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old-wiz

macrumors G3
Original poster
Mar 26, 2008
8,331
228
West Suburban Boston Ma
Just received a new 13" MBA last week. After using it a few days, felt that the trackpad wasn't responding very well, so I took it to the Genius bar to have them check it out. They looked at it and compared it to a couple of the MBAs out on display, and agreed it was definitely messy, so they sent it in to have the trackpad replaced. Got it back yesterday, and the trackpad is more responsive, but now I find that I can't get secondary click to work on the left corner, but it did work on the old one, although needed a really hard press. I tried switching to secondary click on right corner, and it works. I'm still feeling that the trackpad isn't working right and have made another appointment at the genius bar to have them look at it again.

So is it common for the MBAs to have trackpad issues? I'm wondering if it's a common problem due to the case being so thin there.

This is my sixth Mac since I switched from PC to Mac in 2005, and the first one to have any hardware problems at all! I started with an iBook G4, then added a G4 mini, then later a 24" iMac, then a 13" MBP, then a new MBA last fall. None of them have had a single hardware issue.

I'm just hoping the trackpad isn't going to be a chronic problem with the new thinner MBAs since I love the trackpad on the MBP and it was the reason I bought the MBP in the first place since it was so much easier to use than the iBook trackpad where you had a separate bar to press for click.
 
Last edited:

bcaslis

macrumors 68020
Mar 11, 2008
2,184
237
I haven't had any trackpad problems. However I use the two finger click as the secondary click instead of fixing it to a location.
 

old-wiz

macrumors G3
Original poster
Mar 26, 2008
8,331
228
West Suburban Boston Ma
I have an appointment at the Genius bar tomorrow to hopefully get the topcase replaced again.

For comparison, there are 4 13" MBAs on display in the store, so I went and tried setting secondary click to bottom left corner, and every one in the store worked perfectly. I asked the Apple rep (not genius) if problems were common and she said not that she knew of.

Nothing to do now but wait.
 

ZipZap

macrumors 603
Dec 14, 2007
6,112
1,467
I would have exchanged it and not had it repaired since it was within the 14 days.
 

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
Get a new one, as that is what they OWE you. Anytime you're in the first two weeks, DEMAND a replacement IN THE BOX model! Don't let them swap a refurbished unit if you paid for new. Don't let them work on a new Mac as it's never the same.
 

old-wiz

macrumors G3
Original poster
Mar 26, 2008
8,331
228
West Suburban Boston Ma
Update: Went to the Genius bar today, and he reproduced the problem and says it's not registering the secondary click consistently (or any click for that matter) , and his ONLY option would be to send it out to replace the trackpad again. He wrote up a Genius bar report on it. I told him I didn't think this was going to work out any better, so he said to I would have to call AppleCare and discuss it with them.

At this time I don't feel that replacing the trackpad is going to solve the problem. I'm thinking that the new design, with the much thinner case, simply doesn't allow for enough room to put a decent reliable trackpad and keyboard in with adequate room to register a click. My choice of what to do is to hopefully get Apple to accept a return and credit my CC for the full amount of purchase. I've only been able to use the computer for about five days. Since I've had it it has been out for repairs longer than I have been able to use it. I would prefer to simply return it for credit and then use the credit to purchase a MBP instead since I've used the MBP trackpad for over 2 years and it works very well. The only reason I bought a MBA instead of MBP was that the MBP was lighter and would make it easier to travel. I don't care about Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt, number of ports, display port, or the screen resolution. The base MBA is perfectly adequate for my needs. However, I also really want a computer that is working right out of the box and is likely to stay that way and I don't think the MBA will serve since it hasn't worked right yet.

I think my biggest mistake was doing a custom build, which I felt was important to get the 4GB ram upgrade. If I had purchased it in the store they said they would have quickly swapped it out the first time I brought it in. Plus if I was really dissatisfied they could accept it for return right there and credit my CC account. This was the first time I did a custom build; all of my previous 5 macs were purchased off the shelf in the store.

I'm going to call Apple tomorrow and hopefully they will accept it for return since it is so new and it simply doesn't work and I'm not willing to keep sending it back for repairs that don't solve any problem. In the 5 years I've owned 5 macs (the MBA is my 6th mac) and NEVER had to call Apple for any reason. Previously I had no hardware problems and was able to solve all software issues myself. I'm just hoping that I'll get a rep that speaks decent English and is willing to be reasonable about the return. If they put up a big argument and refuse then I'll put it on Craigslist and hope to clear enough so that I can buy an MBP and only lose a few hundred dollars in the process.
 

old-wiz

macrumors G3
Original poster
Mar 26, 2008
8,331
228
West Suburban Boston Ma
Resolved

Spoke to Apple Care this morning and they agreed to accept a return and credit my CC account. They were quite nice about it, didn't get the argument I was expecting. I was polite and firm and said that either you accept a return and refund or I'm going to sell it on Craigslist.
 

ZipZap

macrumors 603
Dec 14, 2007
6,112
1,467
I am glad you were able to get it resolve.

If I happend to have been Apple....I might have told you to sell it since you were inclined to do so.

Probably not something I would have said to make my point.
 
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