Scratch on brand new MB Air upon opening the box - exchange or keep?

[LisaMaree]

What would you do?

It's above and between the F2 and F3 keys. Of course, there's all the unknowns of whether the next one will have dead pixels, etc but the thought that I know that there is a small scratch there kind of irks me. At first I thought of it like a battle scar or something like that, almost something to take pride in (convincing myself it's no big deal) but it may be ultimately kind of distracting to think about. It has double Samsung by the way, if that matters. My ultimate fear of a new exchanged one are other workmanship problems like this, such as the screen being offset or dead pixels. So what would you do?

 

[miles01110]

Return and exchange if it bothers you. Or if you can live with it, don't. I don't see why you couldn't have decided to do this (or not) yourself.

 

[alust2013]

I would definitely keep it. That stuff is going to happen eventually anyway, so there really isn't a point if it's a perfectly functioning computer. I'm not even completely certain they would exchange it for something like that, although I suppose it's possible.

 

[kemperman]

I would suggest that as no one has voted, no one cares about your OCD. If it bothers you so much you will wake up in a cold sweat change it, if you are looking for something perfect then you have serious problems, suck it up and either keep it or take it back. Make a decision and be happy with it. I'm amazed you even found it!

BTW I'm not being inflammatory just confused as to why no one seems to be able to make up their mind without asking strangers these days!

 

[phamduc.minhanh]

Greetings,

If it bugs you that much, you can arrange for an appointment with Apple. However, I doubt that they would exchange for you a new machine unless you are still eligible for their return policy.

However, my suggestion is that, do not exchange it. Scratches and dents will appear anyway after a long period of usage, so why should we bother about a single scratch? You can buy a keyboard protector to cover it up.

It happened to me too. I bought my first MacBook Air several days back, and though I have not got time to use it, I managed to spot a small scratch on its upper lip. I went back to Apple Store and purchased a Switch Easy hard-shell clear case. It helps hide the scratch, whilst at the same time, it adds a little protection to my MacBook Air.

Again, unless you are going to keep the MacBook Air forever, I suggest that you should not waste your time and effort on bothering about this trivial issue.

Cheerio,

Pham Duc Minh Anh

 

[LisaMaree]

Alright guys, I'm sorry for making this an issue on this voluntarily-read forum. You didn't have to reply to this thread and not contribute positively and exaggerate how I feel about this ("cold sweat"? who said anything about it being that bad?). As for votes, I just posted this 13 minutes before kemper's post so what do you expect? I kind of feel bad that you've gotten used to defects, minor or not, on your Apple stuff. This is the first time I've noticed an issue from a new MB, I've owned a few before and hadn't ever had a problem, even minor.

Miles, was only curious as to what others thought. It's my decision in the end. It's not that hard to comprehend.

All, please ignore if you can't be a decent forum member.

Edit: Expected some uncivilized replies but I already have a request to exchange put in, may do so later today. Who would have thought that people are all different with different thresholds?

 

[Pipper99]

I find the scratch to be very minor. If the MBA is otherwise in great shape, I would keep it because I would fear having potentially worse issues on the replacement.

 

[KPOM]

I find the scratch to be very minor. If the MBA is otherwise in great shape, I would keep it because I would fear having potentially worse issues on the replacement.

x2. While it's annoying to have it on a brand new notebook, there are worse design defects out there.

 

[Confuzzzed]

What's your machine's SSD and screen manufacturer? If it's Samsung/Samsung you'd be a fool to even consider changing. If it's Toshiba/LG, the temptation would be greater. IMHO if you have Samsung SSD and LG screen you have a perfectly fine combo so still keep. Although clearly this is unrelated to your actual question. tee hee

 

[LisaMaree]

What's your machine's SSD and screen manufacturer? If it's Samsung/Samsung you'd be a fool to even consider changing. If it's Toshiba/LG, the temptation would be greater. IMHO if you have Samsung SSD and LG screen you have a perfectly fine combo so still keep. Although clearly this is unrelated to your actual question. tee hee

It's both Samsung but honestly, I think I'd be ok with LG/Toshiba. I mean, I'm not that strict about that. I think the scratch thing would possibly be more noticeable/distracting than what I could get through some sequential read speed on the drive or viewing angles (I'd almost never be sharing the screen).

