New Macbook Air Creaking!!!

[GreenFrog]

**UPDATE**

I took my MBA to an Apple store and told the guy about the creaking issue and the hardware error that came up when I ran the diagnostics test.

He told me that since it was a BTO/CTO MBA (I have the 13" Ultimate, purchased from MacMall) that it would take a week or two to get it replaced because they'd have to send it in to Apple, have them take a look at it, confirm that there is an issue, and then send me a replacement.

Or, I could have them replace the logic board, none of which they had on stock to replace today, and wait a couple of days (up to a week due to the Christmas season).

I was contemplating simply walking away and using my MBA because a) it has a Bodyguardz skin on it installed and that was a PITA to apply, b) I have a custom decal sticker on it of a Lego man grasping the illumated Apple logo in awe (looks really cool, got several comments on it from people at the Apple store and Geniuses too), and c) there isn't anything wrong with the computer; it works fine.

Then, some other genius started talking to the one who was helping me out and he said he would look back to see if they had any 13" Ultimates in stock. He came back out with a brand new MBA 13" Ultimate and said I could either take it or wait for a logic board replacement. After seriously contemplating my options, I just opted to take the new MBA. Was a relatively painless procedure. I'm just confused as to why the Genius was hesitant to give me a new 13" Ultimate (citing issues of them not usually carrying these custom spec Airs), when they had it in stock. I mean, they even show the 13" Ultimate as a display model and have it as an available option to purchase in the store.. that was kind of weird.

Anyway, I got a new MBA 13" Ultimate and I'm kind of pissed that I have to ask Bodyguardz for a new film and apply it. I'm also annoyed that I lost my decal..

On a side note, they also gave me a new iPhone 4. I noticed that photos of white pictures were yellow/blue and the lady first replaced the back glass panel. Then after replacing it, she took a couple more pics and they were even worse! Every picture had a blueish fog/haze because the LED flash was malfunctioning. So she just gave me a new iPhone 4 too. LOL.

Walked out of the Apple store with a brand new MBA and iPhone 4. Total money spent = $0 (of course, I paid for them when I first bought them, but still ).

Edit: Setting up my new Air right now.. such a PITA. DAMN.

Plus, it has some creaking on the top right and top left corners.

 

[Dark Shines]

Mine used to creak a lot...
Got my screwdriver from iFixit...
I didn't even remove the screws, I just tightened the ones on the left side. Now it's perfect
Let's see if it lasts...

 

[Mac32]

Couldn't agree more. I just find the thought of returning a laptop because it creaks slightly when you lift it or bend it completely over the top. At least get the screwdriver, or go to an Apple Store to get the bottom screws tightened first (or check the batteries). My MacBook Pro can also creak sometimes, then I just fasten the bottom screws and everything's fine again. If the whole thing is warped - that it's wobbly and the mainboard inside is touching the casing, *then* you have a good case IMO...

 

[Dark Shines]

Even if it was not fixable... I don't have the time to go through an exchange process (I ordered it online, I can't check the machine in store). Mine has no dead pixel, no wobbling, no loose hinge...
I know Apple advertises a lot about design and "sturdiness" but you'll never (or rarely) get a "perfect" machine from them. I already tried to get a perfect unibody macbook in the past (with the crooked keys and loose battery covers) : On the fourth replacement, I got a perfect keyboard and a perfect battery cover but with dead pixels. One month later my superdrive died.

Don't forget the iFixit coupon code if you order the screwdriver !

 

[psirix]

I just opened my 11" today and noticed the creak pretty quickly. The only time I notice it though is if I pickup the unit only with one hand on the right or left side. Not a huge issue I suppose. I may consider purchasing the torx screwdriver to tighten it down. I can only assume the production has been extremely high for these new machines so perhaps the quality isn't as top-notch as its supposed to be

 

[John.simon]

Help me, i have Same Error on macbookair

Hi
I saw that you had the same Error as i have now:
4SNS/1/40000001:ID0R-0.040

Can you please Tell me what exactly you did to recover from it?

Please answer as soon as possible, thank you in advance!!!

 

[John.simon]

Hardware error MacBook air

I also did a hardware test and got the following error:

4SNS/1/40000001: ID0R-0.040

Can you tell me what you exactly you did to recover from this problem.?

 

[GreenFrog]

Hi
I saw that you had the same Error as i have now:
4SNS/1/40000001:ID0R-0.040

Can you please Tell me what exactly you did to recover from it?

Please answer as soon as possible, thank you in advance!!!

I didn't exactly 'recover' from it with my original Air. As far as I was concerned, nothing was wrong with it. It was working fine.

I did take it to the Apple store, however, and they gave me a brand new Air to replace my original one.

It's apparently an issue with the logic board and you have two options: 1) have them take in your air and replace the logic board, which could take a couple of hours to a couple of days, depending on whether they have the logic board replacement on hand 2) replace your old air for a brand new one

 

[ioannis]

me too

just a 'me too' here. Have a new CTO 13" Air. There is a clicking/creaking sound when pressing the right-hand side (as seen from above, whilst looking at the keyboard) of the base, mostly at the middle screw. I can almost feel a slight movement as I'm pressing at that screw. I'll try tightening the screws as other suggested and report back as well.

