toward portability and not heavy workloads. It's obvious that this computer isn't going to work for some people at all and at the same time work great for others. This isn't "rationalizing of a bad product by fan boys," it's just simply the way it is.

I didn't buy my MBA to use as my main computer or for heavy workloads in a portable enclosure. The few times I do try to use it like that, I am willing to accept the fact that the machine was not designed for that kind of use and will be warmer and noisier when I run that kind of workload. Anyone else considering one should be aware of that. If anyone else got one and has a problem with this, it isn't that the MBA is a bad product, but it might be that you're not a responsible consumer. If running heavier workloads frequently is a must for you, then you should go buy something that fits that need. The MBA clearly isn't going to do that and you ought to figure that out before you buy.

Edit: Some of my wording is a little blunt. Before someone gets upset, this post isn't directed at anyone, just in general, so let's keep the flames at bay ;)

[watermelon]

Feel better for that pointless childish tantrum do you?

Good well go crying back to mommy then.

I wish I was as cool as you were. Honestly, you must be a pretty cool guy!


Anyway, to the OP, I returned my air for a macbook :)
A macbook is like the same weight, faster, and doesn't have the fan problems.

[wolfie]

i really dont get some of the comments in here.

im most certainly not a fan boy and have a balanced perspective.
if you think the mba is a piece of junk, why dont u take a look at what yur making it do, and actually find out what your needs are, and then use a machine appropiate for those tasks.

my mba is utter bliss and i love it, at the same time I KNOW why i wanted the mba and therefore it performs how i expected it to with the tasks i give it.

[AdeFowler]

Yes I have other Macs, lots of them in fact and overall I'm happy, but this is an awful piece of kit.
I am a relatively new Apple convert and have only experienced Leopard and I have to say I am overall disappointed although part of me loves the OS.
Something doesn't add up here. You've been using a Mac for about seven months, you're disappointed with Leopard, but even so, still bought lots of macs since October last year. In fact Leopard's so bad that you rushed out and bought a very expensive Apple laptop. :rolleyes:

[Sun Baked]

I can imagine what would have happened if he had bought one of the first New Beetles or the Ford Focus when they first hit the US. :eek:

[Pagemakers]

Guys thank's for all your replies, supportive or not.

To clarify, I came to Macs because I couldn't believe what a total pile of junk Vista was (is).

I came believing the hype, that this OS just works. I believed all of the Mac/Windows ads. I was sold.

I purchased a MBP on the day Leopard launched. I work for an airline and the MBP was just too big and have for my travelling needs. I took it back and swapped it for a MB. I was quite happy with that, but as soon as the MBA was released I sold the MB and purchased the air.

I can live with 1 USB port (just) and like everything about the air. What I cannot stand, is out of the blue the fans will start to run at full tilt when I am doing nothing. At the moment, all I have running is this forum. Maybe in 10 minutes my fans will be at 6900rpm or maybe they won't. It's that simple.

Yes I like Leopard but almost everything I do with is seems to generate bugs and crashes somewhere. I can't remember the last time a Windows machine ever fully locked up requiring a total power down. My Air has done it several times since owning it. Applications quite often crash. I can live with that because I believe Apple fix things quickly. I purchased 4 iMacs a couple of weeks ago (for my other business). They are great, don't really crash and I hope that the several bugs I have encountered get fixed in 10.5.3

I will take my Air back to the store, but like I have said countless times, I am convinced it is not faulty. I just think it is a poor design. To all those people to are having a go at me because I am complaining about the noise of the fans. Have you ever heard the Air's fans running at 6900rpm when all you are doing is say, typing a word document? It sounds like the machine is on its way to destruction. If it is normal to do that, than I have purchased the wrong product and it is not for me.

Re my comment about about the Air being quiet as I am typing this.....Oh here we go again, the fans are starting to speed up like crazy now currently 4200rpm and increasing.

I will sign off now because I can feel the irritation coming back.

