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

Fingerprints out of the box on new 14" - conflicted

H

harrisonjr98

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 15, 2019
347
200
Hey all! Finally bit the bullet needing a laptop and picked up a base 14" MBP directly from my local Apple store. Brand new, not a refurb. I noticed while taking the paper screen protector off that there were a couple of fingerprints on the brand new machine. They were down in the hinge assembly, and visible very easily. They were not in an area that I possibly could've touched while opening the box, as I had to dig in with a microfiber cloth to remove them. The chassis also makes little clicking/creaking sounds when setting it down on a desk, but not every time. I am aware that some people have experienced highly audible creaking, but this is fairly subtle. Battery cycles show only 2, and the machine otherwise appeared brand new.

I have super-mega-tech OCD (I am a yearly contributor to the iPhone screen temp/uniformity threads lol.) These are the exact kind of nitpicks that I'd usually exchange a machine for (does it point to other potential issues in the QC? etc), except that they're backordered to high heavens right now. Screen temp and uniformity, my usual bugaboos, seem very good - uniformity is not perfect but among the best I've seen on a new MacBook in my experience. So I'm also not inclined to roll the dice and get a worse one in that respect- I am highly highly sensitive to it, and notice it immediately on new products from any manufacturer.

My question is - has anyone else ever had fingerprints on a new machine? Should I take it as a sign that QC might not have been the highest level that day? Anyone else have very quiet clicking/creaking on the machine that doesn't seem to be confined to certain pressure points like the early reports last year indicated?
 
wonderings said:
Maybe put in the effort or overcoming your OCD. If not, do what will satisfy you.
Click to expand...
I’m being relatively flippant about it in the OP I know, but I’ve battled intense, sometimes nearly debilitating OCD since childhood. Don’t think it’s going anywhere soon, but I’ll always be working on it. Situationally, I can usually make it cooperate. I guess that was the impetus for my post more than anything else, to see if my concerns would be echoed by others or if I’m letting myself blow it out of proportion.
 
  • Love
Reactions: cygy2k
I am going to go down a different road here. I purchased an expensive "brand new" electronics item some months back that also had finger prints on the screen. After a week of use I noticed issues with it the performance and returned it for a new one which now runs flawlessly. On discussion with a tech who deals with the brand, he said sometimes items which are broken or not passing some QC on the production line are refurbished before being repackaged as "new" and some types of use (eg; prints) are a tell tale sign of this.

Not saying this happened to you at all, but run some benchmarks, check the screen for pixel issues etc...and swap it out if there are any problems you are not happy with. Its your $ and your machine that you will be using for the the next X number of years after all.

Just my 2 cents before anyone gets all worked up!
 
If you bought it at an Apple Store it might be a device that was unpacked for a customer demo. The customer did not buy it for some reason and it was repacked without cleaning it before.
Check it carefully for scratches, dings, wobble, lightbleed and dead pixels. If everything is ok, keep it.
 
Spacegray said:
If you bought it at an Apple Store it might be a device that was unpacked for a customer demo. The customer did not buy it for some reason and it was repacked without cleaning it before.
Check it carefully for scratches, dings, wobble, lightbleed and dead pixels. If everything is ok, keep it.
Click to expand...
Doubt Apple would unpack a machine and sell it as "NEW". If so, OP should only be charged as "refurbished" or "open Box" which i know Apple does not currently list items as
 
  • Love
Reactions: turbineseaplane
Spacegray said:
If you bought it at an Apple Store it might be a device that was unpacked for a customer demo. The customer did not buy it for some reason and it was repacked without cleaning it before.
Click to expand...

To my knowledge, Apple does nothing like this
If it's opened/demo'd, they'd never sell that as brand new/sealed

What you're describing is very much a "Best Buy move"
 
  • Like
Reactions: NoGood@Usernames
turbineseaplane said:
To my knowledge, Apple does nothing like this
If it's opened/demo'd, they'd never sell that as brand new/sealed

What you're describing is very much a "Best Buy move"
Click to expand...
can confirm as a bestbuy move. Bought Beats Studio as "new", Beats solo was in box... they refunded me.. no questions asked.. funny that they raised no concern about it. Almost as if...they ... knew... lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: turbineseaplane
CJF93 said:
can confirm as a bestbuy move. Bought Beats Studio as "new", Beats solo was in box... they refunded me.. no questions asked.. funny that they raised no concern about it. Almost as if...they ... knew... lol
Click to expand...
Best Buy is known to have some shady sales tactics. Even with ‘open box’ items that they sell, they don’t even check the inventory to make sure everything‘s included like they should. They’re a great company for the most part, but it comes down to sloppy employee attention to detail and poor training.
 
Apple has such an easy return process that I'd just go ahead and return it if you're not completely happy with it. That's their policy, use it. It will just cost you time and gas.
 
  • Like
Reactions: m1maverick
To those commenting about a "Best Buy move", how would Best Buy re-seal the MBP packaging? Seems pretty challenging.
 
harrisonjr98 said:
I’m being relatively flippant about it in the OP I know, but I’ve battled intense, sometimes nearly debilitating OCD since childhood. Don’t think it’s going anywhere soon, but I’ll always be working on it. Situationally, I can usually make it cooperate. I guess that was the impetus for my post more than anything else, to see if my concerns would be echoed by others or if I’m letting myself blow it out of proportion.
Click to expand...
With all sensitivity to your issue, which I'm sure is hard to deal with, no one can tell you if you are blowing it out of proportion for you. You just have to decide if you are willing to live with it or wait for a replacement. Wipe it down and see if its still stuck in your craw after a week.

Bolded for emphasis, not judgement.
 
Last edited:
wonderings said:
Maybe put in the effort or overcoming your OCD. If not, do what will satisfy you.
Click to expand...
I am going to assume that you are not intending to come off as offensive and insensitive. People who deal with OCD cannot simply overcome it. In some instances you can do things to ease your anxiety, but it is not nearly as simple as putting in effort. I have spent more money than I care to admit, on replacing perfectly good technology items due what others perceive as "nitpicky" or "minor." In the past I was able to deal with some things by putting the item aside long enough where I blissfully forget what bothered me about it, and pick up again oblivious to what bothered me. I don't think anyone who hasn't experienced the level of anxiety caused by OCD can understand or relate to it. We don't enjoy feeling this way, and many of us are completely aware of how ridiculous it sounds to others. :-(
 
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