Very disappointed with Apple and the Air-specific issues

[Sacke]

Sometimes, I think Apple are too nice for accepting returns of perfectly good MacBooks.

Apple's success with their laptops is probably to some degree boosted by their willingness to take people seriously.

I exchanged my MBA 13" twice, before I received one with a keyboard that "felt" right.

No doubt that not only would a PC vendor never have exchanged a computer that was working perfectly, but didn't feel right, but neither would a non-Apple store selling the same product (MBA).

For me, as well as a lot of other people, knowing that their problems are taken seriously, regardless of how pathetic the problem may sound... makes for a big argument to pay a significant premium over PC counterparts.

The same goes for almost anything that I would buy. If I know that there is a more or less "no questions asked" return policy, I will be much more willing to buy.

 

[deepakvrao]

I 'might' have resolved this.

Yesterday, itunes was not working at all because of an issue with adding folders from my network drive, but the wake was fine. Today I resolved the itunes issue, and I noticed that the Air is not waking only when I put it to sleep when itunes is working on adding files from my network drive. If I put the Air on sleep when itunes is NOT working actively, the wake is fine.

At least for the last 6 tries or so. Keeping fingers crossed and praying.

I unchecked the "Put the Drive to Sleep" box in the Power Options, that might also have been a cause.

 

[newdeal]

...

It seems any time apple releases a new OS there are issues with the network drives. I find even on my iMac running Lion the network drives do not work properly compared to snow leopard. If I could put snow leopard on my 2011 air I would do it in a heart beat

 

[Roman2K~]

@Sacke

Okay, I definitely get it for hardware issues. I agree that the peace of mind this policy brings is tremendous.

My concern is about people bringing back their functional computers, thinking it's physically defective because of unexpected software behaviour, and expecting Apple to give them a replacement. As if a brand new version of the same hardware would run the software any differently...

I'm sure Apple are good at repackaging returns as new or refurbs and loose close to no money, but it's such a hassle for what must often be non issues. Their patience and understanding is very laudable, that's one of the reasons why I like them so much as well.

 

[Sacke]

@Roman2K
My concern is about people bringing back their functional computers, thinking it's physically defective because of unexpected software behaviour, and expecting Apple to give them a replacement. As if a brand new version of the same hardware would run the software any differently...

In these cases I completely agree.

 

[orfeas0]

Yes the 50-55C CPU temps are normal during "idle use". Actual idle it should be between 38-45C. I personally don't find it uncomfortable on my lap until it gets over 65C. Keep in mind the fan is usually at 2000rpm during those temps and generally doesn't increase in speed until it goes over 80C for a longer period of time. If you find it too warm you can always download smcfancontrol and increase fan RPM manually.

I've had a good number of issues with Lion, it's far from a perfect operating system, but I've never had consistent "hanging" issues and I use network drives all the time. So I'm not sure about that issue.

Mine is at 52C too, that's not a lot... Any windows laptop is at 60+ even on idle.
And personally I find it easy on my lap.

Also, better download Fan Control (not smcfancontrol).
You can set the fans however you like, at what temperature to start spinning, at what speed to spin etc.
For example I configured it in a way that only when it's hot they will spin. So, although I don't have the coolest laptop, it's totally silent. You can go the other way around and make the fans spin at low temps, but you will hear the noise and that's not fun.

edit: With cool and noisy settings (instead of silent and warm), it stays at 42C while idle, but with noticeable sound from the fans. But as I said, you can set them how you like.
Also, be aware that at the first 1-2 days of your MBA, Lion will be indexing your SSD which will eat some CPU and get it hot, so give it 3 days before you judge it.

 

[yly3]

Your problem is called Lion.

 

[Roman2K~]

Your problem is called Lion.

Here we go again. Next, "Lion is Apple's Vista", right?

 

[deepakvrao]

Ok guys. Did the wake thing about 20 times now, and as long as itunes was not reading from network, it would wake instantly. When I did the same while 'adding a folder' from the network drive to itunes, it would not wake at all, or wake very delayed [mostly not at all].

Can't explain it but at least found the glitch.

 

[deepakvrao]

Also wanted to add, I got this from Malaysia and ordered one more from the US for my wife. Prices in India are almost 250-300 dollars more per Air, so I saved over 500 dollars on two. Figured that I would use the money saved on the extended warranty thing.

So, while Apple has a worldwide warranty, I think getting Apple India to honour it will be an uphill task. Not as simple as walking into an Apple store and asking for a replacement.

 

[visim91]

Also wanted to add, I got this from Malaysia and ordered one more from the US for my wife. Prices in India are almost 250-300 dollars more per Air, so I saved over 500 dollars on two. Figured that I would use the money saved on the extended warranty thing.

So, while Apple has a worldwide warranty, I think getting Apple India to honour it will be an uphill task. Not as simple as walking into an Apple store and asking for a replacement.

Well I'm glad that worked out for you. My family is originally from Varanasi. India is a great place.

 

[deepakvrao]

Ok, another confusion here. I 'thought' that my network drive was a network drive, but from this website,

http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

I find that it is a NAS and not a network drive.

Came across this when I tried to back up with Time Machine to this drive. Could that be the reason that itunes had issues with the drive till Paragon was installed?