Plus, according to that thread here about that, the Google spreadsheet that was made shows that most MB Air 13" i7 4gb/256 models have both Samsung so if that was something I really cared about, the odds are in my favor.

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I find the scratch to be very minor. If the MBA is otherwise in great shape, I would keep it because I would fear having potentially worse issues on the replacement.

x2. While it's annoying to have it on a brand new notebook, there are worse design defects out there.

Good points, that's what keeps me from doing it. My biggest concern was just dead pixels, which this one appears to have none from what I could tell. Could there really be worse defects? Like what? I've never had a prior problem with a MB before

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I would definitely keep it. That stuff is going to happen eventually anyway, so there really isn't a point if it's a perfectly functioning computer. I'm not even completely certain they would exchange it for something like that, although I suppose it's possible.

Yea, this is how I initially felt. The computer is gonna go through some wear and tear anyhow so don't worry about it and consider this like a battle scar or something to take pride in like that. But I found that when I'd look down at the keyboard, the thought would come through even though it was positive! So it's not so much about me hating on the scratch, it's just maybe best to avoid the thought, good or bad. Plus, I've owned other MB's (no problems before) and I've never scratched any of them at all ever. So any wear and tear would not be scratches so that's not so much a valid excuse in my case.

 

[bigeasy_uk]

I'd exchange it, it would just bug me. If it was on the bottom of the case I wouldn't bother but my eye would be drawn to it!

 

[ritmomundo]

I say "fuhgeddaboudit." you're probably gonna end up scratching it anyway after a short while of use.

just out of curiosity, are you like this about everything you buy? or just apple products?

 

[kemperman]

If you look at my sig you'll see I've owned/own quite a few apple products including all variations of iPhone and iPad I've only had one faulty product which was replaced within a day (green band on my latest iMac). Therefore I'm not used to apple products being faulty and when I saw the green band I was really disappointed and took it back. I guess what I'm saying is if it bothers you enough to ask then I guess you have your answer already but you have to realise that not every product apple makes will be perfect and hopefully the replacement you get will be!

 

[antonis]

Oh come one that's nothing, don't do the mistake and change it. Both vendors' screens are perfect but having the samsung ssd actually makes a difference since its speed is considerably higher. Don't risk an exchange because of a tiny little mark that is barely visible (and as said on previous post, you'll end up with more of them sooner or later).

 

[LisaMaree]

Oh come one that's nothing, don't do the mistake and change it. Both vendors' screens are perfect but having the samsung ssd actually makes a difference since its speed is considerably higher. Don't risk an exchange because of a tiny little mark that is barely visible (and as said on previous post, you'll end up with more of them sooner or later).

According to the thread below and the Google spreadsheets that were compiled, a very large majority of the 13" i7/4GB/256 (the model I have) are Samsung SSD

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1192807/

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...- i7&sortcolid=2&sortasc=true&rowsperpage=250

Plus, isn't it only true that it's faster in sequential read speed or something - in other words, only for large files. Otherwise, random speeds are comparable? Also, for what it's worth, someone on here who has owned multiple models said the Toshiba boots faster. It was their own judgment call there but they did claim to have owned several with both brands.

 

[macdemon]

Hi
you have spent good money, expect a perfect computer.
you pay a premium for apple product
i would exchange it
best wishes

 

[KPOM]

Good points, that's what keeps me from doing it. My biggest concern was just dead pixels, which this one appears to have none from what I could tell. Could there really be worse defects? Like what? I've never had a prior problem with a MB before

I have had bad logic boards (causing wake-from-sleep issues or kernel panics). That said, if you are constantly going to be staring at it, then go ahead and return it within the 14 days.

 

[Aras87]

I would return that in a heartbeat. It is true that there could be worse problems but still this was supposed to be a brand new laptop and you paid quite a bit of money for it. Having a brand new factory scratched laptop and scratching it yourself later down the road will not feel same to you. my 2 cents

btw severall trolls will tell you how OCD you are and other stuff like that. Just ignore them

 

[Pipper99]

After thinking about it a bit more, I believe that it's unlikely that you'll get a replacement with issues so you might as well return it instead of having that scratch bug you from now on. If the replacement has problems, you can replace that one, too. I doubt that you'll have to go through 6 like someone else did to get a flawless MBA.

