Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I too have this issue. I think that it is poor engineering for this to happen so easily. I have had my air for less than 2 months, and I already see these lines on the screen. I am really nice to this thing too, it does not have a scratch on it, and it is always in a case.

Have others been having luck getting the screen replaced?
 
And another one..

I first noticed this last week, two faint lines appeared when I was logging on and the screen was dark. My normal wallpaper is quite light, so I didn't think too much about it until I saw this thread..

I've changed my wallpaper to solid black and adjusting the brightness and there they are. I too have mollycoddled this MBA and it spends its 'moving' time in a padded bag.

I'm due to go to the Apple Store next Monday but I'm not sure the Genius Bar sounds the right place to go.

Not good. :(
 
Hi

Do you guys clean the keyboard or screen with anything liquid? Sometimes some spray cleaners causes wear and tear on protective coatings.
 
Hi

Do you guys clean the keyboard or screen with anything liquid? Sometimes some spray cleaners causes wear and tear on protective coatings.

No mate!

It is certainly NOT a problem with the surface of the screen,no.
This is some kind of damage to the back side of the display causing light leaks in a very specific area.

No problems when the background is light for me,I only see it when it is dark-movies etc.

Devastated.....the first EVER Apple product I have an issue/problem with...:mad::mad::mad:
 
No mate!

It is certainly NOT a problem with the surface of the screen,no.
This is some kind of damage to the back side of the display causing light leaks in a very specific area.

No problems when the background is light for me,I only see it when it is dark-movies etc.

Devastated.....the first EVER Apple product I have an issue/problem with...:mad::mad::mad:

OK

yeah I seen this before with old IBM stinkpads its pressure marks from the keyboard or backside of the panel chassis ether there is a bulge in the keyboard pressing onto the display, or something has been resting on top causing the display to flex onto the keys of the keyboard.

You will see it on most LCD's if you have a black screen then press the panel in places the back-light will bleed through, what's happened in this case spots of it have become permanently visible as the Liquid crystal has been pushed out the way by a long exposure to internal or external pressure!

So make sure nothing rests on top in a bag or elsewhere on your macbook air and make sure there case isn't buckled or keyboard arcs.

:) sometimes thinness is to thin!
 
I got my Air replaced due to a similar problem with a vertical line along the screen. I got it like this so it was def. not my fault. See here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1235261/

Unfortunately, my replacement unit shows these same horizontal lines after a few weeks. I guess this happens, when you carry it around surrounding books and other heavy stuff. Usually I clean my keyboard after using, but that didn't seem to help.

Anyway, I suggest people who need to carry around their Air do it in a hard case with nothing else surrounding it. It's definitely a faulty construction due to the thin screen.

As long as it's not getting any worse I'm not going to complain.
 
I was going to get an AIR think I'll skip it now, seems as if the surrounds to flimsy to hold the LCD and the keyboard is to raised to make the case thinner so it ends up pushing on the panel!

Has anyone gently massaged the screen to see if the lines go?

Thanks guys
 
news and realizations

Just to follow up on this thread:

I just delivered my macbook air 13" to the Genius bar yesterday. They were nice enough and will exchange the screen within the next couple of days (so I am told). Given that I now know how delicate the Air really is, I still am not sure I can avoid this from reappearing again. Surely I shall have to be extremely careful if I lug it into a bag with anything else in it...
Had I known about this earlier I would have bought a Pro, since I am strong enough to lift the extra pound - but do care for a something that is actually 'portable' in its realest sense.

Oh well...live and learn....and I still do like the macbook air.
 
Just to follow up on this thread:

I just delivered my macbook air 13" to the Genius bar yesterday. They were nice enough and will exchange the screen within the next couple of days (so I am told). Given that I now know how delicate the Air really is, I still am not sure I can avoid this from reappearing again. Surely I shall have to be extremely careful if I lug it into a bag with anything else in it...
Had I known about this earlier I would have bought a Pro, since I am strong enough to lift the extra pound - but do care for a something that is actually 'portable' in its realest sense.

Oh well...live and learn....and I still do like the macbook air.

It will definitely be back as soon as you use it for its primary purpose: being mobile.
 
Do you guys think a hard cover like this one below would prevent this issue? Would use it only for travel maybe.

http://www.amazon.com/iPearl-mCover...ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1321872008&sr=1-1

BLACK mCover® Hard Shell Cover Case For NEW 13.3-inch A1369 Apple MacBook Air

They do not. I have had a speck hard case on it since day one, and this has still happened to mine.

