Today started off as just another day. I opened my laptop in the morning, answered some emails, got my itinerary for the day and got ready for some meetings. As I closed my laptop, I heard a crack. I opened my notebook again and though everything looked alright, upon closing it again I noticed it was not closing completely anymore. Quite disturbed I immediately started to search online for some answers & details, only to find that this is a common problem and has occurred on many of the early 1st generation versions of the notebook.
There are a ton of great resources out there. This blog post really helped:
MacBook Air – Damaged Hinges – A little too fragile….
After reading it however, I did not feel too good, I had recently experienced exorbitant Apple after sales support costs with my Macbook Air Fan Issue, a few months ago.
Subsequently I came across this Apple Knowledge Base Article and breathed a sigh of relief.
Heading over to the Apple support center now. Will keep this blog post updated on the developments about how they are going to solve this problem.
Updates:
13/10 2pm: Dropped my laptop off at the service center Epi Center @ Orchard. They confirmed that Apple was recalling broken hinges but only on certain lots. Mostly first generation ones. My fingers are crossed that mine will be in one of those lots. 4-5 days without the notebook is going to be tough. Will keep this blog updated on the developments.
16/10 2pm: Picked up my laptop all fixed and was included in the recall program. So my laptop now is essentially new since they replaced the entire LCD component. Great service by Sapura Technologies who was the authorized service provider which I used. Apologies for the delays in meetings and emails over the last few days. Aim to get on top of things by the end of today.
19/10 2pm: LCD started flickering and needed to be given back for repairs. This is going to be another tough week.
23/10 4pm: LCD replaced yet once again. Fingers crossed that all stays well.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I went four weeks without my lap top. It was brutal. Unfortunately, I have a PC.
Wow that is a long time. I was fortunate that my fault was part of a recall program. Got it back within 72 hours.
Everybody is talking about Windows 7. So maybe the tide is turning for PC’s.
I hope Windows 7 is everything the critics say it is.
72 hours isn’t bad at all.
My old-school PowerBook g4 has a broken hinge but it does not affect the screen so I manage. Sorry to hear about your laptop though, if mine was gone even for just three days I may very well go insane.
It was really painful. I have one of old-school powerbooks as well and that is the only thing that kept me going during the downtime.
Sometimes it is downright scary as to how dependent we have become on these machines.
I got this trouble too and I has buy a pair of hinges in eBay to replace it manually. It’s so good now. If you get broken like this, just going to eBay to get it.
Thats cool. I guess I got lucky with Apple recalling first gens and replacing them for free. But definitely great advice.
It is sad to see a lot more problems coming in Apple products lately. I guess when you switch to mass production it really does make a difference.
Had similar problem, took it to service centre, got the upper lid, screen, hinges replaced free of cost. 2 cents of advice from me though… Please please backup your data before dropping your laptop there. the guy gave me a nasty scare saying the partition has corrupted and all data is lost. Fortunately, first aid solved the issue.