strong off-gassing from new MBAs/packaging?

[ghanwani]

I'm very sensitive to odors. I found that with the M1 MBA, there is very strong off-gassing from both the unit and its packaging. It's an unpleasant-to-me odor that lasts a very long time--I could smell it on the machine for several days past unboxing. I don't know how long it persists because I returned the machine after about 10 days or so. I don't recall this being the case with prior machines, or for that matter, with any other Apple product.

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[dborja]

I haven't experienced (or, maybe, noticed) any out-gassing from all of the Macs that I've purchased - both brand new and refurbished. Nor from the packaging. Sounds like your MBA went through something unusual during packaging. Did you get another one after you returned it?

 

[SRQrws]

Since the MBA packaging is primarily cardboard, there's not much in the box itself that would create an odor. What you are likely smelling is residue from the solder paste that is stenciled on to the circuit boards prior to the reflow soldering process. As the MBA heats up during use, you will notice a smell. Past MBAs had fans, so the odor tended to dissipate faster. With the new design, there's nothing to "blow out" the odor. The good news is after a couple of weeks it subsides. I have both the new MBA and the MBPro 13 so I am speaking from experience. The MBPro has a fan, so the odor is less.

 

[ghanwani]

I haven't experienced (or, maybe, noticed) any out-gassing from all of the Macs that I've purchased - both brand new and refurbished. Nor from the packaging. Sounds like your MBA went through something unusual during packaging. Did you get another one after you returned it?

I haven't gotten a replacement yet but want to get one. I'm wondering if the off-gassing would be worse on one that is ordered (and coming from factory) vs one that is bought from a store (my experience was with an ordered one). Store availability has been extremely limited over the last several weeks.

 

[xraydoc]

I haven't gotten a replacement yet but want to get one. I'm wondering if the off-gassing would be worse on one that is ordered (and coming from factory) vs one that is bought from a store (my experience was with an ordered one). Store availability has been extremely limited over the last several weeks.

I'm pretty sensitive to smell myself, and my MBA (shipped directly from the factory) didn't smell any different than other new Macs that I've had. There is a certain somewhat unique "new-Mac smell" which goes away after a few days, but I don't find it unpleasant. And it was undetectable to me after 4-5 days.

 

[uller6]

My M1 air smells fine to me, and I never had an issue, even when new. However, I did the thermal pad mod straight out of the box (I removed the factory thermal sponge), which could be where the smell is coming from. Either way, I doubt it could compare to the early 2000s era iBooks and their...ahem...stench.