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Macbook Crack in the case

R

Romulus

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 10, 2006
138
0
So this two cracks developed - one is on the left palm rest and one is underneath center by the back right next to the fans... The one on the palm rest like cracked completely, a piece about 2 inches wide and 1/16 deep, and will probably just break off... It's right at the joint space...

It's a CD2 Macbook I got first day it came out (last November), did not drop it (dropping it would have not caused the type of cracks here, they are specifically connected to the joint and the axis of pressure is different than experienced during a drop), so the cracks are basically stress cracks from lot's of typing on it (wrote my PhD dissertation on it).

Did anybody else experience anything like that?

Will the warranty cover that?

If not, how much will it cost to change the palm rests?
 
i've got little hairline fractures in my case running around the front face about half a mm below the sharp ridge bit. there's also similar ones around the left side near where the fake screws are.
i've decided it's to do with the strength of the magnets on the lid pulling up the palmrest everytime i open the computer, which causes the outer case plastic to crack where the palmrest bit clips on.
i'm not too worried about it as they're clearly not from dropping my macbook, and i've got applecare (free with uk educational purchase). mine's also a c2d bought last november.
i'm also currently writing up my phd. god it's hell.
 
A TON OF PEOPLE i know all have hairline cracks on their Macbooks. Go to an Apple Store and look at the white ones. they all seem to have cracks either near the vents or on the bottom (where the writing is). Something to do with heat. My friend just got his Macbook and he uses the thing so much and within 1 month he noticed a hairline crack on the bottom (near writing) and he went to Apple and complained. They said there is nothing they will do. When he showed them that all their display models had the same hairline cracks they had nothing to say. Manager was NOT AVAILABLE. He went back the next day and demanded to speak to the store manager and all he got was a young girl saying she is the store manager. And get this. All the display models were changed. No more cracks!? The best they could do was give him the 1-800# to either file a complaint with Apple Consumer Affairs and talk toa rep to maybe have the Macbook sent back to have the case replaced. I know from forums that this is not a good idea as things get broken when they are returned.

If it happens (cracks) to my Macbook Pro I'm gonna raise hell! The regular Macbooks should not crack that easy. I wonder if Apple will address this issue.
 
just bought a 2.16 macbook and have had both other revs, the build on the new ones are much better then the old ones also the speakers are better,,,, and it is not even warm to the touch :)
 
New to forum, I have a question

Hi. Just got a macbook last week. So far no cracks. Does mac cover this or are they just going to be jerks and try to blame me if it cracks?

I work as a cell phone repair tech and let me tell you, if customers complain enough, they get their phones exchanged, especially if it isn't their fault.

One more important question, can these stress cracks near the fan interfere with the computer's performance?
 
My girlfriends macbook just cracked a few days back. We have no idea how, it never leaves the house is always left on a desk. Just cracked on the right side below the keyboard. Gonna call Apple tomorrow and see what they will do about this... I would like to think a company like Apple isn't going to screw us over, but we will wait and see...
 
iMetalG5 said:
A TON OF PEOPLE i know all have hairline cracks on their Macbooks. Go to an Apple Store and look at the white ones. they all seem to have cracks either near the vents or on the bottom (where the writing is). Something to do with heat. My friend just got his Macbook and he uses the thing so much and within 1 month he noticed a hairline crack on the bottom (near writing) and he went to Apple and complained. They said there is nothing they will do. When he showed them that all their display models had the same hairline cracks they had nothing to say. Manager was NOT AVAILABLE. He went back the next day and demanded to speak to the store manager and all he got was a young girl saying she is the store manager. And get this. All the display models were changed. No more cracks!? The best they could do was give him the 1-800# to either file a complaint with Apple Consumer Affairs and talk toa rep to maybe have the Macbook sent back to have the case replaced. I know from forums that this is not a good idea as things get broken when they are returned.

If it happens (cracks) to my Macbook Pro I'm gonna raise hell! The regular Macbooks should not crack that easy. I wonder if Apple will address this issue.
Click to expand...

Well so far they seem to be denying that this problem actually exists even though a significant factor of macbooks have suffered it and the few that haven't I believe will in time. I think odds are that the macbook will remain exactly the same until the time comes for a complete redesign (at which time we can hope that the new model is better engineered)
 
The cracks near the palmrests are likely stress fractures from continually opening and closing the screen. The screen has those little raised ridges at the top, and the force of closure gets concentrated at those spots on the palmrest.

