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RuivoM

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 15, 2011
58
19
Hello, I aciddentely dropped my rMBP yesterday (first time after having it for a year now) and the good news is that it was inside a sleeve case logic bag (which made the difference between a little scuff and having the MBP completely broken because it fell on ground (outside)) the thing is, this little scuff made on the metal doesn't have any kind of jut when you slide your finger on it but It's somehow visibile in some angles and it's the first scratch on my machine. :( Other than that, it seems to me that the lid is now not 100% align with the bottom. It's slightly to the left almost not noticeable but since it dropped I inspected everything and I must admit that I don't know if this lip aligment was already like this or if it was due to the drop.

My question is: is something I can do either to remove this little scratch (Check picture) or to move the lip SLIGHTLY to the right (something like 1 mm or even half mm but I'm OCDing on this).

Thank you!!
 

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Maybe try buffing the scratch (very carefully) with something like car wax.

You can re-align the lid. Each hinge is held on with three torx screws. Loosen, but don't remove them. Re-alsgin the lid and then start tightening each screw incrementally until all are tight. You might have to remove a few other things to access the hinge.
 
Maybe try buffing the scratch (very carefully) with something like car wax.

You can re-align the lid. Each hinge is held on with three torx screws. Loosen, but don't remove them. Re-alsgin the lid and then start tightening each screw incrementally until all are tight. You might have to remove a few other things to access the hinge.

Won't car wax pollish the affected area and make it glossier than the rest?

Will I void my warranty if I do so? Because even though it fell it looks 100% ok apart from that minor scratch that I mention above so I don't want to void the warranty. When I say the lid is a bit off it's something like a 0.2 mm, only noticeable if you use your fingers on both sides and you can feel a little edge. As I said, it's something only OCD related I'd say.
 
Won't car wax pollish the affected area and make it glossier than the rest?

The scratch has removed some of the anodized finish on the Mac. When the wax dries, it's a very matte finish. If you buff really lightly it won't get too shiny. If you buff vigorously, it will get shiny.

Will I void my warranty if I do so? Because even though it fell it looks 100% ok apart from that minor scratch that I mention above so I don't want to void the warranty. When I say the lid is a bit off it's something like a 0.2 mm, only noticeable if you use your fingers on both sides and you can feel a little edge. As I said, it's something only OCD related I'd say.

I don't think you will void the warranty as long as you don't do anything wrong when you're in there. If you're really concerned, you can take it to Apple for them to align it. However, probably not a good idea to tell them how it happened.

I know how you feel about the fit. It's made to pretty tight standards and it should be pretty close to perfect.
 
Will Apple every drop your system from warranty of Applecare if you bring it in and it is banged up? And I mean more that this case, which seem minor.
 
Don't do anything for 1 month and try to find another tech piece to focus on, chances are that you'll get used to this scratch and won't do anything that'll make it even worse

Will Apple every drop your system from warranty of Applecare if you bring it in and it is banged up? And I mean more that this case, which seem minor.

Yes, they may drop the warranty for screen-related problems like dead pixels, discoloration or backlight issues. It's also likely to have you warranty voided for anything else that could be caused by a drop. At least that's what they did to me in Russia (which probably has the worst Apple customer service along with France). It could be different in Canada or USA and will depend a lot on a particular person working with your claim
 
Yes, they may drop the warranty for screen-related problems like dead pixels, discoloration or backlight issues. At least that's what they did to me in Russia (which probably has the worst Apple customer service along with France)

Thanks. Had issues here in the US with my Mac Mini 6 years ago. They did not want to repair it when the mother board died after 4 months. They claims the cable rub marks at the base indicated that I must have opened the unit (I had not). I was hoping they were a little bit more understanding with a mobile device like a laptop.
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Hello, I aciddentely dropped my rMBP yesterday (first time after having it for a year now) and the good news is that it was inside a sleeve case logic bag (which made the difference between a little scuff and having the MBP completely broken because it fell on ground (outside)) the thing is, this little scuff made on the metal doesn't have any kind of jut when you slide your finger on it but It's somehow visibile in some angles and it's the first scratch on my machine. :( Other than that, it seems to me that the lid is now not 100% align with the bottom. It's slightly to the left almost not noticeable but since it dropped I inspected everything and I must admit that I don't know if this lip aligment was already like this or if it was due to the drop.

My question is: is something I can do either to remove this little scratch (Check picture) or to move the lip SLIGHTLY to the right (something like 1 mm or even half mm but I'm OCDing on this).

Thank you!!

How about putting a skin or thin case on it?
 
Thanks. Had issues here in the US with my Mac Mini 6 years ago. They did not want to repair it when the mother board died after 4 months. They claims the cable rub marks at the base indicated that I must have opened the unit (I had not). I was hoping they were a little bit more understanding with a mobile device like a laptop.
Oh man, that's brutal. If I were you I'd annoy the technical support so much that they'll be happy to give me a new machine (just so that I stop bothering them). Try to be more persistent in future, you have to fight for your rights.
 
Oh man, that's brutal. If I were you I'd annoy the technical support so much that they'll be happy to give me a new machine (just so that I stop bothering them). Try to be more persistent in future, you have to fight for your rights.

