Would you take it back? *UPDATED* (I took it back.)

[mcdj]

For some reason, my keyboard touches the screen when the computer is closed. Every time I open it there are 4-5 "lines" of oil on the screen, where the edges of some keys have met the screen (mainly the keys around the middle of the keyboard). This is simply from closing the lid. I imagine it would be worse if I carried it around regularly.

On closer inspection, the spacing between the lid and the body is not even around the computer. Towards the hinge it gets wider by a couple of mm. Looking at the front edge with the lid closed, the left corner sits slightly more closed than the right corner. Looking at the right corner, there is a small but visible gap between the rubber gasket in the lid and the body.

This says to me the lid is a bit warped, and maybe this is causing the keys to touch the screen. It's not a catastrophe, but it is quite annoying to have to wipe off the key marks every time I open the computer.

I'm tempted to take it back, but the computer has no other issues (so far). There's one tiny tiny speck of dust under the screen, but no dead pixels. The battery cover is fine. Of course, it would be a gamble...a replacement could have other problems.

What would you do?

 

[Phrasikleia]

Which MacBook do you have? (The new aluminum one?)

Regardless, I'd take it back if I were you.

 

[vincenz]

If it bothers you, take it back. If it doesn't, then don't. If it were me, I'd take it back. You got unlucky with that one. I don't have any of the problems you described on mine at all. Slight dust under the glass and a warped lid is unacceptable, I think.

 

[sangosimo]

I would take it back

 

[mcdj]

Sorry , yes, it's the new aluminum. The attached mockup shows what I'm talking about.

 

[proc]

For some reason, my keyboard touches the screen when the computer is closed. Every time I open it there are 4-5 "lines" of oil on the screen, where the edges of some keys have met the screen (mainly the keys around the middle of the keyboard). This is simply from closing the lid. I imagine it would be worse if I carried it around regularly.

On closer inspection, the spacing between the lid and the body is not even around the computer. Towards the hinge it gets wider by a couple of mm. Looking at the front edge with the lid closed, the left corner sits slightly more closed than the right corner. Looking at the right corner, there is a small but visible gap between the rubber gasket in the lid and the body.

This says to me the lid is a bit warped, and maybe this is causing the keys to touch the screen. It's not a catastrophe, but it is quite annoying to have to wipe off the key marks every time I open the computer.

I'm tempted to take it back, but the computer has no other issues (so far). There's one tiny tiny speck of dust under the screen, but no dead pixels. The battery cover is fine. Of course, it would be a gamble...a replacement could have other problems.

What would you do?

I would definitely bring it back. It's bound to cause malfunctions (eg. display damage) later on, if the keyboard genuinely touches your display.

 

[santa.claus]

you should take it back dude - i am not too sure but this may aggravate in the future and cause harm to your beautiful screen. And especially when you take it around the keys are going to press itself on the screen. So if I were you, I would have definitely taken it back. I would also be very encouraged to take it back becoz of the good support that apple has. I am sure (and other people on this forum will agree) that apple will give you a replacement.
do let us know what you finally do with it.

 

[drew0020]

take it back. apple quality control is very poor on these new laptops (and the iPhone). They need to learn!

 

[Wild-Bill]

take it back. apple quality control is very poor on these new laptops (and the iPhone). They need to learn!

For such a "new and innovative" construction process Jobs jeeps blabbering about, you would think he'd want to dump a little cash into quality control. I mean, Apple has plenty of it. I love the picture that was circulating of one of the new Macbooks with two N's on the keyboard.
I guess firewire wasn't the only thing chopped out of the Macbooks.

 

[drew0020]

For such a "new and innovative" construction process Jobs jeeps blabbering about, you would think he'd want to dump a little cash into quality control. I mean, Apple has plenty of it. I love the picture that was circulating of one of the new Macbooks with two N's on the keyboard.
I guess firewire wasn't the only thing chopped out of the Macbooks.

Between the dents, dings, and scratches I dont know about the new process. The LED lcd panels on the new macbooks leave much to be desired. I had 2 with multiple dead pixels. Ive never had a dead pixel on any other laptop ive owned (more than 10 in all).

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Take it back. If the replacement has issues, take it back, too. These things cost too much money to accept manufacturing defects.

 

[Crash1234]

My macbook pro has the same problem and people seem to think I'm crazy for even thinking that this brand new innovativley designed product has this issue. People seem to be saying theirs is perfectly constructed. I've gone through THREE mbps in the last couple of days. All of them had bent lids, one of them had a faulty optical drive and two of them felt like something was loose inside the case. Whenever I picked them up I could feel something moving around. All the mpbs in my local apple store on display have the faulty lids also. Maybe my apple store got a bad shipment or maybe these things are just poorly constructed. For that kind of money the product should not feel as if there is something movign around inside the case, the optical drive should work, and at the very least the lid should be properly seated. I refuse to spend that kind of money on a laptop that doesn't even have the lid seated correctly. It may seem like a minor thing but it's a ridiculous problem. I'm taking my final defective book back to the store and getting a full refund. I'm done with these things for now. Maybe in a couple of months manufacturing will smooth out a little. It really is a shame as it is a beautiful laptop.

 

[840quadra]

I guess I would see about exchanging it too.

Sadly it is a side-effect from the latchless lids on the new macbook and macbook pro. I can only guess, but over time the gaskets are going to wear down causing most of these (should say our as I have a MBP) systems to have a smaller gap on the trackpad side of the laptop when the lids are closed. I highly doubt this will be the only time we see this going forward.

