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Please Post Here if your Aluminum Macbooks' Battery/HDD Cover is loose.

Munitalp said:
Just got my new Macbook delivered... my cover is tight and doesnt move at all. :eek:
Click to expand...

I thought mine was tight when I first got it, but now it's pretty loose. I never opened it, so not sure what caused it.

I'm not taking it back though. I'll get Apple to send a replacement cover instead.
 
I don't think enough people have called Apple about this issue.

I called technical support to see if there was a battery cover replacement. The guy was extremely nice and asked his supervisor. He said that I should take it to a Mac genius in 2-3 weeks as they will likely have replacement parts by then.

He said that he has had two other calls related to this, but said the problem doesn't seem to widespread now. He said if I knew of others who had the problem to refer them to the Apple technical support line.

I can live with the problem, but I'm only afraid that with repeated inserting and removing the laptop from my laptop bag that it will only worsen the problem. I do NOT want to send back the laptop -- I love it, plus it took almost 6 hours for migration assistant to transfer all my files/programs/settings. I would prefer to just get another battery cover to fix the problem.
 
Does anyone know if this issue is fixable with just a replacement cover? Like others on this thread, my cover is slightly loose, but not to the point that I would want to exchange the entire machine. It's an annoyance to be sure, but the Apple store is a 45 minute drive away and I've had a bad experience with the workers there.

While my battery cover doesn't move around a lot, the left side (farthest from the release latch) produces an audible click when pushed down. Is this just because the left side is farthest removed from the latch? Is this a problem that all of the computers have? Any enlightenment would be greatly appreciated.

I'm going to wait to see if the issue gets worse in the next few days. If it does, does anyone know if you buy a computer in the store and call 1-800-Apple, will they send you a new one through the mail?
 
Alucardx03 said:
Does anyone know if this issue is fixable with just a replacement cover? Like others on this thread, my cover is slightly loose, but not to the point that I would want to exchange the entire machine. It's an annoyance to be sure, but the Apple store is a 45 minute drive away and I've had a bad experience with the workers there.

I'm going to wait to see if the issue gets worse in the next few days. If it does, does anyone know if you buy a computer in the store and call 1-800-Apple, will they send you a new one through the mail?
Click to expand...

I would think it would be fixable with a replacement cover -- perhaps the cover needs to be modified by Apple though so getting one right now may not remedy it totally.
 
I got my 2.4g 320 HD 2x2 ram macbook last week... mine isn't lose like the one in the video, but it does make the metallic click and slides a very tiny bit...

I wonder if apple will acknoledge this problem? All they'd need to do was to make the battery cover a tiny bit bigger, then we're set - perhaps a rubber gasket type thing would do the trick... I hope this gets resolved, the clicking sound mine makes makes me feel like my laptop is a faulty piece! Arg!!

Other than that the laptop kicks ****ing ass haha
 
Munitalp said:
I would think it would be fixable with a replacement cover -- perhaps the cover needs to be modified by Apple though so getting one right now may not remedy it totally.
Click to expand...

I wonder if changes in heat caused this? (i.e., hot during manufacturering, the aluminum shrinking a bit when cooled down)
 
My cover is totally fine. Seems like this issue is a bit like the lid "warping" that has always plagued the all-silver PowerBook and MacBook Pro.
 
Hey everyone. I took some time to examine the cover and discovered the cause of the problems. I also found a permanent fix for the clicking issue that is incredibly easy to do.

I'll post some instructions when I'm out of class.
 
Alucardx03 said:
Hey everyone. I took some time to examine the cover and discovered the cause of the problems. I also found a permanent fix for the clicking issue that is incredibly easy to do.

I'll post some instructions when I'm out of class.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Did you MacGuyver something together with bubble gum?
 
Im all ears! If I can fix this without apple replacing my notebook I'll be ecstatic. Took me a solid day to get everything transferred from my dell and other than this tiny issue I couldn't be happier with the MacBook. I especially love how cool and quiet it is.
 
So as I mentioned earlier, I took some time to really examine the cover and identify the problem. I have successfully fixed my clicking cover, and I hope that everyone else will be able to as well.

First, the problem comes from the horizontal piece of metal that runs the length of the underside of the cover. The piece of metal holds the tabs that you slide into the front end of your macbook, not the two larger tabs that lock in towards the middle.

If you look at the piece of metal that runs the length of the cover, you'll notice that it sits on the curvature of the metal. Because of this, a small variation in placement can have an effect on the vertical positioning of the clamps. If the piece is too far up the curvature, you'll get the clicking sound. If the piece is too far back, you'll get the sliding cover as demonstrated in the youtube video.

While I don't think it would be possible to fix the sliding covers without a new cover entirely, it is possible to fix the clicking case. Simply take a small pliers and bend the tab (on whatever side is clicking...) toward the end of the cover nearest it. Essentially bend the tab down slightly. The entire metal piece should move inward even more, which creates pressure in the case. In fact, this is how it was supposed to be originally.

I hope that's clear enough. Just bend the tab down ever-so-slightly. If you bend it too much, just push it back up, but be careful not to tear off the side of the metallic piece.

After a minute or two of tweaking, I managed to make my cover free of the annoying click when you pick it up or set it down.

I hope these instructions were clear enough. If you have any questions, let me know. Hope this helps.

By the way, bending all of the tabs will eliminate some of the sliding, but it is not a permanent fix. Still, if you only have slight movement, adjusting all of the tabs will allow for a tighter fit and will eliminate some of the movement.