I think the USB Ethernet is the culprit.

RPM 4900 now. I guess one core will shut down in a minute and then the thing slows to a crawl.

GRRRRRRRRR!

[Pagemakers]

...and here we go again. In the time it took me to write that post above, with only Safari open, my MBA is running at 6900rpm. CPU temp is 60C CPU idle 70%

[mac jones]

Some people are sensitive to fan noise.

I remember when the MBP first came out it was the same issue. It was all about heat and fans: "This thing gets so hot but when the fans come on the sound is terrible HELP!!"
:D

Personally, I never hear the fans as I have background noise in the form of AC or other sounds.

I envy those who live quiet sound chambers. It must be bliss!!

Except for those nasty MBA fans!!!!!

[Pagemakers]

Since writing above I went to the shower (nice). I come out of the bathroom 30 minutes later and the Air is just sitting here doing nothing apart from being plugged into the USB Ethernet and the fans are still at 6900rpm.

I defy anybody to live with this bloody noise.

In fact it not just the noise....When the machine gets hot, one core shuts down the whole noise/hot/shutdown cycle is unforgivable.

[iMpathetic]

Are you using Safari?

This is going to sound stupid, but you may want to try using Camino (http://caminobrowser.org) as your browser for a while. I've found it's less CPU-intensive.

Hope this helps. :)

[wolfie]

while u think theres nothing wrong with the machine, ill argue otherwise, i have NEVER had the fans spin up past 2500 when just web surfing, ior typing a document.

NEVER.

infact i can watch a full length film and the fans wont go up.
im using wireless, regardless the machine is not designied to fan up the way yours does, so its faulty, many other macbook users will more likley have experiences similar to mine than yours.

[diabolic]

while u think theres nothing wrong with the machine, ill argue otherwise, i have NEVER had the fans spin up past 2500 when just web surfing, ior typing a document.

NEVER.

I have to echo this experience as well. If your fans spin up when you are just web browsing, something is definitely wrong with your MBA. Maybe you are using it on a soft surface with it plugged in? Mine runs hotter when it's charging, but the fans never spin up if I am just browsing the web and typing documents and emails.

[Scott6666]

Scott, you sure hang out here in the MBA Forum a lot for hating your MBA so much as I've read numerous times. ;)

I think I have every right to hang out here especially as a counterweight to people like you. :o There are lots of newbies and prospective buyers that read these threads that need to have a balanced perspective.

I bought my MBA on the first day they were available (a Monday I remember). I waited 5 hours in the Apple store on the Saturday before on rumor that they would arrive that day). I bought the external drive, the case, a time capsule (later of course). I was as excited by this as anyone on this board.

That's why I was and am as frustrated with the product as I am. I wanted and expected it to be USABLE. I have 2 year old laptops that could handle video better than this thing.

It's a defective design and I will preach that until Apple fixes it; so I can buy another. That's why I am on the boards.

I have the macrumors page come up as one of my home tabs. I probably see the boards 5 times a day. I comment when I please.

PS I also don't comment on the MBP boards because frankly I have nothing to comment on my MBP because it's perfect (except it doesn't weigh 3 lbs).

[Scott6666]

how in the holy hell does a fan turning on make a bad product?

The fan can and should turn on but not be cranked to 6200 half the time. You should not have to have an eye on iStat half the time while you use it. There are several quotes on the board from people uninstalling iStat because they are obsessing on the fans.

They should turn on but be largely (not totally inaudible). I have 2 fans on my MBP. The spin at 2000 to 2500 ALL THE TIME. They are inaudible. This is what the MBP should be.

[Scott6666]

In fact it not just the noise....When the machine gets hot, one core shuts down the whole noise/hot/shutdown cycle is unforgivable.

