Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

New MBP 13 - flimsy bottom case?

A

AnonyMac

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 22, 2009
8
0
First post - so go easy - especially as I'm starting with a possible whine...

I have the new 13 MBP. I've noticed that there is a little bit of give in the bottom case at the centre. The edges are fine - they're solid. It's just right in the middle there's about 1mm of springy movement which stops when the pressure causes the case to hit the innards. It's quite springy - almost to the point that it feels like the case might not withstand normal usage.

I notice this when picking the machine up and I guess that it is due to the redesigned case not having any support where there used to be the battery comprtment...

Anyone else have this? Should I bother?
 
Interesting. You should make a video of it and post it on youtube for us to see. Anyone else dealing with this? I'll have to go to the apple store and play with one, see if it does it as well.
 
Funny you mention that, I JUST noticed it last night as well when I went to pick it up and noticed a sound/slight play on the bottom near the center. If you handle it properly though, I don't see it being an issue.
 
13' uMBP here too. Can't reproduce your problem.
I raise the bottom didn't feel any sound or play. Maybe if i push hard... but i won't
 
Hey there,

I have the same problem with a new MBP 15. When I slightly press the central area of the bottom of the case it makes a 'click' noise and the case flexes inwards...

Should I hit the store to check this out? Did anyone already do?
 
Mine kinda feels the same, I was surprised how thin it was when I removed it, really like pop can aluminum. I was almost tempted to bend the piece in my hand as thin as it was, but then I realized it attached to my $1,000 machine and it would be in my best interest to leave it unbent. :p
 
Thanks for the replies folks...

So that's about a 50/50 split of having the issue and not.

I have already had the case off to install a new hdd so I'm pretty sure it's seated ok

I'm near the glasgow applestore on friday - so i might go in there and feel some bottoms :D and report back here
 
The center of the cover does not press against the center of the laptop internals. It leaves about a 1/4 to 1/2" gap of flex. I have removed mine and it is obvious that it's there to protect the internals of the laptop from damage. It gives it space to move.
 
a lot of people have noticed this - its the latches that aren't tight and there is a thread on this already.... can't remember what it was titled though :confused:
 
brn2ski00 said:
there sure are pal - how do you think the cover stays attached?!

the slide on the cover releases the latches that hold the cover on - flip your MBP over :confused:
Click to expand...


The cover stays attached with screws. I have taken it off and there are no latches. We are talking about the new June 2009 model not the old one. :rolleyes:
 
yphsilon said:
Hey there,

I have the same problem with a new MBP 15. When I slightly press the central area of the bottom of the case it makes a 'click' noise and the case flexes inwards...

Should I hit the store to check this out? Did anyone already do?
Click to expand...

I had this problem on my new MBP 13. I opened up the case to figure out what the problem was....

Basically, there are a large number of collapsible bronze "pins" on the motherboard. Their purpose is to make contact with the bottom casing and absorb the shock of any impact so that it does not damage the motherboard.

For some reason, one of these pins in my machine was making a terrible clicking noise every time it collapsed (basically anytime i picked up the computer).

The solution I found was to stick a little soft adhesive piece of foam on the bottom aluminum plate, forcing the pin to stay collapsed. That solved the issue. You'll notice several pieces of similar foam like objects on the bottom case that perform the same function.
 
nizmoz said:
The cover stays attached with screws. I have taken it off and there are no latches. We are talking about the new June 2009 model not the old one. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

We might be talking about 2 different things - I am talking about the battery/HDD cover.
 
Old unibody has a latch with a separate bottom piece
New unibody does not - it is one whole bottom piece
 
well i went into the apple store today... Got a few strange looks from the staff as I went about lifting up all the mbps and prodded their bottoms :eek:

1 of the 13s (out of 8) and 1 of the 17s (out of 4) had thee same issue but nowhere near as pronounced. So I reckon mine must have a problem - I'll take it in at some point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back