I would not replace my laptop for such a minor thing, for the same reason others have mentioned. It's an otherwise perfectly working (no dead pixels, no heating problems etc) piece and I wouldn't risk it.

 

[John.simon]

Thank you!!

I didn't exactly 'recover' from it with my original Air. As far as I was concerned, nothing was wrong with it. It was working fine.

I did take it to the Apple store, however, and they gave me a brand new Air to replace my original one.

It's apparently an issue with the logic board and you have two options: 1) have them take in your air and replace the logic board, which could take a couple of hours to a couple of days, depending on whether they have the logic board replacement on hand 2) replace your old air for a brand new one

Thank you for the answer

 

[powerbook911]

The only creak I will have is if the Air is closed and I purposely push on the black hinge area. Is that normal?

 

[GreenFrog]

I bought my MBA a month ago and it had no creaks, as far as I was concerned. But I never thoroughly checked, and when I did, it creaked pretty noticeably when I picked it up from the top right corner with the lid closed. All other areas were solid and did not flex or creak. But it had a hardware issue and the apple store gave me a brand new replacement.

Now this one creaks on both the left and right slides, but to a very minor degree -- not as severely as my first Air. Not only that, but my trackpad has this really weird issue where it seems like it's sticky when I click it. But it only comes and goes intermittently. It's really weird.. It's sort of as if a very tiny amount of juice spilled inside and is making it stick; but that's not the case, as it was like this the moment I pulled it out of the box. The frustrating part is that it comes and goes. 70% of the time, the trackpad is fine so I can't replicate the issue all the time.

I took my replaced Air back to the apple store today to get the logic board re-seated and to tighten the screws, to no avail. Still creaks on both sides and the trackpad still sticks from time to time. Of course, it wouldn't stick at the apple store as murphy's law would have it, so the genius said my MBA was fine.

I'm itching to get it replaced again, not because of the creaking, but because of the intermittent sticking of the trackpad. Anyone know if I can take it back in again and complain about it?

Another problem is I have an iCarbons skin installed and they don't offer lifetime replacements like Wrapsol or bodyguardz do.. so if I were to get a new air, I'd be out the $50 I spent on this skin.

I think it's more rare to find a rock solid Air that doesn't creak than it is to find one that does creak here and there. Seems like it's so thin that most users will find some degree of creaking.. Some worse than others, some not so much. Depends on how hard you press and how eager you are to find it.

 

[T4R06]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Does anyone know what this particular error is? Has anyone called apple to verify what it is?

How does one do the boot test.

You are below 50% battery. Plug your AC and do the test again..

 

[Mike84]

Can someone please tell me how they went about doing the diagnostic test?

 

[GreenFrog]

Can someone please tell me how they went about doing the diagnostic test?

Restart your computer and when you hear the chime sound, press and hold down the D button.

 

[Mike84]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Can someone please tell me how they went about doing the diagnostic test?

Restart your computer and when you hear the chime sound, press and hold down the D button.

Thanks.

 

[ioannis]

base plate misaligned / misfit

after close inspection, I noticed that the base plate is misaligned as seen in this photo

lower-left corner

the screw is not centred and the gap between the plate and the body is larger at the bottom edge compared to the right-hand side edge.

same thing is apparent in the next picture.
lower-right corner

from the above, it seems that the plate simply needs to be shifted slightly to a lower-right direction (relative to the camera view). However, it seems that the base plate is not a perfect match for the body, since, the left side is aligned, while the right side is not (as seen above). Seems that Apple's "precision engineering", isn't precise enough. It is probably still within acceptable manufacturing error margins. All these misalignements and misfits might be the cause of the clicking/creaking sounds.

 

[oakie]

All these misalignements and misfits might be the cause of the clicking/creaking sounds.

in your specific case, the lower cover could probably not be the one that was manufactured alongside the rest of the chassis, creating that gap. most likely is that yours is the result of a chassis at the large end of its tolerance combined with a battery cover at the lower end of its tolerance.

for everyone freaking about the creaking: generally, when it comes to manufacturing, you can have cheap, durable, or quality. you can only have 1 or 2 but not all 3. quality has sacrificed a slight bit, of course nothing like Dell, but the masses wanted "cheap and durable" compared to Sony's "cheap quality" and Dell being simply "cheap."

it seems that for many first time mac buyers, this is the most they have ever spent on a single computer, and like the fanboys who think Apple is perfect without exception, have an irrational expectation of perfection; their belief falls along the lines of, "i paid a lot of money for this, therefore i deserve to be treated better than everyone else." bottom line, even the worst example coming off the Apple assembly line is still far superior in fit & finish to most other products of similar price and capability. but of course drama queens will always be drama queens.

