MacBook Pro 2018 ventilation slots blocked

[berlina123]

My MacBook Pro 2018 (bought November) has a potentially dangerous problem.

On the machine's back, there are two ventilation slots, one on either side. Now, there is some type of foil coming out of both of them, symmetrically. The visible part of the foil covers about 4cm of each slot. It's getting more, slowly.

I did not spill water over my laptop (100% sure) and I do not own a cat who might do such a thing.

People at a reseller said that it could be the battery coming out.

Anybody else has this problem?

Thank you!

PS: I'm also starting to get staingate-like stains on my screen, after 3 months...

 

[Patcell]

My otherwise lovely MacBook Pro 2018 (bought November) has a potentially dangerous problem.

On the machine's back, there are two vent slots, one on either side. Now, there is some type of foil coming out of both of them, symmetrically. The visible part of the foil covers about 4cm of each slot. It's getting more, slowly.

I did not spill water over my laptop (100% sure) and I do not own a cat who might do such a thing.

People at a reseller said that it could be the battery coming out.

Anybody else has this problem?

Thank you!

PS: I'm also starting to get staingate-like stains on my screen, after 3 months... View attachment 820153

Do you live close to an Apple retail store? If so, I’d bring it in and have it checked. It doesn’t cost anything and you are still well under warranty. Seems strange though. If it is the battery, you need to get it dealt with ASAP as that can be dangerous.
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Do you live close to an Apple retail store? If so, I’d bring it in and have it checked. It doesn’t cost anything and you are still well under warranty. Seems strange though. If it is the battery, you need to get it dealt with ASAP as that can be dangerous.

Is it a 13 or 15”?

 

[DeltaMac]

The batteries are under the wrist rest, and trackpad area. They don't get close to the rear/hinge area.

It's easy to remove the bottom cover. The Apple reseller should have taken that cover off, just to give you a better idea about the problem. That would help prevent the poor guess that you got from them

It is time to call AppleCare. You want to find out what Apple will do for you.

 

[Patcell]

The batteries are under the wrist rest, and trackpad area. They don't get close to the rear/hinge area.

It's easy to remove the bottom cover. The Apple reseller should have taken that cover off, just to give you a better idea about the problem. That would help prevent the poor guess that you got from them

It is time to call AppleCare. You want to find out what Apple will do for you.

It is the vent slots on either side of the under-edge of the computer that are showing the problem; I think the battery hugs up pretty close to those if I'm not mistaken...

Good idea to take the bottom cover off and have a loo for yourself though.

 

[LeeW]

I think the battery hugs up pretty close to those if I'm not mistaken...

Nope, not that close. I wonder if its the dust filter material that has come loose.

 

[Patcell]

Nope, not that close. I wonder if its the dust filter material that has come loose.

Oh, could be. Worth taking off the bottom cover to have a look. Let us know what you find.

 

[berlina123]

Oh, could be. Worth taking off the bottom cover to have a look. Let us know what you find.

Thanks for your advice so far! It's a 13-inch with 4 thunderbolt ports.

The foil is coming out pretty much in the middle section of the bottom cover. The apple reseller actually wanted to start to pull the foil out more, saying they want to check what it was, which I found an extremely odd approach. So I'm going the the Apple Store instead.

Will let you know what Apple tells me!

 

[Patcell]

Thanks for your advice so far! It's a 13-inch with 4 thunderbolt ports.

The foil is coming out pretty much in the middle section of the bottom cover. The apple reseller actually wanted to start to pull the foil out more, saying they want to check what it was, which I found an extremely odd approach. So I'm going the the Apple Store instead.

Will let you know what Apple tells me!

yeah, Apple is the best option. Make a Genius Bar appointment before you go or you could end up waiting a good long while. I've made that mistake before...

Curious to hear what they have to say. Good luck!

 

[berlina123]

Turns out it wasn't the battery! It was the foil coating that runs along the inner edge of the bottom case. They're replacing the entire bottom case within warranty. As per the reason why it happened, they didn't have much to say apart from that it shouldn't have.

 

[maflynn]

they didn't have much to say apart from that it shouldn't have.

If I was a betting man, i'd say it was a defect from the manufacturing process.

 

[Painter2002]

Turns out it wasn't the battery! It was the foil coating that runs along the inner edge of the bottom case. They're replacing the entire bottom case within warranty. As per the reason why it happened, they didn't have much to say apart from that it shouldn't have.

Glad they are taking care of the issue for you and it wasn’t too much of a headache! You definitely don’t want those vents blocked at all, the MacBook Pros are already thermally challenged enough, they certainly don’t need more help with that by having blocked vents, lol.

 

[Patcell]

Turns out it wasn't the battery! It was the foil coating that runs along the inner edge of the bottom case. They're replacing the entire bottom case within warranty. As per the reason why it happened, they didn't have much to say apart from that it shouldn't have.

Thanks for the update! Good luck with the machine in the future.

 

[Alex Motoc]

My MacBook Pro 2018 (bought November) has a potentially dangerous problem.

On the machine's back, there are two ventilation slots, one on either side. Now, there is some type of foil coming out of both of them, symmetrically. The visible part of the foil covers about 4cm of each slot. It's getting more, slowly.

I did not spill water over my laptop (100% sure) and I do not own a cat who might do such a thing.

People at a reseller said that it could be the battery coming out.

Anybody else has this problem?

Thank you!

PS: I'm also starting to get staingate-like stains on my screen, after 3 months... View attachment 820153

I have this exact same problem. Unfortunately there's no official Apple store where I live, but we do have an authorized service. Hopefully they'll replace the bottom case for me as well.

Regarding the staingate issue, did they fix it in your case? Asking because the same staingate marks from the spacebar and other keyboard keys are starting to show up as well.

 

[berlina123]

I have this exact same problem. Unfortunately there's no official Apple store where I live, but we do have an authorized service. Hopefully they'll replace the bottom case for me as well.

Regarding the staingate issue, did they fix it in your case? Asking because the same staingate marks from the spacebar and other keyboard keys are starting to show up as well.

Basically the solution to avoid a complete stain gate is to clean the screen and keyboard regularly to remove the oil that builds up on the keys. I bought an extra spray and cloth for that purpose at an electronics store. Thats been working really well for me! Good luck with the bottom case! Hope they fix it for you.