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Squeaky/creaky rMBP

K

KimHansenDK

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 29, 2011
366
40
Maybe I am overreactinng.

I love my rMBP but lately I have noticed a squeaky/creaky sound when applying pressure on the corners - and when I push just above the trackpad.

Is there anything I can do about that? Will it help if I loosened the screws and re-thightened them?

Also when I use the laptop in the couch on the armrest it (sometimee) makes some sounds when resting the hands on it - and applying pressure in the corners.

Is this normal? And can it be fixed?

And again, maybe I am overreacting :)
 
It's a little bit subjective, but about how much pressure would you say you're applying? Normal, weight-of-human-hands-when-resting-on-palmrest pressure, or "Let me see how hard I have to push to get it to make noise"-pressure? ;)
 
Exactly - maybe I should just use it and stop worrying about it making sounds :)

If the machine is on a plain surface, like a table, I have to push quite hard to make it squak/creak. But sometimes I just need to touch it and it makes a sound. BUt that is not very often.

In the couch - with the machine placed on the armrest it makes a sound everytime I push down on the right corner. But I guess it is because it is not on a plain surface - there is no surface under the corners.

Hope it makes sense :)
 
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On the rMPB the culprit is one of the internal grounding pins - I put some tape over the one causing the noise to stop it rubbing (there are about 10 other grounding points, so losing one won't be an issue).
 
admonmansur said:
You must be applying a fair bit of pressure. What you're doing is slowly removing the adhesive that is used to glue the batteries directly to the chassis. Don't push down on it too much otherwise you will end up with loose batteries inside the chassis. That's basically what the noises are.

Also this tends to increase the chance of the battery being loose whilst the laptop is in high operating temperature and putting pressure in the battery areas.
Click to expand...

Okay. But I only have to push down lightly to make it squeak above the trackpad. It's not like I have pushed down hard on that part. I just noticed it by accident. Is there a way of fixing it / not making it worse? In the corners I have to push hard, so I guess that is normal. This is when the machine is on a table/plain surface.

In the couch on the armrest I only have to place my hand on the right corner to make it squeak a bit. But I gues that is due to not having a surface underneath the corner...
 
KimHansenDK said:
Okay. But I only have to push down lightly to make it squeak above the trackpad. It's not like I have pushed down hard on that part. I just noticed it by accident. Is there a way of fixing it / not making it worse? In the corners I have to push hard, so I guess that is normal. This is when the machine is on a table/plain surface.

In the couch on the armrest I only have to place my hand on the right corner to make it squeak a bit. But I gues that is due to not having a surface underneath the corner...
Click to expand...
 
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@ the OP...

I feel ya pain. While you wont hear people sounding off that don't have any of the problems your talking about. You'll instead hear,,,maybe your pressing to hard, maybe your nuts, maybe your anal, maybe, maybe, maybe!

Well in my eyes, MAYBE if Apple had paid closer attention to build quality these issues wouldn't exist. My current rMBP doesn't have the issue, but I've seen it with my past unit that I returned because of the very annoying issue. Not only did it have the squeaking and crunching, but a loose battery or fan sliding back and fourth when it was picked up.

Anyway, I'm happy with the one I have now thats pretty much Squeak free..lol
 
Well I tried reseating the bottom cover and retightened all the screws. It doesn't seem to squeak that much anymore. But it still makes a little sound when pressing above the trackpad. I think it is the battery that can be pushed down a little - and that makes the sound.

When having the machine on the armrest of the couch it still makes a sound when pressing a bit on the right corner. I guess that is because it does not have any surface under it. So maybe it is the little magnet inside that is being separated when pushing down a little.

I guess there is nothing more to do...
 
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KimHansenDK said:
Well I tried reseating the bottom cover and retightened all the screws. It doesn't seem to squeak that much anymore. But it still makes a little sound when pressing above the trackpad. I think it is the battery that can be pushed down a little - and that makes the sound.

When having the machine on the armrest of the couch it still makes a sound when pressing a bit on the right corner. I guess that is because it does not have any surface under it. So maybe it is the little magnet inside that is being separated when pushing down a little.

I guess there is nothing more to do...
Click to expand...

Are you still within your return period to get it swapped?
 
Sean76 said:
Are you still within your return period to get it swapped?
Click to expand...

No unfortunately I'm not within my return period. But seriously it does not squeak that much any more. Only a light sound when pushing down above the trackpad. But I was out shopping today and tested this out on the rMBPs they had on display, and all of them made the sound more or less. So I guess everything is normal now. And the rMBP is not made for working in the couch on the armrest. It's better with a plain surface :)
 
KimHansenDK said:
No unfortunately I'm not within my return period. But seriously it does not squeak that much any more. Only a light sound when pushing down above the trackpad. But I was out shopping today and tested this out on the rMBPs they had on display, and all of them made the sound more or less. So I guess everything is normal now. And the rMBP is not made for working in the couch on the armrest. It's better with a plain surface :)
Click to expand...

Like the old saying goes...If it hurts when you do that, then dont do that..lol! same with your Mac, if it squeaks when you do that, then dont do that I guess!

Like you said, there comes a times when you say I just want to enjoy my machine...Either way, enjoy it and remember you can always bring it into Apple to look at if it gets continuously worse.
 
Mine does it too. It's somewhat annoying. But not bad enough to make me go to the Apple store and have them fix it. My brothers MBA was really bad at squeaking/creaking.
 
I put up with the creaking issue on mine for 13 days before I finally thought to myself "this isn't normal for a $3000 machine" and sought to get it fixed

So I went to the Apple Store yesterday, expecting a quick fix (take the screws out, re-screw them and left with a new laptop instead :D the Genius was able to replicate the problem in the back room and decided against trying to fix the problem - it must have been more serious than I thought it was if they were willing to swap it out for a new one. We must have looked like complete fools at the Genius Bar, our ears pressed right up to the newly unboxed replacement to see if it too had the same problem. It didn't. :eek:

There's no more squeaking, creaking, popping, nothing! The way it should have been with my first one...
 
For what it's worth - I think I know what you're going through because mine have done the same. It's considered a normal thing - it's not harmful. I used to work Apple Retail and our Lead Genius informed me when I asked. I think it might have something to do with the fan slots. But all in all, it's harmless.
 
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