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ojwk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 5, 2007
126
3
London
I've had my iBook for a good few years now and it has proven to be a very reliable machine. Prior to now i've never had any trouble with it overheating and on the whole it has been great.

After routinely charging the iBook for about three hours or so I went to pick it up, only to drop it as the plastic casing was too hot to handle. My fingers were still burning when I dropped the iBook so I ran them under cold water for a few minutes to prevent any lasting burns. Nevertheless I sustained minor 1st degree burns for a few days on my finger tips.

I opened the iBook up again after leaving it to cool down for a few days and to my surprise there appeared to be several patches where the display had deformed and it appears as if the liquid crystals had been tanned a light brown in several places.

These details are not only visible to the discerning user such as my self but the normal average Joe. What I can only assume to be burn marks are across around 30-40mm patches across the screen.

I've come here to ask for some advice on what I should do.
As far as I can see I have the following options:

1. Replace the screen at my expense, forget about the malfunction and hope it doesn't happen again.

2. Contact Apple and make a fuss.

3. Buy a new laptop after MW08.

As far as I'm concerned I don't really feel I should have to pay for the repairs or buy a new laptop. I am perfectly happy to continue using my iBook as it does everything I need it to in the way of internet browsing, emailing and word processing. I can't use the laptop now as for some hardware malfunction the screen has become damaged, something I didn't anticipate would happen when I bought it.

Is Apple responsible for the safety of it's products after the warranty period expires? I was vigilant in ensuring that my original battery was returned after Apple recalled a ton of them, and I can safely say that I played my part in ensuring that I was never negligent in terms of safety when using my iBook.

Any comments or thoughts will be appreciated.
 
Do you have any photos of the browned screen or your burnt fingers? I think Apple will need some pretty good evidence if they're going to co-operate.
 
I would recommend against using your iBook. If its hot enough to burn your skin its a potential fire hazard and a risk to your safety.

Where are the burns in the screen? Do you know exactly which section the heat is coming from?

If I were you, I'd shut it down and remove the battery for good measure. I hear about notebook fires too often to take any chances. If you call Apple and make a fuss (politely :)), I'm sure they'll try to help you out.
 
Thanks guys,

I'll post photos as soon as I can. The heat doesn't seem to be coming from the battery but around the processor instead. The patches in the screen are around the same area where it was extremely hot, the centre left of the display which - around the zxcvb keys on the keyboard.

I've removed the battery from your advice and I will ring Apple when I can, probably today.

Thanks again for you advice!
 
Things look good, I phoned Apple and was promptly put through to an Apple 'engineer' in Ireland. I described what had happened and said to take photos of the screen and email them to him. He gave me a direct phone number, his name and his email address which was extremely helpful as it means that in future I don't have to spend hours in the queues.

He told me to reconnect the laptop to the AC power adapter (I haven't connected it yet), leave it over night to charge in a safe location and see if the overheating happens again. He said to keep in a safe location incase it catches on fire - something I laughed about at the time but I think he was deadly serious!

I'm going to go to the doctors tomorrow to get a doctor's note regarding the burns so I have some evidence if I need to make an insurance claim.

I'll keep you guys posted.
 
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