as for the source of the creaking, it's actually because metal expands and contracts with changes in temperature and humidity as well as specific pressure applied to the parts by factory workers and/or machinery during the assembly process. also, during stamping and cutting of thinly extruded parts like the lower cover, the parts will tend to flex back to its original shape as many metals have elasticity and memory. plus, the workers handling your macbook during assembly dont cuddle it in the same way some of you rub it against yourselves in bed at night.

so when these things occur as nature intends, somehow a creak is ignorantly considered a flaw and that these people deserve the perfection they think they were promised. funny that these same people dont freak out when their TV's creak as they warm up, or demand a new car if the driver's door creaks if u push on it when it's closed.

bottom line... after assembly, the completed macbook's parts begin to contract ever so slightly and "rest," torqued screws no longer as tight as the metal contracts allowing enough movement to create a creaking noise at these fastening points.

you can solve the issue by retorquing the screws.

 

[GreenFrog]

in your specific case, the lower cover could probably not be the one that was manufactured alongside the rest of the chassis, creating that gap. most likely is that yours is the result of a chassis at the large end of its tolerance combined with a battery cover at the lower end of its tolerance.

for everyone freaking about the creaking: generally, when it comes to manufacturing, you can have cheap, durable, or quality. you can only have 1 or 2 but not all 3. quality has sacrificed a slight bit, of course nothing like Dell, but the masses wanted "cheap and durable" compared to Sony's "cheap quality" and Dell being simply "cheap."

it seems that for many first time mac buyers, this is the most they have ever spent on a single computer, and like the fanboys who think Apple is perfect without exception, have an irrational expectation of perfection; their belief falls along the lines of, "i paid a lot of money for this, therefore i deserve to be treated better than everyone else." bottom line, even the worst example coming off the Apple assembly line is still far superior in fit & finish to most other products of similar price and capability. but of course drama queens will always be drama queens.

as for the source of the creaking, it's actually because metal expands and contracts with changes in temperature and humidity as well as specific pressure applied to the parts by factory workers and/or machinery during the assembly process. also, during stamping and cutting of thinly extruded parts like the lower cover, the parts will tend to flex back to its original shape as many metals have elasticity and memory. plus, the workers handling your macbook during assembly dont cuddle it in the same way some of you rub it against yourselves in bed at night.

so when these things occur as nature intends, somehow a creak is ignorantly considered a flaw and that these people deserve the perfection they think they were promised. funny that these same people dont freak out when their TV's creak as they warm up, or demand a new car if the driver's door creaks if u push on it when it's closed.

bottom line... after assembly, the completed macbook's parts begin to contract ever so slightly and "rest," torqued screws no longer as tight as the metal contracts allowing enough movement to create a creaking noise at these fastening points.

you can solve the issue by retorquing the screws.

retorquing the screws did not do anything for my creaking issue.

 

[inlinesixer]

Hi, bought a CTO MBA 13 in November and thought I was crazy for thinking that my MBA creaks but was glad to see that people here also felt the same. It definitely just bothered me given that it was my first Apple unibody and not even my ASUS creaked when picked up the same way.

I went to the Genius bar the first time (Monterey) and he retightened my screws and it felt great afterwards. It started to creak a month after in December so I went back to the Genius bar, this time in Seattle and I explained it like so:

"When I pick up the MBA I can feel like somethings been dislodged inside, or that some panel in the bottom right had been dislodged."

They said first that there are springs in that location and that the battery was there too, saying that there is some play in the bottom right. Both these topics have been covered in depth here.

So I just said I wanted the maxed out MBA 13 and checked by lifting both old and new laptops side by side and definitely found the new laptop to be creak-free. It might have just been new, but my CTO was not that far off from the maxed version. Anyways, it's been a month with the new laptop and it has been "creak" free, haven't noticed anything that made me flinch as with the old CTO I initially bought.

 

[jace88]

I just bought the 2010 Macbook Air 11" with 128gb SSD. Mine creeks if I hold it by the black bit on the back (the antenna?) and also if I hold it at the front left right on the corner. It's not much of a creak but it is noticeable when you hold it. :S

 

[spencertherover]

retorquing the screws did not do anything for my creaking issue.

You need to re-seat the base so it it properly aligned before securing it.

 

[GreenFrog]

You need to re-seat the base so it it properly aligned before securing it.

I asked the Genius at the apple store to do so and was afraid that she wouldn't and simply retorque the screws only.. but she did take my air to the back and was there for a good 10-15 minutes, so I'm assuming she did re-seat the base as well.

Still, didn't do anything for my computer.

 

[logandzwon]

Mine sometimes creaks if I hold it by the edge, (like the commercial.) Since it never makes any other sounds at all (fan, HD spinning, etc...) I am kind happy when it does. =)

 

[spencertherover]

I asked the Genius at the apple store to do so and was afraid that she wouldn't and simply retorque the screws only.. but she did take my air to the back and was there for a good 10-15 minutes, so I'm assuming she did re-seat the base as well.

Still, didn't do anything for my computer.

So you gave someone your laptop, they went out of view for 10 minutes and when they came back there was no change. Are you sure she didn't just have a coffee and a biscuit?