after exchanging 6 macbook airs I'm still having problems

[Bulldog3777]

Buzz

I have the 11 MBA and while I get no buzz, that music was definitely not made for small laptop speakers.

 

[CorbinDallas]

I have the 2011 13" MBA and my speakers buzz very badly. It is definitely not normal or apparent on any of my other mac laptops. I'd like to get it dealt with but I don't believe the store will exchange just for a blown speaker.

 

[sapporobaby]

I have the 2011 13" MBA and my speakers buzz very badly. It is definitely not normal or apparent on any of my other mac laptops. I'd like to get it dealt with but I don't believe the store will exchange just for a blown speaker.

I have an MBA as well, and as MANY have said here, they are no hi-fidelity speakers. They are meant to produce sound. Not function as a stereo system. The buzzing you hear could be you driving them too hard, the output amps within the system being driven too hard forcing the speakers travel too far, etc.. The main problem is most likely you asking for more than they can provide. Do yourself a favor and get some external speakers.

 

[62tele]

"uneven screen brightness, ......, flexing/creaking bodies"

Holy OCD Batman!

What is a "creaking" body?
Do you have a special meter to analyze the screen brightness in various areas of the screen?

I think if I was the rep at the Apple Store. I would just say "here's your refund and best wishes".

 

[sapporobaby]

"uneven screen brightness, ......, flexing/creaking bodies"

Holy OCD Batman!

What is a "creaking" body?
Do you have a special meter to analyze the screen brightness in various areas of the screen?

I think if I was the rep at the Apple Store. I would just say "here's your refund and best wishes".

Best post ever.... Summed up perfectly. I agree. Take it back, get your money and have a nice day.

 

[iSee]

Hi guys,

It is my first post here and also this is my first mac. Unfortunately it has been a frustrating experience so far. In the last 2 weeks, I had to go through 6 13inch MBAs because of various quality control issues. Misaligned screen, terribely uneven screen brightness, anodizing defects, flexing/creaking bodies etc. 6th one looks ok so far. Screen is good, no creaking sounds and it run quite well. However last night I noticed that my speakers were buzzing quite a bit when I was on a Skype call(volume all the way up). I played couple of songs like linking park-numb (volume @100%) and there was still some buzzing. Are you guys also having problems with the speakers ? Do everybody have buzzing with the video below at 100% volume?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THsUdKVRnQU

Ah, I think you should just accept that the MBA isn't for you.

 

[jsolares]

Holy Apple apologists batman! wow just wow...

 

[orfeas0]

I always wonder when I read threads like this... Was it really a problem with the machine, or a problem with the end user having unrealistic expectations and/or being completely anal about things that most people wouldn't even notice. Sadly, in this forum, it's usually the latter and considering you went through 6, I'll bet this is one of "those" cases. Gotta love these 1st world problems.

Well, if the machines didn't have serious problems I don't think apple would have exchanged them 6 times!
Maybe it was a bad shipment to your store, tbh. You know like, the truck hit a bump and ruined some macbooks. But I bet when you find one that works, it will work for good and long.

Edit: May I suggest this: http://www.x-mini.com/ . If you don't mind the money buy the x-mini MAX II.
They produce incredibly loud and good sound for such a little and portable device.
Also, laptop speakers kinda always buzz when put on full volume.
And especially in the macbook air which is an ultraportable... You shouldn't expect too much from the speakers. As I said, check out the x-minis.

 

[sapporobaby]

Well, if the machines didn't have serious problems I don't think apple would have exchanged them 6 times!
Maybe it was a bad shipment to your store, tbh. You know like, the truck hit a bump and ruined some macbooks. But I bet when you find one that works, it will work for good and long.

You are assuming that the OP is telling the truth regarding the 6 exchanges. Maybe he should post his 6 exchange docs to add some validity to his story. One exchange, for sure. Two, probably. Three, well maybe if you speak nicely to the reps, but four, five and six no way. This is my opinion though.

Just sayin...

