13" rMBP body issues?

[Breedlove]

I had a terrible experience with the new 15" model. Mine had obnoxiously loud creaking, to the point where it seemed like if I carried it wrong, it would break.

Just sent the machine back for a return and am looking to purchase a new machine.

I am now considering one of two choices:
1) Purchase the same 15" model and just replace the machine until I get one that I'm satisfied with.
2) Purchase a 13" (only if the chance of these issues arising is lower than on the 15")

Please share your experiences!

 

[rgarjr]

Really depends on your screen real estate needs. I've had a 13" MB for a while and wanted to step up to a 15" so I did.

 

[Breedlove]

I'm well aware of the performance and size differences between the two machines.

But I will never be happy with one that sounds like it will crack in half every time i pick it up or type too hard (which is how my 15" Haswell was)

I'm just wondering if anyone with a 13" has had these problems as well. It is well documented here and on Apple's discussion forums that the 15" body is a crapshoot.

 

[ja12ke]

Just get yourself pentalobe screwdriver, blue thread locker and loosen then re-screw the bottom yourself. I had this problem with the MBAs and rMBP. After I re-screwed the bottom, all the noise went away completely. I'd be more worried about the screen uniformity as 4 of the 5 13 rmbp had yellow spots on the screen.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

No creaking issues with my 13". We have trackpadgate though.

 

[ja12ke]

No creaking issues with my 13". We have trackpadgate though.

Yep! Happen to me 3 times last night within a span of 20 minutes! I've noticed that it happens when i use the scroll motion on the trackpad.

 

[radiohead14]

comparing to my 2011 Air and to my previous MacBook Pros (a Santa Rosa one and the 1st Unibody).. i feel like these new retina rMBP's quality is a bit of a step down. while not that big of a deal.. things i've noticed with the 13" i initially got, which i've since gotten replaced:

1) rubber strip around the display, on the lower left part of the bezel, appears to not be glued on well. in fact, if i look at it from the side.. i can clearly see it raised and not flushed like how it is on the right side. i figure i can just krazy glue this if it gets worse, but still.. for the amount of money we pay.. things like this should have been QC checked.

2) keyboard keys are looser, make a bit more noise, and just don't have much travel.

3) trackpad, at least with the first rMBP i got.. was either over or under tightened, as it made such an annoying click sound that was considerably louder than my previous MacBooks.

4) the dreaded IR issue

i've since replaced this initial rMBP i got, and the replacement one i have now, so far, have no issues.. knock on wood.. but even this replacement doesn't seem as well built as my previous 2 MacBook Pros.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

comparing to my 2011 Air and to my previous MacBook Pros (a Santa Rosa one and the 1st Unibody).. i feel like these new retina rMBP's quality is a bit of a step down. while not that big of a deal.. things i've noticed with the 13" i initially got, which i've since gotten replaced:

1) rubber strip around the display, on the lower left part of the bezel, appears to not be glued on well. in fact, if i look at it from the side.. i can clearly see it raised and not flushed like how it is on the right side. i figure i can just krazy glue this if it gets worse, but still.. for the amount of money we pay.. things like this should have been QC checked.

2) keyboard keys are looser, make a bit more noise, and just don't have much travel.

3) trackpad, at least with the first rMBP i got.. was either over or under tightened, as it made such an annoying click sound that was considerably louder than my previous MacBooks.

4) the dreaded IR issue

i've since replaced this initial rMBP i got, and the replacement one i have now, so far, have no issues.. knock on wood.. but even this replacement doesn't seem as well built as my previous 2 MacBook Pros.

Was that first unibody a 13" or 15"? I have the mid-2009 13" MacBook Pro, and it's been a POS for two years. Burning through SATA cables and hard drives and not waking up every few times.

 

[Breedlove]

Just get yourself pentalobe screwdriver, blue thread locker and loosen then re-screw the bottom yourself. I had this problem with the MBAs and rMBP. After I re-screwed the bottom, all the noise went away completely. I'd be more worried about the screen uniformity as 4 of the 5 13 rmbp had yellow spots on the screen.

Well too late now, my rMBP is on it's way back to Amazon.
I did have a yellow spot on my screen though so I would have returned it anyways.

 

[Breedlove]

Just get yourself pentalobe screwdriver, blue thread locker and loosen then re-screw the bottom yourself. I had this problem with the MBAs and rMBP. After I re-screwed the bottom, all the noise went away completely. I'd be more worried about the screen uniformity as 4 of the 5 13 rmbp had yellow spots on the screen.

Also is this even a confirmed fix for the 15"?
People are saying that tightening the screws doesn't fix this issue on the new rMBP like it did on the MBA.

 

[ja12ke]

Also is this even a confirmed fix for the 15"?
People are saying that tightening the screws doesn't fix this issue on the new rMBP like it did on the MBA.

I don't know if it's a confirmed fix for the 15s. But I have noticed that these things are not tightened throughly. I think more then just tightening it, you have to remove the screws, make sure the bottom cover is seated correctly, then use thread locker on the screws when you put it back together.

 

[radiohead14]

Was that first unibody a 13" or 15"? I have the mid-2009 13" MacBook Pro, and it's been a POS for two years. Burning through SATA cables and hard drives and not waking up every few times.

it was a 15". it was built like a tank imo. never had any issues with it.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

it was a 15". it was built like a tank imo. never had any issues with it.

Yeah, the 13" models didn't have quite the same quality. Mine did truck across a college campus for four years though.