Also, can you guys post pictures of the underside of your cases? Especially the YouTube guy with the major movement. I'm curious to see how the underside of the cases compare.
 
Thanks for figuring that out. I realized that I had a tiny little play in my cover, and have fixed it using your discovery.

About the tiny amount of play that cannot be fixed...I would guess this is simply a product of fitting two parts together that are meant to come apart by with the latch mechanism. Since they're not permanently bound, there is bound to be some movement.

Maybe Apple people aren't really used to that due to Apple's love for non-user replaceable batteries, but there has to be some tolerance in movement when you have a part that has to fit together, especially with a latch, and not be permanently bound. I think you've cracked the case as to why they're not all the same, but I don't think it was designed to ever be perfectly stationary.
 
kellte2 said:
Thanks for figuring that out. I realized that I had a tiny little play in my cover, and have fixed it using your discovery.

About the tiny amount of play that cannot be fixed...I would guess this is simply a product of fitting two parts together that are meant to come apart by with the latch mechanism. Since they're not permanently bound, there is bound to be some movement.

Maybe Apple people aren't really used to that due to Apple's love for non-user replaceable batteries, but there has to be some tolerance in movement when you have a part that has to fit together, especially with a latch, and not be permanently bound. I think you've cracked the case as to why they're not all the same, but I don't think it was designed to ever be perfectly stationary.
Click to expand...


I'm really happy it worked out for you. I agree that some movement is going to be unavoidable. If you don't want any movement, I think we're going to have to go back to non-removable batteries or a different locking mechanism.

Still, I hope this helps others fix that annoying clicking.
 
Alucardx03 said:
So as I mentioned earlier, I took some time to really examine the cover and identify the problem. I have successfully fixed my clicking cover, and I hope that everyone else will be able to as well.

First, the problem comes from the horizontal piece of metal that runs the length of the underside of the cover. The piece of metal holds the tabs that you slide into the front end of your macbook, not the two larger tabs that lock in towards the middle.

If you look at the piece of metal that runs the length of the cover, you'll notice that it sits on the curvature of the metal. Because of this, a small variation in placement can have an effect on the vertical positioning of the clamps. If the piece is too far up the curvature, you'll get the clicking sound. If the piece is too far back, you'll get the sliding cover as demonstrated in the youtube video.

While I don't think it would be possible to fix the sliding covers without a new cover entirely, it is possible to fix the clicking case. Simply take a small pliers and bend the tab (on whatever side is clicking...) toward the end of the cover nearest it. Essentially bend the tab down slightly. The entire metal piece should move inward even more, which creates pressure in the case. In fact, this is how it was supposed to be originally.

I hope that's clear enough. Just bend the tab down ever-so-slightly. If you bend it too much, just push it back up, but be careful not to tear off the side of the metallic piece.

After a minute or two of tweaking, I managed to make my cover free of the annoying click when you pick it up or set it down.

I hope these instructions were clear enough. If you have any questions, let me know. Hope this helps.

By the way, bending all of the tabs will eliminate some of the sliding, but it is not a permanent fix. Still, if you only have slight movement, adjusting all of the tabs will allow for a tighter fit and will eliminate some of the movement.

Also, can you guys post pictures of the underside of your cases? Especially the YouTube guy with the major movement. I'm curious to see how the underside of the cases compare.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot alucard for this fix. Would it be possible to also post pictures highlighting exactly which tab to move in which direction? It'd be a lot more helpful before we go putting pliers to our $1500+ beauties ;)

My battery cover doesn't slide at all like in that video and it sits pretty flush, but I do have some VERY minor clicking that I wouldn't have cared about if it weren't mentioned so much on here already!
 
vincenz said:
Thanks a lot alucard for this fix. Would it be possible to also post pictures highlighting exactly which tab to move in which direction? It'd be a lot more helpful before we go putting pliers to our $1500+ beauties ;)

My battery cover doesn't slide at all like in that video and it sits pretty flush, but I do have some VERY minor clicking that I wouldn't have cared about if it weren't mentioned so much on here already!
Click to expand...

I apologize for the crappy photo. I only have a 12 megapixel camera with me now, and I haven't loaded any of my photo software on my new MBP yet. Hopefully, this photo from my iphone will suffice.

You have to bend the tab in the photo down, towards the rounded edge of the cover.
 

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Sweet, I think that'll good enough. If I need a better picture, I'll let you know and hopefully you can provide. Will try it later when I get back home though, thanks!
 
vincenz said:
Sweet, I think that'll good enough. If I need a better picture, I'll let you know and hopefully you can provide. Will try it later when I get back home though, thanks!
Click to expand...

No problem. Let me know if you're having difficulty and hopefully I can help.
 
Alucardx03 said:
I apologize for the crappy photo. I only have a 12 megapixel camera with me now, and I haven't loaded any of my photo software on my new MBP yet. Hopefully, this photo from my iphone will suffice.

You have to bend the tab in the photo down, towards the rounded edge of the cover.
Click to expand...

You sir, are a genius.

I bent it back and it works PERFECTLY.

I honestly think it's small defect with the strength of the tabs.

Heres what happens (and it's prob. already been said):

When you first pop off the cover you bend the tabs slightly. So you try to put it back on their obviously loose. If you bend back down as hard as you can (you won't be able to snap aluminum or break the heat welds, if so Apple owes you money) the tabs should fit snuggly back into the small slitted space. Your cover should fit like a glove.
 
is there anyway to fix the cover not being flush with the base...like in the middle.?
 
I am SHOCKED, I repeat, SHOCKED, that Apple would release a defective product. I can't remember the last time this happened!
 
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