You are right about that. When the core were shutting down and coming up, I could not even have iTunes running in Party Shuffle and surf the web or do email. The tunes would stutter every 15 s and the machine would freeze up about the same. Unusable. Would have to put to sleep and then hope it would restart with fans under control. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

BTW, yours does sound excessive defective even for an MBA. You should at least try an Apple store to maybe replace your MBA or try to get an MBP. Get a base MBP for $2k and add in the larger drive for $50 more.

[Scott6666]

while u think theres nothing wrong with the machine, ill argue otherwise, i have NEVER had the fans spin up past 2500 when just web surfing, ior typing a document.

NEVER.

infact i can watch a full length film and the fans wont go up.
im using wireless, regardless the machine is not designied to fan up the way yours does, so its faulty, many other macbook users will more likley have experiences similar to mine than yours.

I would like to visit your MBA and see if there really is a perfect MBA out there. Where do you live? :D I'll only take 30 mins of your time. Meet you at a local Starbucks.

NCGuy used to post that his machine was perfect. Then I notice he is cracking it open and replacing the thermal paste. Sorry if I don't believe you, particularly on the movie. You must have the volume up...

[wolfie]

want to fly to australia? haha

you tube the fans start to crank up after about 15 min, however it dont go all the way up, and ive watched 3 films, and none of them had the fans hit 6200.
however these flms were from the itunes store, so it could have been coded in a diff way than other ripping formats.

i have no problems with my air.

[Pagemakers]

I live in the UK although I am in Orlando typing this.

Does anybody have their fans go crazy when using the USB Ethernet dongle? I am sure that is half the issue.

[Lord Blackadder]

I defy anybody to live with this bloody noise.

You know nothing about noise until you own a Power Mac G4. ;)

Looks like a lot of you MBA owners have decided that Apple made unacceptable compromises to get the MBA so thin...

Time to start shopping for a thicker Mac, I suppose.

[netdog]

I am so disappointed with my MBA.

The fans run at full tilt whenever they want to.

It is noisy and it drives me nuts.

I am not making it work hard, not am I watching flash files etc. The machine is only running at 49C and the fans are running at 6900rpm.

For no apparent reason they speed up and slow down it seems at will.

I wish I had never set eyes on this beta piece of rubbish.

Why don't you get it repaired instead? Probably a good idea if you aren't going to return it.

FWIW, my MBA has no issues.

[mac jones]

You know nothing about noise until you own a Power Mac G4. ;)

Looks like a lot of you MBA owners have decided that Apple made unacceptable compromises to get the MBA so thin...

Time to start shopping for a thicker Mac, I suppose.

I just like the weight and don't feel anything about thinness one way or another.

After using this for a while the MBP is a monster.

I imagine the next version will address the fan issue better.

Should be great.

[Lord Blackadder]

I've never really been too worried about weight - the lightness of the MBA is quite nice but I have no issues carrying my 15" Powerbook G4 around, so I'd just assume stick with a MBP.

I have to say that the 17" is a bit too big though - not so much in weight as sheer size. The screen makes up for it somewhat, but tit's a bit unwieldy to carry around IMO.

[Heavenkittykat]

Guys thank's for all your replies, supportive or not.

To clarify, I came to Macs because I couldn't believe what a total pile of junk Vista was (is).

I came believing the hype, that this OS just works. I believed all of the Mac/Windows ads. I was sold.

I purchased a MBP on the day Leopard launched. I work for an airline and the MBP was just too big and have for my travelling needs. I took it back and swapped it for a MB. I was quite happy with that, but as soon as the MBA was released I sold the MB and purchased the air.

I can live with 1 USB port (just) and like everything about the air. What I cannot stand, is out of the blue the fans will start to run at full tilt when I am doing nothing. At the moment, all I have running is this forum. Maybe in 10 minutes my fans will be at 6900rpm or maybe they won't. It's that simple.

