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11" MacBook Air Wobbling?
- Thread starter JD92
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Just tried mine on a mirror, and it was fine. Tried on a wooden table, and it wobbled a bit. I think it may just be sensitive to slight variations. I wouldn't worry.
I got mine last night, and it has the same issue: it occurs on wood, granite, every surface where I've used other laptops with no problem. It's very slight, but it's annoying. I noticed the wobble the first time that I put my left hand on the wrist area to type.
I've got a Genius Bar appointment for Wednesday so we'll see what they say. I've noticed that the bottom case doesn't seem to be fitted as tightly on the left side, which is where the wobble is, than on the right, so I'm hoping they can just tighten it up to fix it.
Since this is an intermittent problem it'll be very annoying if it doesn't exhibit itself when I go in >_<
Since this is an intermittent problem it'll be very annoying if it doesn't exhibit itself when I go in >_<
Here's a video of my problem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgZbIU8qjBk
I've got an appointment at the Genius Bar for Wednesday, but there's an authorised apple service company in my Dad's building so I'm gonna take it to them first on Monday to see what they think. I know these guys are all pretty good, whereas I've found the Genius Bar can be very hit and miss.
I've got an appointment at the Genius Bar for Wednesday, but there's an authorised apple service company in my Dad's building so I'm gonna take it to them first on Monday to see what they think. I know these guys are all pretty good, whereas I've found the Genius Bar can be very hit and miss.
Hi, another MBA 11' owner here.
No problem, you can just press gently (but firmly) with your hand on side that wobbles. Just put that side of the MBA outside of a table, and press gently down. My MBA had a very slight wobble, and I did just that.. Now its perfect.
EDIT: Doesn't work. Only on MBPs, but they have a much thicker construction.
No problem, you can just press gently (but firmly) with your hand on side that wobbles. Just put that side of the MBA outside of a table, and press gently down. My MBA had a very slight wobble, and I did just that.. Now its perfect.
EDIT: Doesn't work. Only on MBPs, but they have a much thicker construction.
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I don't have a wobble in my 11 MBA but I am concerned it will develop one after a while of traveling inside my bag in a sleeve. It wouldn't take much to cause a slight bit of warpage in the thin part of the air.
I don't have a wobble in my 11 MBA but I am concerned it will develop one after a while of traveling inside my bag in a sleeve. It wouldn't take much to cause a slight bit of warpage in the thin part of the air.
I wouldn't be too concerned - I noticed this on mine from day 2 after I got it. If you haven't noticed it on yours by now then it'll probably be fine.
Mac32 said:
I've been pressing down on the wobbly side whenever it starts to wobble and that fixes it for a while but it keeps coming back. I'll try this though. You should watch for the wobble coming back - no laptop over £1000 should have a wobble. In fact no laptop should have a wobble full stop. We're paying a premium here, we should expect top notch build quality.
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I think a very slight wobble will be a rather common thing with these MBA, because they are so thin. I noticed myself that the wobble did come back initially, but after a 2-3 times of pressing down the wobbly side, it seems it now have settled in just fine. I got the same issue with my MBP 15' (maybe after carrying it around a lot), and did the same thing there also, and it's 100% fine now.
Just sayin', if it's a small wobble, it's not necessary to return the item IMO. It's easy to go overboard with slight imperfections when you get a new Apple machine, because these things are so beautiful.
EDIT: Doesn't work...wobble keeps coming back unfortunately..
Just sayin', if it's a small wobble, it's not necessary to return the item IMO. It's easy to go overboard with slight imperfections when you get a new Apple machine, because these things are so beautiful.
EDIT: Doesn't work...wobble keeps coming back unfortunately..
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I think a very slight wobble will be a rather common thing with these MBA, because they are so thin. I noticed myself that the wobble did come back initially, but after a 2-3 times of pressing down the wobbly side, it seems it now have settled in just fine. I got the same issue with my MBP 15' (maybe after carrying it around a lot), and did the same thing there also, and it's 100% fine now.
Just sayin', if it's a small wobble, it's not necessary to return the item IMO. It's easy to go overboard with slight imperfections when you get a new Apple machine, because these things are so beautiful.