 

[mrsir2009]

Face it: Your MBA is going to get worse cosmetic damages than that. Returning it would just be silly, because a week later you might bump it against the coffee table and it'll get a dent.

 

[vitzr]

What would you do?

Apple claims to be a premier company. They charge accordingly. Take it back till you get one you feel good about.


Me?

I had the exact same type of scratches. In my case they were so deep that a fingernail would catch on them, when touching it to see if they were as deep as they appeared.

This was on a new 15" $3,000 MacBook Pro. I had five scratches over two inches long each on the lid and on the palm rest. It took three tries to get one that didn't have scratches. It had to be a bad batch. Apple was great about it, but it was a real pain in the butt to spend over two months, exchanging custom configured MBP's till I got an acceptable one.

Just proves that Apples quality control is very shabby and ineffective. These scratches were so long, so deep that anyone could have seen them before packaging the computer. Apple no longer delivers consistent quality as they used to. I had over ten new Apple laptops with no problems whatsoever, then this.

 

[JulesK]

It's like everything else...

I tend to be anal about new things (cars, bikes, etc.), and then you get the first ding and then eventually realize that you don't really care. If it matters enough for you to care and get it replaced, certainly, get it replaced, but there's always a chance that it will be more aggravation than it is worth in the long run.

I just got refurb 24" ACD. Everything is great, except for one dead pixel somewhat in the center of the screen (which glows magenta on a white background). After more thought than conceivably justified (my wife basically thought I was crazy), I just decided to keep it. It works great with my 2011 MBA (some of the ACD's apparently don't work well with Thunderbolt-equipped MacBooks), returning the display would have been a pain (and they are not always available on the refurb store), and there was no guarantee that the next one wouldn't have any dead or stuck pixels or would work well with a Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook. Now, even though I know that the deal pixel is there, I have to spend time trying to find it every time, which tells me I shouldn't really care, either.

 

[rayjay86]

What's your machine's SSD and screen manufacturer? If it's Samsung/Samsung you'd be a fool to even consider changing. If it's Toshiba/LG, the temptation would be greater. IMHO if you have Samsung SSD and LG screen you have a perfectly fine combo so still keep. Although clearly this is unrelated to your actual question. tee hee

People post this stuff and then make fun of the OP for being OCD? I have seen so many of these posts about Samsung/Samsung, LG/Toshiba etc. I guarantee the majority of people in the world who own a MBA 2011 would not be able to tell the different 9/10 times if they were asked to test it out.



OP if it bothers you enough to post about it, return it. In my mind you paid nearly $2000 for a product, if it's not up to your expectations, screw everyone else's opinion and get a new one. Apple employees gave me a hard time because my iPad 2 had light leak...well thanks Apple. I paid $800 for this, I want a perfect unit.

That being said, it's really minor. I had to expand the photos to full res to see the issue and yeah it'll happen over time anyways. I guess in the case of the latter, its while it's in YOUR hands though.

 

[Confuzzzed]

I have seen so many of these posts about Samsung/Samsung, LG/Toshiba etc. I guarantee the majority of people in the world who own a MBA 2011 would not be able to tell the different 9/10 times if they were asked to test it out.

It's a free country the last time i looked so if I feel like giving my perspective then I am sure you will I agree I can. Besides, I suspect I am in the 1% minority that is qualified to comment. I had a Samsung display/Toshiba SSD 2011 machine which required numerous re-installs of Lion and Apple decided to replace it with a new machine which turns out to be LG display / Samsung SSD. To me the display looks fine (almost indistringuishable with Samsung) but only at a much narrower range of angles. If you deviate even by 2o, the warmness of the colours disappears. And I tried all the colour callibrations people suggested. Regards the SSD, the machine is somewhat faster IMO. But then again, it's probably because my original machine had parts of the SSD that may have been corrupted originally

 

[jackyyeow]

Scratch < dead pixel/gradient display/faulty hardware/warp chassis

Remember, the most important thing for a laptop to work is the hardwares, and good chassis to host the hardwares. Unless yours have a big dent/warp on the chassis, I wouldn't be bothered with such a tiny scratch. I've got 2 dings on my machine (I did it lol), and was bothered quite a bit but eventually, come to think about it, it's what's working well inside the machine that matter the most.