Yes I like Leopard but almost everything I do with is seems to generate bugs and crashes somewhere. I can't remember the last time a Windows machine ever fully locked up requiring a total power down. My Air has done it several times since owning it. Applications quite often crash. I can live with that because I believe Apple fix things quickly. I purchased 4 iMacs a couple of weeks ago (for my other business). They are great, don't really crash and I hope that the several bugs I have encountered get fixed in 10.5.3

I will take my Air back to the store, but like I have said countless times, I am convinced it is not faulty. I just think it is a poor design. To all those people to are having a go at me because I am complaining about the noise of the fans. Have you ever heard the Air's fans running at 6900rpm when all you are doing is say, typing a word document? It sounds like the machine is on its way to destruction. If it is normal to do that, than I have purchased the wrong product and it is not for me.

Re my comment about about the Air being quiet as I am typing this.....Oh here we go again, the fans are starting to speed up like crazy now currently 4200rpm and increasing.

I will sign off now because I can feel the irritation coming back.

I think the USB Ethernet is the culprit.

RPM 4900 now. I guess one core will shut down in a minute and then the thing slows to a crawl.

GRRRRRRRRR!

why are you so sure that your macbook air is not broken? I have a macbook air since march 10th and this baby works perfectly fine. I can't even hear any fan most of the time that I work with this computer. And sometimes I open a lot of programs at the same time but my MBA is still smooth sailing.

Why is it so hard to just go to the apple geniuses and tell them that your MBA is broken and you need to get it replaced?

[Stratus Fear]

Why is it so hard to just go to the apple geniuses and tell them that your MBA is broken and you need to get it replaced?

It's easier to complain in an online forum ;)

[HotAir]

I think I have every right to hang out here especially as a counterweight to people like you. :o There are lots of newbies and prospective buyers that read these threads that need to have a balanced perspective.

Okay thanks for clarifying. Don't forget to check your own fan. I feel a lot of HOT AIR. :p:D;)

[queshy]

I got mine a couple weeks after launch. Had to trade it in because the battery wouldn't charge in <10 hours. Ironically, both units I've had (2nd one worked fine), I can count the # of times the fans rev'd up on one hand. Seems completely normal to me. Granted, I wasn't really taxing the computer - just the usual internet and typing stuff. Youtube certainly does nothing to my fans. Take it into Apple. It's not as if you're stuck with a broken computer. They'll fix it.

[NT1440]

The fan can and should turn on but not be cranked to 6200 half the time. You should not have to have an eye on iStat half the time while you use it. There are several quotes on the board from people uninstalling iStat because they are obsessing on the fans.

They should turn on but be largely (not totally inaudible). I have 2 fans on my MBP. The spin at 2000 to 2500 ALL THE TIME. They are inaudible. This is what the MBP should be.
so one flaw (if you can call it that) makes the entire think "a pile of junk" ?

you sir are far too critical of things you own. Im guessing your cars a POS because you have to put air in the tires from time to time?

[zosoair]

I had a little trouble with my air in the beginning, changed it couple of times (5 times) and glad to say I'm in love with this one had it for a while and completely trouble free. Fan comes on when required and shuts up when not needed. The battery life rocks too.

Could not be more satisfied...........

[MacHappytjg]

You know nothing about noise until you own a Power Mac G4. ;)

Looks like a lot of you MBA owners have decided that Apple made unacceptable compromises to get the MBA so thin...

Time to start shopping for a thicker Mac, I suppose.

dont forget emacs although i seem to sleep with it on not sleeping lmao

[Counterfit]

Many of those who comment their is "fine" seem to go on later to say that their fans spin up - but only when they should because they are doing something to push the machine and it's to be expected.

Total bs. Rationalizing of a bad product by fan boys.
So someone who says "my fans only spin up when I'm working a huge file in Photoshop" is full of it? Just when are the fans supposed to spin up?
I defy anybody to live with this bloody noise.
4 1/2 year old PowerBook, 3 external hard drives. And trust me, these fans are spinning most of the night
There are lots of newbies and prospective buyers that read these threads that need to have a balanced perspective.
And Fox News exists for the same reason. :rolleyes:
I had a little trouble with my air in the beginning, changed it couple of times (5 times)

If you had to change it 5 times, that's not "a little trouble".

