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MBP 15" Hinge problem

C

corbosman

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 5, 2009
2
0
Amsterdam
Hi all, I bought a new MBP last week (2.93 Ghz model), and Im a little disappointed at the whole ordeal. The hinge on this machine is really loose, imho too loose. Ive had it close on me a few times, and if you move it the screen flops a little.

This video shows the problem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOPh83oIBkc

The angle on that video is about 40-45 degrees. I sent it in to be looked at, and i just got word that Apple is not repairing or replacing it. They would only tell me on the phone why, they did not want to tell me in email. They said on the phone that all new MBPs they have show the same behavior, and that apple has said it's within specs. In other words, it's normal. I dont think its normal.

What id like to know is, does anyone here have a relatively new MBP 15" (latest version) and can tell me if they see the same issue? Or if some are actually ok, and there are different strengths in these hinges.

Regards,

Cor (happy owner of a pre-unibody MBP, Mac mini, Powerbook, etc).
 
Yeah, all the Pro's do that. That was the first thing I noticed when I got mine. There's nothing that will be done until they get stiffer hinges to hold the panels up. That's one thing I miss about my powerbook g4.
 
I don't know... The hinges on mine are really ssticky, and they work fine. The only problem is whenever some damn Windows retard uses is on the bus, and they start to tilt the screen back until the hinge creaks, and then the hinge is dead. I hate how ignorant people are! I understand how some people have that urge to have the screen perfectly aligned with theitr face, but the 2-3 degrees of difference really don't make any sense. And the Speck case that I bough for mine seems to be straining the lid a bit... hopefully the warranty covers any damage like that.
 
They dont all do that. I just came from a mac store, and the 17" MBP you can hold upside down and it still wont flop around. The current batches of 15" ones do seem to all be very loose. But then ive got friends with an earlier 15" unibody MBP, and they're much tighter than mine.
 
It's a lottery. I'm on my second replacement MBP. The hinge on the first two machines were tight. When I got the third one, I was very surprised to find the hinge so loose. It doesn't take much of an angle for the lid to fall back or forward. I saw a Genius about it and she said it was a feature, so no fix or replacement would be had.
 
i have a 17inch mbp and to get the lid to close like that i have to hold it almost vertical.
 
I've gone through 3 different MBPs (all because of more serious problems) and all but my current one has had that problem. My current MBP's display will stay until about 80 - 85 degrees.
 
Well I will say that I am very disappointed. I had a problem with my first macbook pro and it was replaced and this is the first thing I noticed. What do we do?
 
mine is like that too. its just how they are but how often do you hold it in that position and move it so it closes like that?
 
zorahk said:
This is not a "problem". They are all like that. Deal with it. Glass is heavier than plastic.
Click to expand...

People here on macrumors like to complain about more things more often simply because it's easier than complaining in real life. Deal with it. Itz teh interwebz. What do you expect?
 
Warranty Voider said:
People here on macrumors like to complain about more things more often simply because it's easier than complaining in real life. Deal with it. Itz teh interwebz. What do you expect?
Click to expand...

People may like to complain but the unibody 17" does seem to be much tighter.  probably heard the complaints since Oct. and tightened them up for the production of the 17". If it's any comfort, the next rev. of the 15" will probably be as tight as the 17" are now.
 
The hinge looseness is one of my major beefs with the Macbook Pro, one of the few reasons that I like my MB over a MBP... I will be upgrading in the Fall, to a MBP-- or perhaps just adding a MBP to my collection and keeping this macbook for travel... In any case, I hope they fix this issue come then.
 
zorahk said:
This is not a "problem". They are all like that. Deal with it. Glass is heavier than plastic.
Click to expand...

Actually, according to ifixit, the screen assembly the unibody MacBook at least is lighter than the previous plastic ones. I'm curious if that's the same with the Mbp. I actually like the smooth hinge and prefer it to the stiffer hinges of the past. I can imagine that apple wanted to Make sure that there would be no flexing of the display (=cracking of the glass) when people grab the display to open it from a corner.

It just depends on your usage patterns. If I have a problem with this I'll just sit up more...
 
The new hinge is a counter-balance hinge; basically when you have it flat, the spring will balance the weight of the lid and keep everything steady; if the computer is not level, it can't balance the screen and therefore the hinge will appear loose. The classic 17" MacBook Pro notebooks had this hinge as well; it's very good in making it easy to open and close a heavy lid.

And as for the older hinge, that's a friction hinge—stiff sometimes and may just get really hard to move or really loose later on.
 
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