 

[Tears Apart]

ing one of two choices:
1) Purchase the same 15" model and just replace the machine until I get one that I'm satisfied with.
2) Purchase a 13" (only if the chance of these issues arising is lower than on the 15")

It sounds a bit extreme to buy a 13'' just because it won't creak. Just get the 15'' replaced until you get a good one.

 

[Breedlove]

It sounds a bit extreme to buy a 13'' just because it won't creak. Just get the 15'' replaced until you get a good one.

Each replacement would cost me an hour of time, going out to the store, waiting for an Apple sales associate to make the swap, and driving home.

 

[Leudast]

Each replacement would cost me an hour of time, going out to the store, waiting for an Apple sales associate to make the swap, and driving home.

You're talking about maybe 5 hours worth of work (maybe less than 1 if you just get a screwdriver and do it yourself) compared to the life of the machine you're using, which will be a couple of years. All of that sacrifice to change to a new form factor and massive performance differences and live with it for years because you don't want to invest a few hours.

You're either a CEO with an extraordinarily demanding schedule (which honestly, you'd just get a lackey to do it) or a spoiled technically inept rich kid who's mommy/daddy bought him a new present. Or just incomprehensibly lazy.

 

[unimac]

You're talking about maybe 5 hours worth of work (maybe less than 1 if you just get a screwdriver and do it yourself) compared to the life of the machine you're using, which will be a couple of years. All of that sacrifice to change to a new form factor and massive performance differences and live with it for years because you don't want to invest a few hours.

You're either a CEO with an extraordinarily demanding schedule (which honestly, you'd just get a lackey to do it) or a spoiled technically inept rich kid who's mommy/daddy bought him a new present. Or just incomprehensibly lazy.

Amazing remarks.. So, because a company has **** quality control, everyone should be lemming consumers and not only pay a premium for perceived quality above the competition that negates such blunders but then should be happy to treck 1 hour each way to an apple store to try to roll the dice hoping they finally get a defect free laptop.

And hey, paid $1,000 in premium for top quality.. Yeah, I should go pay out of my pocket and get a custom ****n screw driver because apple decided to make it difficult for me and spend hours torquing down bolts hoping to fix a manufing defect...

Do you think if someone went out and bought a 'luxury' premium product and paid that 'premium for it' that they should break out a tool kit on a brand new product to fix something as obnoxious as loud snapping and creaking sounds every time they use their product?

Yeah, I go and buy a brand new ferrari and I'm going to say.. oh hey'.. cars making ***** tons of noise like a 1982 Toyota Corolla with 280,000 miles on it.. Why don't I go down to autozone and buy a specialized tool and try to torque down bolts on this sucker to get it right? GTFO

Incredible that you then go on to personally attack this person and call them :
> technically inept
> rich spiled kid
> lazy..

Wtf is wrong w/ you man?

I did exactly what you mentioned and watched a tech unscrew and re-screw the bolts to spec torque.. THE **** STILL SQUEAKED

> technically inept? I have a masters degree in electrical and computer engineering
> Rich spoiled kid? I work hard for wtf I have... and have quite alot .. and when i spend alot i fckn expect quality
> Lazy? far from it .. I made 6 store visits and the 'squeak' got worst .. and no i'm not going to start screwing around w/ bolts and possibly strip one because I don't know the torque specs.

The squeak, since I actually am technically competent is due to apple's cheap a$$ having the 15" rMbps internals being spec'd off of the 13"s space requirements to save money... As such, the big arse 15" MBP case has extra empty space in it. Given the incredibly thin back shell and lack adequate mounting points, this can cause squeaks when manuf'ing tolerances are slightly off..

So, no matter how much you screw and rescrew silly arse bolts, it wont fix your squeak issue if you have one. I've had it done twice and it only got worst.

So, kindly ******* and g-t-f-o w/ your uninformed nonsense and delusions of grandeur when it comes to personally judging someone.

As for you .. And my personal assessment of you : You're the kind of guy who would spend $80,000 on **** craftsmanship and be happy about it because it has a designer logo on it.

 

[Breedlove]

You're talking about maybe 5 hours worth of work (maybe less than 1 if you just get a screwdriver and do it yourself) compared to the life of the machine you're using, which will be a couple of years. All of that sacrifice to change to a new form factor and massive performance differences and live with it for years because you don't want to invest a few hours.

You're either a CEO with an extraordinarily demanding schedule (which honestly, you'd just get a lackey to do it) or a spoiled technically inept rich kid who's mommy/daddy bought him a new present. Or just incomprehensibly lazy.

Or a million other possible situations which you fail to address.

i.e: ANY professional in the legal industry in which 80 hour work weeks are common; a doctor on call 24/7; et al.

I'll give you a hint though as to which one I am: if you were to make such an argument before a judge (assuming this will never happen because you seem to lack basic logical reasoning ability), you would be laughed out of court, held in contempt and sued for malpractice.

Your attempt to call me out for being lazy is unfounded and makes assumptions that are not validly backed.

This is like me assuming that there are only 2 reasons for your offensive comment:
(1) you were abused by daddy when you were a kid and take out your frustrations on the internet
(2) you were bullied by rich kids and hate people who can buy expensive things without worrying about the financial implications of such purchases.

Now ask yourself, do these situations apply to you? I'd assume not but this is the kind of faulty logic you apply.

I have my own reasons to NOT spend 5 hours to get a properly QA'ed machine and your comment fails to consider the fact that I have already determined that 5 hours of time is not something I can spare.

Edit:
Just read Unimac's response and I would like to echo his suggestion that you GTFO and *******.