MacBook Air Hinge: What does Apple "cover"?

[adamjackson]

I have a Rev.c MacBook Air (2.13Ghz) and after 6 months of use, the hinge moves about 6-10 degrees "freely"

Basically, I can move it without feeling any tension from the spring. It used to never do this. I don't use a speck seethru case (that adds weight to the display)and no other cosmetic changes. Just normal 2-6 hour a day use.

I think I read somewhere, at 35 degrees apple will fix it but my warranty is only 3 years. Will it get bad enough for apple to finally fix it?

OR does apple cover this even if the warranty is out. It's prety obvious that the spring is getting weaker and the "bounce" while typing is getting very noticeable.

 

[calderone]

Apple does cover it out of warranty. At least for now. Will they cover it past 3 years? Maybe, maybe not.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2948

 

[adamjackson]

Apple does cover it out of warranty. At least for now. Will they cover it past 3 years? Maybe, maybe not.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2948

"More than one inch (2.54cm) of free play while opening or closing the lid."

This is exactly what I needed to know. 2.54 centimeters. *grabs ruler*

I'm probably around .3 inches at this point. So I'm far from being covered. I won't have this thing that long but when I eBay it in the next 12 months with the hinge problems, I want to have a good excuse for the buyer.

 

[calderone]

Well, even before a serious amount of play started on mine, the plastic hinge cover started cracking. Then the hinge started bulging. Not much fun.

 

[adamjackson]

Well, even before a serious amount of play started on mine, the plastic hinge cover started cracking. Then the hinge started bulging. Not much fun.

Did you get the thing replaced? What was the process like?

 

[chickadee]

Well, even before a serious amount of play started on mine, the plastic hinge cover started cracking. Then the hinge started bulging. Not much fun.

This just happened to me: My rev. A hinges went from perfect to cracked, bulging plastic in one day. I had a large document to finish so I "built" a hinge out of ribbon and duct tape, which gave the guys at the store a chuckle, but they told me the hinge would be covered and I left my little Air with them. Supposedly, they will courier it back to my house sometime this week.

 

[beatzfreak]

The hinge on my Rev. A just broke yesterday, nearly 2 years to the day I bought it. I was closing it, and I heard a couple of cracks. It won't close all the way on that side.

I have a Genius appt. this morning, and have Applecare so I'm not expecting any problems getting it fixed.

 

[MickeyVee]

I had my 14 month old rev A refurb fixed last week.
Took it to he genius bar here in Toronto, the rep confirmed that it was greater than 1" of play, checked for the parts in stock and took it in. Out of warranty, no charge.
He said they weren't really busy (funny for the probably largest Apple store in Canada) and I got a call the next morning saying that it was ready for pickup.
So, my MBA was out of commission for one night.
Now, that's service.

 

[chickadee]

I handed mine over just before they closed on Friday night, so it didn't actually get to Apple until Monday, and FedEx brought it back first thing this morning (Wednesday) -- quite a turnaround.

According to the repair summary, they replaced the hinges, antenna, latch magnet, bezel, microphone, and to my surprise the logic board (for a "memory issue" of which I was unaware)! Impressive indeed.

 

[MacModMachine]

the hinge replacement can sometimes take 3 or 4 hours depending on how competent the tech is.

the hinge / lcd / lcd lid / cable are all replaced during the hinge replacement.

 

[timsutcliffe]

Mine had a very small amount of play in the hinge, but the chap at the Genius Bar was happy to replace the screen (which is what they have to do), so you should be fine.

It did come back with a misaligned lid though, so i'll be taking it back to get that sorted when I can.

 

[alphaod]

If you do need a repair, I'd advise getting it done in the store even if it is a bit slower. At the depot, thry have parts, so you may just get a new hinge. Of course if you have a nice panel, you might want the latter, but why take your chances?

At my last repair at the depot, they broke my hinge and only when I had the repair done at the store were they actually able to fix it and give me a properly fixed machine.