I should also note that I've never carried it around with books or anything that would cause pressure to be put on the lid. I deliberately put it in the bag so that the screen side is facing away from any weight. This is quite disappointing.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Wouldn't the extra thickness of a zagg shield stop the lid from closing down and touching the space between the space bar and the trackpad?
I am going to buy one anyway but its just a thought?
Only had my Air for a week and the only reason that i don't have these lines is because i read about the issue before purchasing and decided that I wouldn't close the lid until I get a Zagg protector. Luckily I haven't had to take it anywhere yet. but will soon.surely there must be something we can do to stop it from happening?
 
Wouldn't the extra thickness of a zagg shield stop the lid from closing down and touching the space between the space bar and the trackpad?
I am going to buy one anyway but its just a thought?
Only had my Air for a week and the only reason that i don't have these lines is because i read about the issue before purchasing and decided that I wouldn't close the lid until I get a Zagg protector. Luckily I haven't had to take it anywhere yet. but will soon.surely there must be something we can do to stop it from happening?

http://www.radtech.us/Products/NotebookScreenSavrz.aspx

These are maybe worth looking at. Although, not exactly convenient to have to wait up to a couple of weeks for delivery for me, and the damage has already been done now, anyway. I sincerely hope it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg to get this screen replaced.
 
http://www.radtech.us/Products/NotebookScreenSavrz.aspx

These are maybe worth looking at. Although, not exactly convenient to have to wait up to a couple of weeks for delivery for me, and the damage has already been done now, anyway. I sincerely hope it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg to get this screen replaced.
I may just have to purchase one of those.
I promised myself that I wouldn't be OTT about protection with my new macbook but here I go again. Oh well. This time it's Apples' fault :D
 
some people had reported issues with certain cases causing screen issues with tablets, would it be possible to lay a thin microfiber cloth over the keyboard before closing the Air to prevent direct contact between the screen & keyboard?
 
http://www.radtech.us/Products/NotebookScreenSavrz.aspx

These are maybe worth looking at. Although, not exactly convenient to have to wait up to a couple of weeks for delivery for me, and the damage has already been done now, anyway. I sincerely hope it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg to get this screen replaced.


I just got one of those. and its just a dense kinda cloth. If I had used it from the beginning, it might have helped, but as you say its too late now. I am gonna use it though, to prevent the white lines from getting any worse. BTW Apple care did not cover it, they told me that replacing the screen is possible but will cost 115,000 Yen (1,400 USD)... needless to say, that's a bit beyond my financial aspirations. With that price I could almost buy a new one. LOL

So people out there be careful with it, don't travel with your air anywhere unless there is something between screen and keys. Its a nice machine, but its darn delicate.
 
Wouldn't the extra thickness of a zagg shield stop the lid from closing down and touching the space between the space bar and the trackpad?
I am going to buy one anyway but its just a thought?
Only had my Air for a week and the only reason that i don't have these lines is because i read about the issue before purchasing and decided that I wouldn't close the lid until I get a Zagg protector. Luckily I haven't had to take it anywhere yet. but will soon.surely there must be something we can do to stop it from happening?

I got Zagg from the beginning - just checked the display, got none of this lines.
 
I posted earlier that I'd had the same problem. I took mine into a Bristol Apple Store (the same day that I'd reserved my new iPhone 4s) and the Genius was very helpful indeed. He said he'd never seen it before and there proved to be a scratch on the screen which married up with the part of the casing below the keyboard and above the trackpad.

His diagnosis was that it was a casing problem and that they'd have to replace both the screen and at least the upper part of the case too. It's still away being fixed (8 days now) and, having read the experiences here, I'm concerned it'll happen again as I have treated the machine with kid gloves ever since I bought it. (The Genius said - unprompted - 'I can tell you've really looked after it.') I'm going to look into a large microfibre cloth (or something like it) to leave between the screen and keyboard during transport.

The concern about repeat damage aside, I have to say that this was my first experience with the Genius Bar and the guy was really superb indeed, I was impressed. :)
 
OP here again -

So back during the original fiasco, I returned the MacBook Air to Amazon for a replacement.

I received a replacement, and all was well till I traveled with it. I noticed the lines appearing and brought it immediately to the Apple Store. They basically blamed it on me for applying too much pressure in it. Regardless, they agreed to fix it under warranty.

Just a couple days ago (after about 3 months of babying the hell out of the machine - aka never taking it outside of home), I returned from an oversea trip, and while I took the utmost precaution as to limit the amount of pressure applied to the MBA during my travels it did me no good (precautions involved not overloading my backpack --- like I can do with any other laptop I've owned, and never putting it down such that the MBA was on the bottom - but on top).

It is now back at the Apple store, hoping that they will fix it. This is a very delicate and fragile machine, and it is only portable if it is the ONLY thing you are carrying around. I thought about looking for a rigid case for it - but that will damn near double the weight and thickness such that I might as well have purchased a macbook pro.

What a flawed concept the macbook air is.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.