[steve31]

I have had my MBA since the launch and have none of the problems that you (the OP) have. My fan stays at a solid 2500 when surfing and other simple tasks. I would say that your MBA is defective. I think that for an ultraportable notebook...it ROCKS!! :DBut I would never trade my MBP for a MBA!.:eek: But it is a nice addition. ;)I also would get frustrated if I had your problems with my MBA and would go with another option. Just dont go back to Vista!:eek: LOL.

[Scott6666]

so one flaw (if you can call it that) makes the entire think "a pile of junk" ?

you sir are far too critical of things you own. Im guessing your cars a POS because you have to put air in the tires from time to time?

Hardly. I rave over my MBP (that replaced the Air). Love my various HD TV's. Love my PS3. Think the XBOX360 is OK but it makes too much noise. Love my Honda Odyssey. Love my iPhone. Love my Honda Fit. Like my AppleTV (should play divx). Love my TimeCapsule (little loud, but it sits in the basement so who cares). Love my wife and kids. Love Jesus and America too.

The "one flaw" not only means it makes noise but the cores shut down making it unusable. If the radiator in my car did not work and the engine overheated and shut down, then yeah I would call that a pile of junk even if the engine worked great otherwise. I couldn't play iTunes on it for g-ds sake! Even my iPhone and iPods worked better.

I didn't start the thread with this name. I just agreed with it.

It IS a pile of junk / crap / malodorous garbage / a wretched stealer of dreams of money. They all should be melted down into blocks of Aluminum and recycled into something valuable like soda cans. Then Apple should start again. Unless of course you are deaf and don't want to use both of your cores. Then it's OK.

[Scott6666]

So someone who says "my fans only spin up when I'm working a huge file in Photoshop" is full of it? Just when are the fans supposed to spin up.

You should actually try reading the comments. If all we were complaining about were people pushing the machine like Handbrake and Photoshop there would be much less, if any, complaining. We're talking browsers and iTunes causing problems for some of us. Certainly playing a video for most (purchased off of iTunes no less).

It can't even do basic tasks that a 2 year old windows machine can do.

It's faulty. We're not trying to make a MacPro out of a sow's ear. We just want it to do what a G4 powerbook can do. Too much to ask? Get real.

Let's take these boards and encourage newbies to buy this piece of junk so they can get frustrated too just because you all spent $1,800 on crap and are trying to feel better about your waste of funds. Let's get our Moms to buy 'em so they can learn the joys and sheet terror of reapplying thermal paste. Or Apple could fix this pile of doo-doo. Oh yeah, that's too much to ask.

Mom, get out the q-tips and thermal paste! I'm going to recommend an Apple Air to you. Of course, this is normal for laptops. All laptops need new thermal paste..

HATE HATE HATE HATE the MBA. And proud of it :cool:

[MacHappytjg]

there goes my thinking about getting an air oviously its another mb or mbp

[MacHappytjg]

I have had my MBA since the launch and have none of the problems that you (the OP) have. My fan stays at a solid 2500 when surfing and other simple tasks. I would say that your MBA is defective. I think that for an ultraportable notebook...it ROCKS!! :DBut I would never trade my MBP for a MBA!.:eek: But it is a nice addition. ;)I also would get frustrated if I had your problems with my MBA and would go with another option. Just dont go back to Vista!:eek: LOL.

im using vista right now on my macbook and it sucks a$$

[beeh]

Pagemakers,

You mentioned a USB ethernet dongle? Can you use the internet without it for a couple of days and see if your heat problems go away ( or at least are reduced )? The dongle would be powered by 5V from the MBA, which could ( not saying it does, but it could ) generate quite a bit of heat. ( We've got 5v regs for USB ports on some products that get quite hot when continuously running USB comms for a while - basically reading data from a flash drive ).

