Macbook AIR 11 loose Hinge

[gecis]

This would be fantastic if they were able to tighten them a bit at the Genius Bar. Wouldnt want to have to go through multiple replacements to find one with a sturdy hinge.

Can you imagine that though? Everyone bring in their Air's in and the Geniuses are all in the stock room with wrenches tightening these things?

I tried that when I went in for the replacement. When I realised that my new replacement had loose hinge issue as well I asked if they could atleast tighten it for me. The genius told me sure that wasnt a problem at all.

He went in and came back a few minutes later and said unfortunately due to the product being so new they dont have the proper tools yet. He also said even if they did get the tools I can come back later and have them tighten it up for me but he couldnt gurantee that it would get any better. He told me this could be as tight as it could get because maybe this is how it was designed.

 

[bossxii]

i just checked my 11" and it is quite stiff.

that sentence is so wrong...

TMI!

 

[teaneedz]

Place my order or wait

My order is already to go but I think I'd like to hear some input on this from any hardware product or quality people.

A slightly loose hinge now for whatever reason may be fine, but 2-3 years down the road, that may be a whole different issue.

 

[gsampson85]

This is interesting. Mine seems pretty stable. Sometimes I have trouble even opening my 11in.

I hope this isn't the issue 1st Gen Airs had. :-\

 

[gman901]

I am sure this is just a small percentage issue; however I was curious if people are finding looser hinges from store bought versus CTO MBAs? The good thing is that they are under warranty and I am sure the stores can fix these easily without damaging or scratching our units!

 

[mac jones]

This is sort of an old thread but whatever

Did anyone find out if you can tighten these?

Like most of you, I'd rather fix it than replace it.

Also, are the recent ones tighter?.

Mines ok I guess, but if I pick it fast the screen flops. It shouldn't do this really, it's too lose, and i've got to address this before it's too late.

thanks for any help.

 

[will0407]

I had an 11" ultimate but managed to get a good deal on a 1.4/4gb/128gb model with applecare so I sold the ultimate and bought that.

First thing I noticed on the new one was that if that screen is just past 90 degrees it flops back. I still had my ultimate as I hadn't posted it so I compared the two. The ultimate was far more sturdy, could put it in any position and it would stick.

Tempted to take this to the genius bar but it has applecare and it's not a huge issue so might use it for a bit and see if it bugs me

 

[RealScience]

Did anyone find out if you can tighten these?

Unfortunately (from what I was told at the Genius bar), the design is such that the hinges cannot be tightened. There are some screws, but they don't control the tightness of the hinge, just the display attachment. When I went in with my Air (13"), they offered either to repair it (which meant replacing the display), or replace the computer, since I was still within the 14 day window. I went with the replacement of the computer, but I was a nervous wreck about it, since the existing computer was a known quantity and had no other problems with it.

The new machine seems fine in the hinge department (it had a squeak that was corrected by reseating the bottom plate), though I'm watching it very carefully. I would hate to have to replace the display on this one if the hinge loosens on this one too. If nothing else, it seems quite wasteful--although I'm sure they ultimately refurbish and reuse the parts that they can.