Macbook Pro Bent Hinge

[fishfingers]

My 2009 macbook pro just fell about one foot from my bed onto thick carpet. Everything works perfectly fine apart from one tiny bit of damage. Basically i think the hinge has bent by a tiny amount, when i close the lid the bottom right of the screen now catches on the base, i can see it is overhanging by about 1mm. Because it is catching i hear a slight "pop" sound where the case is catching when opening and closing the lid and a small mark is left on the base where it is rubbing.

I can see that when the lid is closed it is sitting snug against the base in that corner instead of with a small gap as is with the other corner. I guess where it fell it has knocked the hinge slightly out of line causing the base to catch on the very edge of the screen.

Here is the side that is perfectly fine:

And the side that is bent/sitting too snug to the base:

I know this is only a very minor problem but this machine cost alot of money, and i fear it may cause more problems down the road.

Do you think this is worth attempting to repair myself, it's bent by the tiniest amount but i am scared of causing more damage. If not does it sound like an expensive repair? i have Applecare but I'm pretty sure they won't cover the costs as it is probably obvious this is caused from being dropped on the bent corner.

 

[miles01110]

Hmm, tough call about trying to repair it, as I can see this causing major wear and tear down the line. But it's probably going to be a very expensive repair.

 

[genmic]

That's funny because I unsealed a brand new UMBP that's casing looked similar to that.

 

[fishfingers]

Hmm, tough call about trying to repair it, as I can see this causing major wear and tear down the line. But it's probably going to be a very expensive repair.

i was afraid someone was going to say that

 

[kastenbrust]

i was afraid someone was going to say that

it costs almost as much as a new machine if you ask Apple to fix it, plus they'll void any warranty and Applecare you may have, especially if you said you dropped it, but you could say it arrived like that from China and you've only just noticed it.

 

[fishfingers]

it costs almost as much as a new machine if you ask Apple to fix it, plus they'll void any warranty and Applecare you may have, especially if you said you dropped it, but you could say it arrived like that from China and you've only just noticed it.

Ouch! ok thanks, i guess ill just tell them it's always been faulty and see what happens, i'm not sure they'll fall for only just noticed as its pretty obvious its catching when i open and close it, but they might go for slowly getting worse over time

 

[brave5213]

that's funny my 4th macbook pro looks like yours even though i didn't drop it.

 

[AceWilfong]

i was afraid someone was going to say that

I was absolutely certain that someone would say that.

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

Do you live near an Apple store to have it checked out?

 

[fishfingers]

Do you live near an Apple store to have it checked out?

About a half an hour drive away, ill head down tomorrow and post here what they say.

Maybe the gap problem was always there and i just made it a little worse, it was such a small fall as well, guess that's all it takes to bend some aluminum though

 

[kastenbrust]

About a half an hour drive away, ill head down tomorrow and post here what they say.

Maybe the gap problem was always there and i just made it a little worse, it was such a small fall as well, guess that's all it takes to bend some aluminum though

A 3rd party authorized Apple retailer should repair it for you a lot cheaper than Apple (maybe free if you have Applecare) and if you ask them nicely they will conveniently forget to tell Apple you dropped it when claiming on your warranty.

 

[fishfingers]

here is a picture of the overhang when it gets caught:

 

[fishfingers]

A 3rd party authorized Apple retailer should repair it for you a lot cheaper than Apple (maybe free if you have Applecare) and if you ask them nicely they will conveniently forget to tell Apple you dropped it when claiming on your warranty.

That sounds like a much more promising option, it's a lot closer too. I have a major deadline in about 4 weeks, this couldn't have happened at a worse time!

 

[geiger]

Bent MacBook

I don't know whether you have had this fixed yet or not. I had the same problem. I dropped mine and it bent the corner. It was in a padded bag too! In any case, I took to it with a pair of pliers wrapped in a thick cloth. I fixed the bend but caused some further damage to the case. It's better than it was is terms of hinge operation, but dinged. I think that dinged Macbooks are just going to be a fact of life with this model. I also tripped over it and knocked it off the desk which dinged the battery bay a little. (I'm not accident prone!) But none of the other 16 Apples I have had have ever been so fragile.

