Brand New Macbook Air thin strip of vertical stripes on lower edge

[MacUserTen10]

Hi, I just got a fantastic, new Macbook Air today (2.13) after months of looking into it and so far I'm loving the form factor. The speed seems pretty good as well, so far.

The only little thing I noticed upon configuring it is a thin line of vertical strips about a quarter of an inch high on the lower edge of the screen. Its only visible when you tilt the screen a certain angle and when I have it on the stand it sits at that angle, that's when I noticed it.

I included pictures of the stripes. My question is, is this something to worry about? I've had two other Macbook Pros before this one and you can't really see these vertical stripes on the edges there, even when tilting.

I am wondering, if this is apparent now on my first day, is this an indication of a possible bad screen or is this something to be ignored? I have seven days to return it or to exchange it, so I just wanted to ask wether anyone else sees this. I know we had the vertical striping problem on screens, but this is JUST at the very lower edge and only on certain angles, so I am wondering about that.

What do you think? Do you see this on your Macbook Air?

 

[Scottsdale]

Take it back. You paid a hell of a premium for a ten-month-old tech computer, and the last thing you deserve is a trash display. You at least deserve a great experience after being willing to pay so much for it at this late in the game. Swap it for a new one, as it shouldn't have that at any angle especially one you have to view it from in a stand.

Good luck with it.

 

[Jobsian]

Agreed with the Scot, take it back, get a brand new one. It is as simple as that, no excuse for it.

 

[halledise]

had this on my first Rev C also, though it was bleed from top and bottom of screen.

I called Apple about it, had to take it to local reseller for verification.
As I'd purchased it from the Online Store, I had to send it back to Apple (at their expense); new one arrived the following day which was fine.
Had a follow up phone call and email to ensure the new machine was functioning correctly, plus a $50 iTunes store arrived in the mail a couple of weeks later as an apology.

They'll exchange yours no probs.
Apple will simply do a claim on either the Taiwanese assemblers of the LED screen manufacturers

 

[ouimetnick]

had this on my first Rev C also, though it was bleed from top and bottom of screen.

I called Apple about it, had to take it to local reseller for verification.
As I'd purchased it from the Online Store, I had to send it back to Apple (at their expense); new one arrived the following day which was fine.
Had a follow up phone call and email to ensure the new machine was functioning correctly, plus a $50 iTunes store arrived in the mail a couple of weeks later as an apology.

They'll exchange yours no probs.
Apple will simply do a claim on either the Taiwanese assemblers of the LED screen manufacturers

Its the Chinese that assemble the MacBook Air. Apple outsourcers everything to foxconn. They assemble ALL Apple products like iPhone, iPod, and Macintosh.

 

[gnr319]

I had the very same problem on my MBA. I returned it within 10 days and got a brand new one no questions asked.

 

[Scottsdale]

Its the Chinese that assemble the MacBook Air. Apple outsourcers everything to foxconn. They assemble ALL Apple products like iPhone, iPod, and Macintosh.

The problem is a lot of people don't closely examine the products they pay for... I bet 90% of these issues or more never get addressed and people just live with it (I have seen it with my colleagues and friends when their family member bought it for them and they didn't want to tell them because it was a gift or worse yet in business because their university paid for it and not them). Apple is counting on this. If it gave a damn it would be at manufacturing and do a common sense observation test of every Mac before shipping it out. All of the issues reported by customers are obvious and anyone just looking at these products can tell they're problematic. This comes down to Apple trusting its suppliers far too much... which really means it just doesn't care about the customer.

It's the policy of we'll send them the random computer with or without issues and if they catch us we'll apologize.

Same as, "It's better to beg for forgiveness, rather than asking ahead of time for approval." Apple is playing this game with its customers who pay dearly for these products. It's sad, really.

As an Apple customer I am appalled. As an AAPL shareholder, I am disgusted (but I bet Jobs just doesn't give a damn/nor would the average shareholder). And that is the problem with capitalism and the corporate entity not acting ethically, in attempt to pad the pockets of its shareholders.

The sad thing is you know Apple bends over backwards to select fine specimens for shipping to reviewers who will report these issues to the public. Yet for the person paying their hard earned money, they just don't care and would rather beg for forgiveness rather than ensure it doesn't send out junk... because most will not notice anyways... and Apple will blame them later if they don't closely inspect it within the 14-day period for returns.

The really disgusting part is Apple gets its customer satisfaction ratings based NOT on sending out quality products but "apologizing" extremely well and just handing a replacement to the customer who should have gotten an exceptional product from minute one. These are premium products, and Apple is using its screwed up system to give itself such a great reputation. I believe problems happen that cannot be seen... but most of the problems reported with new Macs is they were never inspected and ensured to be in good condition without any issues before shipping. So Apple is using its system to get positive results just by apologizing and what really happens is the customer wastes his or her time while Apple doesn't give a damn and the ratings companies ignore this issue. Apple loses a few bucks by fixing the product and selling it refurbished to customers who wouldn't buy a new Mac and want the cheaper product. The whole system plays extremely favorably to Apple.

 

[halledise]

Its the Chinese that assemble the MacBook Air. Apple outsourcers everything to foxconn. They assemble ALL Apple products like iPhone, iPod, and Macintosh.

ummm, Foxconn is a Taiwanese company and Taiwan is that wee island off mainland China where Chiang Kai-Shek and all the other non communists fled to in 1949 and told the mandarins and Mao Tse-Tung to go get rooted.
Foxconn has head office still in Taiwan and a couple of manufacturing plants on the mainland.
Apple deal with Foxconn in Taiwan.
they are the 'nice' Chinese and not the egg rolls of the mainland who attempt to hold the rest of the world to ransom.
hope that helps a little.

 

[gnr319]

ummm, Foxconn is a Taiwanese company and Taiwan is that wee island off mainland China where Chiang Kai-Shek and all the other non communists fled to in 1949 and told the mandarins and Mao Tse-Tung to go get rooted.
Foxconn has head office still in Taiwan and a couple of manufacturing plants on the mainland.
Apple deal with Foxconn in Taiwan.
they are the 'nice' Chinese and not the egg rolls of the mainland who attempt to hold the rest of the world to ransom.
hope that helps a little.

"Nice" Chinese as opposed to the "bad" Chinese? Egg rolls? "Mandarins"?

What a dumb f*ck. If you're representative of other little Taiwan people, no wonder the People's Liberation Army has their cannons set on that insignificant island ready to blow it up at a moment's notice.

 

[MacUserTen10]

Refund vs. Hinge Design

Thanks for all your comments on this. Its a real relief and also encouraging to hear that others had this problem and were able to get it exchanged and that this sort of thing should be exchanged. Thanks for that. I e-mailed my Apple reseller with this and he told me that these sort of stripes aren't normal, so he seems to be on the same page.

However, I am debating returning it for a refund rather then exchanging it for a new one and the issue isn't speed or performance. Its more of a sturdiness issue. The thing I noticed after a day and a half of use and comparing it to the MBP design was the somewhat flimsy feel of the screen hinges on the Air. You could tell that the screen on the Air is fixed a bit loser, and, well, flimsier than for example on my late 2008 Aluminum MBP.

I'd like to take this on trips and the somewhat loose feeling of the screen hinges makes me wonder how long it would last.

Having said all that, should these hinges really be a problem, I assume Apple will fix it, so perhaps one shouldn't worry about that. The thing is the feel of the Air is just cool and I love the weight or lack of it, so I'd love to have that thing on my trips, even with the risk of the flimsy hinges.