Knocking or rattle sound when shaking rMBP

[bigjoe87865]

Hello, I have a broadwell macbook pro that is a 3 months old now. I use it lightly , never dropped it or anything but have noticed recently there is a light knocking sound when the laptop is shook lightly.

I don't remember this when it was new and want to know if it is normal. If I hold it in my hands and move it left to right lightly, or if I flip it upside down in my hands , I will hear the faint knock. As if something is loose inside.

I did a search and people mentioned the fan, but I never hear my fan in the first place as I don't use the laptop heavily. Just light tasks.

any idea? Thanks in advance

 

[Mnowell69]

ah yes, the old 'slight knock or rattle' story. People get paranoid and start shaking their laptops to try to ascertain what the noise is, then shake harder, and harder until finally you really do get a noise. there isn't much that can move in your computer apart from the fan which could be moving up and down its' axis when you flip the thing over.
Or you could open it up to see if something is inside that shouldn't be!!

 

[bigjoe87865]

haha, I thought I was paranoid a month ago, because I heard a knock just sometimes or barely. I just ignored it. Now it is definitely more pronounced and can be replicated easily. I can feel the vibration on the laptop from the "loose part" hitting against something.

I might just order a pentalobe and check inside as I don't think this is an issue worth going to the genius bar for (35 minutes away from my house). The laptop works as it should so nothing is really wrong. I was going to get a pentalobe screw driver anyways to use in cleaning out dust inside the laptop.

 

[Mnowell69]

Then it could well be something related to the fan. if it is obvious enough then i would book an appointment because if they screw anything up they will fix it. If you screw anything up then it's facepalm time.....
Personally if it was my laptop making the noise i would have stripped it down to the solder.

 

[bigjoe87865]

What are the chances this can be something fixed same day at the genius bar? This is my first apple product and have never used the genius bar. I really cannot afford to be without the laptop for more than a day.

If it is a case of having the laptop replaced under warranty, will I experience downtime without a laptop?

 

[T5BRICK]

What are the chances this can be something fixed same day at the genius bar?

It really depends on what is wrong. The first thought that ran through my head was a loose battery cell. I don't know if that's common though.

If it is a case of having the laptop replaced under warranty, will I experience downtime without a laptop?

They most likely won't be replacing the laptop. They'll just replace the defective part(s).

 

[elixir1119]

Hello, I have a broadwell macbook pro that is a 3 months old now. I use it lightly , never dropped it or anything but have noticed recently there is a light knocking sound when the laptop is shook lightly.

I don't remember this when it was new and want to know if it is normal. If I hold it in my hands and move it left to right lightly, or if I flip it upside down in my hands , I will hear the faint knock. As if something is loose inside.

I did a search and people mentioned the fan, but I never hear my fan in the first place as I don't use the laptop heavily. Just light tasks.

any idea? Thanks in advance

Hello,
My rMBP early 2015, 13 inch model which i bought a week ago does the same exact thing. I was worried at first but then I saw your post a bunch of others that have posted asking about this same issue. My guess is that it's normal and part of the construction. What did apple say when you asked them? Should I be worried?