Maybe you have a neighbor with wireless that you can ask to "borrow" their connection for a while? Or, if it fixes it, might be worth the $40-$50 to get a wireless router for your place?

BH

[Pagemakers]

The MBA is sitting behind me now doing nothing. The fans were running at full blast for 20 minutes for whatever reason and now they are silent again for whatever reason.

I will take it to the apple store on Tuesday because I can't live with it anymore.

[SamoanDude]

The fans were coming on my MBA and it was overheating, then I discovered the way it was sitting on ly seat of my car were blocking the air intake which is in an inconvenient place.

I got rid of my air because it just wasn't practical though for what I do/needed

[Chappers]

have you repaired permissions? Usually solves some problems.

Good luck

[iHerzeleid]

have you repaired permissions? Usually solves some problems.

Good luck

hehe

repairing permissions isnt going to solve this..

and i am too rather disappointed with my MBA

[jonswan]

Instead of immediately going for the 'pile of junk' rant I think it'd be better to either a/ take it to an Apple store or b/ try to work out what's causing it.

For example, I installed Mac Janitor a year or so back on an MB and the fans went crazy as it took most of the CPU. Found out later the App was not for Intel computers, so I uninstalled and everything went back to normal. Did you install something recently..?

Are you using it on your bed or something which blocks the air? That'd be dumb to be honest. I use mine on my lap but sit it on a thin bread board.

My MBA works perfectly, only hear the fans when something intensive happens, like installing updates. Otherwise: silent. Mind you, I realise the MBA is not a machine to thrash intensively - that isn't what it was designed for, so perhaps what you want from it is not what it was made for..

A good place to start is finder > applications > utilities > activity monitor. Start that up and see what's taking all your CPU or RAM. There may be an easy solution, or it may need replacing. But, I can tell you now that it is no piece of junk.

[Pagemakers]

To reposnd to the last few comments above...

1) The laptop is sitting on a wooden table.

2) Yes, I have reaired permissions and done and re-install.

3) I did not immediately go the 'it's a pile of junk'. I have been farting around with this thing for ages and the frustration got the better of me.

[Pagemakers]

Machine has been on idle for about 3 hours.

It is running the Apple Cosmos screensaver and that alone is causing the fans to run at full speed.

[diabolic]

It is running the Apple Cosmos screensaver and that alone is causing the fans to run at full speed.

Whether you believe it or not, there is something wrong with your particular MBA. After reading your message this morning, as a test, I plugged mine in, turned off the energy saver, and left it running the Cosmos screensaver for a couple of hours. The fans still haven't kicked up once.

If you like the MBA, I'd take it in and complain and see if they will replace it. If you don't like it, that's fine, but don't believe that the Cosmos screensaver causing the fans to come on is the result of some MBA design flaw. It's definitely not happening here.

[Pagemakers]

It's going in tomorrow.

[MacHappytjg]

It's going in tomorrow.

was it that flippin hard

[twist2b]

bugs are fixed.... fan is nice now.....

Flash is bad, that is true. Use Safari

or if you are a firefox fan:
1. disabe java when you do not need it
2. use the new program that reduces the HIGH process prob that firefox has withought losing speed:

http://firefox-ultimate-optimizer.en.softonic.com/download

how it works? I think it changes it from running it all through CPU but instead uses temp Memory

[Pagemakers]

was it that flippin hard

Yes it was. It's been back about 5 times so far.

It's been very bloody hard thank you.

[MacHappytjg]

in firefox disabling those things are a add on in firfox

[twist2b]

in firefox disabling those things are a add on in firfox

I dont understand what you are saying.

But to tell you the truth, Apple put the facts on the table. They new this was a niche market. It has low Processing speed and its your fault to be lazy and not be ready for the setbacks. I for one have been please, why? Because I did not expect it to be a macbook pro! It did what it set out to accomplish! And the external usb drive that you can get with it for 100 more is totally worth it, and cheap in my opinion.