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MacBook Air developing "play" or "slop" in hinge

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sparkolator

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 10, 2008
4
0
I have recently noticed my 3 month old MacBook Air has 1/2" to 1" "play" or "slop" in the hinge. In other words, the screen will move 1/2" to 1" with little or no resistance. The hinge does not seem to have any adjustment or an easily fixed remedy.

I took it to the Southpark Genius Bar in Charlotte and at first they seemed quick to tell me there's nothing wrong. After further discussion, the Genius took my machine in the back for a closer look by whatever techs they have on site. Upon his return, he seemed much more perplexed and treated me as though I may have a valid concern.

While my machine was in the back I took the liberty of checking the three MacBook Airs on display. Two of the machines had screens with similar "play" as mine, the third one was much worse, maybe up to 2".

I had the Genius make a note of my visit in the computer and told them I would monitor it for now and bring it back if it worsens.

Anybody else notice this with your MacBook Air?

Sparky
 
R

rost12

macrumors member
Feb 6, 2008
64
0
Yup, got that as well. A bit less than an inch of "free play". Not a problem so far, but hope it doesn't get much worse.
 
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VS007

macrumors member
Apr 12, 2008
58
0
Same here.

Of all the laptops I have seen, only IBM has an hinge which stays strong for long time.
 
Epicurus

Epicurus

macrumors 6502
Apr 28, 2005
394
0
Minneapolis, MN
So far my Air has no hinge issues, but I can sympathize. My old PowerBook has an amazing amount of play in the hinge. Honestly, though, the hinge thing didn't start becoming noticeable until a year or two after I bought it.

For those who have had issues with the Air and its hinges, has Apple ever been able to tighten/replace them for you? Is there a cure?
 
D

dibara2003

macrumors 6502
Aug 18, 2007
357
0
Hawaii!
Epicurus said:
For those who have had issues with the Air and its hinges, has Apple ever been able to tighten/replace them for you? Is there a cure?
Click to expand...

In my experience, nope. They said it was within spec. and said that they couldn't really tighten them anyways.
 
Epicurus

Epicurus

macrumors 6502
Apr 28, 2005
394
0
Minneapolis, MN
dibara2003 said:
In my experience, nope. They said it was within spec. and said that they couldn't really tighten them anyways.
Click to expand...

That sucks. I would have thought that if you have AppleCare and you throw a little fit someone might be able to get this taken care of. Too bad.

Now I'm wondering what percentage of Air's are falling victim to this problem and how long mine is going to hold out... :confused:
 
G

gregk205

macrumors member
Feb 16, 2008
71
0
New York
I have it too... It is so annoying when you are working in a lighted room and it keeps moving when you touch it to type! My sony SZ didn't do it after 1 year. And this is doing it after a few months with less use.
 
T

Tosser

macrumors 68030
Jan 15, 2008
2,677
1
You guys have slop already?
On my MBP (don't have an MBA) I have about a half an inch to an inch slop. It seems to have developed within the last three months.

But then again, my MBP is around two years old (a guess, I can't actually remember, but it was one of the very first 2.33GHz to be delivered), so in my case, I consider it t be "normal" wear - well, for a Mac regretfully. The problem is, if you guys have that amount of slop, how will it be after the same amount of time? In a year? In two years?

dibara2003 said:
In my experience, nope. They said it was within spec. and said that they couldn't really tighten them anyways.
Click to expand...

Why am I not surprised?
 
P

Pixellated

macrumors 65816
Apr 1, 2008
1,100
0
This happens on the dell in my sig as well. it is a good 1.5 inches. FIne on my BlackBook though.
 
S

ScottFitz

macrumors 6502a
Nov 3, 2007
666
0
My one year old IBM/Lenova T60p has zero slop in it. Tight as a tick. So, I guess I found one redeeming quality.

My air is quite new still. I'm being as careful as I can with the screen itself. I have to ask myself what exactly causes this play. Is the screen being torqued somehow while opening it? I've tried to limit any screen adjustment angle by grabbing the screen at the top middle with one hand. It's tempting to grab one side and adjust. I think this might be where some of the problem is coming from.

Other than that, can any of you think of any reason why this is happening?