The Apple stores generally seem to be repairing these under warranty. I brought mine in a few weeks ago, and the Genius accepted it without hesitation (I was about to go into how I never slammed my MacBook shut, etc. but he basically said not to worry about it.)

There's another thread that is a few pages long. I printed out that thread to bring in case my repair was denied, but I didn't need it.
 
Using kleenex

Romulus said:
So this two cracks developed - one is on the left palm rest and one is underneath center by the back right next to the fans... The one on the palm rest like cracked completely, a piece about 2 inches wide and 1/16 deep, and will probably just break off... It's right at the joint space...

It's a CD2 Macbook I got first day it came out (last November), did not drop it (dropping it would have not caused the type of cracks here, they are specifically connected to the joint and the axis of pressure is different than experienced during a drop), so the cracks are basically stress cracks from lot's of typing on it (wrote my PhD dissertation on it).

Did anybody else experience anything like that?

Will the warranty cover that?

If not, how much will it cost to change the palm rests?
Click to expand...

I have no cracks yet (only a week old macbook) I can already see the lines where the magnets make contact. To be proactive, I have decided to put a piece of folded kleenex on each side of the touch pad, right where the magnets touch. It sounds better and doesn't slam shut.

I think the part where it sort of "snaps" shut can be causing the issue as well as pressure from being closed. Time will tell. I just folded up two kleenex so it gently fits and cushions the area with magnet pressure.

I know it's a pain, but for 1100 dollars it's worth it.
 
There's also some sort of protective pad you can buy for the MacBook (comes in black or white), that covers the palmrest area, including where the lid contacts the upper case.

I think it's around $30, not too bad if you want the extra protection. I don't remember the name, it's in the other thread.
 
Costly problem with luke-warm service

I have had the same problem with my while MacBook with some significant resistance from the service department to fix it. Initially, I turned in my computer and, when they called me about the repairs, told me that they did not believe that the hair-line fractures could be caused by anything else than misuse. I'm fairly gentle with my computer but I do use it quite frequently for research but, frankly, it's supposed to be used. I'm also not in the habit of lying or being called a liar. They told me that they would have to send it to a depot department and, if they did not agree to fix it, then it would cost me $800 to replace the top case and latch mechanisms. My jaw just dropped and I had to wonder what purpose the relatively expensive applecare serves. The computer was returned to my care but very poorly assembled. I could literally see the component parts to my screen because it hadn't been put together.
What a dissapointment. I can honestly say that, given my problems with the case and reading the posts here, I could not recommend the MacBook to anyone due to the fragile case and luke-warm to poor customer service. The computer itself works great, but I need the entire thing to remain as a whole. If you are reading this and are deciding between the MacBook and MacBook Pro, I would certainly recommend the Pro.
 
joeyd929 said:
I have no cracks yet (only a week old macbook) I can already see the lines where the magnets make contact. To be proactive, I have decided to put a piece of folded kleenex on each side of the touch pad, right where the magnets touch. It sounds better and doesn't slam shut.

I think the part where it sort of "snaps" shut can be causing the issue as well as pressure from being closed. Time will tell. I just folded up two kleenex so it gently fits and cushions the area with magnet pressure.

I know it's a pain, but for 1100 dollars it's worth it.
Click to expand...

Don't you think that, it's a little silly though to spend over a thousand dollars on a lap top and have to stick tissue paper between the screen and the top case just to keep it from falling apart?
 
wellheck said:
I have had the same problem with my while MacBook with some significant resistance from the service department to fix it. Initially, I turned in my computer and, when they called me about the repairs, told me that they did not believe that the hair-line fractures could be caused by anything else than misuse. I'm fairly gentle with my computer but I do use it quite frequently for research but, frankly, it's supposed to be used. I'm also not in the habit of lying or being called a liar. They told me that they would have to send it to a depot department and, if they did not agree to fix it, then it would cost me $800 to replace the top case and latch mechanisms. My jaw just dropped and I had to wonder what purpose the relatively expensive applecare serves. The computer was returned to my care but very poorly assembled. I could literally see the component parts to my screen because it hadn't been put together.
What a dissapointment. I can honestly say that, given my problems with the case and reading the posts here, I could not recommend the MacBook to anyone due to the fragile case and luke-warm to poor customer service. The computer itself works great, but I need the entire thing to remain as a whole. If you are reading this and are deciding between the MacBook and MacBook Pro, I would certainly recommend the Pro.
Click to expand...