The old Macbook (plastic) was notorious for doing this, and because the screens on those were plastic, you would sometimes get permanent etching in the screen laminate from the keys. I will be curious to see how these hold up long term, I am hoping they do well (my gut feeling says they will do fine), and don't end up warping like the last generation MBP would on either side of the latches.

 

[kellte2]

I don't have keys rubbing on the screen, BUT my side view looks a lot like the one you made with your mock-up. I'm pretty sure that's how its supposed to be.

Is there any chance you have the slanting key syndrome? If so, you can fix that by gently tugging on the sides of the keys to align them properly. Not your job to do that, but it'll fix it nonetheless.

 

[drew0020]

I think im returning mine for a refund as well. 3 for 3 with issues. Im tired of this. I just want a good screen with no dents.

 

[mcdj]

I don't have keys rubbing on the screen, BUT my side view looks a lot like the one you made with your mock-up. I'm pretty sure that's how its supposed to be.

Is there any chance you have the slanting key syndrome? If so, you can fix that by gently tugging on the sides of the keys to align them properly. Not your job to do that, but it'll fix it nonetheless.

do you mean pry up the key on the lower side?

when I look at the keys at eye level, they seem relatively even.

 

[drew0020]

My keys are level, but you cant see the backlight under the space bar. There is a little backlight that shows through on the left side of the space bar though.

 

[kellte2]

People here, myself included, noticed certain rows of keys with a downward LEFT slant. This generally seems to occur on the function row. I figured that would be the problem with your keys striking the screen when you close it. I fixed my cosmetic issue by simply getting a fingernail under the keys in question, and prying them up on the left side for a few seconds. This corrected the lean for me.

I do firmly believe, especially after looking at the laptops in the store, that most, if not all MBs and MPBs, display the lack of flushness depicted in your mock-up. Mine does it as have every other MB/MBP that i've seen.

Also, consider the fact that the keyboard is recessed into the bottom case. This leads me to believe that perhaps your keys are set too high and it is a fault of the keyboard, not the lid's closing mechanism.

 

[acfusion29]

take it back. apple quality control is very poor on these new laptops (and the iPhone). They need to learn!

orly??

hmm, i wonder where the thousands of people are to say that their macbook is fine...

you have to realize that there are a LOT of people that bought this, and not everyone is having problems, if your problem free why would you make a thread about it? only the people that have problems will express how they feel, and then the odd person will say they love their new mac.

 

[kellte2]

orly??

hmm, i wonder where the thousands of people are to say that their macbook is fine...

you have to realize that there are a LOT of people that bought this, and not everyone is having problems, if your problem free why would you make a thread about it? only the people that have problems will express how they feel, and then the odd person will say they love their new mac.

This hits the nail right on the head.

If you're not happy, take it back. If you can live with it, don't.

 

[mcdj]

Also, consider the fact that the keyboard is recessed into the bottom case. This leads me to believe that perhaps your keys are set too high and it is a fault of the keyboard, not the lid's closing mechanism.

Interesting observation, and sounds plausible. The keys that that make the marks are clustered in the center...maybe F, G, T, V, etc. The function keys seem fine.

 

[mcdj]

If anyone is interested, I successfully returned the problematic MB today and received a replacement. It took a bit of back and forth negotiation to make it happen, as the initial response was "that's just the nature of these slimmer computers.", but all in all, they were understanding and helpful, and eventually agreed to swap it out.

I have not had much of a chance to test this one out for the kb issue, but I can already tell the keys seem to sit lower and more evenly than the first one.

Another interesting difference is that the black gasket around the screen is more pronounced than my first one was, and the magnetic latch is not as strong. I had noticed that the gasket on the floor models was also more pronounced and the magnets less strong than mine. In a chat with one of the employees while I was waiting for the replacement, we deduced that if indeed my original MB had a gasket that was not sticking out far enough, even by 1/4mm, the screen would be that much closer to the keyboard when the lid was closed, and with less "padding" between the screen and body, the magnet would feel stronger.

Also while in the store, I saw a floor model that had a gasket which was not even all around the screen. The right edge had a 3" area where the gasket looked like it had been pushed in. I showed this to the employee. His comment..."How long till we have to start replacing these gaskets?"

 

[queshy]

+1 for taking it back. don't accept problems.

 

[southerndoc]

take it back. apple quality control is very poor on these new laptops (and the iPhone). They need to learn!

They need to learn what? That they can resell these rejects as refurbs? People are always willing to buy them.

For the price we pay, Apple really doesn't care about quality control.

 

[SFStateStudent]

+1 on taking it back. I know my MB 2.16 August '07 was always leaving an impression of the keys and trackpad key that eventually led to the screen getting scratched in about 2 weeks. When I took it back for an exchange they told me it was a cosmetic thing and that it doesn't affect the overall operation of the MB. Well, I went home dissatisfied, only to return 5 months later to get the screen repaired and they told me for $600 they could do the repair. So, I turned it around and said, "so, if I were to try and sell my $1199 MB with AppleCare, I would have to deduct $600 and sell it for $599, right? They replied "that sounds about right!" I sent an email out to "how'd we do?" and the next day I got a personal invitation shopping spree with the Store Manager and picked out a new BlackBook 2.4 Penryn (straight across trade). I would suggest keeping the foam insert in between the screen and the keyboard, as I've done since with all of my MacBook, MBA and MBP since this snafu with Apple. Also, if you put your MB in a backpack or briefcase, just be aware that textbooks can place added pressure on your MB, thereby causing more damage to your screen...