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Should I get this fixed or....

L

lina231

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 7, 2013
131
0
So since i've gotten my MBA I felt like the lid was pretty heavy. Heavy as in it pretty much shuts itself when i'm closing it, and if i move around the screen will go back. I was just taking off the bottom portion of my clear case and realized that when I sit it upright it opens by itself. I was just wondering if anyone else's MBA did this. I figured maybe the lid just needs tightening, or maybe i'm just way picky. Either way i'm just curious if I should take it to Apple so maybe they will tighten it.

This is my first Macbook so I am absolutely scared of something going wrong with it. So thanks for all of your patience with me asking stupid questions!:)
 

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Ronnoco

Ronnoco

macrumors 68030
Oct 16, 2007
2,568
522
United States of America
lina231 said:
So since i've gotten my MBA I felt like the lid was pretty heavy. Heavy as in it pretty much shuts itself when i'm closing it, and if i move around the screen will go back. I was just taking off the bottom portion of my clear case and realized that when I sit it upright it opens by itself. I was just wondering if anyone else's MBA did this. I figured maybe the lid just needs tightening, or maybe i'm just way picky. Either way i'm just curious if I should take it to Apple so maybe they will tighten it.

This is my first Macbook so I am absolutely scared of something going wrong with it. So thanks for all of your patience with me asking stupid questions!:)
Click to expand...

I would take it to Apple and have them tighten it. My daughter did this on hers and she was much happier after they tightened the hinges.
 
seveej

seveej

macrumors 6502a
Dec 14, 2009
827
51
Helsinki, Finland
Greetings,

Thanks for the pic, but I admit I'm not quite sure what I'm seeing...

Anyway, the problem with some cases or skins for products with tight engineering margins like the MacBook Air is that they may easily affect the behavior of the machine as well as change some properties.

You mention two things, the lid feeling heavy (compared to the hinges), and the lid opening itself.

The first one may partially be due to the extra weight the clear case creates. I do not know where you're at, but I would not guarantee that an Apple tech will tighten your hinges for free, especially if the need tot tighten them is based on a 3rd party accessory...

The lid not really closing is another matter. It you are sure the clear case does not obstruct the movement of the lid, then make sure the chassis is not bent...

RGDS,
 
L

lina231

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 7, 2013
131
0
Thank you all for your very helpful advice!:)

Ronnoco said:
I would take it to Apple and have them tighten it. My daughter did this on hers and she was much happier after they tightened the hinges.
Click to expand...
I am making appointment with the Apple store and am going to have them tighten the hinges. I actually called apple today and they said that they should be able to tighten it for me there.

seveej said:
Greetings,

Thanks for the pic, but I admit I'm not quite sure what I'm seeing...


The first one may partially be due to the extra weight the clear case creates. I do not know where you're at, but I would not guarantee that an Apple tech will tighten your hinges for free, especially if the need tot tighten them is based on a 3rd party accessory...


RGDS,
Click to expand...

It is just a picture of how far my MBA opens when it is in that position. I have AppleCare on my MBA and they said that it wouldn't be a problem and that it will not be any cost to me to have them tighten the hinges. I will be taking the case off before I go in there so they don't have to bother with taking it off themselves.

Macman45 said:
My new rMBP doesn't have this issue, in fact if anything mine is the opposite...you have to apply a little force to close it. Take it in..it's a 5 minute job at a genius bar.
Click to expand...

My boyfriend has an MBP and I looked at it today and like yours it does take a little force to close it and when i sit it up right it doesn't open at all, which is what I want with my MBA so hopefully when I take it in they fix it!
 
Ronnoco

Ronnoco

macrumors 68030
Oct 16, 2007
2,568
522
United States of America
Macman45 said:
My new rMBP doesn't have this issue, in fact if anything mine is the opposite...you have to apply a little force to close it. Take it in..it's a 5 minute job at a genius bar.
Click to expand...

Concur. It happened to my daughter's Air and the Genius took care of it in 5 minutes. Never had the problem again.
 
Mr Rabbit

Mr Rabbit

macrumors 6502a
May 13, 2013
638
5
'merica
I want to say that this is usually caused by the added weight/strain from those aftermarket plastic shell cases, I know this is at least the case with the MacBook Pros. Way back when I worked at Apple there was a knowledge base article, though I can't find it now, describing the behavior. The MacBook Pro's use a counterbalanced clutch system to hold the display at the desired viewing angle. When extra weight (the case) is added it will eventually cause the clutch system to wear and the display will no longer have the same force it requires to stay open/shut at certain angles.
 
