Just unboxed my brand new MBA 1.8/SSD and...

[SteveO247]

The first thing I noticed was it doesn't sit evenly on the table. It rocks back and forth from the bottom left to the top (near the hinge) right! And the second it finished booting up, the fans are already spinning, with nothing open!

Is this normal, is there anything I can test or do, or should I just take it back? From the horror stories I've read about, it seems some people just get a bad one here and there.

Thanks,
SteveO247

 

[brn2ski00]

This is common among some.... Do a search.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/427614/

 

[SteveO247]

It should be apparent that I've done a search... Just wanted to see what people thought I should do. Thanks anyway.

 

[ryan2385]

My fans began spinning immediately after the first boot as well. I think they all do this, as the computer needs to index upon its first start up. My fans went crazy during this time, but they rarely rev up now.

 

[iHerzeleid]

My fans began spinning immediately after the first boot as well. I think they all do this, as the computer needs to index upon its first start up. My fans went crazy during this time, but they rarely rev up now.

Yea because spotlight is indexing your hard drive at first boot up.

 

[pilotError]

It should be apparent that I've done a search... Just wanted to see what people thought I should do. Thanks anyway.

The air is flexible. Sometimes mine does it and then it seems to correct itself. I think its all the flexing around it gets while traveling. You can actually apply a little pressure in the opposite corners and get it to sit flat. I don't even bother anymore though.

 

[SteveO247]

Last night I called the Apple store, told them about the unevenness, and they said to bring it back. I drove over there, and the manager went in the back to get a new one without even needing to see mine. We opened the new one at the store, and it too had unevenness. He asked one of his employees if he had his with him, and to got get it (to see if his did that too). The employee's Airbook sat perfectly flat on the table. The manager was surprised (I wasn't), then went in the back and brought out 3 more boxes (just in case). Luckily, the next one we opened sat perfect on the table! He did some quick exchange paperwork, and I was out the door before they closed. All in all, worth the trip!

When I returned home, I booted up for the first time, and what do you know, no fans! The fans haven't come on once yet (keeping my fingers crossed), however, I think it's highly unlikely the two issues were related in the first place.

For those who receive a slightly uneven Airbook, I would certainly take it back right away, or open and check it out in the store before you leave.

This thing is sweet!

 

[SteveO247]

The air is flexible. Sometimes mine does it and then it seems to correct itself. I think its all the flexing around it gets while traveling. You can actually apply a little pressure in the opposite corners and get it to sit flat. I don't even bother anymore though.

It wasn't just a tiny bit... it was like eating dinner at a table with uneven legs, and every time you go to take a bite of your food, the table rocks one way or the other, spilling some of your drink.

 

[jonswan]

You did right, nice one. Anything less than perfect it should go back. This uneven legs mallarky is simply crap workmanship and clearly they're getting a lot of them returned - perhaps resulting in better quality control. Mine's perfect so I guess I'm lucky.

 

[Elven]

They should take Fred off the forklifts.

 

[SilentPanda]

It wasn't just a tiny bit... it was like eating dinner at a table with uneven legs, and every time you go to take a bite of your food, the table rocks one way or the other, spilling some of your drink.

I know it's not in the manual, but please don't set your drink on your MacBook Air even if it is laying flat now.

 

[AboveTheChaos]

Last night I called the Apple store, told them about the unevenness, and they said to bring it back. I drove over there, and the manager went in the back to get a new one without even needing to see mine. We opened the new one at the store, and it too had unevenness. He asked one of his employees if he had his with him, and to got get it (to see if his did that too). The employee's Airbook sat perfectly flat on the table. The manager was surprised (I wasn't), then went in the back and brought out 3 more boxes (just in case). Luckily, the next one we opened sat perfect on the table! He did some quick exchange paperwork, and I was out the door before they closed. All in all, worth the trip!

When I returned home, I booted up for the first time, and what do you know, no fans! The fans haven't come on once yet (keeping my fingers crossed), however, I think it's highly unlikely the two issues were related in the first place.

PS...you'll love it as time goes by. I can't believe how light and portable it is. I carry mine around all the time like I carry around a legal pad. It's great.

For those who receive a slightly uneven Airbook, I would certainly take it back right away, or open and check it out in the store before you leave.

This thing is sweet!

At least their customer service was good. I've had great experiences with them when having issues. I'm glad he found you one that was stable and didn't give you a hard time about it. As for the fans, mine only ramps up after watching videos for a while but it's not that bad.

 

[Scott6666]

Last night I called the Apple store, told them about the unevenness, and they said to bring it back. I drove over there, and the manager went in the back to get a new one without even needing to see mine. We opened the new one at the store, and it too had unevenness. He asked one of his employees if he had his with him, and to got get it (to see if his did that too). The employee's Airbook sat perfectly flat on the table. The manager was surprised (I wasn't), then went in the back and brought out 3 more boxes (just in case). Luckily, the next one we opened sat perfect on the table! He did some quick exchange paperwork, and I was out the door before they closed. All in all, worth the trip!

When I returned home, I booted up for the first time, and what do you know, no fans! The fans haven't come on once yet (keeping my fingers crossed), however, I think it's highly unlikely the two issues were related in the first place.

For those who receive a slightly uneven Airbook, I would certainly take it back right away, or open and check it out in the store before you leave.

This thing is sweet!

I wonder if the flex and the fan are related. Since contact with the heatsink and case are important to cooling I wonder if the flex causes poor contact with either the cpu/gpu to the heatsink or the heatsink to the case. Would drive heat up.