Do you have pictures? No they don't "poorly assemble" it.

You know, lots of computer users holds their laptop by the LCD screen and wonder why their LCD hinge develop cracks...

Most of the damages to laptops are caused by user error...
 
wellheck said:
I have had the same problem with my while MacBook with some significant resistance from the service department to fix it. Initially, I turned in my computer and, when they called me about the repairs, told me that they did not believe that the hair-line fractures could be caused by anything else than misuse. I'm fairly gentle with my computer but I do use it quite frequently for research but, frankly, it's supposed to be used. I'm also not in the habit of lying or being called a liar. They told me that they would have to send it to a depot department and, if they did not agree to fix it, then it would cost me $800 to replace the top case and latch mechanisms. My jaw just dropped and I had to wonder what purpose the relatively expensive applecare serves. The computer was returned to my care but very poorly assembled. I could literally see the component parts to my screen because it hadn't been put together.
What a dissapointment. I can honestly say that, given my problems with the case and reading the posts here, I could not recommend the MacBook to anyone due to the fragile case and luke-warm to poor customer service. The computer itself works great, but I need the entire thing to remain as a whole. If you are reading this and are deciding between the MacBook and MacBook Pro, I would certainly recommend the Pro.
Click to expand...


800 dollars seem to be a favorite sum for apple, I was quoted around there for replacement of my LCD screen too.
 
Consultant said:
Do you have pictures? No they don't "poorly assemble" it.

You know, lots of computer users holds their laptop by the LCD screen and wonder why their LCD hinge develop cracks...

Most of the damages to laptops are caused by user error...
Click to expand...

You're kidding right? I've seen many macbooks that have had parts replaced by apple that have horrible reassembly. Take for example a girl that i know who need a lcd replacement and got her macbook back with a 2 mm gap in some area's of the screen bezel. Maybe macbooks just aren't made to be taken apart and reassembled.. although I'd say that's a problem in it's self wouldn't you? Why is it you refuse to acknowledge apples flaws in every single thread? Are you so emotionally attached to apple that you take these posts as a personal assault? You seem to as you get very aggressive and hostile.
 
joeyd929 said:
I have no cracks yet (only a week old macbook) I can already see the lines where the magnets make contact. To be proactive, I have decided to put a piece of folded kleenex on each side of the touch pad, right where the magnets touch. It sounds better and doesn't slam shut.

I think the part where it sort of "snaps" shut can be causing the issue as well as pressure from being closed. Time will tell. I just folded up two kleenex so it gently fits and cushions the area with magnet pressure.

I know it's a pain, but for 1100 dollars it's worth it.
Click to expand...
Check out Radtech screen saver. Its perfect for this. But if you get one buy the 15' MBP one for the MB. It fits the entire surface of the MB perfect.
 
Agree

Billy Bob said:
Don't you think that, it's a little silly though to spend over a thousand dollars on a lap top and have to stick tissue paper between the screen and the top case just to keep it from falling apart?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree but what the heck, if there is a chance I can protect the pads then I don't mind doing it.
 
My macBook broke for different reasons, and when I got it back I noticed that they had replaced the top cover where the keyboard is. I asked why, and the genius said that it had shown signs of cracking (which I hadn't noticed).

I'm sure they'll replace it for you if you pop by an Apple Store.
 
maccrack

My macbook is almost two years old and is not covered under any warranty. Does anyone know how much they might charge to fix the problem? Mine has the typical chip on the bottom right and a sliver of plastic is starting to peel off on the outside right.
 
This is a known problem by apple, My macbook has cracked 3 times and they replace the whole keyboard for me free, they even picked it up and delivered it back for me. Also i had no warranty at the time. Again it has cracked and apple will be picking it up again in a few days, now i have the new IMAC :)

If you want i can let you guys have my repair references to prove that this was done and that apple know about this.. Maybe this will help you??

Take Care Peeps
 
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