I just ignored their comments and they replaced the board and the drive under warranty. They had no proof.

A few years ago I put an SSD in the thing and it is now better than ever.
 
The scratch has removed some of the anodized finish on the Mac. When the wax dries, it's a very matte finish. If you buff really lightly it won't get too shiny. If you buff vigorously, it will get shiny.



I don't think you will void the warranty as long as you don't do anything wrong when you're in there. If you're really concerned, you can take it to Apple for them to align it. However, probably not a good idea to tell them how it happened.

I know how you feel about the fit. It's made to pretty tight standards and it should be pretty close to perfect.
If I go there will they align it for free? It's so minor that they will tell me I'm crazy (and somehow I might be) but I can notice a slightly minor difference between each side of the lid. As for the scratch I'm bit afraid to do anything that might lead to worst results but at the same time I'm tempted to do it. :p
 
If I go there will they align it for free? It's so minor that they will tell me I'm crazy (and somehow I might be) but I can notice a slightly minor difference between each side of the lid. As for the scratch I'm bit afraid to do anything that might lead to worst results but at the same time I'm tempted to do it. :p
If it's still under warranty, they will probably do it. If no, it depends on who you get.

It's not too difficult to do yourself if you have the tools (pentalobe and Torx screwdrivers). Remove the bottom cover, remove the plastic panels over the hinges and loosen (do NOT remove) the hinge screws, align, and then incrementally tighten the torx screws.

Here's an image from iFixIt,

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBoo...15+Display+Assembly+Replacement/55925#s121183

It's step 11 and then in step 13, you can see the three screws on the hinge. You don't need to undo anything else.
 
If it's still under warranty, they will probably do it. If no, it depends on who you get.

It's not too difficult to do yourself if you have the tools (pentalobe and Torx screwdrivers). Remove the bottom cover, remove the plastic panels over the hinges and loosen (do NOT remove) the hinge screws, align, and then incrementally tighten the torx screws.

Here's an image from iFixIt,

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBoo...15+Display+Assembly+Replacement/55925#s121183

It's step 11 and then in step 13, you can see the three screws on the hinge. You don't need to undo anything else.
Hum that seems ok! I wonder why I tried to 'force' a bit moving it left to right to get it back in place and this thing is solid as rock, it doesn't matter the force I made this doesn't move at all. Those screws should actually be doing a good job. Yet, I'm a bit afraid of losing warranty if I open the machine. Some people say that you lose warranty only by opening the case (like the iPhones) and some other say you don't. After all, what's the real Apple policy for opening a MacBook ? Do they actually don't allow it for warranty purposes and we can open because they can't find if it was indeed open, or do they have a strictly point where they mention we are allow to open the machines while on warranty?

Thank you!
 
Hum that seems ok! I wonder why I tried to 'force' a bit moving it left to right to get it back in place and this thing is solid as rock, it doesn't matter the force I made this doesn't move at all. Those screws should actually be doing a good job. Yet, I'm a bit afraid of losing warranty if I open the machine. Some people say that you lose warranty only by opening the case (like the iPhones) and some other say you don't. After all, what's the real Apple policy for opening a MacBook ? Do they actually don't allow it for warranty purposes and we can open because they can't find if it was indeed open, or do they have a strictly point where they mention we are allow to open the machines while on warranty?

Thank you!

I have never heard of any MacBook Pro owner losing their warranty because of taking off the back case.
 
I'd just ignore it if I were you. Trying to realign the hinges might prove to be a hassle after it's already too late. Your laptop looks fine just the way it is. If it is bothering you too much, I'd take it to a professional store (not Apple because they will probably want to replace the panel or something) and see if they have any solutions.
 
I'd just ignore it if I were you. Trying to realign the hinges might prove to be a hassle after it's already too late. Your laptop looks fine just the way it is. If it is bothering you too much, I'd take it to a professional store (not Apple because they will probably want to replace the panel or something) and see if they have any solutions.
Yes.. Right now I'll just try to live with it. As long as everything else is ok I won't be bothering opening the Mac just because a 0.0001 mm lid offset.
 
A few years ago I dropped an older macbook pro while it was in a sleeve. I had the same damage as you on my machine, just on the side. It looks like its a stress fracture rather than a scratch.
 
Yes.. Right now I'll just try to live with it. As long as everything else is ok I won't be bothering opening the Mac just because a 0.0001 mm lid offset.
At this point the less mucking around the better, if its working, why mess with success.

Bummer on the damage/dropping though :(
 
That's not a scratch, you've bent in the edge of the lid. I bought a second hand laptop with the same line in the same place, it must be creasing against the back edge of the lcd. Nothing you can do about it, if you try to fix it would probably just end up worse. Sucks, but no point stressing about it now, it's done and it's only very minor cosmetic damage.
Might be reassuring to know that mine's much worse, even bent into and dented the body a little bit next to the power button. Plus some other dents and scratches around, including on the screen itself which sucks, overall thing looks like it got dropped a few times and lived a hard life. And yet, it works perfectly. I've been using it for a software course, so it's in near constant, and important use, and hasn't had any issues. These things can really take a beating, your laptop probably didn't even feel this.
 
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