 

[uiop.]

I had a similar issue on my UMBP, to the point where the screen would actually make a snapping noise sometimes. But the genius said it was a cosmetic problem...ass.

 

[pdxflint]

I don't know whether you have had this fixed yet or not. I had the same problem. I dropped mine and it bent the corner. It was in a padded bag too! In any case, I took to it with a pair of pliers wrapped in a thick cloth. I fixed the bend but caused some further damage to the case. It's better than it was is terms of hinge operation, but dinged. I think that dinged Macbooks are just going to be a fact of life with this model. I also tripped over it and knocked it off the desk which dinged the battery bay a little. (I'm not accident prone!) But none of the other 16 Apples I have had have ever been so fragile.

I'm amazed your laptops still work... I just don't quite get all the dropping of laptops and knocking them off desks and tables and such... I know it happens, but holy moly... no point in having AppleCare with them.

it costs almost as much as a new machine if you ask Apple to fix it, plus they'll void any warranty and Applecare you may have, especially if you said you dropped it, but you could say it arrived like that from China and you've only just noticed it.

Unfortunately, that would make him a liar. Are you saying it's okay to lie to Apple, or to try to mislead them, while also demanding excellent service and reserving the right to complain about their products and warranty decisions - would that be about right?

To the OP: Just be straight with Apple, and they'll likely treat you better. If they figure you're trying to get away with something, they'll probably go by the book (voided warranty.) The suggestion of going to a third-party Apple certified service center is probaby the best move. Usually you can talk to the actual tech who would be doing the work, and can ask them what they'd do in your case. Very often they'll work with you to try to make you happy, because it means business in the future. I'm sure they won't cover it under warranty claim, but they might cover any other warranty issues once they've seen that nothing else was damaged in the fall, so your warranty would still be good for other defects. I'd try that route. When you go directly to Apple, they're going to generally follow corporate procedure guidelines to the T.

 

[sdsvtdriver]

take it apart and bend it back.

 

[alphaod]

A 3rd party authorized Apple retailer should repair it for you a lot cheaper than Apple (maybe free if you have Applecare) and if you ask them nicely they will conveniently forget to tell Apple you dropped it when claiming on your warranty.

Or you just take it and have it fixed, and don't tell them you dropped it? Just say Apple won't fix it, because they said it was cosmetic, so you want it fixed out of pocket.

 

[mcarafa09]

How did it turn out?! This just happened to me!

Hey! The same exact thing just happened to me. I just dropped my 15" MacBook Pro and now one side of the hinge is lower than the other and it catches and "clicks" sorta when I open it. Seeing that you posted this 2 years ago, could you please tell me how this worked out for you? Does it still pop? Did it have any long term damage? Did you get it fixed? Thanks!

 

[BrickbookPro]

Ouch! ok thanks, i guess ill just tell them it's always been faulty and see what happens, i'm not sure they'll fall for only just noticed as its pretty obvious its catching when i open and close it, but they might go for slowly getting worse over time

Sound morales right there...

 

[alphaod]

Hey! The same exact thing just happened to me. I just dropped my 15" MacBook Pro and now one side of the hinge is lower than the other and it catches and "clicks" sorta when I open it. Seeing that you posted this 2 years ago, could you please tell me how this worked out for you? Does it still pop? Did it have any long term damage? Did you get it fixed? Thanks!

I don't what happened (I guess I dropped my messenger bag with my laptop in it too hard onto the floor), only to find the display lid catching on the computer.

I took it to the Apple Store; told the Genius I probably dropped it and they replaced it for free.

It's worth a try.

Sound morales right there...

I don't know what mcarafa09 posted has anything to do with morals?

 

[mcarafa09]

Fixed

Cool thanks! I actually just ended up folding an index card over and over until it was a little wider than the hinge gap needed to be. I squeezed the index card in the and opened and closed the computer a bunch. Now it's fine! It worked like a little wedge that fixed it!

 

[randomrazr]

apple doesnt cover accidental damage

u can either live with it or buy a whole new computer or opt for an expensive repair

this is why i bught a speck case so **** like this dont happen lol