 

[TheRealDamager]

Also, this may anger many of you but I thought it would be beneficial to share my opinion on different SSDs and LCDs. After going through 6 units I'm very confident that toshiba ssd boots and shuts down quite a bit faster than samsung ssd. It starts about 1.5-2secs faster and shuts down a sec faster. Also, although this is not very noticeable, apps seem to start faster with toshiba ssd. I did not try copying large items, maybe samsung is faster there.

This alone makes me decide you are either a troll or a mental OCD case. You realize, I hope, that the speed differences between these SSD'd is such that you would not be able to tell the difference between apps starting without a timing device with resolution of hundredths of a second? So the fact that you are imagining "apps starting faster" convinces me that you are not a reasonable user or judge of this platform.

 

[killerrobot]

You are assuming that the OP is telling the truth regarding the 6 exchanges. Maybe he should post his 6 exchange docs to add some validity to his story. One exchange, for sure. Two, probably. Three, well maybe if you speak nicely to the reps, but four, five and six no way. This is my opinion though.

Just sayin...

Yeah that's an incredibly nice store manager that's willing to lose 2-3 hundred dollars per open box.

 

[sapporobaby]

This alone makes me decide you are either a troll or a mental OCD case. You realize, I hope, that the speed differences between these SSD'd is such that you would not be able to tell the difference between apps starting without a timing device with resolution of hundredths of a second? So the fact that you are imagining "apps starting faster" convinces me that you are not a reasonable user or judge of this platform.

Too funny.....

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Yeah that's an incredibly nice store manager that's willing to lose 2-3 hundred dollars per open box.

Didn't you hear. Apple isn't a for profit company. They are here for the good of the people. Why stop at six? If the store manager was smart, he should have given the OP an extra MBA just in case. Save him the trouble of coming down to the store so often. Just call when the testing is done and either Steve or Tim will come collect them. This how great a company Apple is.

 

[lcseds]

My 13" was great out of the box. All of my Apple products over the years have been flawless. Of course, I consider the MBA as a tool, not a piece of coffee table artwork, so I may not notice some of the stuff I read about here.....

 

[andy.barron]

I recon if the OP was on fire he would struggle to find a brand of water to put himself out with.

1. too cold - sent back

2. too warm - sent back

3. don't like the label - sent back

4. to clear

5. not clear enough

6. Oh crud..........

 

[orfeas0]

You are assuming that the OP is telling the truth regarding the 6 exchanges. Maybe he should post his 6 exchange docs to add some validity to his story. One exchange, for sure. Two, probably. Three, well maybe if you speak nicely to the reps, but four, five and six no way. This is my opinion though.

Just sayin...

Well, and you are assuming he isn't...
I'm just saying if they really exchanged it 6 times, it MUST have been defected.
If they exchanged it 3 times, it could have been a very minor problem that only the OP would notice.
But if we start considering that the OP is lying, there's really no point in discussing any of this.
Thread closed?

 

[killerrobot]

Well, and you are assuming he isn't...
I'm just saying if they really exchanged it 6 times, it MUST have been defected.
If they exchanged it 3 times, it could have been a very minor problem that only the OP would notice.
But if we start considering that the OP is lying, there's really no point in discussing any of this.
Thread closed?

I think people have been pushing that this thread was pointless from page 1 for anything other than entertainment purposes.

 

[orfeas0]

"uneven screen brightness, ......, flexing/creaking bodies"

Holy OCD Batman!

What is a "creaking" body?
Do you have a special meter to analyze the screen brightness in various areas of the screen?

I think if I was the rep at the Apple Store. I would just say "here's your refund and best wishes".

And that is why you will never work in an Apple Store.
If you read the OP's posts, you would know they were significant problems. And for apple to exchange them, they must have been defected.
Creaking body means you lift the laptop and it creaks. Which isn't normal for a macbook (my toshiba creaks A LOT for example, but my older macbook pro doesn't at all.)

 

[TheRealDamager]

And that is why you will never work in an Apple Store.
If you read the OP's posts, you would know they were significant problems. And for apple to exchange them, they must have been defected.
Creaking body means you lift the laptop and it creaks. Which isn't normal for a macbook (my toshiba creaks A LOT for example, but my older macbook pro doesn't at all.)

