Uneven Hardware (2013 11" Air): Unbalanced at left palm rest

[johnjey]

Guys, my Macbook 2013 Air 11' is uneven at left palm-rest as i realized it once i placed it on the table and started typing on it. The right side is all balanced and fine. It's the LEFT SIDE which does up and down and is not balanced properly....whats the FIX guys ?

I am not looking forward to a replace...as i have so much installed on it now and yes i am under the 14 day window

 

[blueroom]

Since you're going to need a backup solution anyway, just back it up via Time Machine to an external drive or a NAS.

 

[S.B.G]

I'd take it in to the store and see if they can fix it, like a screw or snap point or something not mounted correctly inside. If you're unhappy with it, get it replaced otherwise. The alternative is to try and fix it yourself or live with it.

 

[johnjey]

umm...well i guess yeah i will store all my set-ups in an external HDD.

I hope these apple store guys can do a quick fix at the bottom by replacing one of the black circular lobes under the hood ....that may be a fix..lol ?

 

[FreakinEurekan]

If the left side is moving up & down, first, make sure it's the laptop & not the desk - check on something perfectly smooth, like glass or granite or formica. Small imperfections in a desktop can cause big problems with such a low-clearance laptop like the Air.

If you are able to rule out the table as the cause, check the feet on the bottom of the Air. Either the front-left or right-rear is missing, or the front-right or left-rear has something on it that's making one of those too tall.

If the feet are OK and it still wobbles on a known-smooth surface, something's twisted in the chassis - but I think it's unlikely, you'd see that the lid isn't closing properly.

 

[DisplacedMic]

Since you're going to need a backup solution anyway, just back it up via Time Machine to an external drive or a NAS.

what he said. you should be backing up anyway. Time machine will have you back up and running in no time if you need a replacement.

Chances are this is an in-store fix though.

 

[wayoutnorth]

Mine did that to, just lightly bend it with your hands and you will be fine

 

[checkitout]

Mine did that to, just lightly bend it with your hands and you will be fine

You put a smilie here, but indeed, seriously, that is the advice I would have given, maybe with a boldface "lightly".

The MBAs just bend out of shape too easily, and after some use and hurtling around need a bit of correction to be perfectly flat again. A really small amount of force will suffice; for many people the normal force of leaning on the handrests during typing will already do that. Don't bend it too far in the other direction…

 

[drxcm]

The MBAs just bend out of shape too easily, and after some use and hurtling around need a bit of correction to be perfectly flat again.

Have never heard of this. I use my 11" to and from work every day for two years, no case or shell, no laptop sleeve. Straight into and out of my bag. Its still perfectly flat, not bent in any way.

 

[TheRealDamager]

You put a smilie here, but indeed, seriously, that is the advice I would have given, maybe with a boldface "lightly".

The MBAs just bend out of shape too easily, and after some use and hurtling around need a bit of correction to be perfectly flat again. A really small amount of force will suffice; for many people the normal force of leaning on the handrests during typing will already do that. Don't bend it too far in the other direction…

This works. I've done it to even out an Air. Just be VERY gentle.

 

[idanielandrew]

Same problem here. I purchased mine just 5 days ago. I took it to the Genius Bar and asked if they could simply adjust the bottom cover to get the MacBook Air to sit level. The genius informed me that it is within their policy to exchange it and that there is nothing they can do as far as adjusting it because the unibody chassis has very tight tolerances.

I'm glad the Apple was very agreeable to replacing the MBA but at the same time I am very disappointed at the many hours I had already put into setting up the machine and the configuration that I've done is not something that Time Machine is capable of backing up correctly (Parallels).