M

mattferg

macrumors 6502
May 27, 2013
380
22
lina231 said:
So since i've gotten my MBA I felt like the lid was pretty heavy. Heavy as in it pretty much shuts itself when i'm closing it, and if i move around the screen will go back. I was just taking off the bottom portion of my clear case and realized that when I sit it upright it opens by itself. I was just wondering if anyone else's MBA did this. I figured maybe the lid just needs tightening, or maybe i'm just way picky. Either way i'm just curious if I should take it to Apple so maybe they will tighten it.

This is my first Macbook so I am absolutely scared of something going wrong with it. So thanks for all of your patience with me asking stupid questions!:)
Click to expand...

If you've got a clear case/shell on it, mine does the exact same thing with the shell on, but with the shell off it works as normal :) it's just the extra weight of the shell meaning the hinges are no longer tuned to the weight of the lid anymore, as it's slightly heavier with the shell :)
 
L

lina231

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 7, 2013
131
0
mattferg said:
If you've got a clear case/shell on it, mine does the exact same thing with the shell on, but with the shell off it works as normal :) it's just the extra weight of the shell meaning the hinges are no longer tuned to the weight of the lid anymore, as it's slightly heavier with the shell :)
Click to expand...

I did take the shell off and unfortunately it still does the same thing. I'm just going to take it to apple so that they can tighten the hinges. Thanks for the advice though!
 
L

lina231

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 7, 2013
131
0
Guys...they gave me a brand new MBA

Update:

So I went to the Apple store and told them about my problem and showed them my computer. They said that the hinges may be too tight and that they may just actually replace the entire display. So I was like okay that's not too bad. They told me to go back to the Genius bar and they had a new MBA waiting for me shrinked wrapped and everything.

The guy told me that they were just going to exchange my MacBook for an entire new unit instead of messing with it. So they did the exchange and they migrated all of my stuff onto the MBA (which by the way fast as hell through the ethernet adapter port).

So after that I took my screen cover off and my keyboard cover off and put it on my new Mac. After I did that I tilted the Mac up again and it was doing what the previous one was doing. I decided not to say anything (because there's no way I could have gotten two defective computers in a row) and just left.

So walking down the road I was thinking "what in the world is making my computer do this?" And then it hit me like i ton of bricks...It was my screen protector.

I took the screen protector off and what do you know...it's fine again.
So they pretty much gave me a new computer for no reason...and I feel completely horrible about it. I guess someone is going to get a refurbished brand new MBA.

Moral of the story...Make sure that you trouble shoot absolutely everything before you go to the Apple Store. I do feel guilty that that happened but I guess there's not too much I can do about it now. :eek:
 
Mr Rabbit

Mr Rabbit

macrumors 6502a
May 13, 2013
638
5
'merica
lina231 said:
So walking down the road I was thinking "what in the world is making my computer do this?" And then it hit me like i ton of bricks...It was my screen protector.

I took the screen protector off and what do you know...it's fine again.
So they pretty much gave me a new computer for no reason...and I feel completely horrible about it. I guess someone is going to get a refurbished brand new MBA.
Click to expand...

Glad you figured out the cause! I kinda figured that's what it was.

Don't worry about them swapping out your MBAir. Trust me, they've replaced Macs for much, much, much more trivial things. It will go through the refurbishing process and likely turn them a profit again.
 
M

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
The things u folks go through.

I notice my Hinges are getting loose and I don't use any protector. BUT it doesn't bother me. Either my Air is open for use, or it's closed on a table or in its pouch.

When it sags like a 70 years old, THEN I will do something about it maybe change the battery at the same time.
 
L

lina231

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 7, 2013
131
0
Mr Rabbit said:
Glad you figured out the cause! I kinda figured that's what it was.

Don't worry about them swapping out your MBAir. Trust me, they've replaced Macs for much, much, much more trivial things. It will go through the refurbishing process and likely turn them a profit again.
Click to expand...

Yeah I felt bad haha but oh well, I just hope none of the employees get yelled at for it haha. I'm just happy that it is working perfect now :)

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Mrbobb said:
The things u folks go through.

I notice my Hinges are getting loose and I don't use any protector. BUT it doesn't bother me. Either my Air is open for use, or it's closed on a table or in its pouch.

When it sags like a 70 years old, THEN I will do something about it maybe change the battery at the same time.
Click to expand...

Well everyone's different.
 
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