I may just be complaining about nothing here, but does anyone who owns one of these machines experience a popping noise on the left side of the machine when you pick it up or apply slight pressure to the area with your hand. I didn't notice it until today when I kept laying my wrist on the left side to type and it kept making a popping noise around the far left side of the track pad. It sounds an awful lot like the aluminum is cracking but on the inside. I checked the case on the outside for any sings of damage and there seems to be none. Is anyone else experiencing this? The machine appears to be running fine but its worrying because it seriously sounds like something cracking inside.
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rMBP Case Popping
- Thread starter ColdFlame87
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Follow up, It appears the noise is found everywhere on the case. Near the top corner bottom left corner I also heard it on the right once. It seems like it is the aluminum case 'creaking' It doesn't seem to affect performance and Ive read on the Apple forums that people where told to deal with it by the geniuses, so I'm at a loss as to whether I should just deal with it or take it in. I really want to avoid going to the Apple store as the closest one is 45 minutes from where I live, but it is frustrating to hear a 2000+ dollar machine crackling like an 800 dollar plastic dell computer.
Call Apple and report it, then make an appointment with a genius the next time you have time or are in the area, and quote the ref# when going in.
this is actually the very first thing i noticed when i was at an apple store and picked up the RMBP. i heard a creaking sound and i felt like it was about to snap in two.
My case is solid as a rock with not a hint of flex, popping, or any noises.
Those definitely should not be happening.
Those definitely should not be happening.
I too have the creaking issue. If I ordered my RMBP from Macmall.. can I still get it replaced at an Apple store? Since I have AppleCare, I wouldn't think it would matter?
I'm not sure that they would completely replace the system for you. I bought a MBP on Amazon once, and the Apple Store wouldn't do an exchange for a new unit even though it was only 3 days old. Not sure if your case might be different because you bought the AppleCare, but I'm inclined to believe they'll tell you to exchange it with MacMall or that they will fix it. (Speaking from experience; your experience may be better).
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On the other hand, my rMBP was creaking in many places and also the palm rest area. I took it into a rather noisy Apple Store. Even though it was hard for him to hear the "creak," the Apple Genius authorized me an exchange. I got the exchanged unit today and I must say this laptop has no creaks and is simply perfect. I've only had it for a day, but the creaking definitely wasn't "normal."
I have been noticing this too except with my new 2012 regular MacBook Pro... Might have to swing by the Apple store... However I did get it customized online....
Hah! Mine pops a bit. I have to get exactly the right place about half-way down on the left-hand side. Nowhere else does it. It's just where the battery packs have been glued down (or not glued down). Certainly not worth getting out of bed for, even if there was an Apple store next door. The case is utterly solid. Never noticed it until I read this post.
As a first-time Mac user, I find it interesting how this forum seems to be like a medical self-diagnosis website for OCD users. Someone mentions a tiny issue like a dead pixel, a miniscule mark on the surface, or a creak at a specific place on the computer, and everyone piles in with "ooooh mine does that, I must immediately return it". It's no wonder Apple has to charge so much for their computers, because their users take them back at the drop of a hat. Get a grip, guys and gals!
As a first-time Mac user, I find it interesting how this forum seems to be like a medical self-diagnosis website for OCD users. Someone mentions a tiny issue like a dead pixel, a miniscule mark on the surface, or a creak at a specific place on the computer, and everyone piles in with "ooooh mine does that, I must immediately return it". It's no wonder Apple has to charge so much for their computers, because their users take them back at the drop of a hat. Get a grip, guys and gals!
Haha definitely is, but my computer is the only thing I have that needs to be perfect so I can work and do other stuff with the pro apps. Something out of order really irks me and puts me off doing certain ****
I've noticed this on mine when picking it up with one hand holding the front right corner of the rMBP with the lid open. First few times I didn't think much about it, but it has started to be a concern for me. I guess there is some comfort in knowing that others are having the same thing happen.
Mine creeks, it is not enough of an issue to return it though, especially as there is not a store in the near vicinity.
Mine creaks at the bottom. I think a screw needs tightening. Dont know if I trust a genius not to scratch it so i might just buy a scredriver of ifixit and do it myself. I do not want an exchange. I love my rmbp. Just needs screwing tighter I think.
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Apple could always make it completely solid so it never makes noise. But then y'all complain about not being able to take it apart period.
Mine doesn't do it when its cold (ie. been off for a while). When its up to normal temperature it starts doing it.
I had a MacBook Air that had horrible creaks. The first time I brought it in to the Apple store a genius reseated the bottom. Later that night, the creaking was back. The second time I brought the MBA in, the genius replaced the bottom panel of the computer because he said a snap located in the middle of the bottom was broken. That didn't get rid of the creaking either.