Actually I think Apple likely takes back many machines for customer satisfaction reasons, not because they actually consider them defective.

 

[Aras87]

I just wanna thank to people who were trying to help. I will try to compare mine to a friend's mba tonight side by side. We will see..

However I'm surprised mods are not doing anything regarding immature posters. Why do you care if I have 6 exchanges or not ? and why would I lie about something like that ? If you don't believe me than why bother posting?

 

[andy.barron]

because you are wasting peoples time that are trying to help with real problems.

If you don't like the MBA take it back & stop moaning, problem solved & case closed.

 

[Aras87]

because you are wasting peoples time that are trying to help with real problems.

If you don't like the MBA take it back & stop moaning, problem solved & case closed.

looks like you have plenty of time to waste by posting such a nonsense message in this thread. On top of that I'm wondering what is a real problem for you ? My speakers are making a high pitched buzzing sound and that is a problem for me.

 

[TheRealDamager]

looks like you have plenty of time to waste by posting such a nonsense message in this thread. On top of that I'm wondering what is a real problem for you ? My speakers are making a high pitched buzzing sound and that is a problem for me.

You clearly stated that you are getting buzzing playing hard rock at full volume. The speakers aren't designed or meant to provide hi fidelity sound at full volume. There is literally not an element of the Air that you have not found an issue with (case, screen, speakers, SSD, etc). You strike many of us as having an issue with thinking your machine should be a museum piece and not the tool that it is meant to be. It is tiring for people who are trying to address peoples real questions and issue to deal with folks who seem to be impossible to satisfy.

And this is a public forum - the mods aren't here to protect you from the opinions of others.

 

[xraydoc]

One of the rubber feet on the bottom of my Air doesn't sit at quite the same level as the other 3. I can slide a piece of paper under that foot when Air is sitting on a table. If I push down on the corner of the machine over the foot, it'll sit flat, then pop up again when I release.

This is a small fraction of a millimeter. The machine is not warped; it's the rubber foot that is a tiny, tiny bit shorter than the others. Tiny. Did I mention tiny?

I will NOT be returning my MacBook Air to exchange it for another one. Why? Because a) I could end up with one with a dead pixel - which I may not be able to exchange given the industry's nearly universal pixel policies, b) could get one with other, more serious problems, resulting it yet another exchange, c) could get one with an LG screen or Toshiba SSD - no way will authorize another exchange for that.

Why people get all OCD about Apple's products yet will put up with total garbage from Dell or HP is beyond me. People so far on each extreme. I know "normal" people who are happy with their 99.99% perfect machines never post, but the guy who has a 1Å defect in the left arrow key comes and posts about the 13 exchanges they had to make. Jeez!!

 

[andy.barron]

looks like you have plenty of time to waste by posting such a nonsense message in this thread. On top of that I'm wondering what is a real problem for you ? My speakers are making a high pitched buzzing sound and that is a problem for me.

Thats not the speakers

 

[Aras87]

You clearly stated that you are getting buzzing playing hard rock at full volume. The speakers aren't designed or meant to provide hi fidelity sound at full volume. There is literally not an element of the Air that you have not found an issue with (case, screen, speakers, SSD, etc). You strike many of us as having an issue with thinking your machine should be a museum piece and not the tool that it is meant to be. It is tiring for people who are trying to address peoples real questions and issue to deal with folks who seem to be impossible to satisfy.

And this is a public forum - the mods aren't here to protect you from the opinions of others.

I also clearly stated that I was getting buzzing sound even when I was doing a call on skype. As that is not really reproducible here I decided to put a youtube video everybody can watch and try.

You are absolutely right that this is a tool and speakers are there to be used. If they are not working properly then there is problem with the tool.

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One of the rubber feet on the bottom of my Air

Why people get all OCD about Apple's products yet will put up with total garbage from Dell or HP is beyond me. People so far on each extreme. I know "normal" people who are happy with their 99.99% perfect machines never post, but the guy who has a 1Å defect in the left arrow key comes and posts about the 13 exchanges they had to make. Jeez!!

Last time I checked 13inch laptops from Dell and HP don't start at $1300.