Unibody Dents-solution

[Rampant.A.I.]

Oh I know, right? That's why I'm glad everyone on here--except of course, the IDIOTS with broken laptops--always carry their MBP's inside a velvet-lined, steel Pelican case, mounted permanently to a hardened steel hand truck.

That way, they can be absolutely sure they'll never do anything as stupid as accidentally drop their Macbook, or be like those blithering fools who lose their grip on the macbook pro while sliding it into a backpack.

That's how we separate the idiots who deliberately drop their MBP's to see if they'll break from the responsible Mac users who simply chose never to have accidents around their computers.

 

[harperjones99]

It happens on the 15" if you pick up the MBP with one hand holding it at that edge where it is weakened because of the ethernet jack and the speaker holes on top.

I hope this isnt true...I am already developing a psychosis worrying about looking for all the problems you guys are posting about. Now I have to worry about how I pick up my metal laptop for fear of it "denting"? Geez

 

[thomas998]

So, you drop your computer and you blame Apple for it?

I nearly dropped my more than once before I got one of those cases with the rubberized coating. If Apple made one huge mistake with the design it was in making the laptops to slippery... if they were going to use a brushed aluminum finish they might as well have made it more textured so it wasn't so slippery.

Of course the second problem is how thin the shell is on the top side. I managed to get a dent in the from a minor bump of the computer bag against me... as near as I can tell the power adapter in the outside pocket must have been angled just perfect... and bump, there it is, my own hail damaged notebook.

 

[flottenheimer]

I was able to easily bent it back into place after disassembling it, and there is no sign of impact now.

Mine is bent as well (my 4 yrs old kid accidently pushed it down from a table - it was in its "Tucano Second Skin" sleeve).
Did you use any tools to bent it back into shape? Was it hard to disassemble the Mac? Any tips?

 

[djbuddha]

Sorry to resurrect such an old post.

I DJ with my early 2010 Macbook Pro (15"). God only knows how careful I am with this thing, and surprise surprise, I just noticed the dent yesterday. EXACTLY as it looks in the pictures.

I have not *and probably never will* plug ethernet into it, but I'm not comfortable with the fact that I keep it in a VERY durable bag (hardly use it, ONLY at gigs, so say 4 hours a week minimum, 16 hours a week MAX, and that hasn't been too often).

I was going to buy AppleCare as the original 1 Year warranty expires in a few weeks, but will they even service my Mac with this dent?

djbuddha

 

[bozz2006]

Possibly not. I would call them and ask before buying.

 

[djbuddha]

Possibly not. I would call them and ask before buying.

Man that burns me .. I average just over 600 hours of use on the thing in LESS than a year- im scared to death to do any updates as the latest software makes it act up in a non-usable way. Now I "held" it wrong a la iPhone 4? Epic.

djbuddha

 

[randomrazr]

would having a plastic hardshell case make any difference?

 

[djbuddha]

would having a plastic hardshell case make any difference?

The hardshell will only contribute to the heat issues I had which leads to overheating... Already had 1 logic board swapped out. Can't afford for it to overheat at a gig... It's already running around 75 degrees all night. I'm also wondering why my fans are suddenly taking longer to kick in lately (temps are pretty damn high)

I DJ'd with a Toshiba Satellite from 2007 until I got this Macbook last year. That thing had been through hell and back and nothing is physically bent or broken on it. My MacBook on the other hand is babied. I just used it to record some work I just did and I realize just how fragile I treat it compared to my old Toshiba.

**warning, if you don't like the idea of anybody bashing any Apple products, do not read below, as I will NOT participate in a flame war. I also DID respect Apple as manufacturers of great hardware and an incredibly stable operating system with the potential to give consumers so much flexibility that professionals had to step up their game in almost all fields that involved computers as Apple gave the consumer a leg-up ......... but with that said:

To be completely and totally honest, the reason I have the Mac... the ONLY reason I need the MacBook is because the software (which is made best for QuickTime) is ONLY made for Mac. I've been debating Hackintoshing another i7 laptop to see if it'll work... that would be a set it and forget it option for me as I'll never do software updates on it. (Never a wise thing to do on a machine that is mission-critical in your field).

But outside of deviating from the topic, the fact that I 'held it wrong' and not to mention Antenna-gate with iPhone 4 (if ever I take my case off I drop calls like a champ), I've come to realize that Apple has become overly obsessed with form over function than they had been previously.

And while there are some great products, I'd rather go with reliability. I don't even use this ********* computer for leisure. Customization even? Please, it's the default purple wallpaper for my desktop. I'm even afraid to sit on the couch and browse the internet with it if it's going to bend from taking it out and it putting it in my bag. And now that you can partially see inside my ********* laptop now from 'holding it wrong' I don't think I can trust it at a gig (drunk girls + alcohol + everybody wants to play DJ) means that I'll spend more time worrying about anything getting in there.

Tirade complete. This is ********* lol.

djbuddha

 

[SisterRay]

Maybe someone out there manufactures a stub/cover for the ethernet port which you can put in when not being used, to strengthen it.

 

[djbuddha]

Maybe someone out there manufactures a stub/cover for the ethernet port which you can put in when not being used, to strengthen it.

I'd hope something is done. I'm going to make my genius bar appointment but we know what they're going to say about the whole physical damage bit. They opened it back in March and swapped the Logic Board, but I know they didn't do anything wrong ........ well to the ethernet port anyway lol. I know my keyboard has done some STRANGE things since I got the new board installed. But it's been functioning normally 95% of the time vs how it was before.

djbuddha

 

[satchow]

So, you drop your computer and you blame Apple for it?