 

[Confuzzzed]

I am sure it's no consolation to you but I have the same machine and it NEVER ever runs hot. The MBP that I also own runs hot but not the 2011 MBA. And save for the odd wifi issue (which seems to have been fixed now with the latest Lion version), I have never had it crash on me. I suspect you are using Window's tricks (I am also a lifelong windows user at work where I have no choice on the matter) which don't work in Mac OS land (simply copying data like music and photos don't just work like that. Have you tried migration assistant?). I would also say that some of the software which is buggy may not be the right versions for Mac OS. In general, with the Airs being so small in hard drive, I didn't port all my software from my previous (MBP) machine. That may be something that can help you. For instance also look at App Store to see if the software you are porting is actually even sold by App store. Because that may be an indication how good they may be in a mac OS environment. I am not saying that all 3rd party software has to come from the App store, but I always use it as a sanity check before I buy software over the internet to make sure they pass Apple's stringent standards.

Try investing some time to understand how to do things the Mac way and I promise you. You will be richly rewarded.

Good luck

 

[seveej]

Apple's success with their laptops is probably to some degree boosted by their willingness to take people seriously.

I exchanged my MBA 13" twice, before I received one with a keyboard that "felt" right.

Slightly OT, but what the heck:

I sometimes feel openly jealous of people touting this mantra. I do not not if it's an apple store specific thing or US-specific thing, but over here (Finland - no apple stores) I have not heard that you can return an item you bought, without it having to have a defect (and keyboard not "feeling" right does certainly not count). I've managed to return one 1st gen MBP as it was classed DOA (never started) and another one (the second MBP) as it would overheat easily and crash. The third one is currently making my mom very happy.

Then again, being in Finland, I have the privilege of the law (although only with non-corporate consumers) demanding that the reseller/manufacturer exchange the machine if there is a manufacturing or design defect which pops up in the first three YEARS, without question (There are even cases where this has been extended way past three years). Apple Care is just an added bonus, which transfers the burden of proof from the consumer (as with what the law says) to the retailer/manufacturer.

But still, when I wanted to find out how an iPad would fit "my digital lifestyle" I actually had to buy one and then sell it onwards (luckily I did not make too big a loss).

RGDS,
Pekka

 

[peskaa]

Ok, another confusion here. I 'thought' that my network drive was a network drive, but from this website,

http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

I find that it is a NAS and not a network drive.

Came across this when I tried to back up with Time Machine to this drive. Could that be the reason that itunes had issues with the drive till Paragon was installed?

...a NAS is a network drive. Stands for Network Attached Storage.

 

[deepakvrao]

...a NAS is a network drive. Stands for Network Attached Storage.

Thats what I thought too till I read this, from the above link.

The Local and Network Drives mentioned above are essentially "dumb receivers" -- they use the File System and other features of OSX on your Mac, at the direction of your Mac.
But a NAS device has its own operating system (it's actually a small special-purpose computer), and is not under the direct control of your Mac. You can't format or partition it via Disk Utility on your Mac, and you may not be able to repair your backups that way, either. You must use whatever utilities are provided by the maker of the NAS.
Time Machine can back up to some NAS devices, but only those that meet the criteria specified in this Apple article: Disks that can be used with Time Machine. The gory technical details are documented in Time Machine Network Interface Specification.

----------

Slightly OT, but what the heck:

I sometimes feel openly jealous of people touting this mantra. I do not not if it's an apple store specific thing or US-specific thing, but over here (Finland - no apple stores) I have not heard that you can return an item you bought, without it having to have a defect (and keyboard not "feeling" right does certainly not count). I've managed to return one 1st gen MBP as it was classed DOA (never started) and another one (the second MBP) as it would overheat easily and crash. The third one is currently making my mom very happy.

Then again, being in Finland, I have the privilege of the law (although only with non-corporate consumers) demanding that the reseller/manufacturer exchange the machine if there is a manufacturing or design defect which pops up in the first three YEARS, without question (There are even cases where this has been extended way past three years). Apple Care is just an added bonus, which transfers the burden of proof from the consumer (as with what the law says) to the retailer/manufacturer.

But still, when I wanted to find out how an iPad would fit "my digital lifestyle" I actually had to buy one and then sell it onwards (luckily I did not make too big a loss).

RGDS,
Pekka

I agree with you - the US has too lenient a policy for returns, and eventually customers pay for the cost of that. Just my opinion too.

 

[deepakvrao]

I am sure it's no consolation to you but I have the same machine and it NEVER ever runs hot.

Try investing some time to understand how to do things the Mac way and I promise you. You will be richly rewarded.

Good luck

Not running hot after the first day, so it must have been indexing by Spotlight as well as itunes library cataloging.

Learning a lot and already love the OS and UI.

 

[Confuzzzed]

I agree with you - the US has too lenient a policy for returns, and eventually customers pay for the cost of that. Just my opinion too.

Not really. With respect, Apple is the master of this. It sells an idea as well as products. So having the no quibbles 'remorse' return policy allows them to keep customers that are 100% happy with their purchase. And makes sure it solves ALL the problems in the first 2 weeks to make you as happy as possible. If after that you want to return, Apple is able to sell the product as refurbs (notice how quickly these get snapped up) with very small discounts (often no more than the 'educational' max of 14%) at not a huge cost and still make a profit. Clearly not every OEM can do this because they sell cr@p that has no resale value but for premium brands such as Apple, BMW, Audi, Bose, Bang & Olufsen etc. the secondary market is a good indication of the quality you are buying.