Looking at the teardown, http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/pynKjehNYLYypowI.huge , it seems that the battery really does take up almost every available bit of space inside the MacBook Air. Considering it's made of plastic I'd imagine that'll be what gives the MBA a lot of its rigidity - and considering the size of it I doubt there's any room for the metal enclosure to flex under normal circumstances. I'm wondering if perhaps the battery isn't fitted correctly inside mine.
I fineally gave up on my MBA. Even though I bent/put pressure on the machine several times, the wobble kept coming back (about the same as shown in the youtube video by the other poster here). I'm gonna send it back/repair...or whatever..
(I checked all the MBAs that was on display in the local store, several of each size, and they were all perfectly flat/symmetrical.)
(I checked all the MBAs that was on display in the local store, several of each size, and they were all perfectly flat/symmetrical.)
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I really do not want to return this computer because I love it a lot. So I purchased a 5 point torx screw driver set so I can fix it my self. If this doesn't work, the computer is going to be replaced. I feel so unlucky because I had to return my previous computer (2.8GHZ i7 15") three times and even my last replacement was bad. So i got this MacBook Air since it was the cheapest and coolest computer Apple sold.
Here is my experience.
I had base model 11" with CTO 4GB RAM. No wobble.
It had other problems so I ended up returning it (long story), and got the "ultimate" from retail Apple Store.
The ultimate was wobbling. The foot near right hand palm rest was not touching the ground. It's more noticeable on office desk (Yeah, my cubical desk is cheap) and my coffee tables where the surface isn't SUPER flat. It was better or almost unnoticeable on a very flat surface like kitchen counter made of stone, but it was still there.
I brought it in to Genius Bar. On their "bar" table, the right foot was slightly off the surface. They brought up a replacement but that one was wobble even more. I talked with the manager and got my initial unit back, being assured I can return or exchange again even after the regular return period.
A couple weeks passed, and it seems the wobbling is almost entirely gone. At least it's gone on all the surfaces I usually use the Air. I think the base plate or the entire machine was built very very tightly, and it has loosened up slightly over time. I don't feel creaking or loose bottom plate, but I think the whole machine has "broken in."
You'd notice the wobble more on the 11" Air because it's small. 12" PowerBook had the same tendency as well. Because feet are closer to each other compared to larger laptops, tolerance of evenness is extremely tight. I don't know if "breaking in" would work on all other 11" Airs, but you might want to wait a bit if you can.
I think I'm keeping mine.
I had base model 11" with CTO 4GB RAM. No wobble.
It had other problems so I ended up returning it (long story), and got the "ultimate" from retail Apple Store.
The ultimate was wobbling. The foot near right hand palm rest was not touching the ground. It's more noticeable on office desk (Yeah, my cubical desk is cheap) and my coffee tables where the surface isn't SUPER flat. It was better or almost unnoticeable on a very flat surface like kitchen counter made of stone, but it was still there.
I brought it in to Genius Bar. On their "bar" table, the right foot was slightly off the surface. They brought up a replacement but that one was wobble even more. I talked with the manager and got my initial unit back, being assured I can return or exchange again even after the regular return period.
A couple weeks passed, and it seems the wobbling is almost entirely gone. At least it's gone on all the surfaces I usually use the Air. I think the base plate or the entire machine was built very very tightly, and it has loosened up slightly over time. I don't feel creaking or loose bottom plate, but I think the whole machine has "broken in."
You'd notice the wobble more on the 11" Air because it's small. 12" PowerBook had the same tendency as well. Because feet are closer to each other compared to larger laptops, tolerance of evenness is extremely tight. I don't know if "breaking in" would work on all other 11" Airs, but you might want to wait a bit if you can.
I think I'm keeping mine.
Yep, I agree..returning for a new item is a risky business, the next one might have other flaws..who knows.. For some refitting the buttom plate seemed to have helped (or just waiting for the unit to "settle in"), but it didn't in my case. It seems the frame itself is crooked. I'm gonna try getting a new one..
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I tried the new MBAs a while ago in a local store and both 11" and 13" had this exact problem. The front left rubber foot didn't touch the surface. Very annoying, and once again poor quality control from Apple. And this is not a new problem either, I've used two 13" MBP's (2010) which had exactly the same issue. Please have your flawed laptops replaced.