The next two times that I went in, Apple replaced the entire body casing, but the creaking never went away. After Apple wanted to send out the MBA a third time, I told them it was stupid to keep doing this. It was a waste of my time and theirs. The creaking seemed to be inherent to the design of the MBA. A genius agreed and told me his wife had the same issue and she adressed the problem by keeping the computer in a Speck shell. I didn't want to live with the creaking or have to put the MBA in a shell, so I asked a manager to take the computer back and give me a store credit (this was a few months after my purchase).
In my case, and I'm guessing for most others, MBA/rRBMP creaking is most noticeable (or only noticeable) when you're using the computer on your lap. When I was at the Apple store, they told me to use the computer on a flat surface, as the computers aren't laptops. They're notebooks.
Anyway, like one of the posters above mentioned, a genius suggested that maybe the creaking gets worse after the computer is used for a while and warms up. Whenever I would take my old MBA into the genius bar, I had to tell them that I couldn't usually reproduce the creaking on the spot. That said, it would happen about once a minute while using my computer at night in bed (typically from palm movement below the keyboard). The theory is that the aluminum body shrinks a little bit when the computer is warm from use, and that leads to a little bit of play in the case which can cause the creaking.
All that said, I've had an rMBP for the last few weeks and I haven't had any issues with creaking. Hopefully creaking isn't a widespread issue due to the thinness of the rMBP, and the creaking the OP is experiencing can be resolved by a reseating of the bottom panel.
The next two times that I went in, Apple replaced the entire body casing, but the creaking never went away. After Apple wanted to send out the MBA a third time, I told them it was stupid to keep doing this. It was a waste of my time and theirs. The creaking seemed to be inherent to the design of the MBA. A genius agreed and told me his wife had the same issue and she adressed the problem by keeping the computer in a Speck shell. I didn't want to live with the creaking or have to put the MBA in a shell, so I asked a manager to take the computer back and give me a store credit (this was a few months after my purchase).
In my case, and I'm guessing for most others, MBA/rRBMP creaking is most noticeable (or only noticeable) when you're using the computer on your lap. When I was at the Apple store, they told me to use the computer on a flat surface, as the computers aren't laptops. They're notebooks.
Anyway, like one of the posters above mentioned, a genius suggested that maybe the creaking gets worse after the computer is used for a while and warms up. Whenever I would take my old MBA into the genius bar, I had to tell them that I couldn't usually reproduce the creaking on the spot. That said, it would happen about once a minute while using my computer at night in bed (typically from palm movement below the keyboard). The theory is that the aluminum body shrinks a little bit when the computer is warm from use, and that leads to a little bit of play in the case which can cause the creaking.
All that said, I've had an rMBP for the last few weeks and I haven't had any issues with creaking. Hopefully creaking isn't a widespread issue due to the thinness of the rMBP, and the creaking the OP is experiencing can be resolved by a reseating of the bottom panel.
I get a little pop whenever I pickup my rMBP. It's a $3500 laptop - I think I'll wait for stock to catchup and then see what I can do about it.
Yes, lots of snap, crackle, pop here. I'm afraid of exchanging it only to get another that does the same thing.
Hey guys,
Well, I was in the same boat. I had a creaking/popping (near the vents on the right side) like the bottom case wasn't screwed together tight enough. So I just went to the apple store and basically just squeezed that side of the case and obviously they heard the sound.
They sent me to a technician and all I figured they would do was make the screws tighter. Low and behold she came back and told it the screws were already tightened and the creak was still there. She basically told them to give me a brand new Retina Macbook. Though it took ONE HOUR to do my exchange I eventually walked out of the store with a brand new one (tested it for the creaking) and a bonus $8.25 refund (I chalked that up to my inconvenience fee for waiting an hour lol)
They basically told me they'd rather give me a new one than have the creak be something worse in a brand new product....
P.S. This was Houston by the way
Well, I was in the same boat. I had a creaking/popping (near the vents on the right side) like the bottom case wasn't screwed together tight enough. So I just went to the apple store and basically just squeezed that side of the case and obviously they heard the sound.
They sent me to a technician and all I figured they would do was make the screws tighter. Low and behold she came back and told it the screws were already tightened and the creak was still there. She basically told them to give me a brand new Retina Macbook. Though it took ONE HOUR to do my exchange I eventually walked out of the store with a brand new one (tested it for the creaking) and a bonus $8.25 refund (I chalked that up to my inconvenience fee for waiting an hour lol)
They basically told me they'd rather give me a new one than have the creak be something worse in a brand new product....
P.S. This was Houston by the way