He also calls people who carry laptops around the house or anywhere, dummies.

 

[BrickbookPro]

If you've been careful with it, it may not be damage that you've inflicted. I actually noticed about a month after buying mine that the slot drive was starting to warp. Upon googling, I discovered that I was not the only one with this issue. Keep in mind, I've never dropped it and baby my computers. There was not a single mark on it (no gunk, no dings, no scratches) except for the slot drive. It turns out it was a weak spot in the metal warping from the heat. It may be worth looking into. Apple replaced my casing for free.

 

[djbuddha]

If you've been careful with it, it may not be damage that you've inflicted. I actually noticed about a month after buying mine that the slot drive was starting to warp. Upon googling, I discovered that I was not the only one with this issue. Keep in mind, I've never dropped it and baby my computers. There was not a single mark on it (no gunk, no dings, no scratches) except for the slot drive. It turns out it was a weak spot in the metal warping from the heat. It may be worth looking into. Apple replaced my casing for free.

As I wrote in my tirade. I'm overly careful with it. I treat it like a newborn lol. Obviously I'll be nice to the 'genius' (sorry that term bothers me lol), but did they put up much resistance when you got your casing replaced?

 

[SisterRay]

Something like this? Maybe need stronger material

http://www.itm-components.co.uk/product562.html

 

[djbuddha]

Something like this? Maybe need stronger material

http://www.itm-components.co.uk/product562.html

The only issue is that the hole in MacBook is not just the actual port. As a result of the warp, you can see inside the notebook from where the frame is bent. I'm gonna take a pic later on. Thanks for the link though, if they don't fix it, that might hold it in place a bit better!

djbuddha

 

[sk8r1230]

lmao you all are some fools! metal properties this, durability issues that... i forgot how we are all apple engineers/designers and know sooo much about unibody metal work/design. stop dropping your laptop or drop it so hard you cant use it so we dont have to listen to threads like this...
drop a mac it bends, drop a pc and it shatters...you decide

 

[djbuddha]

lmao you all are some fools! metal properties this, durability issues that... i forgot how we are all apple engineers/designers and know sooo much about unibody metal work/design. stop dropping your laptop or drop it so hard you cant use it so we dont have to listen to threads like this...
drop a mac it bends, drop a pc and it shatters...you decide

Ummm... Fools don't read posts.. Thats for sure.

Let's try again ..I NEVER DROPPED THE MACBOOK. I BARELY USE IT... How does holding a MacBook warp it???!!!

Contribute responsibly .. Read the posts.. thank you

 

[futuretaco]

Maybe someone out there manufactures a stub/cover for the ethernet port which you can put in when not being used, to strengthen it.

or even better, an aluminum-faux ethernet plug with no wire. maybe were talking about the same thing, not sure?

 

[Ccrew]

Maybe someone out there manufactures a stub/cover for the ethernet port which you can put in when not being used, to strengthen it.

Probably be just as effective with a naked RJ45 plug stuck in the jack.

 

[bdodds1985]

I say this in every thread people post about dents.

IT'S A BATTLE SCAR!

carry on.

 

[SisterRay]

or even better, an aluminum-faux ethernet plug with no wire. maybe were talking about the same thing, not sure?

Yeah, thats exactly what I mean, something to give a bit of support to the thin metal above the port.

Although I think we may not see ethernet ports on new MacBook Pros. Probably need to buy usb to ethernet attachment

 

[east85]

I've noticed this a lot while I had been shopping around online for used products. I just assumed that maybe these were defective products sold to aftermarket resellers by Apple. Thank god I read this thread, I'm going to be as careful as possible with my aluminum unibody Macbook. Granted, it's not a pro (and if it was going to warp naturally, it probably would have by now), it still looks about as weak in the same area.

Also to the guy that mentioned an aftermarket alum filler for the port, sounds like a great idea. Get on that and make some money, I'll be the first in line to buy.

 

[gatortpk]

but only if everything is stripped out first heat+logic board=death

The logic board can take lots of heat, I routinely blow 340°C (644°F, and the outside air does cool it down before it hits the board too) hot air on it to melt the solder of surface mounted components then remove them. It's generally the only way since you can't melt all the solder points simultaneously. Also the board has many layers that are designed to dissipate heat, so by the time I melt the solder at one small point with hot air, a heat sink a foot away is hot too!

The only thing you want to be careful of is foam that is used inside to secure the rattling components. The plastic in the ethernet and USB port can even take 380°F heat in an oven! I've done it by baking a logic board to reflow the crappy NVidia 8600M GT series Video Chipsets solder. And then it works again!

 

[gatortpk]

Wow, I used bare hands and fixed it!

After reading this thread, I didn't find much info on how to actually fix it. My issue was much more minor than some of the other photos I saw in this thread, I have some MBPs that are much worse, but this was minor. I didn't even take out the logic board yet and I thought I would try bending it with my bare hands. I was shocked when I saw the metal bend the opposite direction of the damage!

So I did that a couple more times with a cloth the second time, the edges are a little rough! And it's straight now! Wow, it really is a weak point, again, it was a very minor bend.

I did take the bottom case off first. If I had the bottom case still on, I doubt I could have done that repair with bare hands. So the bottom case does support that weak joint near the ethernet port. All it is a two separate layers of very thin aluminum there. It's all one unibody piece so the internal components and the ethernet port itself does nothing for support (except perhaps in extreme cases!)