MacBook Pro 16" hinge feel with hardshell on

[JustAnotherCarGuy]

I have a 16" MacBook Pro with a thin JCPal hardshell case clamped on, and have noticed since recent that the hinge feels kinda loose when I close it. The screen practically closes on its own once the angle with the base is < 30°.
The rest of the hinge action feels normal and solid. It holds its place when open and slanted over 90° as well.

However I'm not sure if it has always been this way. The screen does however hold itself at whatever angle when the case is removed and requires me pushing it down to close all the way.

Is this something I should be worried about? am I potentially causing my hinge to loosen by using this hardshell??

 

[Alex W.]

have you gone into apple and see what they said? Same issue

 

[clangers23]

Funnily enough I've gone through exactly the same experience as the OP, most likely there's nothing wrong with the hinge and there is movement if you say bang on a desk with the Macbook on it. The hard case does exacerbate this slightly.

I'm on my 2nd MBP 16" and have used others elsewhere and they were all exactly the same which was a relief as I went through several weeks when I received my first MBP believing the hinge was loose. I upgraded to a another 16" with 32gb ram and a higher spec GPU and it was exactly the same.

I rang up Apple support and they said it was highly unlikely that's using a hard case would cause any damage to your Macbook by using a hard shell case. They said that a tolerance was manufactured into the hinge given that people pick up their laptops by the hinge or lean on it when using the laptop.

 

[Alex W.]

So basically Apple ****ed up a 100-150gram pressure consideration for cases.
Figures, 15,000 engineers and of course they dont consider this. Im just going to counterweight the case at the bottom of the screen piece with tungsten / titanium strips

 

[robvas]

Adding weight to the screen will make the hinge act funny

 

[bill-p]

Even without any extra weight, if you suddenly lift the MacBook up and don't close the lid, the screen can wobble slightly. It's normal.

The hard case just makes the hinge weaker, but I went with a hard case on my 13" for 2 years and never noticed any problem at all aside from the hinge feeling more loose than without the hard case.

 

[JustAnotherCarGuy]

have you gone into apple and see what they said? Same issue

Unfortunately we don't have any Apple Stores in my country, just Authorized Resellers and AASPs. I did call an AASP and they said it sounds normal cause my hinge functioned as normal when the hardshell was off.
But the whole thing just made me very very uncomfortable cause I felt as if the hinge was losing all its resistance, so I took off the case attached to the lid. Yes I know my computer is a lot more likely to catch a bunch of horrible scratches but ugh that loose hinge just triggers me so much I had no choice :/

 

[JustAnotherCarGuy]

Funnily enough I've gone through exactly the same experience as the OP, most likely there's nothing wrong with the hinge and there is movement if you say bang on a desk with the Macbook on it. The hard case does exacerbate this slightly.

I'm on my 2nd MBP 16" and have used others elsewhere and they were all exactly the same which was a relief as I went through several weeks when I received my first MBP believing the hinge was loose. I upgraded to a another 16" with 32gb ram and a higher spec GPU and it was exactly the same.

I rang up Apple support and they said it was highly unlikely that's using a hard case would cause any damage to your Macbook by using a hard shell case. They said that a tolerance was manufactured into the hinge given that people pick up their laptops by the hinge or lean on it when using the laptop.

That's kinda comforting to know, but I've also seen some "Apple technicians" telling people to avoid hard-shells on a bunch of forums. I guess it all comes down to slight manufacturing inconsistencies and maybe if ur unlucky, you get a hinge that's a hair looser than the rest that leads to premature failure with the addition of extra weight from a something like a hard-shell.