My money is on uneven torque to one side.
 
T

Tosser

macrumors 68030
Jan 15, 2008
2,677
1
ScottFitz said:
My money is on uneven torque to one side.
Click to expand...

Yes, but it could also be the design or materials that have changed from, say, the MBP.

Btw, is that Thinkpad a pink, girly edition?


(Since it's called the Lenova, not Lenovo)? :eek::p:D
 
S

ScottFitz

macrumors 6502a
Nov 3, 2007
666
0
Tosser said:
Yes, but it could also be the design or materials that have changed from, say, the MBP.

Btw, is that Thinkpad a pink, girly edition?


(Since it's called the Lenova, not Lenovo)? :eek::p:D
Click to expand...

I refer to it as the piece of crap edition. Is that good enough for you, Herr Spelling Nazi?
 
scrapit

scrapit

macrumors newbie
Jan 26, 2008
14
0
1 more

yep the same with mine. sorry to say the air is a ok machine but by far the powerbook 12 inch was apples best
 
California

California

macrumors 68040
Aug 21, 2004
3,885
90
scrapit said:
yep the same with mine. sorry to say the air is a ok machine but by far the powerbook 12 inch was apples best
Click to expand...

Since I am running the last 12" PB 1.5ghz superdrive with NO PLAY at all in its screen and over a year left of Applecare, I am very happy having it run leopard and my 23" ACD as a desktop.

However this thread is about the play on a MacBookAir.

I don't know how these lappies are put together, but I know when I have disassembled a 12" iBook (more than once) there are screws that dictate the "play" in the screen on the older Apple Laptops.

I had to have Daystar replace a 1.33ghz logic board for me when I was putting a hd and superdrive in a friend's 12" iBook. I did not like the 'play" in the screen and I went back in to pull off the trackpad and pulled off some sockets from the logic board. Daystar had to fix the hinge play when the LB was replaced.

I am not sure if this helps but I cannot imagine that there is no way to tighten the screenhinges on those MBAs. it must be a completely annoying situation.
 
G

gregk205

macrumors member
Feb 16, 2008
71
0
New York
sparkolator said:
I just put a little video on YouTube highlighting the MacBook Air hinge/screen issues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7uEMfJVm4U
Click to expand...


Great video. Mine is loose as well but not that bad yet. But I am sure it will be soon. Apple better fix this problem when it gets worst. This is unacceptable on such an expensive laptop. My Thinkpad gets a lot more abuse and the hinges are tight.. And all of my Sony's and Thinkpad's hinge's have been perfect. I am very disappointed!
 
T

Tosser

macrumors 68030
Jan 15, 2008
2,677
1
sparkolator said:
I just put a little video on YouTube highlighting the MacBook Air hinge/screen issues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7uEMfJVm4U
Click to expand...

I wrote earlier saying my mbp had developed about half and inch to an inch of slop over a couple of years. But seeing your video got me thinking. Either the video "cheats" my eyes, but yours look like the play is more than on mine (=I might only have a quarter to a half inch), and that your screen is more easily moved in between that inch. It's as if there's absolutely none resistance in yours, whereas mine "just" has very much less resistance than the rest of the movement, if that makes sense?
 
RedTomato

RedTomato

macrumors 601
Mar 4, 2005
4,161
444
.. London ..
Thanks for the video. I can see how it irritates you, but to be honest, I am not sure if it is a genuine problem.

I have a macbook here, and if I touch the top of the screen, it has the same wobble. If I give it a poke, it wobbles then dampens down very quickly, within a couple of seconds. It's never bothered me. I type with my macbook on my lap or on a table, and the screen never wobbles while I'm typing.

I'm using it on a rather shaky table at the moment, and when I type the screen wobbles slightly but again, not enough to bother me.

If I try to move the screen but don't exert enough force to actually move the hinge to a new position, I can feel a bit of resistance, and when I let go, the screen will end up in the same position as before.

Is yours the same or different? If your screen can flop back and forth about an inch, with no resistance bringing it back to the same position, then I can see thats a problem. I couldn't see that from the video though. And you didn't show any wobble from just typing (with the MBA on a firm desk).
 
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