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Panel Gaps - 14” MBP

UMHurricanes34

UMHurricanes34

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 13, 2005
1,477
753
Atlanta, GA
Howdy friends,

This is one of those threads where I feel bad for posting in case others discover similar defects in their laptops that can then never be unseen, but does anyone else have a slight gap in the bottom casing where the bottom panel meets the top panel assembly? Mine is particularly noticeable along the left edge.

This by no means impacts the functionality of the machine but I can’t unsee it! It’s certainly enough space for hairs/lent to get wedged in, which isn’t ideal.
 

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All panels in the case should be flush. Warping like that usually indicates that the battery may be swelling, but the battery is closer towards the user, under the palm rest and track pad. Did it come out of the box this way when you first opened it?
 
PieTunes said:
All panels in the case should be flush. Warping like that usually indicates that the battery may be swelling, but the battery is closer towards the user, under the palm rest and track pad. Did it come out of the box this way when you first opened it?
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I truly wish I could say. I didn't notice it until today when it was sitting on a high top table that is more eye level.
 
UMHurricanes34 said:
Howdy friends,

This is one of those threads where I feel bad for posting in case others discover similar defects in their laptops that can then never be unseen, but does anyone else have a slight gap in the bottom casing where the bottom panel meets the top panel assembly? Mine is particularly noticeable along the left edge.

This by no means impacts the functionality of the machine but I can’t unsee it! It’s certainly enough space for hairs/lent to get wedged in, which isn’t ideal.
Click to expand...
can we get a pic from a different angle? that looks pretty bad. on my 16" they're perfectly flush at that area.
 
jav6454 said:
Have you made the appointment at an Apple Store?
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Quite honestly, I'm really hesitant to given that it took nearly 4 months to receive this machine. Has anyone had any luck with an Apple Store appointment for similar "cosmetic" defects like this?
 
Here's another angle with a photo of the opposite side for comparison. I'll go ahead and schedule an appointment now. This is a real bummer because otherwise this might be my favorite Apple notebook I've ever owned.

IMG_5372.jpeg
IMG_5374.jpeg
 
Maybe they can just replace the bottom panel in store without you having to return the whole machine.
 
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Have you tried taking the bottom cover off, make sure there is nothing that is making it bulge, confirm the battery is not swollen, then screw it back on? It may just be due to the way it was installed at the factory, perhaps it wasn't seated properly before screwing it on, and needs a reseat.
 
UMHurricanes34 said:
Quite honestly, I'm really hesitant to given that it took nearly 4 months to receive this machine...
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Apple knows everything is backordered. If they authorize a replacement I'm sure you can hang onto yours until that one arrives. But I bet it can be repaired without needing replacement.
 
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Looks like an easy fix with the only part needed being a replacement adhesive strip and removing of the current out-of-position one. Well within the capabilities of an Apple Store 'Genesis' Bar as I gather they have done quite a few.

Sorry to be the bearer of good news; it's often shot-down these days.

☕️
 
Update here.

After going through a bunch of various replacement attempts to no avail (for a multitude of reasons but mainly being that given the lengthy timelines on these machines, advance replacements (I.e. keeping this one until a new one arrives) is not possible, Apple ended up ordering a replacement bottom panel for the machine to be repaired in store.

@Sowelu They did actually do this at the Store to check and see if anything was going on inside. Apparently just a strangely warped bottom panel that they’ll swap out. I did notice that after the panel was taken off and put back on that there’s now a slight “give” in the bottom casing where it doesn’t quite feel as rigid. Hopefully that won’t be a problem once the panel is replaced with an unbent version.

Will report back once the swap is complete but here’s to hoping it will be good as new.
 
RobbieTT said:
Looks like an easy fix with the only part needed being a replacement adhesive strip and removing of the current out-of-position one. Well within the capabilities of an Apple Store 'Genesis' Bar as I gather they have done quite a few.

Sorry to be the bearer of good news; it's often shot-down these days.

☕️
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Is there adhesive involved with the bottom panel? That may explain the additional give in the casing once they screwed the original plate back on if there was indeed adhesive that had to be severed.
 
Nothing that is there to bond anything to anything else. Just strips to protect things which, if out of place can distort things as clearances and tolerances are pretty tight. On older MBPs these strips were used for things like flex protection, metalliized EMI gap shields, anti-rattle etc.
 
UMHurricanes34 said:
Update here.

After going through a bunch of various replacement attempts to no avail (for a multitude of reasons but mainly being that given the lengthy timelines on these machines, advance replacements (I.e. keeping this one until a new one arrives) is not possible, Apple ended up ordering a replacement bottom panel for the machine to be repaired in store.

@Sowelu They did actually do this at the Store to check and see if anything was going on inside. Apparently just a strangely warped bottom panel that they’ll swap out. I did notice that after the panel was taken off and put back on that there’s now a slight “give” in the bottom casing where it doesn’t quite feel as rigid. Hopefully that won’t be a problem once the panel is replaced with an unbent version.

Will report back once the swap is complete but here’s to hoping it will be good as new.
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Good to know. In the end, the defect was too obvious for it to be cosmetic.
 
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jav6454 said:
Good to know. In the end, the defect was too obvious for it to be cosmetic.
Click to expand...
Indeed. I am thankful that I won't have to suffer through another 7 weeks of a dying 2018 15" (quite possibly my least loved Apple product ever, and I've owned a LOT of them). This machine is incredible.
 
Welp, picked up the “repaired” machine today and it had the same issue, even after a bottom panel swap. The techs were stumped, tried to reseat it again but had absolutely no idea what was going on. I’m back to square one waiting for my business team rep to call. After 15 days of dealing with this issue, I walked out of Apple with a brand new bottom panel with the same old set of problems.

This experience has been brutal. Because this machine was financed through our business, the brutality has been amplified.

Truly a horrific service experience from top to bottom.

They basically told me “no idea what’s going on, we’ll alert your business rep. Go home and wait.”

Cool!
 
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