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Possibly a prototype/fake MacBook Air? Update! It has a Core i3!
- Thread starter hackerwayne
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Yeah that's a tough one.
If you can't get a refund through the person who sold it to you, and were anticipating a non-questionable/non-potentially prototype, maybe try listing it here/on eBay just 'as is' and referring to this thread with really the bottom line of:
who knows?
Not sure if that's against the mod rules or not...
if you really want clarity, maybe contact Apple directly? Not sure they'd compensate you though to receive it back.
If you can't get a refund through the person who sold it to you, and were anticipating a non-questionable/non-potentially prototype, maybe try listing it here/on eBay just 'as is' and referring to this thread with really the bottom line of:
who knows?Not sure if that's against the mod rules or not...
if you really want clarity, maybe contact Apple directly? Not sure they'd compensate you though to receive it back.
Alright, I'm interested.
Maybe someone super skilled in heatgun soldering removed the original CPU and soldered on the i3 as a fix for a defective processor? And while it was open, added a backlight to the keyboard?
2010 MacBook Airs had silver lettering on the keys, not opaque white. The opaque white letters on other models allow light to pass through, while silver does not. This is either a really good fake or genuine Apple. OP, keep us updated!
Maybe someone super skilled in heatgun soldering removed the original CPU and soldered on the i3 as a fix for a defective processor? And while it was open, added a backlight to the keyboard?
2010 MacBook Airs had silver lettering on the keys, not opaque white. The opaque white letters on other models allow light to pass through, while silver does not. This is either a really good fake or genuine Apple. OP, keep us updated!
You can't solder an i3 chip to a c2d board if its 2010.
That's sweet you have USB 3.0 my 2011 does not.
But I still love it
That's sweet you have USB 3.0
my 2011 does not. But I still love it
Whats weird to me is that its an i3 with HD3000 graphics, which means a Sandy Bridge CPU, but since it has native USB3 support, the chipset has to be Ivy Bridge, as Sandy Bridge lacked a chipset with an Intel-branded USB3 controller.
Not true. The current USB 3.0 equipped Platform Controller Hubs work with Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors. It just wouldn't make any sense to release a new product with a Sandy Bridge CPU and a current gen PCH. For platform validation it's not a big deal since Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors are mechanically and electrically compatible.
Intel could have had made available samples of the new PCH before samples of Ivy Bridge CPUs.
That's exactly what I was getting at; why on earth would they utilize a last-gen processor with a current-gen chipset? If intel gave them samples of an newer chipset, why not give them samples of the newer CPU architecture as well?
I'm posting because this is a great story. OP, please make sure to keep the assembled updated.
Good Luck!
Coachingguy
Good Luck!
Coachingguy
1. There are some MBA knockoff hackintoshs on the market. So, a shady shop can steal the real internals, sell it else where, and put in Hackintosh mobo and parts. i3 is typically used in cheap Hackintosh laptops. It might have been "modified" later than the stated product date so it's easier to mask performance issues with perceived age.
I'm assuming it's in a genuine MBA body? Hard to fake that.
2. Prototype, but doesn't have different board look. But as mentioned, the processor doesn't match. But the seller's avoidance is strange.
Read the thread. OP said the person who sold it doesn't know and is now unreachable.
I'm assuming it's in a genuine MBA body? Hard to fake that.
2. Prototype, but doesn't have different board look. But as mentioned, the processor doesn't match. But the seller's avoidance is strange.
Read the thread. OP said the person who sold it doesn't know and is now unreachable.
[/COLOR]
Regarding on #1, it looks very very much like the real thing, layout, connectors location, various IC location. Just some connectors different. It does has Apple EFI, not BIOS like normal PCs. To make a fake MBA and copy the exact same board layout as Apple and running Apple EFI seems to be impossible. I can say i have failed to contact the previous owner. Hes not responding to my texts, nor answering my calls. Should i send it to Apple? If its a prototype, will they confiscate my unit?
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Hackintosh uses BIOS, this one has Apple EFI on it. I can apply EFI update, do SMC reset and PRAM reset. Normal PC can't do this.
Regarding on #1, it looks very very much like the real thing, layout, connectors location, various IC location. Just some connectors different. It does has Apple EFI, not BIOS like normal PCs. To make a fake MBA and copy the exact same board layout as Apple and running Apple EFI seems to be impossible. I can say i have failed to contact the previous owner. Hes not responding to my texts, nor answering my calls. Should i send it to Apple? If its a prototype, will they confiscate my unit?
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Hackintosh uses BIOS, this one has Apple EFI on it. I can apply EFI update, do SMC reset and PRAM reset. Normal PC can't do this.
What are you talking about. I read the thread. Nothing in my post mentions the original seller and has nothing to do with the original seller whatsoever. I said contact apple not theseller
Interesting about the board config. Anyway, Apple typically want their prototype back (if listed on ebay it'll get pulled).
if you enter in terminal
is it blank?
in system profiler under serial-ata, which series chipset does it have?
pretty neat that you came across this.
the logic board itself definitely looks like 2011.
is it blank?
in system profiler under serial-ata, which series chipset does it have?
pretty neat that you came across this.
the logic board itself definitely looks like 2011.
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I have been living 5 years in China - Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hohhot, Dalian all big cities, seen and had hands on all kind of copy stuff - electronics, cars, clothes, watches. Nothing came really close to the originals and were just rubbish. I found this Air unlikely to be a copy considering its build quality. As mentioned by someone before, it would cost a fortune to make it - copy design engineering, material sourcing, supply chain set-up, machining equipment and so on. "Normal" copy looks just so so from outside, but under the hood even worse. I really do not believe this to be fake - but OP please keep us posted, very interesting thread.
Blank. Nothing showed up. Just this
:ioreg -l | grep IOPlatformSerialNumber
| "IOPlatformSerialNumber" = ""
How to check the chipset?
EDIT! Found it
Intel 7 Series Chipset
Apple SSD TS256C <this is my own SSD. The one came with it doesn't work
Intel 7 Series Chipset
Vendor: Intel
Product: Intel 7 Series Chipset
Link Speed: 6 Gigabit
Negotiated Link Speed: 6 Gigabit
Description: AHCI Version 1.30 Supported
EDIT! RIGHT! Thanks for the heads up, this guy has Series 7 chipset, where as the 2011 Air has Series 6 chipset.
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Till today i still don't think im having a fake MBA. Ive been using it like a normal one and it perform just like a normal 2011 MBA
They're build by different teams with different time tables. The new chipsets are basically the same as the old ones with the addition of on chip USB. Ivy Bridge was delayed so thats likely why they used Sandy Bridge for platform validation. As far as their chipsets are concerned, the difference between a Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge is some firmware. For example, the preceding gen LGA1155 montherboards are easily able to support Ivy Bridge with a BIOS update.
Perhaps it's a yet-to-be-released "educational" edition similar to iMacs:
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/03/0...re-i3-processor-for-educational-institutions/
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/03/0...re-i3-processor-for-educational-institutions/
The keyboard is a MacBook (Black) keyboard, i think. The layout fits, and it's not truly backlit, since the keys are not letting light through. It just spills along the sides. It also accounts for the eject key.
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Black Book doesn't have a Power On button on the kb. It matches the one in the 2010 MBA